The startup ecosystem in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region experienced significant growth in February 2025.
According to data from the Wamda platform, startups in the region successfully raised a total of $494 million across 58 deals.
Excluding debt financing, investment activity saw a 371% month-on-month (MoM) increase. This amount represents nearly five times the investments secured in February 2024.
Additionally, the platform highlighted that while debt financing accounted for 90% of total investments in January, this proportion dropped to just 15% in February.
Geographically, Saudi Arabian startups led the way last month, raising $250.3 million across 25 deals, securing the top spot in the region in terms of funding.
This surge is largely attributed to the LEAP 2025 conference, where many startups took the opportunity to announce the closure of their funding rounds.
The United Arab Emirates followed closely, ranking second with 15 startups raising a total of $203.5 million. Egypt came in third, albeit with a more modest amount, raising only $27.5 million through eight deals.
Oman entered the top four, with two startups securing $6 million. Meanwhile, Tunisian startups raised $300,000 in February through two deals.
In February, the fintech sector dominated fundraising, attracting $274 million across 15 deals, surpassing all other sectors.
Insurtech came in second with $55 million raised through two deals, while the logistics sector ranked third with $28.5 million raised across four deals.
Wamda also noted that, in terms of the number of deals, the majority of investments were made at the pre-seed stage, where 15 startups raised $22 million.
Meanwhile, startups at the Series A stage received an influx of $158 million spread across seven rounds, while those at the seed stage raised $27.8 million across 10 deals.
As usual, male-led startups captured the majority of investments, with a total of $429 million, accounting for 87% of the funds raised this month.
In contrast, female-led startups secured only $200,000, while the remaining funds were allocated to startups co-founded by men and women.
