UAE, Saudi Arabia lead MENA VC fundraising, says MAGNiTT

MENA’s venture capital industry recorded a 32 per cent increase in funding in Q3 2023 to $250m compared to the second quarter of the year, according to startup data platform MAGNiTT.

The fundraising in Q3 2023 contributed to $1.4bn raised through 286 transactions in the first nine months of the year.

Saudi Arabia and UAE led the region in capital raised, with the kingdom reporting a 172 per cent quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) increase.

Equally, the Emirates registered an upswing in new funding. By the number of transactions, the UAE reported the most activity, capturing a third of all deals closed in the region in the first nine months of 2023.

Speaking at Expand North Star, Philip Bahoshy, MAGNiTT’s founder and CEO attributed to Q3 performance to a series of mega-deals ($100m plus investment deals) across the region.

UAE, Saudi VC fund

UAE’s Chimera Capital and Aliph Capital launched new funds during the period under review while in Saudi Arabia IMPACT46 and KAUST have raised funds to deploy in local startups.

“We will be keenly tracking the pace at which this dry powder translates into investments. In fact, investment activity in the last quarter of 2023 will be a good indicator of the strength of 2024’s venture capital landscape,” said Bahoshy.

Expand North Star AI Monday

Meanwhile, Expand North Star hosted AI Monday to showcase over 400 artificial intelligence (AI) infused startups.

AI is booming and startups are at the heart of this revolution. AI triggered the current AI frenzy when OpenAI launched ChatGPT in November 2022.

Today, generative AI has the potential to generate up to $4.4tn in value across industries.

Hosted by the Dubai Chamber of Digital Economy and organised by the Dubai World Trade Centre, Expand North Star welcomed over 1,800 startups across GITEX Global and Expand North Star from more than 100 countries.

More than 1,000 investors with a combined total of over $1tn under management are in Dubai, a city that has emerged as the heart of the world’s digital economy.

Read: The Middle East’s booming venture capital market