Startups in the United Arab Emirates received $ 68 million (AED 249.77 million) in December 2021 through 11 companies, accounting for 33% of total funding in the Middle East.

The Wamda site, which specializes in tracking investments in startups, reported on Thursday that startups in the Middle East and North Africa had raised $ 206 million in December through 44 deals, down 27.5% on a monthly basis. 215% increase on an annual basis..

Most VC investments are concentrated in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, and these countries account for more than 88% of total financial activity this month.

Saudi start-ups received large investments totaling $ 99.5 million, followed by the UAE, Bahrain and Jordan with $ 13 million each, and Egypt $ 7.8 million.

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt have won a large number of agreements..

Angel investors

Seed level deals have played a major role in financing operations through 31 deals, most of which have been led by angel investors and accelerators, particularly Sanabel 500, a business accelerator for start-ups in the Middle East and North Africa, who have invested in 11 companies in the region.

In terms of the value of the contracts, the largest share of the funding went to emerging companies, with Emirati OpenCount receiving $ 42 million in the first round. – Business.

Saudi Arabia also received $ 75 million in the third round of finance, and Sari is an electronic platform that connects business owners with wholesalers.

Among the other startups that received major funding this month were: Drop Bahrain food technology startup receives $ 13.5 million

As an application package Grouptech Emirati food distribution company Tamat received $ 13 million and gaming startup Tamatem $ 11 million.

E-commerce

At the industry level, the e-commerce sector topped the list thanks to “Wing”, which received $ 75 million in the third round.

In addition e-commerce startups have attracted $ 119.5 million through 5 deals, which is 58% of the total contract value.

The food technology sector came in second with $ 24 million from 4 contracts, followed by the financial technology sector with $ 19 million from 8 deals..

Nationalities of Investors

Of the 44 deals, 12 have attracted external funding. Investors from the United States participated in nine deals, making them the most active foreign investor in startups in the MENA region, followed by two deals with their German counterparts.

Regionally, Saudi investors have been at the forefront, investing in 23 deals with start-ups outside Saudi Arabia..

Startups with all male founders accounted for the largest share of VC investments, earning $ 197 million through 38 deals, while startups with all female founders received $ 3 million, up from 1.5% of total investment, up 5% last month.

For start-ups co-founded by men and women, they received 3% of the investment.