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Three Saudi startups raised a combined USD 4.8 mn in April 2024, Wamda reports. That’s a 60% y-o-y increase compared to the USD 3 mn three Saudi startups raised in April 2023, according to Enterprise calculations based on Wamda figures from last year.
Who raised money: Homegrown B2B SaaS procurement platform Penny Software raised an undisclosed amount in a pre-series A funding led by Dubai-based venture capital firm Iliad Partners last month. Wamda does not provide further information on the two other startups it says raised funding last month.
A sharp decline on a monthly basis: Local startup investments dropped 97% m-o-m in April, after lining up USD 198 mn in funding in March from 25 transactions, including a USD 130 mn pre-IPO round for e-commerce app Salla. The weaker m-o-m figure is partially due to the base effect from a jump in investments made at tech event Leap 2024 in Riyadh.
THE REGIONAL PICTURE-
Investments in MENA startups rose 7x y-o-y to USD 55 mn in April, according to our math. Meanwhile, that figure shrank 78% on a monthly basis with startups landing USD 254 mn in March 2024.
UAE reclaims top position in April, eclipsing KSA: UAE-based startups raised a combined USD 32 mn across six transactions last month, followed by Egyptian companies, with five startups raising a combined USD 8.7 mn. UAE fintech Fortis Digital Solutions bagged the highest ticket of the monthat USD 20 mn in a series A round, followed by Dubai-based e-commerce platform Wee Marketplace at USD 10 mn in a pre-series A round. Tunisia’s AI company Qodek bagged USD 8 in series B funding.
Fintech is king: Four fintech companies from the region bagged USD 25.7 mn in April, followed by ecommerce at USD 10.5 mn, AI companies at USD 8 mn, and SaaS providers at USD 3.5 mn. The bulk of funding went to companies that are at stages beyond the seed level.
Investors are bullish on B2B startups, with USD 42.5 mn raised by B2B companies across 12 transactions, while B2B2C companies landed USD 11 mn, and those with a B2C model bagged USD 1.2 mn.
Only one female founder was funded in April with a slim USD 100k, while male-founded startups reeled in USD 43 mn during the month. The remaining USD 11.9 mn went towards startups with mixed-gender leadership.
