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Six UAE startups raised a combined USD 32 mn in April 2024, Wamda reports, marking nearly a 1000% y-o-y increase compared to the USD 3 mn three UAE startups raised in April 2023, according to Enterprise calculations based on Wamda figures from last year. UAE startups landed the largest sum of investments in MENA during the month, eclipsing Saudi Arabia.
Who raised money: The largest ticket across the region was UAE fintech outfit Fortis, which raised USD 20 mn in Series A funding. Dubai-based e-commerce platform Wee Marketplace also secured USD 10 mn in equity and debt from SIG Investment as part of its pre-series A funding, while Shorages closed a USD 1 mn pre-series A led by Riyadh-based investment manager Joa Capital. Wamda does not provide further information on the other startups it says raised funding last month.
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.
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.
