Dubai-based research platform Magnitt says Saudi Arabian startups raised more than a quarter of a billion dollars in venture capital (VC) funding during the first half of 2021, as the Kingdom looks to continue to develop entrepreneurship within its borders.
Magnitt says that VC funding in MENA increased by 12% from FY’20, “marking a quarterly and half-yearly record high level of capital deployed. VC funding in H1’21 also saw a 64% increase YoY, according to the group.
A Saudi woman uses her phone in the Kingdom.
The UAE led investment growth by number of deals and funding, acquiring 61% of all MENA investments. Together, the top 3 MENA Hubs, UAE, Egypt, and KSA, accumulated 71% of capital deployed, Magnitt said.
“It’s also important to note that within this top three ranking, Egypt was the only geography to observe a deal count increase year on year, while Saudi Arabia has almost closed the deal count gap with UAE from 44 deals in 2020 to just an 11-deal difference in H1 2021,” the report said.
The H1 2021 Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Venture Report is one of MAGNiTT’s flagship reports that provides a bi-annual update on the venture capital and startup ecosystems in the MENA region.
“The entrepreneurship environment in Saudi Arabia is growing so fast to the point that you have got to hold on to your seat. It is growing exponentially,” Wassim Basrawi, former managing director of the Saudi Aramco Entrepreneurship Center (Wa’ed), told Arab News in an interview. “I think what we are going to see next year is different from what we saw last year, it is so fast that it does not compare to the last 10 years, not even close.”
