MENA Startups Surge with $228M Funding Boom in April

Editorial Team

Last updated 7-05-2025

4 min

The MENA startup scene raised $228,4 million in April through 26 deals.

Investment confidence soared with equity financing taking the lead, notably in Saudi Arabia's $158,5 million.

Fintech maintained dominance, raising $44 million, while travel tech and SaaS made notable gains.

Investment leaned towards early-stage startups, notably favouring B2B models with $180 million.

Funding for female-founded startups was low, securing under $500,000 compared to male counterparts.

The startup scene in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) had quite the spring in its step this April, raising a hefty $228.4 million through 26 deals. That's a huge 105% jump compared to March and nearly triple the amount gathered in April of the previous year. Clearly, spring fever is well underway for investors in the region.

What's particularly striking about last month's activities is the complete lack of debt-financed deals. Instead, equity-based investing has taken centre stage, reflecting a renewed confidence in the area's economic outlook. In simple terms, it seems investors are finally ready to put their money where their mouths are and truly believe in the region's long-term prospects.

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Saudi Arabia proved the darling destination for investment yet again, pulling in a respectable $158.5 million from eight separate deals. A significant chunk came courtesy of iMENA Group's sizeable $135 million pre-IPO funding round, which certainly got tongues wagging. Meanwhile, the UAE wasn't far behind, with nine startups pocketing a combined $62 million.

A bit further afield, Morocco secured third place with two startups bringing in $4 million—a tidy sum that highlights its steady rise as a notable player in the MENA startup community. Unfortunately, Egypt experienced a quieter month, managing to rake in just $1.5 million across four deals.

When it comes to attracting investors, fintech companies still reign supreme, raising $44 million across seven transactions, proving yet again why digital finance is the hottest ticket in town right now. Interestingly, travel tech has also been turning heads lately—thanks largely to HRA Experience's recent big wins. And after being mostly quiet in the first quarter, SaaS startups dusted themselves off, coming back into the limelight to grab an encouraging $1.8 million across three deals. E-commerce, always buzzing away quietly in the background, brought in a modest $2.5 million across three companies.

The funding pattern in April was dominated by early-stage startups, which bagged a combined $49 million across 20 different investment transactions. Apart from iMENA’s large pre-IPO round, later-stage deals were thin on the ground, suggesting investors remain keen to nurture new players in the ecosystem.

However, the figures around female-founded startups remain concerning, dropping to under $500,000 last month. Of the total funding with disclosed details, male-only founding teams accounted for a whopping 97%, while mixed-gender founding teams managed to secure a better slice with $6.5 million going their way across three deals.

Digging in further, it seems Business-to-Business models (B2B) were the flavour of the month, capturing investors' imaginations and pocketing a hefty $180 million across 12 deals. Business-to-Consumer startups trailed behind with a still noteworthy $43 million raised from seven transactions. The remaining investments went into six startups blending both B2B and B2C models.

Reading between the lines (and the numbers), it's comforting to see the region's startup sector continuing to thrive. It reminds me a bit of Arageek analytics predicting this surge months ago—perhaps they knew something we didn't. But either way, it's nice to see optimism back at the investor table, helping the next generation of ambitious Middle Eastern entrepreneurs move one step closer to their goals, even if there's still plenty of work needed on the gender front.

Seeing so much activity got me craving a decent shawarma—perhaps investors celebrated their wins with a late-night snack too; after all, it's hard work spotting the next big unicorn amongst the herd. Either way, April has certainly provided food for thought.

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