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Saudi and the UAE accounted for 68% of MENA-based venture investors in 1H 2024, contributing to 8% y-o-y growth in the number of local investors in the region, according to Magnitt’s 1H 2024 MENA Investor Ranking here and here (pdf). The Kingdom had four investors among MENA’s top 10 most active by transaction count.
International investors pile in: The number of global investors active in VC transactions in the region rose 75% y-o-y during the first six months of the year, buoyed by investments in the UAE and Saudi, Magnitt said. MENA was the only region among emerging venture markets to see investor number growth during the period.
Saudi’s most funded sectors: E-commerce continues to lead the pack with USD 215 mn despite a 40% y-o-y drop. Coming in second is fintech with USD 62 mn (up 360%), transport and logistics with USD 45 mn (up 275%), agriculture with USD 16 mn, and food and beverages with USD 14 mn (up 67%). Agriculture jumped 12 spots to become the fourth-most VC funded industry in the Kingdom, driven by a single USD 16 mn series A round for the agritech startup Iyris (formerly RedSea), in May.
PIF-owned Sanabil Investments emerged as the top investor across MENA in terms of deployed capital in 1H 2024, investing USD 57.3 mn in two Saudi-based startups (Oto and SiFi). California-based VC firm 500 Global was the most active by agreement count at 16 investments.
Shifts in regional investor composition: VC investments continue to dominate the regional startup ecosystem, comprising 53% of the investor base in 1H 2024, up from 47% in 2022, suggesting a robust environment for early-stage ventures. Investment companies now make up 19% of all investors in regional startups (up from 10% in 2020), while the share of corporate investors declined, with that trend possibly creating gaps in funding for late-stage startups. Additionally, the share of accelerator investments fell to its lowest in a decade at 9% in 1H 2024, down from 15% in 1H 2023, indicating a growing disposition towards direct investment.
