{"id":115905,"date":"2026-06-19T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-06-19T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/menaplus\/?p=115905"},"modified":"2026-06-19T07:50:44","modified_gmt":"2026-06-19T07:50:44","slug":"a-regional-reshuffle-of-menas-startup-fortunes-sees-gulf-capital-dominating-as-new-challengers-emerge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/menaplus\/2026\/06\/19\/a-regional-reshuffle-of-menas-startup-fortunes-sees-gulf-capital-dominating-as-new-challengers-emerge\/","title":{"rendered":"A regional reshuffle of MENA's startup fortunes sees Gulf capital dominating as new challengers emerge"},"content":{"rendered":"

MENA startups had a record year in 2025, but the regional landscape is being redrawn<\/strong> as the money pools in fewer places and smaller hubs are upsetting the status quo. According to Wamda\u2019s annual investment report<\/a>, 647 startups across the region raised a combined USD 7.5 bn last year, a 225% jump in total funding value and the strongest performance on record. <\/p>\n

While the topline figure is impressive, the underlying data shows a lot more capital <\/strong>consolidation<\/strong>, particularly in Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Last year, the UAE and Saudi Arabia together accounted for some 86% of total startup funding in the region. \u201cA couple of years earlier, that 86% was coming from three countries combined,\u201d Magnitt Research Director Farah El Nahlawi tells EnterpriseAM. <\/p>\n

The concentration is only half the story:<\/strong> As the two Gulf countries take the lead in funding values, the region\u2019s former leader, Egypt, has stumbled, and a new tier of smaller markets \u2014 led by Morocco \u2014 is positioning to take its place. The result is a market that is both more concentrated and more contested than the record topline suggests.<\/p>\n

The record-year momentum carried into 2026, though at a more measured pace.<\/strong> The region drew USD 492.6 mn in capital in 1Q 2026, down from USD 3 bn a year earlier, with venture capital making up the bulk of it, according to GPCA data shared with EnterpriseAM. Regional investors are doing most of the work, participating in 64% of deals last year, according to Wamda, though the region splits on its appetite for foreign capital, with Saudi Arabia leaning less on international investors than the UAE.<\/p>\n

Hardly homogeneous <\/p>\n

MENA\u2019s<\/strong><\/a><\/strong>startup market<\/a><\/strong> has never moved as one, and the divides are sharpening as it <\/strong>grows.<\/strong> Its biggest cities now show up in the global rankings: Tel Aviv, Dubai, Riyadh and Abu Dhabi lead the region, with Cairo and Casablanca behind them, according to Startup Genome's <\/a>2026 Global Startup Ecosystem Report<\/a>, which places several MENA hubs in the top 40 of its Global Leaders list and the top 200 of its Emerging Ecosystems list.<\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe you could say there are four different regions in MENA.<\/strong> There is the Maghreb \u2014 Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria \u2014 and then there is Egypt. Egypt is kind of its own thing. Then there is the Levant \u2014 Jordan, Syria, Lebanon \u2014 and you have the GCC,\u201d Jeff Schlapinski, managing director of research at GPCA, tells EnterpriseAM.<\/p>\n

\u201cSince 2023, the UAE and Saudi [have been] the leaders. Then you have Egypt, followed <\/strong>by Jordan, Morocco, and Tunisia.<\/strong> Below that, you have Lebanon, Bahrain, Iraq, and Oman, and then a step down before you get to Algeria and Palestine,\u201d Schlapinski says.<\/p>\n

What separates these blocs is, increasingly, money.<\/strong> The Gulf\u2019s dominance is underwritten by sovereign wealth \u2014 state-backed funds in the UAE and Saudi Arabia have poured capital into the venture space and drawn in international investors behind them. By Wamda\u2019s count, Saudi Arabia was the most funded in 2025, followed by the UAE, with Egypt a distant third. <\/p>\n

Egypt\u2019s explosive rise and teetering fall\u2026<\/p>\n

No country illustrates the re-sorting better than Egypt, which not long ago led the region.<\/strong> Egypt closed more deals than any other MENA country in 2022, according to Magnitt data<\/a>, with fintech being the crown jewel. Then the top three spots reshuffled, and the UAE and Saudi Arabia pulled ahead.<\/p>\n

The collapse in transaction sizes was stark.<\/strong> \u201cIn 2020 and 2021, some strong Egyptian startups were getting term sheets for anywhere between USD 10-50 mn, but a lot of USD 20-30 mn discussions were going on from international investors. From 2022 to 2024, these same companies were starting to raise USD 1-2 mn,\u201d Algebra Ventures Managing Partner Tarek Assaad tells EnterpriseAM. Much of the capital that remained came from Gulf investors, who took over the market for seed, pre-series A, and series A funding.<\/p>\n

A sharp devaluation of the EGP in the years since its startup scene peaked and global<\/strong> fiscal tightening converged into what Assaad describes as a \u201cdouble whammy,\u201d<\/strong> with liquidity draining out around 2022<\/a>. \u201cBy 2024, everyone exited; liquidity dried up. Between 2024 and 2025, geopolitical conflicts started, bringing massive issues, so everyone halted funding and stopped high valuations. There was no engine for growth,\u201d says Seif Bahgat, director of strategic partnerships at Sanad and a program manager at Flat6Labs.<\/p>\n

Egypt has since steadied, but at a far lower altitude.<\/strong> \u201cThere\u2019s movement \u2014 healthy movement \u2014 but it\u2019s neither the crazy high of 2020-2021 nor the crazy low of 2022-2023,\u201d Bahgat says. The damage shows most at the earliest-stage startups: \u201cWe are not seeing innovative startups like before, so a seed investor does not have a large pool of options today,\u201d he tells us. \u201cBy 2025, seed funding had dropped so low it was practically non-existent. Now, it is starting to return through individuals and angel investors, but there is no dedicated entity focusing on seed investment because it is a very risky level of investment.\u201d<\/p>\n

The pressure has also pushed founders out the proverbial door:<\/strong> More Egyptian startups are now incorporating in regional hubs like Abu Dhabi, or in Delaware, to escape slower bureaucracy and clunky banking at home.<\/p>\n

\n

\u2026and Morocco\u2019s rise to fame <\/p>\n

As Egypt slid, Morocco climbed.<\/strong> Within North Africa, it has drawn the most investor interest, positioning it as one of the most funded ecosystems in the region and, for stretches of 2025, lifting it ahead of Egypt in monthly rankings, according to Wamda\u2019s 2025 year in review<\/a>. Tunisia, Algeria, and Libya trail well behind.<\/p>\n

\u201cMorocco is probably the farthest ahead with some of their initiatives and the support of <\/strong>local investors.<\/strong> I\u2019m thinking of local ins. groups and asset managers that are active in the public markets there, alongside support from the government,\u201d Schlapinski says.<\/p>\n

That mix of exceptional talent and a welcoming investment environment is what drew <\/strong>Algebra Ventures into the market<\/strong>, and what Middle East Venture Partners (MEVP), one of the region's oldest institutional venture firms, is betting on. \u201cWe love to enter ecosystems early, right when we think they are about to grow. Morocco is now ready for scale-up, so we want to be among the first funds to invest in that stage there,\u201d MEVP co-founder and co-CEO Walid Mansour tells EnterpriseAM.<\/p>\n

The marquee case is <\/strong>DeepEcho<\/a><\/strong>, which Assaad says \u201cis considering literally everywhere <\/strong>in the world as potential expansion markets<\/strong> because they have very unique technology.\u201d DeepEcho is an AI-first healthtech startup that was recently awarded FDA approval for its AI-powered fetal ultrasound. Algebra Ventures backed the startup in 2023. <\/p>\n

The emergence of new corridors <\/p>\n

If the map is fragmenting, it is also reconnecting along new lines \u2014 and the most <\/strong>promising of them runs between Egypt and Morocco.<\/strong> \u201cWe see a big opportunity for a corridor between Egypt and Morocco. We see Egyptian startups going to Morocco \u2014 many from our portfolio, like Dsquares<\/a> and Convertedin<\/a>, are already there, and there are several others exploring the market. We also expect Moroccan companies to come to Egypt as well,\u201d Assaad says.<\/p>\n

The two hubs are complementary.<\/strong> Egypt is older and more mature; Morocco is still building, but with crucial advantages. \u201cOne key difference is the currency has been much more stable in Morocco than it has been in Egypt,\u201d Assaad notes, adding that Morocco\u2019s links to Europe and to Francophone Africa make it a natural bridge between markets. Egypt, in turn, offers scale: \u201cEgypt has a large population, a low-cost base for serving other markets, and deep technical expertise. You have potentially significant upside if you can hedge against macro risks. In my view, these are both very attractive long-term opportunities because in Egypt, the growth potential is massive.\u201d<\/p>\n

The convergence is already underway on both sides.<\/strong> \u201cIt\u2019s happening at the startup level and at the investment level,\u201d Assaad says. \u201cAlgebra invested in Morocco, Flat6Labs has been there for a while, so there\u2019s that movement.\" Moroccan capital is flowing the other way too: Al Mada<\/a> Ventures, one of the largest private investment funds in Africa, and Akwa Group<\/a>, one of Morocco\u2019s largest conglomerates, have both invested in Egypt.<\/p>\n

Pressure points<\/p>\n

While the regional war <\/strong>may squeeze startup funding<\/a><\/strong>, there are other challenges to <\/strong>grapple with beyond geopolitics.<\/strong> El Nahlawi flags three major pressure points: Global venture capital slowing, particularly among investors who were only beginning to eye the region; a sluggish graduation rate from early stage to series A, which has averaged 6-7% over the past decade and where the UAE leads; and a recalibration of sovereign support as the countries most affected by the war redirect tightening revenues. <\/p>\n

Some downplay the geopolitical impact on funding.<\/strong> \u201cFor many of the global investors who have set up shop in the region, the playbook is probably largely the same because the policy of local policymakers and their agenda is clear. They want to support economic diversification, innovation, and bringing in technologies from outside into the region,\" Schlapinski says. <\/p>\n

What will shift is the spending mix:<\/strong> \u201cThere\u2019s going to be a concerted effort to rebuild infrastructure, invest more in defensive capabilities, and potentially focus on local sourcing for some of those things. Some of the smaller economies in the region specifically targeted by the conflict will have to invest in recovery and rebuilding.\u201d MEVP\u2019s Mansour reports no notable change either \u2014 roughly 70-80% of the capital raised for the firm\u2019s Fund IV came from international investors.<\/p>\n

\n

What now? <\/p>\n

The next chapter may belong to the smaller players.<\/strong> Morocco, Jordan, Lebanon, and Tunisia are increasingly seen as the markets to watch. \u201cIn smaller countries, the value of the VC space and the tech ecosystem is starting to become more visible,\u201d El Nahlawi says.<\/p>\n

But visibility is not yet leverage.<\/strong> The Gulf still commands the overwhelming share of the region\u2019s capital, and nothing in the 2025 numbers suggests that balance is about to tip. The likelier near-term map has two dominant poles in Riyadh and the UAE, ringed by a widening field of smaller hubs, from Casablanca to Amman, each angling to become the region\u2019s new third center of gravity. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Egypt led the region not long ago. Now it's defending third place<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":115906,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"newspack_ads_suppress_ads":false,"newspack_popups_has_disabled_popups":false,"newspack_sponsor_sponsorship_scope":"","newspack_sponsor_native_byline_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_native_category_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_style":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_placement":"inherit","ep_exclude_from_search":false,"_primary_brand":0,"newspack_featured_image_position":"","newspack_post_subtitle":"","newspack_article_summary_title":"Overview:","newspack_article_summary":"","newspack_hide_updated_date":false,"newspack_show_updated_date":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2608],"tags":[2538,2694,2799,2768,2607,2824],"brand":[],"newspack_spnsrs_tax":[],"class_list":["post-115905","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-lede","tag-enterpriseam","tag-investments","tag-pe","tag-startups","tag-the-lede","tag-vc","wpautop","entry"],"acf":{"mongo_id":"a4c2bf02-ed36-41d8-a523-94b30153cc14","order":"2","is_powered_by":false,"story_type":"1","photo_url":"https:\/\/ent.news\/2026\/6\/1071.jpg","photo_position":"above","homepage_title":"","full_issue_title":"A narrowing map","related_issue":[115902],"teaser":"Egypt led the region not long ago. 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