🌏 MENA Startup Guide 2025: Funding, Trends & Unicorns

Everything founders need to know — region-wide + country spotlights, backed with data and insight.

👋🏽 Intro

Hey friends! It’s Lolita Taub from Ganas Ventures, here — traveling across MENA as part of the Ganas Global Tour. This guide? Community-built, scrappy, growing and shaped by early insights from sharp players like Hub71, Shorooq Partners, Oasis500, and Flat6Labs. And we’re just getting started.

Why MENA? Because this region isn’t just rising — it’s changing the game. From Abu Dhabi to Amman, Cairo to Casablanca, MENA is home to deep talent and a bold new generation of builders. In May 2025 alone, startups here raised $289 million across 44 deals. The digital economy is set to hit $200 billion this year, and IT spending is climbing to $230 billion. Backed by powerful sovereign wealth funds and a surge in tech adoption (digital subscriptions are about to surpass active users) MENA is quickly becoming one of the world’s most underrated startup hotspots. (Wamda, Redseer, x0pa)

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🧭 How to Use This Guide

• Founders: Find VCs, accelerators, coworking spaces, and peer communities
• Investors: Discover rising startups, valuation arbitrage, and fundable trends
• Ecosystem Builders: Learn where to build bridges whether via corporate pilots or hyper-local innovation hubs.

🌍 Region-Wide Analysis

• 2024 MENA startup funding is $2.3 billion across 610 deals. (Economy Middle East)
• H1 2025 Momentum: Startups raised $1.5B across 310 deals (+92% YoY) — the strongest first half since 2022.
• Country Leaders: UAE led with $1.1B (207 deals), followed by Saudi ($700M/186 deals), Egypt ($334M/84 deals). (Arab News, EME, Wamda)
• Sector Focus: Fintech (30% ~$700M), SaaS, Web3, proptech, medtech, B2B — Finance is still the dominant driver (Magnitt, Wamda)
• Scale Insights: Early-stage raised $1.2B in 2024; with Hub71 ecosystem in Abu Dhabi driving significant growth (Startup Scene)
• Unicorn Trajectory: Region has 15+ unicorns, with the region’s rapid growth and strong pipeline of “soonicorns.” (Entrepreneur)

💡 POV: MENA’s startup scene is accelerating. Startups raised $1.5B in H1 2025 (+92% YoY). Mid-stage Series A/B deals are driving growth, fintech funding tripled YoY, and mega-deals already surpassed 2024 totals. M&A also set records with 34 deals, more than all of FY 2024.

🏙️ Country Spotlights

🇦🇪 UAE: Regional Innovation Hub

• 2024 Funding: $1.1B over 207 deals — leading the region (Wamda)
• Hub71 Highlights: Raised AED 8B (~$2.17B) in 2024; startups generated $1.2B in revenue. (Inc)
• Startup stars: Careem (Super App, acquired by Uber), Astra Tech (UltraApp & fintech)
• Orgs: Hub71, AstroLabs, Astra Tech, FinTech Hive

💡 POV: The UAE remains MENA’s top magnet for founders. In 2024, startups raised $1.1B across 207 deals. In H1 2025, the UAE stayed a top-funded market, though for the first time Saudi Arabia matched its deal count. Add world-class infrastructure, 100% foreign ownership, zero-tax free zones, and the UAE’s #1 regional / #21 global ranking, and it remains the launchpad for scale and premium exits.

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🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia: Fintech & Digital Scaling

• H1 2025 Funding: $860M across 114 deals (+116% YoY) — matching the UAE in deal count for the first time.
• Growth Areas: SaaS, healthtech, and financial platforms (Bridge MENA)
  Signals: Gov-led accelerator investment and Open Innovation programs (Enterprise)
• Saudi Arabia Vision 2030: $250M program to support startups building in AI, robotics, blockchain and other deeptech.
• Humain: $10B+ AI venture studio backed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) to establish global AI leadership.
• Startup Stars: Salla (SaaS E-Commerce Provider) secured $130 million in a pre-IPO investment round led by Investcorp, Sanabil Investment and STV. (Wamda)
• Regulatory Sandboxes: Communications, Space & Technology Commission (CST) launched a “sandbox” program to enable startups to iterate in a relaxed regulatory setting. Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) and Capital Market Authority (CMA) also offer a “regulatory sandbox” allowing companies to test innovative financial solutions.

💡 POV: Saudi Arabia’s sovereign-backed push is delivering results. In H1 2025, startups raised $860M across 114 deals (+116% YoY), matching the UAE in deal count for the first time. Mega-deals and sovereign wealth–backed fintech and SaaS plays are cementing Saudi as MENA’s fastest-rising hub.

🇯🇴 Jordan: Startup Ecosystem Workhorse

• Deal size & growth: Smaller deals but consistent ecosystem with Oasis500, Flat6 Labs, Queen Rania programs. (Rasmal)
• Talent density: One of the most educated refugee-inclusive tech hubs. (Rasmal)

💡 POV: Jordan’s startup scene is steady and growing, backed by programs like Oasis500 and Flat6 Labs. With a young, educated, and refugee-inclusive talent pool, plus a $100M government tech fund and strong international support, funding has jumped 500% since 2021. It’s a solid beta market with tight-knit talent and great ROI on support. (Jordan Startup Expo, Economy Middle East)

☕️ Meet us at our Amman Ganas Coffee event here.

🇪🇬 Egypt: Rising Tech Base

• 2025 Funding: $228M across in 16 deals (Egypt Innovate, Statista)
• Sector picks: Fintech, IT Solutions (Magnitt)
• Opportunity: Young population (over 60% under 30), emerging SaaS & payments adoption. (Magnitt)

💡 POV: Egypt provides home market scale and gateway to North Africa/MENA expansion. Capital-light product models can scale fast in a 116 million+ population with a median age of 24.5 years — one of the youngest large markets globally. (Worldometer)

🇧🇭Bahrain: The Agile Oasis

• 2024 Funding: Startup ecosystem value reached $1.2B, with strong growth (13% YoY). (Arab Founders, The Daily Tribune)
• Regulatory Sandboxes: Bahrain Central Bank (CBB) pioneered the GCC’s first onshore fintech sandbox, with relaxed, innovation-friendly conditions for local and international startups to experiment and iterate across payments, blockchain, open banking, and more (CBB,Startup Baharain)
• Verticals: Fintech, AI, Cybersecurity, Regtech (Bahrain Gov)

💡POV: Bahrain’s startup ecosystem is buoyed by regulatory innovation, world-class infrastructure, and robust tech talent, making it a regional hub for fintech and AI. Proactive regulation and government-backed accelerators provide a launchpad for startups to scale across the GCC, with easy access to funding, mentoring, and market entry advantages. Bahrain’s sandbox programs and SME funds, coupled with a forward-looking digital policy, position it as one of MENA’s fastest-growing and most open fintech labs.

🇲🇦 Morocco: North Africa’s Rising Startup Hub

• 2024 Funding: $94.96M across ~40 deals — nearly 3x YoY (Atlas Think Tank) (TechAfricaNews)
• Regulatory Sandboxes: Fintech Support Center launched in 2025; Woliz & Hsabati selected for Visa Africa Fintech Accelerator (NorthAfricaPost)
• Verticals: TravelTech, Fintech, SaaS, e-commerce (TechAfricaNews)
• Flagship Startup: ORA — $7.5M Series A (July 2025, Azur Innovation Fund), $11.9M total; Moroccan “superapp” for P2P, e-commerce, food delivery, chat (FintechNews Africa)
• Financial Inclusion: 44% adults had formal accounts in 2023 (up from 29% in 2017); target 75% by 2030. Sendwave via Chaabi Cash Oct 2023 (UNSGSA / Sendwave)
• Digital Morocco 2030: Official strategy launched Sept 2024 (Government PDF) (TechAfricaNews)

💡 POV: Morocco’s ecosystem is scaling fast. Startup funding nearly tripled in 2024 to ~$95M, powered by Nuitée’s $48M and ORA’s $7.5M. Public programs like Digital Morocco 2030 (target: 3,000 startups, 240K jobs, 100B MAD GDP boost by 2030) and Innov Invest are building a strong pipeline. With GITEX Africa’s global stage and regulatory enablers, Morocco is cementing its place as North Africa’s emerging tech hub.

🚨 Signals We’re Watching

• Equity recovery vs. debt slowdown — equity deals rising. H1 2025 mega-deals already exceeded 2024 totals, and 34 M&A transactions set a record, surpassing last year’s full count.
• Fintech dominance continues (>30% of funding). (MAGNiTT)
• Hub71 revenue/program scale continues at 44% YoY growth. (Fintech Times)
• MENA projected to produce hundreds of unicorns/soonicorns by 2030. (Arabian Business)

🌍 Why MENA Demands Attention

• Investor momentum amid global dip = smart timing
• Hub71’s success = a blueprint for other ecosystems
• Sovereign wealth and public investment = structural capital
• Underserved fintech & B2B needs = product-market fit potential
• Future IPO / exit corridors through SPACs, Nasdaq, London

👀 Founders & Startups to Watch

• Sarwa (UAE): Digital wealth management app with highly intuitive UX; bridging retail users to inexpensive robo-advisory tools
• Barq EV (UAE): Electric delivery bikes optimized for urban logistics and extreme climates
• Ogram (UAE): On-demand gig workforce platform, rapidly scaling in hospitality & logistics.
• Altibbi (Jordan/UAE): Arabic telehealth platform, used by millions across the region
• Lucidya (Saudi Arabia): AI-powered customer experience management, recognized as Saudi’s #1 startup on LinkedIn
• Rain (Bahrain/UAE): GCC’s first licensed crypto exchange, raised $110M Series B
• CardoO (Egypt): IoT wearables startup, raised seed funding in 2023
• Chari (Morocco): North Africa B2B grocery marketplace, serving 20k+ shops.
• Tamarran (Bahrain): Digital sports booking and management platform connecting gyms, clubs, and fitness enthusiasts across the GCC.
• CoinMENA (Bahrain): a Sharia-compliant crypto-assets trading platform where users can buy, sell, store, and receive digital assets safely and securely. CoinMENA has secured $9.5M in its first seed funding round
• Lean Technologies (Saudi Arabia): provides the infrastructure for open-banking in Saudi Arabia and the wider MENA region. Lean Technologies offers secure APIs that allow developers of fintech apps and other businesses to connect directly to users’ bank accounts.
• Rize (Saudi Arabia): a real estate tech (proptech) startup that allows users to pay rent in monthly installments instead of paying a full year rent upfront, while ensuring that landlords receive the full annual rent.
• Cryptostash (UAE): The first tangible crypto gift card in MENA, bridging physical retail and Web3. Users can buy secure voucher cards in-store (Retail), activate them online, and instantly redeem Bitcoin, Ethereum, and more — no prior wallet needed.
• Nuitée (Morocco): $48M Series A, largest deal, >53% of 2024 funding.
• Chari (Morocco): B2B e-commerce & fintech platform; by mid-2024 served 15,000 shopkeepers with delivery + Karny fintech app.

💰 Who’s Investing in MENA

• 500 Global MENA (MENA): Global VC arm focused on MENA; 260+ deals since 2012
• Flat6Labs (MENA): Leading MENA seed fund; 100+ investments, over $95 M deployed
• Falak Startups (Egypt): Early‑stage accelerator; 70+ investments in tech, backed by Egypt Ventures
• Wadi Accelerator (Oman): Govt‑backed seed program; seeded ~19 startups to follow‑on rounds
• Shorooq Partners (UAE): Early‑stage VC focusing fintech & SaaS; active in 2024–25
• MEVP (MENA): MENA VC investing across fintech, SaaS, and marketplaces
• Raed Ventures (Saudi Arabia): backing bold founders across the GCC
• Wamda Capital (MENA): Scaling high-growth startups across MENA
• BECO Capital (UAE): Early backer of Careem, Kitopi, and Property Finder
• STV (Saudi Technology Ventures) (Saudi Arabia): One of the largest independent VCs in MENA (~$500M AUM), backing growth-stage tech champions.
• Merak Capital (Saudi Arabia): Tech-focused VC known for its gaming fund.
• SVC (Saudi Venture Capital Company) (Saudi Arabia): A government-backed fund of funds, channeling capital into Saudi Arabia.
• Khwarizmi Ventures (Saudi Arabia): Early-stage VC investing across MENA.
• UM6P Ventures (Morocco): Venture arm of Mohammed VI Polytechnic, backing Moroccan startups in deeptech and digital.
• Maroc Numeric Fund (Morocco): Tech-venture fund (MNF I & II) investing in Moroccan startups and diaspora.
• CDG Invest — 212 Founders (Morocco): Program under Morocco’s sovereign wealth arm, financing seed to Series A startups.
• Innov Invest Fund (Morocco): $50M World Bank-backed fund supporting early-stage Moroccan startups and SMEs.

🚀 Accelerators + Ecosystem Builders

• 500 Global Sanabil Accelerator: 12‑week program for early-traction founders in MENA, offering one-on-one mentorship and culminating in a Riyadh demo day.
• Flat6Labs: Pan‑MENA accelerator combining equity investment with hands-on mentorship.
• Kickstart Bahrain: Bahrain-based incubator & coworking hub with edtech and fintech tracks.
• Founder Institute MENA: Pre‑seed global accelerator running 3–4 local cycles/year to turn ideas into fundable startups.
• Visa Everywhere Initiative: Regional fintech pitch competition in partnership with EMIs, connecting startups to a global payments ecosystem.

💬 Events & Communities

• RiseUp Summit (Egypt): Cairo’s flagship startup event, drawing around 7,000 attendees annually
• Dubai FinTech Summit: Massive regional fintech innovation event with 7,000+ global leaders and 8,000+ visitors
• TechCrunch Startup Battlefield MENA: Investor‑focused pitch competition spotlighting top MENA startups
• Founder Institute MENA: Virtual bootcamps and regular community meetups for pre‑seed founders across the region
• GITEX Africa: 1,500+ exhibitors from 130+ countries in 2024

🏢 Co-Working & Founder Hubs

• Dubai/UAE: AstroLabs, in5, Dynamo
• Abu Dhabi: Hub71, Cylab
• Riyadh: Flat6Labs Riyadh
• Jeddah: King’s Road Tower
• Cairo: The Greek Campus, Flat6Labs Cairo
• Manama: bHIVE, Altitude

🔥 Ganas POV + Local Takes

“MENA’s fintech sector pulled in over $1 billion in Q1 2025, AI startups like The Applied AI Company raised $55 million recently, and logistics players are expanding fast. With $1.5 billion in public-private funding flowing in early 2025, this isn’t just opportunistic — it’s foundational.” — Lolita Taub, Ganas Ventures

📚 Further Reading & Resources

• MAGNiTT Accelerator Report 2025: Catalog of the top 500+ accelerators operating across MENA. (Magnitt)
• MENA 2025 Fintech Report: Highlights BNPL, payments infrastructure, and digital banks as the top three high-growth fintech verticals. (Whitesight)
• Forbes Middle East: Top Startups to Watch in the Arab World: Curated list spotlighting high-potential emerging ventures across the region (Qatar CMU)
• Tech in Africa North Africa Overview — Profiles the top 10 emerging startups driving innovation in North Africa (Tech in Africa)

☕ Next Moves

✅ Join the Ganas Global Community here.
✅ Follow the Ganas Tour by subscribing to Lolita’s Newsletter.
✅ Sign-up to our Ganas Ventures Calendar here and RSVP for our events (e.g., Amman, Dubai).

🙌🏽 Community Contributors

This guide was built with early input from Meetash “Max” Narayan and Paolo Ottaviani (Ganas Ventures), Salma Alheraiqi (King & Spalding), Raphael Scalise (Cryptostash), Khadija Idrissi Janati (ESPOD), and more!

🦄 About

Ganas Global Tour: The Ganas Global Tour is our boots-on-the-ground initiative to connect with local startup ecosystems, amplify underrepresented voices, and co-create the future of venture — one region at a time. From founder coffees to ecosystem guides, we’re building the relationships that will shape the Ganas Global Fund. Learn more here and join the Ganas Global Community!

Ganas Ventures & Lolita Taub: Ganas Ventures is a Latina-led VC investing in early-stage software startups across the U.S. and LATAM. Led by Lolita Taub — a Silicon Valley veteran with 100+ investments, $70M+ in tech sales, and multiple exits — we back underestimated founders building category-defining companies. Recognized by Forbes, Nasdaq, LAVCA and more. Learn more about Ganas and Lolita at ganas.vc.