Egyptian startups topped the list of companies that concluded the most financing deals in 2022, according to the Magnet report on risk investment.
Egyptian startups were able to conclude 160 investment deals, down 3% from 2021. Emirati companies came in second place with 153 deals, a decline of 11% from 2021.
Saudi companies ranked third in terms of the number of deals, with 144 deals, a decline of 3%.
According to the report, Egyptian startups achieved a slight growth in the volume of funds attracted in 2022 compared to the previous year.
Egyptian companies were able to attract $517m in financing in 2022, a growth of 3% over the previous year.
Emirati companies were able to attract $1.19bn in funding, with a decline of 20%, to remain the largest financing share in the Middle East and North Africa.
Saudi companies ranked second in terms of the value of financing, after attracting $987m, with a growth of 72% over 2021.
According to the Magnet report, startups in the Middle East and North Africa managed to raise $3bn funding in 2022 through 627 deals.
The number of deals concluded in the region decreased by 8% compared to 2021.
The report indicated an increase in the volume of financing compared to 2021, by 10%.
The report said that global markets were affected by the stock market collapse, inflation, and high interest rates, which affected investment capital activity by the end of 2021.
Globally, funding in the first quarter of 2022 was down 20% sequentially, according to Crunchbase.
As a result, the first quarter in the Middle East and North Africa region ended with fundraising amounting to about 30% of the total financing registered by region throughout 2022.
The economic slowdown in emerging markets over the past few quarters was evident when the second quarter in the MENA region saw deals decline by 23%.
Startups in the MENA region recorded seven rounds of more than $100m the year that accounted for 32% of the total capital deployed in the region.
The average financing round size in the Middle East and North Africa region increased to $5.8m, a growth of 18% year-on-year.
Despite global economic pressures, venture capital has grown, albeit slightly, over the past year. The funding attracted by startups grew to record $3.1bn in 2022, compared to $2.9bn in 2021.
However, if we look at the sequence of growth in the financing of these companies in the Middle East and North Africa, we will find that 2022 is the least in terms of growth on an annual basis.
In 2021, the growth rate was 100% larger than 2022 financing of about $1.06bn. Perhaps this is due to investments related to Coronavirus in 2020.
Startups’ funding in 2019 was about $923m, and $863m in 2018.
