Saudi Arabia ranks top in Mena for venture capital investments
The Saudi venture capital market mirrored its performance in the first half of 2023
Dubai: Saudi Arabia leads the (Middle East and North Africa) Mena region in venture capital (VC) funding, securing approximately $412 million (Dh1.5 billion), in the first half of 2024, as reported by venture data platform, MAGNiTT.
The Saudi VC market mirrored its performance in the first half of 2023, with non-mega deals making up 68 per cent of the total investment value, a significant increase from 35 per cent in H1 2023, according to the report.
While the overall venture investment value in Saudi Arabia decreased by 7 per cent in the first of 2024, largely due to a 55 per cent decline year-on-year in mega deals, non-mega deals saw an 83 per cent increase, according to a report by Saudi financial news portal Argaam.com.
Despite a slight dip of 3 per cent year-on-year in the number of deals, Saudi Arabia maintained its dominant position in the Mena region for total venture investment value for the third consecutive half-year.
E-commerce and retail emerged as the leading sectors in Saudi Arabia, contributing 52 per cent to the total venture investments in the country, alongside significant contributions from the UAE and Egypt, which collectively accounted for 94 per cent of the Mena region's venture investment value in the first half of 2024.