20% rise in Middle East late-stage venture capital funding despite global decline

Late-stage venture capital funding for startups in the Middle East and North Africa has grown 20% year-on-year so far in 2023, new data shows, whereas global funding activity of this type has seen a 49% decline from last year.

Late-stage investments occur after a VC-backed business has developed its product and demonstrated that there is market appetite for it and it has strong revenues. They often come just before the VC company sells its stake in the business to a private investor or on the stock markets via an initial public offering.

The data from a new venture capital funding report by the Dubai-based data company MAGNiTT found that MENA startups raised $643 million in late-stage funding during the first six months of 2023, with 85% of the deals exceeding $100 million.

The MENA region reported a 20% annualized growth in late-stage funding since 2018, signaling a robust growth trajectory in the region.