The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) startup ecosystem experienced a substantial boost in February 2025, with startups across the region raising a total of $494 million through 58 funding deals, according to Wamda. This figure marks a significant increase compared to the same period last year, nearly quintupling the total investment secured in February 2024.
Debt financing, which accounted for 90% of total funding in January, saw a considerable decline in February, representing only 15% of the overall investment. When excluding debt financing from both months, February registered a 371% month-on-month increase in funding activity, highlighting a significant surge in equity-based investments.
Among MENA countries, Saudi Arabia led in February, securing $250.3 million across 25 deals. This surge was partially influenced by the LEAP 2025 conference, where numerous startups announced their closed deals. The UAE followed, with 15 startups raising $203.5 million, while Egypt secured $27.5 million across eight deals.
The fintech sector dominated fundraising efforts, attracting $274 million across 15 deals. Insurtech followed with $55 million in two deals, and the logistics sector secured $28.5 million through four deals.
Later-stage funding rounds were notable in February. Buy-now-pay-later platform Tabby raised $160 million in Series E funding, while e-commerce platform Ula and customer engagement firm Merit Incentives each secured $28 million in Series B rounds. Additionally, fintech companies Taager and Khazna closed pre-Series B rounds, raising $6.7 million and $16 million, respectively.
Pre-seed stage startups also saw significant activity, with 15 startups collectively raising $22 million. Series A stage startups attracted $158 million across seven rounds, and 10 seed-stage startups garnered $27.8 million.
Business-to-business (B2B) startups led in funding, securing $191.6 million through 33 transactions. Business-to-consumer (B2C) startups raised $138.5 million across 18 deals, while six startups operating in both domains obtained $164 million.
Startups led by male founders garnered the majority of investments, receiving $429 million, accounting for 87% of the total investment for the month. Startups with female founders received $200,000, with the remaining amount invested in startups co-founded by both genders.
These figures underscore the growing investor confidence and dynamic expansion within the MENA startup ecosystem, particularly in the fintech, insurtech, and logistics sectors.
