Saudi Arabia achieves first rank across MENA for the first time in terms of the amount of Venture Capital (VC) funding in 2023, according to MAGNiTT, the MENA-based venture data platform. This historic achievement reflects the development the Kingdom is witnessing in various economic and financial sectors in light of the Saudi Vision 2030 and its goals to strengthen the national economy.The Kingdom captured the highest share of total VC funding in the MENA region in 2023, accounting for 52% of the total capital deployed in the region, up from 31% in 2022. The funding deployed into Saudi Arabian startups grew by 33% in 2023 versus 2022. This confirms the attractiveness of the Saudi market, enhances its competitive environment, and consolidates the strength of the Kingdom’s economy as the largest economy in MENA, and its leading position globally as a G20 country, and a member of the “BRICS” group, which represents one of the strongest economic blocs in the world.Dr. Nabeel Koshak, CEO and Board Member at SVC, commented: “The Kingdom’s leading position in the VC scene in the region comes as a result of the many governmental initiatives launched to stimulate the VC and startups ecosystem within the Saudi Vision 2030 programs, and the development of the legislative and regulatory environment for the ecosystem, in addition to the emergence of active investors from the private sector as well as innovative entrepreneurs”.He further added: “We are proud that SVC’s strategy contributed to the development of the VC ecosystem in the Kingdom, as it was ranked fourth in the region in terms of the amount of VC funding in 2018, to be the top country in the region in 2023. The funding deployed into Saudi Arabian startups grew 21 times in 2023 versus 2018, the year SVC was launched. We at SVC are committed to continuing to lead the development of the VC ecosystem in Saudi Arabia through stimulating private investors to provide support in turn for startups and SMEs to be capable of fast and high growth, leading to diversifying the national economy and achieving the goals of the Saudi Vision 2030”.SVC is an investment company established in 2018. It is a subsidiary of the SME Bank, one of the development banks affiliated with the National Development Fund. SVC aims to stimulate and sustain financing for startups and SMEs from pre-Seed to pre-IPO through investment in funds and co-investment in startups and SMEs.

Raiven Capital today announced the launch of a new venture capital fund with a target size of USD125 mn in Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), the leading global financial hub in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia (MEASA) region. The fund will focus on founders developing tech in Artificial Intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT) and Distributed Ledger Tech, with a particular emphasis on digital platforms disrupting value chains in FinTech, cybersecurity and sustainability-focused sectors.  Investing in innovation in early and growth-stage tech companies in the GCC, South Asia, and North East Africa and enabling them to blossom into leaders by connecting them to markets and capital pools in Europe and North America, via Raiven’s new Dubai hub, is what we are most excited about, noted General Partner, Raiven Capital, Paul Dugsin.“The fund will serve the needs of the local startup ecosystem, enabling them to become regional and global competitors, while at the same time, Raiven’s existing community of startups and investors will now have access to all advantages of the Middle East and the broader region that arcs between East Africa to India for their own ventures.”Arif Amiri, Chief Executive Officer, DIFC Authority, said: “We welcome Raiven Capital to DIFC. Raiven’s focus on nurturing early and growth-stage AI, IoT and distributed ledger tech startups through the launch of this new venture capital fund shows strong confidence in Dubai’s economy, talent-base and future-forward entrepreneurial ecosystem. The firm’s presence in DIFC will not only benefit the local startup community in taking the future of tech to new heights, but also provide Raiven’s global network of founders and partners with access to a wealth of resources in the MEASA region and beyond.”General Partner, Raiven Capital, Supreet Manchanda noted the fervour around Dubai’s ecosystem and the opportunities it presents: “We are thrilled to be in a place growing exponentially. Founders are eager to contribute to global innovation. The government’s robust support for entrepreneurship is impressive, and unlike any other place at this time. We look forward to meeting the best and brightest in Dubai and DIFC in particular. There are great things ahead.”The Toronto-based fund is creating bridges between its home country and Dubai, an exciting development. “We are thrilled that Raiven Capital, a Canadian venture capital fund, is the first-of-its-kind to obtain a licence to operate its second fund in DIFC in Dubai. Raiven has ambitious plans for the region connecting Canada, the UAE and other high growth tech ecosystems. We look forward to working with them,” said Tracy Reynolds, Canada’s Consul General in Dubai.The tech industry in the UAE and regionally has recently seen substantial expansion. Yet, funding is falling behind the quick speed of change and technological adoption. This is drawing global technology businesses and international venture capitalists to the region. Raiven’s fund further accelerates growth of the venture ecosystem to meet the increasing demand for technology products and services.MENA venture capital funding in the third quarter of 2023 saw USD250 mn raised across 78 deals, a 32 per cent increase compared to the second quarter of 2023, according to MAGNiTT’s MENA Venture Investment Premium Report.

CE-Ventures, the corporate venture capital platform of Crescent Enterprises, has partnered with MAGNiTT, the leading venture capital data platform in the MEAPT region [Middle East, Africa, Pakistan and Türkiye], to unveil 'The State of Climate Tech Venture Capital Report’. This groundbreaking and timely report delves deep into the dynamic landscape of climate tech investments in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) and Türkiye region, providing insights into key trends, challenges, and opportunities in this rapidly evolving sector.The report provides a comprehensive overview of climate tech investments in the region and highlights the importance of harnessing innovative technologies to combat climate change. With existing technologies holding the potential to mitigate 65% of all emissions, the report underscores the significance of further advancements to bridge the remaining 35% emissions gap.Key Highlights from the Report:Record-setting climate tech Investment: Climate tech investments reached an unprecedented global total of US$ 82 billion in 2022, marking a 20% increase from the previous year.In the MENA and Türkiye region, US$ 651 million were invested in 148 startups between 2018 and 2022.2022 was a record year for climate tech funding in the MENA & Türkiye region with total investment crossing a quarter billion dollars for the first time ever and resulting in a 50% increase compared to the previous year.The UAE leads the region with 62% of total climate tech venture funding, while Türkiye saw the greatest number of deals at 80.During H1 2023, the region has seen 30 transactions executed, which already represents 60% of the total number of transactions in the previous year.Startups in the agriculture sector, developing solutions towards climate resiliency, accounted for a majority of the venture capital invested over the past 5.5 years.Commenting on the report, Badr Jafar, CEO of Crescent Enterprises and COP28 Special Representative for Business & Philanthropy said: "The Middle East is highly exposed to the effects of climate change. Our natural water scarcity, coupled with temperatures rising at twice the global average, foreshadow an increase in drought and extreme weather events that can impact hundreds of millions of lives. This ‘State of Climate Tech Venture Capital Report’ highlights the ingenuity of our regional entrepreneurial ecosystem, where investors, ecosystem enablers, and policy leaders are coming together to develop a multi-pronged approach towards addressing climate change. We need to move faster, and together, if we are to meet the challenge and embrace this essential opportunity.”Philip Bahoshy, CEO of MAGNiTT added: "We are excited to unveil our collaboration with CE-Ventures, the regional leader in the climate tech industry. As the expert VC data platform in MEAPT, we are keen to be first to present insights on the region’s industry. We are confident that our transparent data, though in its infancy for this particular subject, will spark increased interest, educate enthusiasts, and foster essential dialogues, particularly with COP28 on the horizon. Over the past few years, the sector has witnessed a remarkable surge in investor interest, boasting an impressive Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 62% from 2018 to 2022, resulting in a pinnacle of $256 million in capital deployment in 2022. We eagerly anticipate the industry’s continued progression and development."The launch of the report is timely, as it is a month ahead of the beginning of COP28 UAE, which will include the convening of leading business leaders and philanthropists from around the world at ‘Business & Philanthropy Climate Forum’, COP28’s private sector engagement platform.

Dubai: MAGNiTT, the leading venture capital data platform for emerging markets, releases its Q3 2023 MENA Venture Investment Summary. This report provides an update on how the latest investment trends have evolved across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) in the first 9 months of 2023.According to the latest release, MENA venture funding in Q3 saw $250M raised across 78 deals. The funding levels have seen an uptick of 32% when compared to Q2’23, while the number of deals has largely remained flat.This contributed on aggregate to the first nine months of 2023 reaching $1.4BN, down by 44% from the first nine months of 2022. The $1.4BN was raised through 286 transactions, which was represented by a 46% decline from last year. These numbers are in line with the global figures, as global venture funding witnessed a 42% YoY decline*.A trend highlighted in this report is after years of consistent declines, Early-Stage investments of less than $1M saw an increased appetite from investors. In 2023, 44% of all deals were attributed to investments between $0K-$1M round size bracket. To put this into perspective, in 2019, around 80% of all investments fell into this bracket, and this number shrunk to 36% in 2022. The 44% figure in 2023 has been driven by the cautious investor sentiment favoring a shift to smaller-sized deals in the first three quarters of this year.This has also been reflected in valuation trends for the region. Early-stage SEED rounds in the MENA region have seen a 28% rise in average valuations in 2023YTD – the only stage to see growth in their mean and median valuations where activity has remained stable. This too is also in line with global trends where investors see a lower risk in early-stage investments versus late-stage counterparts.Philip Bahoshy, CEO at MAGNiTT, comments: “While we saw a 32% QoQ incline in funding levels, this was against the backdrop of a record low figure in Q2 dating back to 2019. Investment activity has remained flat with investors focusing on early-stage bets. On the positive side, we have seen multiple fund announcements. In MENA, UAE’s Chimera Capital and Aliph Capital have launched new funds, and in KSA IMPACT46 and KAUST have raised funds to deploy in local startups. What we’ll be keenly tracking is the pace at which this dry powder translates into investments. In fact, investment activity in Q4’23 will be a good indicator of the strength of 2024's VC landscape.”When comparing the funding activities across the countries in the region, Saudi Arabia has seen the most deployed capital, reporting a 172% QoQ incline, and UAE ranks second showcasing a 55% incline. By the number of transactions, UAE has seen the most activity capturing a third of all deals closed in MENA for the first nine months of 2023, despite a 30% YoY drop. Only Morocco, in the top 5 countries by transactions, could boast a YoY incline of 27% in the number of transactions closed. And the sharpest decline was observed in Egypt, which saw a 70% retreat in the number of transactions compared to last year.While the report indicates a more positive shift in invested capital Bahoshy highlights that it is still early to predict when a recovery will take place. "Historically the summer has always been a slower-paced investment cycle in MENA. Q3 is the second quarter where no mega deal investments have taken place, which is a key indicator of late-stage activity and funding growth. Meanwhile, MAGNiTT continues to monitor investment activity and provides insights and predictions against the backdrop of global macroeconomic and regional market volatility."MAGNiTT’s ‘Q3 2023 MENA Venture Investment Summary’ highlights many such figures and leading players from the Middle East and North Africa. The report is now available to download for free here.