Startup funding in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), excluding the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt, rose to $468 million in 2022, according to the latest study from the startup data platform MAGNiTT.

Compared to 2021, MAGNiTT pointed out that funding in 2022 has been nearly 37% higher than the $343 million a year ago, indicating a gradual maturation in the relatively smaller markets.

Algeria attracted the highest funding last year with $151 million, which was more than a fivefold annual increase, followed by Bahrain with $133 million – B2B tendering platform Procural announced a $1.2 million seed round, and cryptocurrency startup Rain raised $110 million in its Series B round. Jordan and Tunisia each brought in $34 million, followed by Qatar at $27 million and Lebanon at $25 million. 

The report also noted that markets such as Morocco, Tunisia, Kuwait, and Qatar had received investor interest, notably at the early stage. Tunisia and Qatar were also among the top five transacted markets of the MENA region in 2022. 

Unsurprisingly, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt have the bulk of venture funding in MENA, accounting for 74% of investments in 2022. While the UAE attracted $1.19 billion, Saudi Arabia brought in $987 million, and Egypt drew in $517 million. 

While the number of deals in 2022 dropped 6% to 183, the research indicated that funding for startups in MENA had crossed the $3 billion mark.