Startup funding in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) surged in July 2025, with 57 startups raising US$783 million, up 1,411% from the previous month and more than double July 2024’s total.

The sharp increase was mainly driven by two large funding rounds.

Saudi Arabia led the region with 16 deals worth US$396.5 million, followed by the UAE with US$359 million across 22 startups.

Iraq ranked third after InstaBank secured a US$15 million round, while Morocco took fourth place due to Ora Technologies’ US$7.5 million deal.

Egypt fell to fifth, raising just US$4 million across seven startups.

Deeptech startups attracted US$250.3 million across four deals, surpassing fintech, which saw US$61 million invested in 11 deals.

Ecommerce also rebounded with US$250 million raised.

Two mega deals—Ninja and XPANCEO—made up 56% of the month’s total funding.

Funding remained concentrated among male-led startups, which secured US$774.5 million across 43 deals, while mixed-gender founding teams received US$5.8 million and female-led startups attracted US$3 million across eight deals.

🔗 Source: Wamda

🧠 Food for thought

1️⃣ Mega-deal dependency creates volatile funding patterns but signals maturing ecosystem

The July surge shows how MENA’s startup funding remains heavily concentrated in a few large transactions, with just two deals accounting for 56% of the month’s $783 million total.

This pattern reflects a maturing ecosystem where later-stage companies can attract substantial international capital, but also creates extreme month-to-month volatility that can obscure underlying trends.

The broader context supports this maturation theory: MENA startups have already raised $2.1 billion in the first half of 2025, representing a 134% increase from the same period in 20241.

Historically, this concentration has proven sustainable as the region produced 60 startup exits worth over $3 billion in valuations, with successful companies taking an average of 7 years from founding to exit—matching international benchmarks2.