Top 10 Middle East Startups to Watch in 2021
There were certainly a lot of ups and downs in 2020 to stay the least. A LOT of things changed around the world.
Many businesses failed, but some startups thrived.
I’m excited to write about many of the incredibly impressive startups in the Middle East and North Africa that you need to watch in 2021. These startups not only survived the pandemic but thrived in it, managing to grow incredibly quickly by meeting and exceeding customer needs.
Other Startups to Watch in 2021:
- Top 10 Latin American Startups to Watch in 2021
- Top 10 European Startups to Watch in 2021
- Top 10 African Startups to Watch in 2021
- Top 10 Indian Startups to Watch in 2021
- Top 10 Chinese Startups to Watch in 2021
- Top 10 Israeli Startups to Watch in 2021
Want to be the first to know when my posts go live?
Follow me on Medium and subscribe to my newsletter: http://bit.ly/modern-product-manager-newsletter
Interested in Investing in Startups Like These?
Check out the Mitchell Ventures syndicate on AngelList here: https://angel.co/mitchell-ventures/syndicate
The Middle East’s Startup Environment
In 2020, a record $1B was invested in MENA-based startups, driven by a massive funding blitz in the 1st half of the year ($725MM).
Surprisingly, mega rounds ($100MM+) were not the driver of this growth, only representing $150MM of the $1B+ total in 2020.
The $150MM Series E investment in EMPG was the largest investment in the region in 2020.
Total funding was up 13% from 2019, though total deal count was down by 13% to 496 transactions.
Later stage deals ($500K-$3MM) increased by 52% in 2020, while pre-seed rounds (<$100K) decreased by 50% YoY, the driver for the decrease in total deals.
