Riyadh - Sharikat Mubasher: The business landscape in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region is rapidly evolving, marked by significant developments and increased investment activity.

In November, MENA-based startups collectively secured $233 million across 39 deals, raising the total funding secured during the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2024 to $384 million across 82 deals, recent figures by Digital Digest revealed.

The report stated that the total funding raised in 2024 exceeded $1.84 billion across 504 deals, which is still below 2023's $2.26 billion raised but above 2023’s deal count, which did not even surpass 450 deals.

The UAE-headquartered eyewear D2C and e-commerce platform Eywa raised a $100 million series C round, led by General Atlantic, to expand its operations in the region.

Cipher, the Saudi-based cybersecurity provider, also secured $13.3 million from Impact46 as part of a pre-offering round. The company will utilize this investment to bolster its growth and technological innovations at the local and global levels.

Further, the Innovative Startups and SMEs Fund (ISSF) earmarked $5 million to Vision Ventures’ Saqr Fund II, signaling confidence in the region's startup ecosystem. The new fund targets supporting early-stage startups through pre-seed, seed, series A, and pre-series B stages.

It is worth mentioning that major global companies like Snap, TikTok, Citigroup, and Morgan Stanley announced obtaining regional headquarters licenses from the Saudi Ministry of Investment (MISA), ultimately solidifying the Kingdom’s appeal as a business hub.