UAE Ranks First in Middle East Startup Funding with $1.2 Billion in First Half

The United Arab Emirates led startup investments in the Middle East and North Africa region during the first half of 2026 with $1.2 billion distributed across 83 deals, followed by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia with $259 million across 80 deals, and Egypt with $158.9 million across 29 deals.

These figures reveal an accelerating maturity of the regional entrepreneurship ecosystem, as the rise in the number of deals in Saudi Arabia to 80 deals indicates investment diversification rather than concentration in a few large companies, while Egypt's performance reflects a qualitative leap compared to previous years despite the economic challenges it is experiencing.

Forecasts suggest that total regional investments for the full year will exceed 2025 levels, driven by the availability of liquidity in Gulf sovereign wealth funds and their shift toward investing in the local digital economy, which is reshaping the venture capital map in the Arab world.

The disparity in deal size among the three countries points to an important lesson: the UAE wins large deals while Saudi Arabia excels in quantity, meaning that the two ecosystems are complementary rather than competitive, and that the entire Middle East region forms an integrated emerging market rather than fragmented countries.

What do these terms mean?

Middle East and North Africa (MENA): An abbreviation encompassing a geographical region that includes the Arab Gulf states, Egypt, the Maghreb, and the rest of the Arab countries, representing one of the fastest-growing regions in entrepreneurship.

Sovereign Wealth Funds: Investment funds owned and managed by governments to generate returns on national wealth, used in the Gulf to diversify the economy away from oil.

Startup Ecosystem: The complete set of startups, investors, accelerators, and supporting entities that interact together in a specific environment to stimulate innovation and create new companies.