Saudi Arabia leads region in venture capital in H1 2023 at nearly about $446 mln

Saudi Arabia recorded a decline of 27% year-on-year (YoY) in venture capital (VC) to $446 million during the first six months of 2023, according to a recent report by MAGNiTT.

The number of deals was also on a decline with a 44% annual retreat in H1 2023 to 54 deals.

With the government support, Saudi Arabia is becoming a more attractive destination for startups and is well-positioned to become a leading hub for innovation in the Middle East as several initiatives to support the VC space were launched in the country, the report said.

The Kingdom hit a record of $289 million in VC MEGA deals in H1 2023 driven by two MEGA deals amounting to $156 million and $133 million by E-commerce/Retail startups Floward and Nana. The two deals represent 65% of the total deals in H1 2023 as Floward and Nana took over 35% and 30% of the deals, respectively.

The following table shows the number of deals and VC value:

*Updated data

Source : Argaam