Cairo – Mubasher: Egypt came in the second position in terms of venture capital (VC) investments in the MENA region in 2020, following the UAE which made up 56% of the total funding, Magnitt’s MENA Venture Investment Report showed.
Egypt’s VC funding inflows surged by 31% year-on-year (YoY), boosting its share of funding in the MENA region by 2% to 17%, according to the report.
The jump was backed by investments during the first half (H1) of 2020, while investments during H2-20 plunged by 58% as a result of the repercussions of the pandemic.
Saudi Arabia landed the third position with a regional VC funding share of 15% last year, compared to 11% in 2019.
Egypt made up 24% of the VC deals in the MENA region, while the UAE and Saudi Arabia had respective shares of 26% and 18%.
Funding to the food and beverage sector tripled to $122 million, while e-commerce funding surged by 24% to $162 million. Likewise, health funding tripled to $72 million.
