Startup financing jumps to $375 million in August as liquidity concentrates in the Emirates, masking regional deal contraction

Startup financing in the Middle East and North Africa recorded a striking jump in August 2026, with the amount of capital invested more than doubling to $375 million across 27 startups, a 117 percent increase over July and an 11 percent rise over August 2025. However, this numeric increase was accompanied by a sharp 40 percent month-on-month decline in the number of deals, reflecting an almost complete reliance on a limited number of large late-stage financing rounds, foremost the Series G round for Moov valued at $250 million, which alone accounted for two-thirds of the region’s total capital deployed during the month.

The recorded recovery was driven by a return to private-equity investment and a decline in debt financing to roughly 2 percent of the total.This shift represents a fundamental change compared with July, when debt accounted for about 56 percent of total financing, offering a positive signal of investors’ willingness to inject direct equity into select companies. In this context, the United Arab Emirates reclaimed the lead among regional ecosystems after its companies captured $362 million across 13 deals, roughly 97 percent of regional financing, supported by the Moov deal and a Series G round for the Fasit platform worth $68 million, together comprising about 85 percent of August’s liquidity.

Conversely, Saudi Arabia placed second by a wide margin, with six startups raising a total of $10.25 million, while Egypt reported no announced financing round during the month. Jordan ranked third with $2 million from a single deal. Smaller emerging markets saw limited activity: five companies in Oman raised roughly $500 thousand, a deal in Iraq amounted to $150 thousand, and another in Bahrain about $100 thousand. By sector, mobility led the ranking thanks to the Moov deal, followed by fintech with $83.8 million across six deals, then enterprise AI with $21 million spread over six companies, and healthcare secured $9 million through two deals.

Despite the return of late-stage rounds, early-stage phases (pre-seed, seed and Series A) continued to dominate the deal count with about 22 deals but a modest total of $38 million. B2B business models also maintained the largest share, attracting roughly $282.5 million across 15 deals, close to three-quarters of financing. The gender gap remained evident, as founder companies led by men captured more than 96 percent of liquidity ($361 million across 22 deals), versus $8.5 million for all-female teams and $5.5 million for mixed-gender teams.

This landscape imposes an operational reality on founders and CEOs in the Gulf, Egypt and the Levant that requires recalibrating expansion and spending plans.The concentration of 97 percent of liquidity in late-stage rounds within the UAE, amid a decline in early-stage deals, the absence of the Egyptian market and a slowdown in Riyadh’s deal flow, means financing pathways have become narrower and demand clear profitability metrics instead of reliance on rapid expansion valuations. Moreover, the stabilization of total third-quarter financing at $547.6 million so far, half the levels of the same period in 2025, combined with geopolitical tensions, compels emerging tech companies to boost capital efficiency and focus on enterprise AI solutions with direct returns to secure their continuity before pursuing subsequent rounds.