According to Wamda, the startup accelerator and investment vehicle, investment in women-led startups dropped to USD 34.6 million in 2021. This represents 1.2% of the total investments made across 52 deals.
Mixed teams
Startups with joint male and female founders raised USD 210 million across 61 deals.
Combing the two figures raises female representation in investments to 8.5% of the total USD 2.87 billion raised last year, or USD 244 million.
Startups led by men accounted for 91.5% of the total investments made across 526 deals.
Women-led startups iMile (USD 40 million) and BitOasis (USD 30 million) were two of the largest deals, and both have female and male founders.
Tarjama represented the largest deal among women-founded startups in an undisclosed round led by Amethis Finance.
Egypt-based Flat6Labs was the most active investor in women and mixed-team startups, participating in 18 deals.
UAE most active for female founders
The UAE was the most active country in the MENA region for female founders and co-founders, with USD 187 million invested across 46 deals, followed by followed by Saudi Arabia where female and male-female co-founding teams raised USD 14 million across nine deals and Egypt which raised USD 12 million across 20 deals.
According to Wamda, the UAE remains the Middle East’s most active startup and investment hub, accounting for USD 1.46 billion across 196 deals. By number of deals, Egypt (146) and Saudi Arabia (138) came second and third, but the total amounts raised were significantly lower than that of the UAE, with USD 445 million and USD 647 million respectively. However, Wamda does note that these amounts represented record-breaking values for each country.
The big three
The UAE, Saudi Arabia and Egypt accounted for 75% of the number of deals and 87% of the total investment value.
Other countries also saw increased activity, among them Bahrain, Tunisia and Qatar, all of which benefited from the incubators and accelerators in their ecosystems.
Across the region there are a series of initiatives aimed at improving women’s skills and prospects for careers within tech-centred industries, including Majid Al Futtaim’s coding project. In addition, Hemaya recently reported that 45% of the cybersecurity workforce in Saudi Arabia are women.
Wamda’s 2021 Investment report can be found here.
