Investors poured $127.5 million into start-ups across the Middle East and North (MENA) region last month, bringing the total funding for the first quarter of the year to $1.5 billion.

The UAE led the table, securing $104.4 million in aggregate funding across 14 deals – representing around 82% of the region’s total. Egypt came in a remote second with $11.6 million, edging out Saudi Arabia, which raised $8 million,  according to Wamda and Digital Digest.

Last month was also subdued for the start-up sector in the region, with total investments for the period registering a 76% decline over February’s $530 million. 

Fintech remained the most funded sector in March, raising $82.5 million across 10 transactions. Last month’s deals brought the first quarter’s total investments for fintech to more than $1 billion. Healthtech start-ups raised $16 million in March, while AI start-ups secured $14 million.

(Writing by Cleofe Maceda; editing by Seban Scaria) seban.scaria@lseg.com