Start-ups in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region saw a sharp monthly decline in the amount of capital secured during fundraising activities in April 2024, as investor wallets remained tight, according to a new report.

Investors injected $55 million into 19 start-ups during the month, down by 78% from the $254 million raised in March this year, the report from Wamda and Digital Digest noted. However, compared to last year, the amount of investments made last month showed an 87% increase.

UAE’s Fortis, a start-up in the fintech sector, bagged the largest funding worth $20 million last month.

Overall, start-ups in the UAE dominated the fundraising scene, attracting $32 million across six deals, followed by Egyptian start-ups, which raised $8.7 million and Tunisian start-ups, which secured $8 million.

Saudi Arabia start-ups came fourth on the list, posting a decline in investments to $4.8 million. Start-ups from Jordan, Oman and Bahrain raised $1 million, $200,000 and $100,000, respectively.

Start-ups worldwide have been seeing a decline in investments, with the first quarter recording $66 billion in global venture funding, down by 20% year over year, according to Crunchbase.

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