MENA Startup Funding Falls 96% to $40 Million in October as Large Deals Disappear

Thirty-two startups raised money in October, making it one of the region's weakest months for startup funding this year. The decline shows how much the region's monthly totals depend on a few large rounds. Three Saudi fintech deals worth a combined $762.5 million made up nearly 70% of September's total. October had no megadeals or later-stage rounds, so the headline figure collapsed. The number of deals fell less sharply, by 56%, from 73 in September to 32. Wamda puts total startup funding in the region at about $3.4 billion for the first 10 months of 2026.

Saudi Arabia again raised the most money. Nine Saudi startups raised $18.8 million, 47% of all capital invested in the month. Autobia's $12 million Series A accounted for nearly 64% of that. The UAE was second, with 10 startups raising $12.9 million: more deals than Saudi Arabia but less money. Together the two countries took nearly 80% of October's funding.

Qatar came third with a single $5 million deal. That pushed Egypt into fourth place, with six deals worth a combined $1.7 million. Egyptian startups had raised $49.2 million in September, most of it from Paymob's $35 million round. Further down, Kuwait recorded $650,000 across two deals, Jordan $560,000 from one, and three Syrian startups raised a combined $365,000.

Autobia's round alone made autotech the best-funded sector. Fintech came second by value but led by number of deals, with five startups raising nearly $10 million. Adtech was third, thanks to a $5 million round for UAE-based JustAd. The three sectors took roughly two-thirds of the month's capital.

Early-stage companies dominated. They raised $33.7 million across 24 deals, more than 84% of the money and 75% of the deals. A single debt financing of about $550,000 made up 1.4% of the total. Seven startups raised a combined $5.7 million without disclosing the stage of their rounds.

Business-to-business startups raised $34.3 million across 21 deals, nearly 86% of the total. Consumer-facing companies raised $2.4 million from four deals, and startups serving both businesses and consumers raised $3.3 million across seven.

The gap between male and female founders widened. Male-founded startups took 99.5% of the money, about $39.8 million across 30 deals. Only two companies with female or mixed-gender founding teams raised funding, and they shared $200,000. In the third quarter, male-led startups attracted more than 98% of funding and female-led companies less than 1%, according to Wamda's figures.

Wamda said September's figure had been inflated by a few unusually large deals, including substantial debt financing, which made October's drop look steeper. It pointed to narrow concentration as the more worrying sign: two countries took most of the capital, and one deal, Autobia's, made up 30% of the region's total. Wamda tied the cautious mood to continuing geopolitical and economic uncertainty in the region. It said the next two months would show whether investors go back to larger rounds or keep writing smaller, more selective cheques.