Saudi Arabia tops MENA for venture capital investment in 2024

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's flag

Saudi Arabia maintained for the second year its top position across MENA region in terms of the amount of venture capital (VC) funding.

The Kingdom held more than 40% of VC investments in the region, or $750 million, in 2024, according to venture data platform MAGNiTT.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) came second with $613 million.

The value of venture investments in Saudi Arabia was down 44% in 2024, driven by an 85% year-on-year (YoY) decline in the value of mega deals (deals exceeding $100 million).

 According to the Saudi VC Report for 2024, VC deals hit a record high during the period, reaching 178, up 16% YoY, driven by increased early-stage activity.

Saudi Arabia witnessed continued strong investor participation in 2024, as 135 investors supported emerging Saudi companies, an increase of 6% from 2023.

The report further stated that merger and acquisition deals in the Kingdom amounted to seven in 2024, equal to the merger and acquisition deals recorded in 2023 and 2022.

The following table illustrates the number and values of VC deals: