"The biggest and most ambitious source on industry insights in MENA venture capital history."

2024 MENA Early Stage
Data Handbook

Complete benchmarks on MENA startups and venture, from premoney valuations to success and failure probabilities ― with scientific reliability

2024 MENA Early Stage Data Handbook by Clearworld - cover
Charts
57
insights
48
Exclusive
Content
48

The 2024 Edition

This series is the first source to cover MENA startup valuation benchmarks. It is also the first to provide benchmarking data on founder dilution, failure and success rates, and holding period from seed to series A to series B.

In the 2024 edition, we also add two special briefs: why funding in MENA dropped in 2023 and how it is misinformation to say it was a collapse; and how Europe is poaching away MENA's high quality tech talent pool.

What Is This Report's
Real World
Value

What's covered

  • Did MENA Venture Collapse in 2023 a - 2024 MENA Early Stage Data Handbook by Clearworld
  • Did MENA Venture Collapse in 2023 b - 2024 MENA Early Stage Data Handbook by Clearworld

Did MENA Venture Collapse in 2023?

Short Answer: No

Special analysis in 6 charts of the changes in venture investment activity in MENA 2021-2023, with deep dive into the historical activity of investors who stopped in 2023.

Data and research findings show that the drawdown in 2023 is due to new investors having completed deployment in 2022, and there was no collapse in MENA venture. 2023 is among the top three performing years in MENA's history.

  • Startup Population and Market Situation a - 2024 MENA Early Stage Data Handbook by Clearworld
  • Startup Population and Market Situation b - 2024 MENA Early Stage Data Handbook by Clearworld
  • Startup Population and Market Situation c - 2024 MENA Early Stage Data Handbook by Clearworld

Where and What Stage Are the Active Startups in MENA 2024

Today, MENA has roughly 3700 active startups, from pre-seed stage to beyond series B

In 4 charts, the Handbook breaks down the pipeline of active startups by stage and country, and key changes taking place in 2024

  • Dealflow Quality c - 2024 MENA Early Stage Data Handbook by Clearworld
  • Dealflow Quality a - 2024 MENA Early Stage Data Handbook by Clearworld
  • Dealflow Quality b - 2024 MENA Early Stage Data Handbook by Clearworld

What is the Quality of the Pipeline of Startups and Ventures in MENA 2024

UAE is home to 51% of VC-investable startups in MENA

Only 17% of the prospects in the pre-seed pipeline may fit the minimum requirements for VC investment

Knowing this information beforehand can set your expectations if you are a seed investor or an accelerator

  • Startup Graduation Success adn Failure rate a - 2024 MENA Early Stage Data Handbook by Clearworld
  • Startup Graduation Success adn Failure rate b - 2024 MENA Early Stage Data Handbook by Clearworld.JPG

What Are the Success and Failure Rates of Startups in MENA 2024

Roughly, 45% of MENA pre-seed and seed startups never make it to the next stage

In 6 charts, the Handbook covers success and failure rates of pre-seed, seed, and series A startups in MENA as well as by country

Use this to calculate your company's chances and expected returns

  • Startup Valuations a - 2024 MENA Early Stage Data Handbook by Clearworld
  • Startup Valuations b - 2024 MENA Early Stage Data Handbook by Clearworld

Premoney Valuation Benchmarks in MENA 2024

MENA seed startups are normally priced between $1.6M and $10M

In 4 charts, the Handbook covers premoney valuation at seed stage and series A in MENA as well as by country

  • Dilution at Seed - 2024 MENA Early Stage Data Handbook by Clearworld
  • Co-investors at Seed - 2024 MENA Early Stage Data Handbook by Clearworld
  • Ticket at Seed - 2024 MENA Early Stage Data Handbook by Clearworld

Dilution, Co-Investing, Ticket Size, and Holding Period Benchmarks in MENA 2024

No other source available as of 2024 who provides this level of visibility on MENA early stage data and venture lifecycle in MENA, UAE, Saudi and Egypt

  • Tech Talent in Tunisia Needs Us a - 2024 MENA Early Stage Data Handbook by Clearworld
  • Tech Talent in Tunisia Needs Us b - 2024 MENA Early Stage Data Handbook by Clearworld

Tech Talent in Tunisia Needs Us

Special brief on how Europe is poaching top quality tech engineers in Tunisia, how Tunisian tech talent is valuable to global unicorns, and the opportunity for MENA to win back a large pool of tech talent

  • Methodology b - 2024 MENA Early Stage Data Handbook by Clearworld

Methodology Explained

Explanation of the tests and treatments used to generate the insights from actual performance data from the tech startup scene in MENA

With this explanation, tech startup founders, tech investors, policymakers and analysts will be able to replicate the insights and generate new ones for their specific case

The Dataset Used In This Report

As of Apr 2024

MENA tech ventures 4,604
Control group: Non-tech companies of similar sizes 13,844

Companies

18k
MENA based investors 915
Non-MENA based investors active in MENA 1,091

Investors

1.9k
By MENA companies 2,856
By tech ventures 4,460
Seed to Post-B rounds 3,307

Deals

7.9k

2024 MENA Early Stage Data Handbook

Content Creator Brief

(AI-Friendly)

What's in it to you and your audience

Is this your niche?

Who
You cover one of following topics:
- Tech
- Startups
- Investment, VC and PE
- Economy and Business
- Entrepreneurship and Innovation

What is this report?

What
The MENA Early Stage Data Handbook is an industry benchmarks and data insights report that analyzes MENA tech startups and venture trends in matters related to startup lifecycle, survival, and investments.

It uses actual data since 2010, with focus on the last 5 years ending on 31 December 2023. Data is up-to-date as of April 2024.

It is the first source in history to cover MENA startup valuation benchmarks. It is also the first to provide benchmarking data on founder dilution, failure and success rates, and holding period from seed to series A to series B.

Which content can you use this for?

How
Cover the report itself:
Podcast, blog, media and news, influencer
Use the report's findings in discussion:
Interview, commentary, thought leadership pieces

The value for your audience

Why
The report's value for founders and entrepreneurs:
Provide visibility and guiding benchmarks for fundraising management.
The report's value for policymakers:
Show the recent changes and trends in the tech innovation and tech investment space, measure their country’s performance against other countries in MENA, and identify which startup stages need more attention.
The report's value for investors:
Provide benchmarks to calculate expected returns, set allocation strategy, do portfolio construction to maximize expected returns, fund and portfolio management, and interesting exercises such as ideal portfolio size: knowing how many companies are needed to yield 3 series B companies in 10 years.
Value To You
- Engage your audience
- Show you are up to date with industry news
- Activate the discussion with your interview guests
- Add your own commentary and thoughts to the report's findings

Talking points and basic recommendations

Keywords and titles

SEO
Primary keyword:
mena early stage startup and venture benchmarks
Example titles:
What was the reason behind the 2023 dip in venture investment in MENA?
New tech founders: how to build the startup environment in MENA to make it attractive for a new wave of entrepreneurs?
The massive growth stage rally in Saudi: will it bring more interest to MENA’s tech startups?

Interesting findings and example angles for your content

Talking Points
Point 1:
MENA had a top performance year for venture in 2023 - MENA venture funding at all-time high levels since 2021
Insight: Despite a perceived slowdown in 2023, MENA venture funding was actually at an all-time high level and the third highest in MENA history. The slowdown was mainly due to a large portion of fund managers finishing deployment and focusing on creating new funds.
Where: Pages 6-9
Angles for your content:

- Debunking the myth of a venture capital collapse in MENA
- How MENA defied global trends in venture slowdown
- The cyclical nature of fund deployment and fundraising in MENA
Point 2:
UAE as the dominant tech hub in MENA
Insights:
- UAE has emerged as the dominant hub, home to over 51% of active tech startups in MENA in 2024, up from 43% in 2023.
- UAE also has half of MENA’s VC-investable startups
- UAE also leads in valuations and funding at early stages (before series B)
Where: Pages 19, 23, 30
Angles for your content:

- What makes the UAE attractive for startups and investors
- Is the UAE's dominance at pre-seed, seed and series A stages good or bad for the wider MENA ecosystem
- Comparing the UAE's startup ecosystem to other global hubs
Point 3:
Shrinking number of new tech founders in MENA
Insight: The pipeline of viable new tech startups is shrinking, with a 55% year-over-year drop in new tech founders in MENA 2022 and is expected to continue in 2023. Building a tech startup is seen as a less attractive career path currently.
Where: Pages 26-27
Angles for your content:

- Why are fewer people starting tech companies in MENA?
- The impact of the founder shortage on the future of MENA tech
- How can MENA encourage more tech entrepreneurship?
Point 4:
Investors backing older startups due to founder shortage
Insight: Investors are expanding their scope to back older startups to make up for the shortage of new founders. The median age of startups raising a seed round has increased 43% in the last 5 years.
Where: Page 27
Angles for your content:

- Is the age of a startup still a relevant metric for investors
- How are older startups performing compared to younger ones
- The changing dynamics of the seed stage in MENA
Point 5:
High failure rate of Egyptian startups trying to scale
Insight: Egypt has an extremely high failure rate of around 70% for startups trying to reach Series A, indicating the need for interventions to support later-stage Egyptian startups.
Where: Page 47
Angles for your content:

- What are the unique challenges faced by Egyptian startups
- Lessons from Egyptian startups that have successfully raised Series A
- How can the Egyptian and MENA ecosystems support late-seed startups
Point 6:
Growth stage massive rally in Saudi - Impact of Saudi SWF on the regional ecosystem
Insight: The median size of Series B rounds in Saudi Arabia has nearly doubled since 2021, reaching $29M in 2024, surpassing even the level outside MENA. This reflects the impact of the Saudi sovereign wealth fund's capital deployment mandate to create local unicorns.
Where: Pages 64-65
Angles for your content:

- Is Saudi Arabia's approach to building unicorns sustainable
- Comparison of Saudi Arabia's venture ecosystem to other government-led initiatives globally
- The potential ripple effects of Saudi's venture boom on the wider MENA region
Point 7:
Is MENA maturing? - Alignment of MENA investment terms with global benchmarks at early stage
Insight: MENA investors now have equity ownership expectations in line with global benchmarks, with seed round dilution standardizing around 9-11% across the region.
Where: Pages 40-41
Angles for your content:

- How standardization of terms is a sign of ecosystem maturation
- The evolving negotiation dynamics between MENA founders and investors
- Comparing term sheets across different MENA geographies
Point 8:
Time between stages is stable at 1-3 years in MENA
Insight: The holding period between rounds is stabilizing. The median time from seed to Series A is now under 2 years and from Series A to B is also under 2 years across MENA.
Where: Pages 34, 48, 62
Angles for your content:

- Is faster better when it comes to startup funding rounds?
- How are MENA startups utilizing the capital they raise in shorter timeframes?
- The implications of shorter holding periods for investors and their fund cycles
Point 9:
Leveraging Tunisia's tech talent in MENA
Insight: Tunisia has a large pool of tech talent that is being actively poached by European tech companies. There is an opportunity for MENA to try to retain and leverage this talent base.
Where: Pages 12-16
Angles for your content:

- Why European companies are drawn to Tunisian talent
- How can MENA compete with Europe for tech talent
- The potential of Tunisia as a future tech hub for MENA
About the Report
Title:
2024 MENA Early Stage Data Handbook
or "Data Handbook" for short
Cover:
2024 MENA Early Stage Data Handbook by Clearworld - cover
Who made it:
Clearworld, an insights and consulting firm in Dubai
When it was published:
26 April 2024
It will be released every year
Who funds it:
Clearworld
Why it is free:
It is under Clearworld's not-for-profit initiative "Common Intelligence". The initiative is created by Clearworld in 2023 to speed up the evolution of tech innovation in MENA by maximizing the level of visibility everyone has on the tech market. This includes founders and entrepreneurs, investors, and policymakers.

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Clearworld is the only firm in MENA that maximizes data-informedness to provide decision insight. Common Intelligence is the first and only private-sector economic development not-for-profit initiative built to push tech innovation in MENA to evolve into systemic industrialization by empowering guided economic activity through publicly accessible highest quality market insights. Common Intelligence is developed using the Clearworld Model.