Tech in Africa
2020 has been a difficult year for startups across the Middle East & North Africa region, so its no surprise that we are seeing the first drop in investments. According to Wamda, only $10.9 million in fresh funding was raised this September. Despite more deals being signed in September, when compared to July-August, investors are opting to invest in smaller sums.
Usually, investments begin to slow down in September however, there seems to be a trickle effect of dwindling economic activity resulting from worldwide economic uncertainty. More investors are cautious and frugal with their wallets while only chasing ideas that offer the least amount of risk.
The $10.9 million investment sum is a cumulation of 30 investment deals that were closed. Egypt led the charge in investments where $3.36 million was injected into local startups. Of this amount, $2 million went to AI digital assistant Elves.
It is worth noting that the $10.9 million figure is subject to revision after an $8 million investment into online laundry service JustClean, and a yet-to-be-closed raise by The Luxury Closet. Egypt is closely followed by the UAE at $2.785 million and Saudi Arabia at $2.25 million.
