According to MAGNiTT's October 2021 Investment Information Report covering venture capital activity in the MENAP region, you notice a very significant closing of a massive year. Investment in the MENA region is approaching the $2bn mark with nearly $150m raised in October. Significantly, it appears that fourth-quarter funding is just getting started in this ecosystem as startups like Egypt-based Rabbit, UAE-based Immensa, Bahrain-based coinMENA, and Jordan-based EonDental have closed multi-million dollar rounds, resulting to increase the deployment of capital in the Middle East and North Africa region by more than $50 m this week alone. The fourth quarter appears to be starting steadily for Turkey and Pakistan as well. In the first month of the fourth quarter, Pakistan continued to witness unprecedented international investor engagement with global investors such as US-based +92 Ventures, Germany-based Global Founders Capital, and UK-based Zayn Capital in the closing rounds in October. On the other hand, Turkey was the only geographical region among the three countries that recorded a monthly growth in published capital (33%). The magnitt report said: "We stand at a pivotal moment before witnessing how the final two months of the year turn out. As we record shifts in the venture capital spaces across the MENAPT region, we explore three major milestones in October." Healthcare, Transport and Logistics among the top 5 industries in the MENA region experienced year-over-year growth in the number of deals during October 2021, growing by 50% and 300% compared to October 2020 respectively. Overall, compared to September, deal volume in the MENA region grew by around 10% compared to the previous month. While usually suspect industries like FinTech, with innovations like BitOasis and Sarwa, and e-commerce with tours from Chari.ma and Seez, paying the lion's share of the investment, it was a $64.5m deal by Red Sea Farms that put the agricultural industry in 1st place during the month. More interestingly, October welcomed a new investor supporting the largest number of deals across the MENA region, Orange Corners, an initiative from the Kingdom of the Netherlands aimed at stimulating entrepreneurship among African and Middle Eastern youth, culminating in 7 investments in early stages of supporting startups in various industries in Sudan.
