In its recent Egypt Venture Investment Report 2020, MAGNITT looked at the Egyptian startup ecosystem that pushed forward during an unexpected global upheaval
Against the pandemic, the Egyptian startup ecosystem has been developing and delivering new and adaptive solutions that have built a foundation that allowed Egyptians WFH and reduce needing to leave their homes during the biggest waves of infection.
“There could never be a time better than this for the IT & innovation sector in Egypt which has proven to be a cornerstone for its response to the pandemic,” writes Amr Mahfouz, CEO of IT Industry Development Agency (ITIDA) in a recent report published by MAGNiTT.
“We owe it to the technology tools and the rising innovative startups we have today that have enabled us to shift to WFH model and continue with our daily life activities,” he added.
In its recent Egypt Venture Investment Report for 2020, online community for startups across the MENA region MAGNITT looked at the Egyptian startup ecosystem that pushed forward during an unexpected global upheaval.
“Egyptian startups raised a record $190 million in VC funding, with a CAGR of 100 percent in the past 5 years” writes the report.
This is a growth rate of 30 percent YoY between 2015 and 2020, holding around 18 percent of the region’s 2020 total venture investment.
Every fifth deal in MENA was registered in Egypt, according to MAGNiTT, securing the country a strong position in the region’s VC ecosystem.
Unsurprisingly, the number of transactions and deals dropped by 14 percent YoY, declining due to Covid-19’s interruption of accelerator programs.
The top 5 deals in Egypt raised 50 percent of total funding while those in MENA raised 31 percent of the region’s total capital, highlighting a skew towards later stage deals in Egypt.
HealthTech app Vezeeta holds the number 1 spot in terms of top disclosed funding rounds, with TransportTech SWVL raising $26 million in May 2020 in 2nd place.
Fellow TransportTech company Halan was in 3rd place with $15 million in a Series B round, while Elmenus held the 4th spot with $8 million.
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The MENA region saw a total of 114 deals, writes the report, with Egypt holding 22 percent of the region’s deals.
“Healthcare ventures topped the [top industries by funding] ranking with a total of $57 million raised in 2020. Startup Vezeeta’s Series D round accumulated $40 million alone,” MAGNiTT stated.
