MENA startup funding jumped, but Saudi fintech drove the surge

MENA startups raised $1.1 billion across 73 deals in September, according to Wamda—a 193% jump from August, but still 68% below the level of September 2025. The headline is less a sign of a broad-based recovery than of a few unusually large transactions: Saudi fintechs Barq, Tabby, and Lendo accounted for $762.5 million, or nearly 70% of the month’s total. That matters because one of those transactions was debt financing, which can help a company fund lending or growth without representing the same kind of equity bet as a conventional venture round. Capital clearly returned after a weak August, but September’s total says more about the ability of mature Saudi financial-technology companies to raise large sums than about funding conditions for the region’s typical startup.