InsightsJan 2026

Why MENA,
why now ?

A $3.8 billion market with near-zero secondaries infrastructure. The conditions that built the US secondaries market post-2008 are forming in the Gulf today, and no one has moved to capture them.

$3.8B
MENA VC 2025
+74%
YoY growth
0
Dedicated secondaries funds
8–12 yrs
Median exit horizon
Source: MAGNiTT FY2025
01 Macroeconomic context

The GCC is writing its own
economic playbook

While 2025 was a year of global volatility (US tariffs, gold surging 60%, Brent crude falling 15%, source: Bloomberg), the GCC emerged as one of the few regions to accelerate. Sustained sovereign capital, policy continuity, and structural reform programmes created a buffer that no other emerging market could match.

$1.7T PIF AUM
Saudi Arabia's sovereign-backed diversification
Vision 2030 has mobilised over $1.7 trillion in planned investment. The PIF is now one of the world's largest sovereign wealth funds, channelling capital directly into MENA's venture ecosystem. Source: PIF public disclosures.
49% ↑ record
International capital deployed at record share
International investors accounted for 49% of all capital deployed in MENA in 2025, a record high, with US, Hong Kong, and UK investors concentrating in late-stage rounds. Source: MAGNiTT FY2025.
86% KSA + UAE
GCC capital concentration at record high
Saudi Arabia (+145% YoY to $1.72B) and the UAE (+67% to $1.58B) captured 86% of all MENA venture funding in 2025, up from 75% in 2024. Source: MAGNiTT FY2025.
$817M +204%
AI captured a record 21% of MENA VC
AI funding tripled YoY to $817M, driven by XPANCEO's $250M Series A, the region's first AI MEGA deal and largest Series A ever raised in MENA. Source: MAGNiTT FY2025.
2025 VC funding growth: MENA vs peer regions (YoY) · Source: MAGNiTT FY2025
MENA
+74%
Southeast Asia
−29%
Africa
−15%
Global average
~flat
02 VC industry in MENA

A maturing market with a structural liquidity gap

Over $10B has been deployed into MENA technology companies since 2021 (source: MAGNiTT). The exit infrastructure (M&A, IPO, and secondaries) has not kept pace. Median time to exit is 6 years. Only two tech IPOs occurred in 2025 (source: MAGNiTT FY2025). Secondaries are explicitly emerging as the region's primary liquidity mechanism.

MENA annual VC funding & deal count
$M & number of deals (2021–2025) · Source: MAGNiTT FY2025
* 2025 total of $3.80B is an all-time record. Non-MEGA deal funding also hit a record $2.76B independently.
Exit routes in MENA (2025)
M&A dominates. IPOs remain rare. Secondaries emerging. · Source: MAGNiTT FY2025
688
+6% YoY
Deals in 2025
$6.7M
+56% YoY
Avg deal size
6 yrs
↑ from 5.5
Median yrs to exit
2
ValU & Nice One
Tech IPOs in 2025
Source: MAGNiTT FY2025
Top sectors by funding, 2025 ($M)
FinTech leads. AI surging. All sectors benefit from secondaries liquidity infrastructure. · Source: MAGNiTT FY2025
↗
The secondaries gap is explicit, and growing
MAGNiTT's FY2025 report specifically identifies secondaries as "an emerging liquidity mechanism in the region", a dynamic it plans to track more closely. With M&A as the only viable exit route, holding periods extending beyond 6 years, and near-zero dedicated secondaries infrastructure, the conditions mirror post-2008 USA, when the secondaries market grew from nascent to a $100B+ industry within a decade.
03 Case studies

The companies that prove
MENA builds real businesses

The liquidity gap is not a quality problem. MENA has produced category-defining companies across PropTech, FinTech, InsurTech, and food delivery. These are the exits that secondaries investors are positioned behind, at a discount to last reported NAV.

🇦🇪 UAE PropTech
Property Finder
MENA's leading property portal, connecting buyers, renters, and agents across 6 markets
$200M+
Total raised
$1B+
Valuation
2007
Founded
Founded in Dubai, Property Finder became the undisputed leader in MENA real estate search, dominating UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, Egypt, and Morocco. Backed by Goldman Sachs, General Atlantic, and Exor, it achieved unicorn status and profitability. It represents the archetype of a long-gestation MENA business: 17 years from founding to regional dominance, with multiple secondary transactions along the way.
Secondary relevance: 17-year journey created multiple liquidity windows for early investors, founders, and employees. This is exactly the dynamic Key Capital is structured to serve.
🇸🇦 KSA / UAE FinTech · BNPL
Tabby
The GCC's largest Buy Now Pay Later platform, 10M+ customers across Saudi Arabia and UAE
$160M
2025 MEGA round
$3.3B
Valuation
10M+
Active customers
Tabby raised a $160M Series E in 2025, the largest FinTech round of the year in MENA, from Hassana, Wellington Management, Blue Pool Capital, and STV. Profitable and expanding into financial services, Tabby is widely regarded as a pre-IPO candidate. Its cap table spans 10+ institutional investors across multiple rounds, with early backers now holding for 5+ years.
Secondary relevance: Tabby's size, profitability, and IPO trajectory make it a prime secondary candidate. Early investors and employees seeking liquidity before a public listing.
🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia InsurTech · Listed
Rasan
Saudi Arabia's leading InsurTech and financial services comparison platform, listed on Tadawul
IPO
Tadawul listed
SAR 1B+
Market cap
2016
Founded
Rasan Information Technology successfully listed on Tadawul (Saudi Arabia's main exchange), operating Tameeni (insurance comparison) and Masary (financial services). Rasan's IPO is one of only a handful of MENA tech listings, proving the region can produce IPO-quality businesses while also highlighting how rare the path remains.
Secondary relevance: Rasan's pre-IPO journey took years. Secondaries provided the exit bridge for early investors and founders who could not wait for the listing.
🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia Food Delivery · Listed
Jahez
Saudi Arabia's homegrown food delivery champion, the first Saudi tech startup to IPO on Nomu
First
KSA tech IPO
SAR 4B+
Peak market cap
2016
Founded
Jahez became the first Saudi tech startup to list on Nomu in January 2022, growing rapidly through COVID-19 tailwinds to dominate food delivery. Its M&A activity, including acquiring competitor The Chefz, reinforces the consolidation trend MAGNiTT identified. Startup to listed company in 6 years, perfectly illustrating both the opportunity and the exit compression challenge.
Secondary relevance: MAGNiTT lists Jahez as a 2025 M&A acquiree. The company's active M&A role demonstrates the consolidation premium that secondaries investors can capture.