The number of venture capital deals in the MENA region fell in 2013, bucking the trend for transactions in this industry to rise.
The MENA Private Equity Association counted 34 venture capital deals last year compared with 54 in 2012.
Despite the fall, the three years ending in 2013 saw more deals, 139, than the three years ending in 2010, when there were 77.
This overall upward trend has not been reflected in the wider MENA private equity industry. There were 260 private equity transactions completed in the three years ending in 2013, compared to 267 from 2008 to 2010, says the report.
Although the MENA region continues to feel the impact of the global financial crisis, with some countries also experiencing political instability, the report says the medium to long-term outlook for MENA’s venture capital industry remains good.
The IT and software sectors were most popular among venture capital investors, making up 49% of the total transactions in the industry since 2011. The report counts a total of 103 IT and software transactions completed since 2006, of which 69 occurred during the period 2011 to 2013.
Lebanon, Egypt and Morocco were the top countries for venture capital investments between 2011 and 2013.
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