In Egypt’s startup ecosystem, 2025 belonged to the biggest deals

The power brokers in Egypt’s startup scene shifted sharply in 2025. While Africa’s startup funding appeared to rebound, with $1.4 billion raised in H1 2025, up 78% from H1 2024, the recovery was narrow. Egypt emerged as a major beneficiary, raising over $339 million in H1, trailing only behind South Africa among the Big Four.

The wins came from how Egypt’s market pulled money and talent into fewer and stronger bets. It created deals that carried clear strategic value. Yet founders still faced heavy pressure from volatile macroeconomic conditions and sharp currency swings. The market pushed through those issues and delivered outcomes that stood out in a tough year.

Venture capital (VC) funding in Egypt grew by 31% year-over-year (YoY) in the second half of 2025 (excluding December), hitting $524 million raised from 71 deals. The rise was driven by more deals compared to 2024, according to TechCabal Insights (TCI) data. However, funding was concentrated in a small number of large, strategic deals.

The divergence shows how the market split, as major funds, especially from outside Egypt, channelled their money into a small group of mature companies with proven traction, while pulling back from early-stage bets that became too costly and unpredictable under Egypt’s volatile macro conditions.

The 2025 most notable wins were concentrated around a landmark $75 million financing round secured by proptech leader Nawy, and a deep-tech exit that delivered liquidity to early investors. These outcomes reinforced fewer deals and higher strategic impacts. TCI’s data shows that only four startups raised larger funds between $50 million and $100 million, while 23 startups raised lower deals between $100,000 – $500,000.

Proptech and the hybrid capital model

Proptech led the funding surge in Egypt. In May 2025, proptech platform Nawy secured $75 million in total financing, making it the year’s largest funding package. The round combined $52 million in Series A equity led by international VC firms like Partech and Shorooq, and a $24 million debt facility.  

This hybrid blueprint is now the strategic template for scaling capital-intensive ventures in Egypt. The debt portion was secured directly from major Egyptian financial institutions, including the National Bank of Egypt and Banque Misr. The equity component, provided by international VCs, was strategically de-risked by leveraging local balance sheets to finance product-specific needs, such as Nawy’s rapidly expanding mortgage offering. 

It signals that local financial institutions are now integrating into the technology funding stack, allowing global investors to prioritise regional expansion and product development.

Elsewhere, capital deployment remained selective but deliberate. Wealthtech platform Thndr raised $15.7 million in May, led by Prosus Ventures, to expand into high-growth markets including the UAE and Saudi Arabia. In May, MoneyFellows, which digitises the traditional rotating savings and credit association (ROSCA) model, closed a $13 million pre-Series C round, validating solutions that blend cultural familiarity with modern fintech convenience to drive financial inclusion for underserved demographics. Automotive technology company Sylndr in May also secured a $15.7 million Series A equity round to inject transparency and efficiency into Egypt’s massive, fragmented used-car market.   

Deep-tech validation beyond consumer apps

While consumer-facing mega-deals dominated the funding headlines, the most significant strategic validation of Egyptian talent came through a high-value exit. 

In November 2025, the acquisition of Cairo-based deep-tech semiconductor startup InfiniLink by U.S. chip manufacturer GlobalFoundries provided crucial liquidity. This merger and acquisition transaction delivered a reported 400% return on the original investment for Egypt Ventures.   

The InfiniLink deal was a key moment because it proved that Egypt can produce globally competitive intellectual property sought by international acquirers and diversifies the ecosystem’s success beyond local consumer apps.   

Egypt ranked third in the MENA (Middle East and North Africa) region for AI-linked startup funding in the first half of 2025, raising $69 million across seven transactions. A significant share of this funding was from Nawy’s Series A round, highlighting how crossover startups are increasingly shaping sector-level statistics. 

In healthtech, Rology, an AI-assisted teleradiology platform, raised undisclosed funding in December with participation from global heavyweights, including the Philips Foundation, Johnson & Johnson Impact Ventures, and the Sanofi Global Health Unit’s Impact Fund. Having delivered over 1.3 million radiology reports across 13 countries, Rology’s validation confirms that Egyptian startups are building exportable infrastructure capable of addressing critical global shortages.   

The Startup Charter

Recognising the effect of macro instability on early-stage investment, the Egyptian government is preparing to launch its most comprehensive intervention, the Egypt Startup Charter, an integrated framework of measures designed to support startups and investment to foster a more dynamic operating environment. Key targets under the plan include attracting $5 billion in investments over the next five years and creating 500,000 jobs.   

The most concrete measure is the commitment to launch a “unified financing initiative” valued at EGP 50 billion ($1 billion). The fund will support 5,000 startups, to help 500 of them attract more than $1 million in investment.   

A long-awaited regulatory win was the introduction of a specific, unified legal definition of a “startup.” This eliminates prior bureaucratic confusion, with startups often miscategorised, ensuring that state-backed incentives and the new EGP 50 billion fund are deployed efficiently.   

The $1 billion government commitment acts as a non-volatile market floor, directly addressing investor caution stemming from bureaucratic friction and currency risk. This public-private collaboration is viewed as essential for sustaining momentum and attracting long-term Foreign Direct Investment (FDI).   

As Egypt maintains its ranking as the lead startup ecosystem in North Africa and climbs one spot globally to position 65, 2025 proved that while the total volume of deals may be shrinking, the quality and strategic importance of the wins are increasing.