The Internet and Technology space is emerging in the Middle East and North Africa Region. However, there is a lack of transparency on these 
investments that allow us to monitor developments in the start up space and act as a guide for other investors and entrepreneurs. In the absence of data it became difficult to estimate the industry size, its growth and its progression. Sindibad-Business took the onus of bringing this data to public. The research acknowledges that some investments may have been missed in the report due to lack of information and data on them. The report covers investments that took place between Jan 2010 to November 2012.
Jordan leads the total number of investments done till date followed by UAE and Egypt.
UAE startups have attracted the largest amount of investments with an overall estimate of $74 Million which accounted for around 50% of the total investment flow. Companies like Namshi from UAE and Souq from Jordan have attracted 8 digit figures which form 80% of the investments. An estimated 124 million has been pumped up into startups in the region in 2012.
If you are wondering why is Hong Kong being quoted in the report, one of the Middle East gaming startups Falafel Games is based out of the country.
The total number of transactions in 2012 was less than 2011. 2011 ended up with 67 investments whereas 2012 currently stands at 49. The report estimates the number of jobs created by these investments between 1500 to 2000 jobs.
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[...] space is emerging in the Middle East and North Africa Region. We had several startups attracting huge investments in the region this year. Online startups like Namshi from UAE and Souq from Jordan [...]