FinTech funding in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) fell by just 9 per cent year-on-year in the first half of 2026 to $617 million, according to Dubai-based data firm Magnitt.
Abu Dhabi-based start-up Mal, which is launching the world's first AI-native Islamic digital bank, accounted for 37 per cent of total FinTech funding in the Middle East and North Africa in the first six months of this year, securing $230 million.
The mega-funding round helped Mena FinTech companies raise $387 million during the first-half period, highlighting the extent to which the headline funding figure was supported by a single funding round.
Despite the number of deals halving to 57 transactions, FinTech funding declined only slightly in the first six months, as investors deployed larger amounts of capital across fewer companies compared with the first half of last year.
In this year's January to June period, deals worth less than $100 million accounted for 62.7 per cent of total funding, compared with almost 80 per cent in the same six months of the previous year.
Mal’s 37 per cent share of the total funding shows the scale of concentration at the top of the market. The divergence between funding value and deal activity also suggests the headline 9 per cent decline masks a sharper slowdown in investment activity across the wider FinTech ecosystem.
“FinTech funding looks considerably stronger through the headline number than through the breadth of activity underneath it,” Dubai-based data firm Magnitt founder and chief executive Philip Bahoshy said.
“A smaller number of large rounds, concentrated with one investor and one market, are carrying the [first] half’s resilience. That distinction matters more than the top-line figure.”
UAE and Saudi Arabia concentration
Magnitt's Mena FinTech funding report for the first half of 2026 shows the UAE and Saudi Arabia captured 85 per cent of FinTech funding in the period, highlighting a geographical concentration of capital alongside the decline in deal activity. Egypt was the region’s third-largest FinTech market.
In the UAE FinTech scene, Fasset followed Mal with a $51 million transaction. In Saudi Arabia, Madfu and Stitch led the rounds with $26 million and $25 million, respectively.
Together, those three transactions were worth $102 million, less than half the amount secured by Mal, further illustrating the impact of the Abu Dhabi-based company on the regional total.
More selective investors
The report shows 28 per cent of deals were directed towards payment solutions, making it the leading FinTech sub-industry.
However, the sharp fall in the overall number of transactions suggests investors have become more selective about where they deploy capital, even as larger rounds keep overall funding levels relatively high.
The second half of 2026 will therefore provide a key test of whether investment begins to spread across more companies and markets, or remains concentrated in a handful of large transactions. A recovery in deal numbers would provide a stronger signal of the underlying health of the FinTech sector than funding value alone.
“The second half will show whether other investors and other markets step in behind this activity, or whether FinTech’s real health continues to be closer to what the deal count already shows,” Mr Bahoshy added.
