MENA’s startup ecosystem attracted $1.7 billion across 242 venture-capital rounds in the first half of 2026, but female-founded startups received only $2.5 million, or 0.14% of the total, while male-founded startups raised $1.6 billion across 213 deals. A separate August tally cited by the Fortune Gulf Brief showed women-founded startups receiving $8.5 million across two transactions, while male-founded companies accounted for more than 96% of the $375 million deployed. The funding gap persists despite rising female entrepreneurship: women owned 51% of surveyed MENA small businesses in GoDaddy’s 2025 Global Entrepreneur Survey, 63% of which were founded within the previous five years, and Abu Dhabi issued 3,058 new business licenses to Emirati women in H1 2026. Investors and founders attribute the disparity partly to male-dominated investor networks, limited exits and a shortage of female capital providers. New funds, accelerators, grants and investor networks are expanding access, but industry participants say governments, wealth funds, family offices and private investors must direct more capital toward female-led businesses.