Mays Ibrahim (ABU DHABI)
The UAE dominated the GCC’s growth capital in the first half of 2026, accounting for the majority of the region’s $1.4 billion in startup and SME equity financing, according to a new PwC report.
The regions saw 171 transactions during the six-month period with funding concentrated in a small number of sizeable deals, the GCC Growth Capital Study 2026 found.
The UAE's performance was driven largely by investments in fintech, logistics and property technology.
Among the largest transactions was a $230 million funding round for Mal, an Abu Dhabi-based AI-native Islamic digital bank, led by BlueFive Capital in January.
Dubai-based property portal Property Finder secured a $170 million investment in the same month, led by Mubadala, with participation from a UAE sovereign wealth fund and BECO Capital.
In June, autonomous delivery and logistics platform CargoX closed a $250 million transaction, also led by BlueFive Capital.
These deals formed part of a wider trend towards larger funding rounds, according to the PWC report.
Transactions valued at $100 million or more accounted for approximately $650 million of total GCC funding in the first half of the year, with major deals concentrated particularly in the UAE.
Growth-stage funding, covering rounds between $5 million and $20 million, reached about $283 million, while later-stage rounds of $20 million to $100 million attracted $318 million.
Seed-stage funding exceeded $134 million, while pre-seed investment stood at approximately $18 million.
The report also found that GCC-based investors played a significant role in in sustaining funding activity, accounting for 57% of the 206 unique investors active in the market and 84% of total growth capital deployed.
Corporate investors, meanwhile, deployed approximately $93 million into startups and SMEs across the GCC, accounting for 7% of total capital, and participating in 26 transactions.
While corporate investment remained a relatively small part of the overall market, the report said such investors can offer businesses more than funding, including industry expertise, commercial relationships, customer networks and routes to market.
Looking ahead, PwC said the GCC has an opportunity to deepen and diversify its growth capital market by improving access to equity for scaling SMEs, attracting more private and international investment and strengthening investors' ability to support companies beyond their initial funding rounds.