Bahrain’s Al Waha Fund of Funds makes investment in UAE venture capital firm Shorooq Partners
Bahrain’s Al Waha has become one of the first Fund of Funds to make a substantial investment in the Bedaya Fund I of seed-stage venture capital firm Shorooq Partners, in a renewed sign of confidence in the startup sector during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
UAE-based Shorooq Partners – which has supported 23 firms including on-demand truck aggregator Trukker and hybrid robo-advisor Sarwa – plans to enhance its presence in the island Kingdom while working to find, support and enable the next wave of regional founders.
The funding injection is the latest announced by Al Waha, which was launched in 2018 to drive greater venture capital investment across the Middle East. Al Waha Fund provides market access for organisations looking to invest in the region, as well as for portfolio companies looking to expand.
The addition of Shorooq Partners to Al Waha’s portfolio shows that despite the ongoing global pandemic, investors are actively seeking new opportunities to support startups – particularly in sectors such as FinTech and HealthTech which have played an increasingly important role during the crisis.
Founded by Shane Shin and Mahmoud Adi, Shorooq Partners focuses on early-stage technology startups in FinTech, platforms, software, and tech-enabled business services subsectors. Geographically, Shorooq targets the Middle East and North Africa with a key focus on UAE, Bahrain, KSA, Jordan, and Egypt.
Major Shorooq Partners portfolio companies include Sarwa, a hybrid robo-advisor wealth management platform; Trukker, a technology-enabled, on-demand truck aggregator; Teacherly, a platform built for a global community of educators to improve learning outcomes; and Breadfast, an Egypt-based native e-grocery service.
Areije Al Shakar, Fund Director at Al Waha Fund of Funds, said: “Startups have a major role to play in accelerating the GCC economy during the ongoing global health crisis, and we are proud to partner with a regional firm that understands the importance of backing new ventures at the earliest of stages.
“Shorooq Partners has gone from success to success by investing in fast-growth sectors such as FinTech and software, and here at Al Waha we look forward to supporting the next phase of that growth.
“This partnership also shows that Bahrain is not only an attractive investment option for international venture capitalists, but also for those already based in the Middle East and looking to expand their reach within the region.”
Shane Shin, Co-Founding Partner at Shorooq Partners, said: “Our mission is to support the most promising entrepreneurs in the region who are creating substantial economic value in their home countries and beyond as they grow and expand within the GCC markets. This is aligned with the exponentially evolving startup ecosystem in the GCC that is becoming more intertwined and collaborative as stakeholders including government entities, investors and startups engage and build.
“Bahrain is taking tangible measures to become a strong hub for businesses and founders wanting to build their presence in the Kingdom and broader GCC market. We are excited to join our partners in Al Waha Fund in fostering this vibrant business ecosystem and support further local and regional development efforts.
“We are truly proud and humbled to continue being an active member in this evolution as we plan to accelerate what we do – find, support and enable the next wave of amazing founders and passionate problem solvers to create a lasting impact in Bahrain and the region.”
Bahrain offers an innovative and stable startup ecosystem that enables entrepreneurs to grow their ideas amid an atmosphere of pro-business regulation and strong public-private partnerships. With its unique positioning and connectivity to other Gulf countries, as well as a truly multicultural society that welcomes more than 160 nationalities, the Kingdom is the ideal destination for Eastern and Western businesses to converge.
Al Waha Fund of Funds has so far deployed tens of millions of dollars to a range of venture capitalists, including MSA Capital, Lumia Capital, BECO Capital, Middle East Venture Partners, 500 Startups, and European fund manager Finch Capital.
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Despite the current crisis, H1 2020 has seen $659M invested in MENA-based startups, which is already 95% of total funding full-year 2019. Discover more data, including country and industry trends by purchasing our H1 2020 MENA Venture Investment Report.