GELLIFY to launch $24M Middle East focused fund in 2021
GELLIFY, an accelerator and investor that connects high-tech B2B startups with organisations, is launching a new $24M (€20M) fund for the Middle East in 2021. The fund will focus on B2B SaaS startups in wellbeing, education, culture, wealth and finance, environment and sustainability, hospitality, and entertainment.
The Italy-based platform that has offices in the UAE, currently has an €80 million fund in Europe and is keen to bring its portfolio of startups to MENA to help cross-pollination across both regions. It is planning to export solutions from the Middle East to other parts of the world.
Massimo Cannizzo, CEO of Gellify Middle East commented on the new fund, “We are scouting startups to start investing with our own funds and mid next year we will also open a fund to attract other investors from Europe. There is a fragmentation in the innovation ecosystem in the Middle East, capital is available but the ability to connect to that capital is difficult.”
"The weakest part of the bridge of all these ecosystems is exporting to the rest of the world. We import a lot, but if we don’t export our startups from the Middle East to the rest of the world, we will never make another unicorn. B2C requires a lot of consumers to grow, but in B2B when you have a nice solution it is easier to sell it globally.”
GELLIFY is comprised of three business units:
1. GELLIFY for Startups, which provides comprehensive services beyond mentorship and services that are typical of incubators, through its ‘Gellification’ program;
2. GELLIFY for Companies, which provides open innovation services used to design and implement digital transformation for small businesses and large corporations;
3. GELLIFY for Investors, which provides investment advisory and the management of a GELLIFY Investment Fund on selected innovative B2B tech startups.
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