What are top 2 Traditional Funds and Venture Builders within UAE's Investment Landscape
What are top 2 Traditional Funds and Venture Builders within UAE's Investment Landscape?
Types of VC funds: Traditional, Venture Builders, Outsourced, Special Purpose Vehicles, Specialty.
Traditional Funds
The traditional way of doing VC; VC funds that invest in early-stage startups, aiming for substantial returns. Example companies: Sequoia Capital, Andreessen Horowitz
Venture Builders
aka startup studios that create and launch startups from scratch. Eg: Y Combinator, Founders Factory
Outsourced Funds
Usually (online) platform VC funds that make investments on behalf of individual investors. Eg: BlackRock, SoftBank Vision Fund
Special Purpose Vehicles
Funds that pool resources to invest in specific deals. Examples can be industry specific (real estate, banking, etc)
Specialty Funds
funds that invest in specific industries or stages of growth, ie: tailored to specific investment needs.
Pre-seed stage traditional funds in the UAE
Mubadala Capital
Url: https://www.mubadala.com/en/what-we-do/mubadala-capital
It’s a global investment firm (owned by Abu Dhabi government) that invests in a variety of asset classes. An active investor in advanced technology. includes a direct investment business, a fund of funds business and the management. A few local startups they have funded: Amana Healthcare, Swvl, Namshi, Careem, Talabat
Ibrahim Ajami is CEO & Partner at Mubadala Capital with over 15 years of experience in the investment industry. He has a proven track record of investing in and growing successful businesses across a variety of sectors, including technology, healthcare, and financial services.
Shorooq Partners
Url: https://www.shorooq.com/
Abu Dhabi based firm, they invest in tech companies at the Pre-seed to Series-A stages that are fintech, software or platform companies, with capital between $1M to $3M. Recent pre-seed investment: Hafla, Lean (open banking startup, Bankableapi.com's competition in the KSA), Sarwa, etc.
Shane Shin, who is Founding Partner at Shorooq Partners with over 20 years of experience in the venture capital industry. He has a deep understanding of the startup ecosystem in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. Born and grew up in Korea, educated in the US, China and Canada, worked in New York and San Francisco and now working in the Middle East
Pre-seed venture builders in the UAE
Turn8
Url: https://turn8.co/about/
US based with an office in Dubai; their thesis building companies that are solving global problems with disruptive technology by helping entrepreneurs create and scale their businesses from scratch. Their preferred industries are: HealthTech, FinTech, Transportation and Logistics, SaaS Platforms, Smart Cities, AI, and The Internet of Things.
Yousif Al Mutawa, co-founder and Managing Partner, is a highly experienced and accomplished innovation leader with a proven track record of success in establishing and leading CVC funds, accelerators, and internal entrepreneurial transformation programs. He has a deep understanding of the global startup ecosystem and a strong network of relationships with investors, entrepreneurs, and corporate executives.
Flat6Labs
Url: https://www.flat6labs.com/
UAE based, Helps entrepreneurs build and scale their businesses from scratch. invests in innovative and technology-driven startups enabling passionate entrepreneurs to achieve their ambitions and ultimately becoming their institutional co-founders. Some local pre-seed startup they funded: Namshi, Bazaara, Takalam, etc.
Ramez El-Serafy is the CEO & Managing Partner at Flat6Labs with over 16 years of experience in the venture capital industry. He has a deep understanding of the startup ecosystem in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.
How the two Venture Builders are different from the two Traditional Funds
Basically the venture builder model aims to build startups from scratch by providing them with resources, expertise, and mentorship. They target early stage, and their thesis generally is to invest in a variety of startups, typically with a focus on a particular sector or technology.
Traditional funds
While Traditional Funds invests in existing startups, providing them with capital and guidance that can span from Early to late stage, however mostly those that qualify for investments are the startups that have already demonstrated traction and a potential for growth.
Venture builders
creates new startups as well as jobs, and support the country’s startup ecosystem. Traditional funds help in the growth of existing startups, and help them scale globally.
Positive impacts of each model on your local ecosystem
Both venture builders and traditional funds can have a significant positive impact, and the best suited model depends on its individual needs and goals.
Venture builders
has the potential to help increase the number of startups, fast; and in turn can help create new jobs. It can get more investment by attracting investors in great early-stage startups. VB supports the development of new technologies, as well as commercialization.
Traditional Funds
positive impacts can help startups grow quicker by providing them with the capital fast. It helps them scale globally by providing them access to outside investors and networks, and as a result attract more investments at all stages. These funds increase the success rate of startups by providing them with their specialist guidance and support from experienced investors.
Sources:
-https://pitchbook.com/news/articles/venture-startup-trends-charts-q2-2023
-https://www.cbinsights.com/research/report/us-venture-trends-q1-2023/
-https://hbr.org/1998/11/how-venture-capital-works
-https://www.toptal.com/finance/venture-capital-consultants/venture-capital-portfolio-strategy
-https://www.forbes.com/sites/rebekahbastian/2020/10/28/how-and-why-to-make-venture-funding-more-equitable
