VentureSouq (VSQ), a venture capital firm located in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), announced its MENA FinTech Fund I, the region’s first sector-specific Fund focused on FinTech in the Middle East North Africa, and Pakistan.
VentureSouq General Partner Suneel Gokhale commented on the new Fund: “Prior to the MENA FinTech fund, we were early investors alongside some of the biggest global VCsin a number of FinTech companies, including high-profile ones such as Jeeves, Khatabook, Belvo, FamPay, Vouch, Point, Atomic, and Fondeadora. In 2020 we started to reflect on what FinTech adoption in the MENA region was going to look like and we dove right in. Based on what we have seen in other emerging markets that we have invested in, we believe it is still early days in terms of the FinTech ecosystem in the MENA region and we are really excited about the overall opportunity set.”
VentureSouq General Partner Maan Eshgi added: “As the first vertical venture fund in MENA, it was critical to assemble the right LP base. We needed partners that would both understand where the region currently sits on the evolutionary curve, but also that could help our portfolio companies navigate the challenging regulatory and funding terrain in MENA. For us to get the outcomes we need, our portfolio companies need to access not just a single market, but the entire MENA region. We believe we have the right stakeholders to help make access to that broader market a reality.”
The $50 million VentureSouq fund invests in early-stage FinTech and SaaS companies, focusing on key subsectors such as payments infrastructure, alternative credit, digital banking, PropTech, InsurTech, and personal financial management. The Fund works closely with innovative regional entrepreneurs who are disrupting financial services.
Regional powerhouses such as Jada Fund of Funds and Saudi Venture Capital Company (SVC), Bahrain’s Al Waha Fund of Funds, UAE’s DisruptAD, ADQ’s venture platform, and Mubadala Investment Company, as well as multinational conglomerates such as OFC, The Olayan Group’s Middle East investment arm, have backed VentureSouq MENA FinTech I.
The Fund has been investing in businesses across MENA and Pakistan, including Tabby, a regional “buy now, pay later” platform, Sary, a Saudi-based B2B marketplace, and Huspy, a PropTech platform. Baraka, Flexxpay, FinTech infrastructure business NymCard, and digital bank Verity are among the UAE’s investments, while digital ledger platform Creditbook, e-commerce financing platform PostEx, and salary advance startup Abhi Finance are among Pakistan’s. The Fund also made investments in Egypt-based transportation platform Trella, gig economy banking platform Dayra, and North African super-appYassir, as well as a number of other intriguing startups that will be unveiled in the coming months.
VentureSouq, which was founded in 2016, has offices in the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia, and has invested in over 200 businesses worldwide. Suneel Gokhale, Maan Eshgi, Sonia Gokhale, Tammer Qaddumi, and Sonia Weymuller are all active value-add investors at VentureSouq Partners.
