The startup scene in the Middle East got another boost this weekend, as a new fund from Middle East Venture Capital saw its first round of investments announced.
The fund, which was very originally named Middle East Venture Capital Fund II (MEVF II), announced its first round of investments with $15 million. It aims to close the fund in the second quarter of the year with $30 million.
Zain, the mobile communications company, announced a strategic investment for an undisclosed amount with MEVF II, saying that they "aim to open up fresh markets and business." Zain says that this is its first advance into venture capital.
MEVF II has made just under $5 million combined investments in four companies so far, managing partner Walid Mansour said in an email to Wamda. The startups that the group is investing in include YouGotAGift.com, an online marketplace specializing in giftcards; Lamsa, a platform for online entertaining education media; The Luxury Closet, a consignment website for luxury shoes, handbags and other accessories; and Altibbi, an Arabic-language medical services platform.
"The Arab digital economy is a large one offering strong growth opportunities, and Middle East telecoms and tech providers will drive MENA's economic transformation, " said Walid Hanna, managing partner of MEVP, in the announcement. MEVP cited high smartphone penetration rates and a growing ecommerce sector as factors in choosing to invest in the ICT sector.
MEVP announced its first startup exit in late 2014, with Arabic recipe portal Shahiya . The website was acquired by Japanese company Cookpad for $13.5 million.
Although the Shahiya exit is paltry compared to some exits in Silicon Valley, it was a big boost to MEVP's track record with startups in the region and helped to build confidence for the startup market in the region in general. We only hope there are more stories to come.