Arab Angel Fund Raises $15 million to Close its $25 million Flagship Fund

Arab Angel Fund has just announced it raised an additional $15 million for its flagship Arab Angel Fund I L.P (AAFI). The VC, which focuses on Seed and Series A investment opportunities for companies with international expansion potential, comprises individuals and private family offices from Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates, who have experience across different industries and verticals in both the public, private and government sectors.

Now, their AAFI fund closed its $25 million goal, raised from from 65 private family offices and High Net Worth Individuals in the MENA region as well as the Gulf Cooperation Council GCC with a focus on the emirate of Abu Dhabi. Since achieving first close in September 2016, AAFI has invested in 50 different startups at the Seed and Series A stages alongside major VCs and accelerators in North America like New Enterprise Associates, Andreessen Horowitz, Y Combinator, GE Ventures, and Microsoft Ventures.

“We are excited to report that our flagship fund was oversubscribed after receiving strong interest from individuals, family offices and HNWIs from across the region. The oversubscription is a testament to the growing demand from the region for early stage venture investing in North America as well as an interest to diversify into an asset class which invests in cutting edge technologies," says Kyle Hendrick General Partner and Managing Director of the Arab Angel Fund.

The fund’s mandate is to invest in venture-backed technology startups in North America at the early stage, and help facilitate the growth of these startups in the MENA and GCC regions as part of their expansion strategy. The fund leverages the vast network and capabilities of its partners and helps its portfolio companies penetrate the lucrative markets of these regions through joint ventures, IP licensing as well as distribution agreements. Their portfolio includes investments across a range of different sectors, from robotics, blockchain, and genomics, to luxury retail and FinTech. 

“AAF is building a robust investment highway between the venture community in North America and the GCC and MENA regions. We are thrilled to invest strategic capital from the region, in early stage technology companies which have global scope and the potential to disrupt and reshape their respective industries," says AAF General Partner and Managing Director Omar Darwazah.

For more information, check out their website here.

Main photo: AAI's Managing Director Omar Darwazah.