Bahrain’s Al Waha Fund of Funds has made a “substantial” investment in the Bedaya Fund 1 of seed-stage UAE-based venture capital fund Shorooq Partners, it was announced on Monday.
Shorooq Partners focus on early-stage tech startups in the fintech, software and tech-enabled business services subsectors, in the UAE, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Jordan.
To date, the firm has supported 23 firms, including on-demand truck aggregator Trukker and hybrid robo-advisor Sarwa. In a statement, it said that it plans to enhance its presence in Bahrain “while working to find, support and enable the next wave of regional founders.”
The size of Al Waha’s investment into Shorooq’s Bedaya Fund I was not disclosed. Arabian Business has reached out for comment.
“This partnership also shows that Bahrain is not only an attractive investment option for international venture capitalists, but also for those already based in the Middle East and looking to expand their reach within the region,” said Areije Al Shakar, fund director at Al Waha Fund of Funds.
Other Shorooq portfolio companies include hybrid robo-advisor wealth management firm Sarwa, Teacherly, a platform built for educators, and Breadfast, an Egypt-based e-grocery service.
Al Waha Fund of Funds has so far deployed tens of millions of dollars to a range of venture capitalists, including MSA Capital, Lumia Capital, BECO Capital, Middle East Venture Partners, 500 Startups and European fund manager Finch Capital.
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