Venture Capital: MENA

An early to mid-stage fund that serves as funding support for Modus-built companies and external direct investments. We leverage our unique operational expertise to de-risk investments and maximize your likelihood of success.
Capital Hero

What

An industry-agnostic investment vehicle deploying into late Seed and Series A startups. We prefer to lead rounds as a founder-friendly partner investor, investing between $500k to $2m (ticket sizes).

Where

Our MENA-based allocations are across the UAE, Egypt, Levant, KSA, and the remainder of the GCC. Additionally, we drive cross-market access to portfolio companies throughout MENA, Africa, and the US (and vice versa).

How

We support entrepreneurs and ecosystems with more than just capital, but by developing the holistic infrastructure needed for them to thrive.

Value Creation Methodology

Understanding Perspective

As entrepreneurs, we understand what is required to build a successful venture, the challenges and what it takes to overcome them first-hand. For that, we support our entrepreneurs with the right approach – as founding partners vs economic gain seekers.

Teaming Up With The Right People

We believe in the importance of human capital. We have built a broad international network of highly experienced subject matter experts who play a fundamental role in the support we provide to our founders and other partners throughout their time with us.

Invest Where It Matters

We believe in getting to the point quickly, focusing on what’s truly going to move the needle for ventures. A deep understanding of the market and local skills gaps helps us learn, shape, and build critical skill sets needed for lifelong entrepreneurs.

Vertical And Horizontal Expansion

M&A activity and market penetration for vertical and horizontal expansion allow our companies to grow their market share, and presence and achieve higher profitability. We provide our entrepreneurs with vital information that they need to make smart decisions while enlightening them with the latest industry news, data, and insights.

Contact Us

Frequently Asked Questions

We are industry agnostic. We invest in industries across the board (except in Hardware); from SaaS and Medtech to education and consumer products. Ultimately, we work with companies that have a clear mission and social impact.

Our MENA Fund I primarily invests in GCC countries, Egypt, and the Levant, as well as US/EU-based companies that are portable to the Middle East.

We primarily invest in early to mid-stage ventures leveraging cross-border linkages that introduce new technologies to MENA and US. We typically participate in Seed and Series A rounds as well as follow-on rounds for existing portfolio companies.

Our fund is backed by several types of investors ranging from UHNWI, family offices, private investors, and government-backed entities from the US, EU, and MENA.

In addition to capital, we operationally support portfolio companies to help resolve operational pain points. Areas of engagement include the following:

Product: All aspects of research, design and development

Growth: User acquisition and marketing strategy

Strategy: Business modelling, go-to-market, and growth

Sourcing and placement: Identify HR needs, funnel building and screen the suitable candidates

Fundraising Preparedness: Valuation, financial modelling, and introduction to our investor syndicate

Additionally, we are always happy to make introductions across our network to subject matter experts and investors.

After funding, we support our portfolio companies operationally, and essentially fill in any gaps that they may be facing as their business continues to grow. We are there for the long haul!

Check sizes vary by company stage:

Incubation: $50K – 250K

Seed & Series A: $250K – 1M

SME / Follow-on : $1M – 5M

The management team started in early 2018 and spent 10 months on the ground acclimating to the entrepreneurial ecosystem and assessing its needs. We then began staffing Modus and kicked off our first cycle of companies in Jan 2019.

Yes! Every department manager on the Modus Operations team is a mentor. In addition, many of our LPs are strategic partners in the region that enjoy mentoring up-and-coming companies.

The Modus Platform is split into three offerings, with each supporting one another. Aside from our funds, we have Venture Builders that works with idea/early MVP stage companies, bringing them from idea ⇒ series A; and a Corporate Innovation arm, which is a service platform that leverages our internal know-how to support corporations, governments, and family offices in establishing innovative economies. 

Many factors go into evaluating a startup prior to investing in them: Some of the key things we look at are:

  • The founders/teams’ experience in the industry and understanding of the problem
  • The founders’ true grasp of the market size/opportunity
  • We love to see startups that have done proper market testing and research when looking for their product-market-fit (we don’t subscribe to the idea that, “if we build it, they will come”)