US-based accelerator, 500 startups, has announced the first closing of its 500 Startups MENA Fund (aka 500 Falcons) at $15M out of its $30M target.
Among the LPs making commitments to the fund’s first close are the Oman Investment Fund and the Qatar Science and Technology Park.
500 startups plans to invest in approximately 100-150 companies with about half of the fund and reserve the other half for follow-on investment in the top 20% of companies. The fund will focus on early-stage startups in the MENA region, MENA diaspora founders and non-MENA founders targeting MENA.
Hasan Haider, the Managing Director of the fund, believes that though the MENA region has long faced political and economic uncertainty, it has a growing younger population that is looking to take charge and change things with their own hands. According to him, “these youths have access to the same global wealth of information as anyone else. If they so choose, they’re capable of achieving the same things anyone else in the world is.”
He gives five reasons he feels that MENA is a Must Bet:
- Massive 500 million Arabic speaking population
- Largely untapped ecosystem/market, internally and internationally
- Shift in fossil fuel prices and changing geopolitical forces
- Lower valuations and costs of operating a business
- Highly educated, competitive and vibrant talent pool
“The Middle East and North Africa are among the last large regional ecosystems to rise up, and emerging markets tend to leapfrog adoption of innovations and technology at higher and higher frequencies.” “Being a latecomer does not mean staying behind, and the Arabic speaking world is 500 million strong – young, resourceful, wealthy and a yearning to thrive.”
Hasan also announced the appointment of Sharif El-Badawi as a Partner for 500 Falcons. Sharif brings almost twenty years of product, business development, marketing, and sales experience to the 500 portfolio.
500 startups has been investing in the MENA (Middle East and North Africa) region since 2011, including 55 deals in 32 companies for a total of $6M.
