Wamda Capital, Dubai based firm and one of the leading VCs in the MENA region, is planning on launching a second fund, Wamda’s partner Fares Gandour mentioned in an interview with
By 2019, Wamda aims to raise and close more than $100 million for the fund. According to a report by the National, the firm has already used 80% of its first capital from their $75 million growth stage fund launched in 2015. The fund included A
According to Fares Ghandour, the $100 million funds will be mainly used to invest at Series A, with follow-on investments to Series B. “We think there will be an acceleration in the volume of opportunities at the Series B level as companies continue to grow and mature,” Fares mentions to
Wamda also plans on using its fund to invest in seed stage startups, although only startups graduating from Wamda X (a new pre-idea fellowship program) are eligible for the funds.
It’s worth noting that Wamda X is not financed by Wamda Capital, as Fares states. According to Fares, the fellowship program has its own investment vehicle and is not part of the structure. On the other hand, as mentioned, once the companies graduate from the program, they will be considered for an investment from the Wamda Capital fund.
On investing in seed stage, Fares comments: “Seed remains of critical importance for us, given the funding dynamic in the region where it is critical for investors to be able to carry companies through multiple rounds of financing.”
With the new fund, Wamda will be focusing on MENA and Turkey, with plans to expand its reach to Africa and Pakistan.
Curious about which sectors Wamda is looking out for? Well, Fares mentions that Wamda is still on the hunt for niche sectors, such as e-commerce enabling technologies, which include mobility, FinTech, last-mile logistics, mobility, digital payment solutions and SaaS, and B2B enterprise solutions.