Behind almost every great innovation, there’s someone with a purse that had to fund it. If it’s a person we call him/ her an angel investor and if it’s a company we generally call it a Venture Capital firm. Venture Capital (VC) is a type of financing that is provided to very young companies with strong growth potential. In addition to funding, most VC firms offer technical or managerial expertise to their portfolio companies.
If you needed money to grow your startup in Egypt, you would have had a very tough time 10 years ago. The startup ecosystem was completely different than how it is nowadays. Almost all VC firms that are currently present in Egypt have been founded in the past decade. As a result, the initial rounds of investments, which are also known as Pre-seed, Seed and Series A rounds, are booming in the region. The bigger Series B and Series C rounds, on the other hand, are still much less common (see here the latest article about the top-funded startups in Egypt).
Here’s a comprehensive list of the leading Venture Capital firms in Egypt:
| Name | Founded Date | ||
| 138 Pyramids | 2014 | ||
| A15 | 2014 | ||
| Algebra Ventures | 2016 | ||
| Arzan | 2014 | ||
| CVentures | 2018 | ||
| Edventures | 2017 | ||
| Egypt Ventures | 2017 | ||
| Endure Capital | 2015 | ||
| HIMangel | 2017 | ||
| Ideavelopers | 2004 | ||
| Innoventures | 2011 | ||
| Investia | n/a | ||
| Modus Capital | 2016 | ||
| Orange Ventures | 2015 | ||
| Sawari Ventures | 2010 | ||
| Sequence Ventures | 2019 |
Note: The list is ordered in chronological order
1. 138 Pyramids
Founded Date: 2014
Target: High-impact early stages growth companies to support them unravel their true potential
Description: 138pyramids is a venture capital fund established and managed by Delta Inspire in an effort to contribute an active role in supporting Egyptian startups and enhancing the development of the Small and Medium Enterprise “SME” sector
Portfolio companies: Temraza, Dockland, Fooltank, THS,Total Fix Solutions and others
2. A15
Founded Date: 2014
Target: Technology
Description: A15 is a leading VC in Egypt and the MENA region that creates digital products and technology brands. They back founders in the Middle East and North Africa region early on in their journey to build the future
Portfolio companies: IFix, TPay, Wuzzuf, Mumm, Zammit, and others
3. Algebra Ventures
Founded Date: 2016
Target: Fintech, agritech, logistics, and healthcare
Description: Founded by a team with more than 65 years of combined experience in VC, investing, technology, and management, Algebra Ventures is making smart investments in Egypt’s future. The company is committed to exploring and investing in a diverse array of companies and sectors. Algebra Ventures also provides technical support and training to help companies navigate challenging operating environments and accelerate growth
Portfolio companies: Fawry, Sarwa Capital, Misr Hytech, and others
4. Arzan Venture Capital
Founded Date: 2014
Target: Technology
Description: Arzan VC is committed to building a long-lasting relationship with the region’s most talented entrepreneurs and invest for success. As of January 2020, Arzan has invested in 40 companies.
Portfolio companies: Swvl, Fatura, Careem, Taker and others
5. CVentures
Founded Date: 2018
Target: Financial Services, FinTech, AI
Description: It is the corporate venture arm of Commercial International Bank (CIB) and is based in Cairo, Egypt. CVentures is an early-stage, cross-border venture capital firm primarily focused on Financial Technology
Portfolio companies: Yodawy, Magic Cube and others
6. Edventures
Founded Date: 2017
Target: Education, Culture, and Innovative Learning Solutions
Description: EdVentures is a corporate venture capital specialized in serving the fields of Education, Culture, and Innovative Learning Solutions. The firm invests in startups and supports entrepreneurs across 9 cities and 5 continents.
Portfolio companies: OTO English, Greenish, Career 180, EYouth, iSchool, and others
7. Egypt Ventures
Founded Date: 2017
Target: Tech Startups
Description: Egypt Ventures is an investment firm focused on empowering the entrepreneurial ecosystem by investing in accelerators and co-investing in high-growth enterprises. Their goal is to fully transform the investment landscape in Egypt and unlock the country’s entrepreneurial potential
Portfolio companies: MNT-Halan, Wasla, AvidBeam, Wasla, Magalix, and others
8. Endure Capital
Founded Date: 2015
Target: diverse
Description: Endure Capital is an early-stage investment fund headed by entrepreneurs. According to its website, Endure Capital has an impressive IRR of 43% with a total portfolio value of USD 80 million.
Portfolio companies: Breadfast, Thndr, Nowpay, Maxab, KarmSolar, and others
“I am convinced that about half of what separates the successful entrepreneurs from the non-successful ones is pure perseverance. There are such rough moments in time that I think most people give up. I don’t blame them. It’s really tough and it consumes your life. It’s pretty much an 18 hour day job, 7 days a week for a while. Unless you have a lot of passion about this, you’re not going to Endure.”
Steve Jobs
9. HIMangel
Founded Date: 2017
Target: Technology, yet they keep moving forwards into other verticals such as Waste Management to Manufacturing and Healthcare/Tech
Description: HIMangel support early-stage startups to grow. Their key framework focuses on offering our startups mentoring, early-stage business building, cross-portfolio integration, and direct connection with stakeholders
Portfolio companies: Fil Khedma, BioMax, FreshSource, RecycloBekia, Smart Medical Services and others
10. Ideavelopers
Founded Date: 2004
Target: Technology
Description: Ideavelopers is a subsidiary of EFG-Hermes Private Equity. The firm manages the Technology Development fund – a $50 million fund focused on early stage technology companies. According to their website, they have invested over $25 million in 17 companies operating inside and outside Egypt
Portfolio companies: Fawry, Offerna, Nefsak, Advanced Smart Cards, and others
11. Innoventures
Founded Date: 2011
Target: diverse
Description: Innoventures, LLC is an innovation platform with a mission to turn creative ideas into successful businesses that change the world. They provide their portfolio companies with funding, mentorship and access to a workspace
Portfolio companies: Crowd Analyzer, Cubii, Pixlly, Tripdizer, Agrona, Ekacia, and others
12. Investia
Founded Date: n/a
Target: diverse
Description: Investia Capital Group is a venture capital firm that strives for optimizing growth trajectories through identifying, capitalizing and shaping opportunities for all stakeholders
Portfolio companies: Foodera and others
13. Modus Capital
Founded Date: 2016
Target: diverse
Description: Modus Capital is a global venture capital and venture builder firm that combines the operational and financial capital needed to build ideas into scalable and sustainable tech companies
Portfolio companies: Arbor, Simplero, YBC, SmartMentor, Epic Reality, and others
14. Orange Ventures
Founded Date: 2015
Target: diverse
Description: Orange Ventures is the Venture Capital Fund of the Orange Group, with EUR 350 million under management. Orange Ventures Africa invests via two distinct streams: Middle East & Africa Champions and Middle East & Africa Seed
Portfolio companies: Monzo, Aire, Gebeya, Batch and others
15. Sawari Ventures
Founded Date: 2010
Target: technology with focus on finance, education, healthcare, energy and logistics
Description: Sawari Ventures is an international venture capital firm that invests in people turning visionary ideas into market-leading companies in the MENA region. It
Portfolio companies: Swvl, MoneyFellows, Instabug, Si-Ware, Elves, and others
16. Sequence Ventures
Founded Date: 2019
Target: Health-tech, fintech, ed-tech, prop-tech, logistics, and DevOps
Description: Sequence Ventures has created strategic alliances with 45 VCs and accelerators in four main base regions, the United Kingdom, Germany, the Netherlands, and Russia. They have 2 funds: An Egyptian fund and a European Fund.
Portfolio companies: n/a
The startup ecosystem is still at its early stages in Egypt and the region and we are optimistic about what’s to come. We hope you enjoyed reading this article and found it useful!
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