Golden Gate Ventures, a Singapore-based venture capital (VC) firm, secured commitments from $20 million of Qatari investors to launch its first $100 million MENA fund on Wednesday. The firm intends to expand into the MENA region.
Al Khor Holding, Al Attiya Group, and Sheikh Jassim Bin Jabor Al Thani are among the fund’s anchor investors, according to a statement from Golden Gate Ventures.
This is the first global venture capital fund set up and run in Qatar.
The primary objective is to provide support to startups operating in fields like green technology, deep tech related to energy, artificial intelligence (AI) for business-to-business (B2B), and alternative energy. The fund will also cover the fintech, health tech, and edtech industries.
“We aim to support entrepreneurs, attract talent, create jobs, and attract foreign direct investments,” said Hussain Abdulla, Senior Advisor at Golden Gate Ventures, on the benefits of the fund to the Qatari economy.
The statement also stated that Golden Gate Ventures partner Michael Lints has relocated to Qatar as part of plans to expand his MENA presence and strengthen his relationship with Qatar.
The fund will have a noticeable positive impact on Qatar’s socioeconomic environment, according to an Al Khor Holdings representative. “By facilitating the emergence of innovative solutions, creating employment opportunities, and supporting the national development agenda, we are contributing to the realisation of Qatar’s vision 2030.”
The fund was unveiled at the Qatar Economic Forum, which also serves as a platform for the country’s burgeoning startup ecosystem.
”Qatar is at an important point in its development as a global economy and MENA Fund I will supercharge the startup ecosystem, building on the extensive social and financial capital of our investors,” said Lints.
According to the release, the Web Summit event held in Qatar earlier in February attracted the largest startup gathering in the Middle East.
The ‘Startup Qatar’ initiative, which was launched by the Investment Promotion Agency Qatar (Invest Qatar), was one of the main reasons for the notable engagement with startup companies during the summit in Qatar. The state-owned Qatar News Agency (QNA) reported in March that since its official launch in February, the online platform has received over 3,000 visits and meets all business needs.
