New $100m Nuwa Capital fund to target MENA, East African startups

Former Wamda Capital managing partner Khaled Talhouni has launched Nuwa Capital, a new fund to invest in tech startups in the Middle East North Africa (MENA) region, as well as in East Africa, Pakistan and Turkey.

The fund was launched on Monday (10 February) at the Step Conference in Dubai by its managing partner, Talhouni.

While Talhouni (pictured above) did not reveal how much the fund had raised, tech publication Menabytes said in an article yesterday that the fund is targeting a first closing of $100-million.

The publication said Nuwa Capital’s team is already in talks with various startups and expects to close a few investments in the coming weeks.

In a blog post on Monday on Medium, Talhouni said the Dubai and Riyadh-based fund will redefine the relationship between founders and capital by providing a “progressive founder-centric approach” to investing in emerging markets.

Nuwa Capital aims to raise $100m and is already in talks with various startups in the region

“The ambition of the team at Nuwa Capital is to rewrite the book on how we think about Venture Capital in emerging markets.

“There exists at this moment an incredible opportunity to help build the next generation of disruptive companies that will come to define their respective industries and we at Nuwa along with our Partners are primed to lead this transformation,” said Talhouni.

He said Saudi-based conglomerate Al Faisaliah Group is joining Nuwa Capital as a strategic partner and anchor investor.

“The financial and strategic partnership between Al Faisaliah Group and the Nuwa Capital team brings together an unparalleled network across the GCC and the wider region, providing Nuwa portfolio companies unrivaled access to key markets and expertise,” he said.

The Nuwa network comprises entrepreneurs behind some of the region’s most successful exits, with Tabby founder and ex-Namshi founder Hosam Arab, Tarjama founder Nour Al Hassan, Maktoob, Souq and Jabbar’s Hussam Khoury and Samih Toukan playing an integral role in supporting Nuwa Capital’s portfolio.

The fund will focus primarily on supporting exceptional founders and entrepreneurs operating in the direct-to-consumer (DTC), Software as a Service (SaaS), fintech and mobility and logistics segments.

Read more: Everything you need to know about the North African startup landscape

Featured image: Nuwa Capital managing partner Khaled Talhouni (Facebook)