Sawari Ventures, headquartered in Cairo, has reported today that it had closed its Egyptian fund with new commitments totaling $28 million (EGP 440 million) from Misr Insurance Company, Kuwait Investment Authority’s Ekuity, National Bank of Egypt, Banque Misr, Banque du Caire, and Suez Canal Bank. The fund previously raised $41 million (EGP 650 million) from the European Investment Bank and a number of development finance agencies, including the CDC in the United Kingdom, Proparco in France, and the Dutch Good Growth Fund. It brings the fund’s overall value to $69 million (EGP 1.09 billion). Only Egyptian startups will be considered for investment by this venture.
“Ten percent of the fund is earmarked for seed-stage companies through investment in Flat6labs vehicles. Flat6Labs Cairo will seed 80–100 companies and offer follow-on investments to 30–40. Flat6Labs Tunisia will seed 60–70 companies and offer follow-on investments to 30–40,” Hany Al-Sonbaty, the co-founder and Managing Partner of Sawari Ventures said, in a statement.
Here Is What You Need To Know
- Sawari also runs a $70 million North African fund that supports startups in Egypt, Morocco, and Tunisia.
- It raised $35 million in its first close in December 2018.
What Startups Would The Fund Invest In?
The Egyptian fund would put money into both seed and growth-stage companies. Flat6Labs will invest in seed-stage businesses in Egypt and Tunisia, while the remainder of the fund (90 percent) will go to growth-stage companies with an average funding spectrum of $2 to $3 million.
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“We try to cast a wide net given that in essence, this is a transformative moment in emerging markets tech with the rapid digitization of the underlying economy. So as expected, we’re seeing a great deal flow in the digitization of financial services, health care and education technologies. Also, given the engineering talent, there are unique opportunities in SaaS products, semiconductors and IoT, ” Hany said.
Read also: Startups Invited To Apply For The 8th Edition Of “Flat6Labs Tunis Seed Program”
A Look At What Sawari Ventures Does
Sawari Ventures, founded in 2010 and headed by Ahmed Al-Alfi, Hany Al-Sonbay, and Wael Amin, is one of Egypt’s leading venture capital firms, with over 30 companies in its portfolio, including Swvl, MoneyFellows, Instabug, Si-Ware, and Elves.
“The Egypt based fund is a privately-held fund regulated by the Financial Regulatory Authority of Egypt (FRA), which allowed us to attract capital from top tier local financial institutions to co-invest with foreign capital from international development financial institutions, doubling our allocation to invest in Egyptian high growth companies to sixty-eight million U.S. Dollars, ” Ahmed El Alfi, the founder and Chairman of Sawari Ventures added in the statement.
“Our aim is to create exceptional returns through investing in knowledge-driven companies, which have the potential of bringing transformational changes to the Egyptian economy. The fund will support local companies with dedicated capital, in addition to quality expertise from our seasoned and specialized team, and the value add of our investors,” he said.
For his part Basil Heni, Chairman and Managing Director of Misr Insurance Holding Company, said:
“Misr Insurance Holding Group, as the largest non-bank financial group in Egypt, was keen on this strategic partnership with Sawari Ventures, the leading company in managing capital funds. The partnership is directed towards emerging small and medium-sized enterprises, which is in accordance with the group’s role in supporting this vital sector in the economy. This is evident in the fact that we own the largest share in the fund.”
According to Adnan Al Sager, CEO of Ekuity Holding, the Kuwait Investment Authority’s Egyptian investment arm:
“Our alliance with Sawari Ventures further strengthens the resurgence of the Kuwaiti investments in Egypt, partnering with a selective group of Egyptian institutions and investment funds, with the aim of contributing to the creation of scalable businesses as well as achieving the targeted investment returns.”
Charles Rapulu Udoh
Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based lawyer who has advised startups across Africa on issues such as startup funding (Venture Capital, Debt financing, private equity, angel investing etc), taxation, strategies, etc. He also has special focus on the protection of business or brands’ intellectual property rights ( such as trademark, patent or design) across Africa and other foreign jurisdictions.
He is well versed on issues of ESG (sustainability), media and entertainment law, corporate finance and governance.
He is also an award-winning writer
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