The Cairo Angels Syndicate Fund (CASF), a Delaware-registered angel fund, has announced its first close to invest in startups in Africa and the Middle East. Cairo Angels is the Middle East and Africa’s biggest network of business angels.
“This fund is a natural step in the evolution of the Cairo Angels,” said Aly El Shalakany, CEO of CASF. “It couples our already strong deal sourcing platform with a faster and more rigorous due diligence and capital deployment capability further down the value chain. This is the new missing middle.”
Here Is What You Need To Know
- CASF will invest in ticket sizes ranging from $100,000 to $250,000 across the Middle East and Africa, with a concentration on Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Nigeria, Kenya, and South Africa.
- Aside from the fund’s investment, the fund negotiates additional co-investment rights for its limited partners (LPs) on a deal-by-deal basis, allowing investors to double down on possibilities.
- The fund is ready to invest and is in talks with a number of start-ups that suit the fund’s investment thesis, which is to invest in sector-agnostic, early-stage scalable start-ups with strong sector experience and technical teams.
- CASF consciously focused fundraising for the first closure on private investors and family offices in order to democratize access to this new asset class.
- The sole exception was an institutional investor who has made a soft commitment to participate and assist the fund and will formally join in the first quarter of next year.
- CASF will now focus on completing the final close and meeting its $5 million financial goal. The fund is now in advanced talks with institutional investors who can help the fund achieve its mission by adding value to the regional ecosystem.
“The pace and quality of opportunities coming through the pipeline, has far exceeded ourexpectations. Couple that with the level of startup activity seen in the market, and we have cause for great optimism,” said Minoush Abdelmeguid, Board Member of CASF.
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