Shorooq Partners, a leading early-stage venture capital firm focused on investing in the most innovative firms across the MENAP area, has announced the opening of Bedaya Fund II, the second edition of its seed-stage-focused fund, with a target fund size of $150 million. Bedaya Fund II is a continuation of Shorooq Partners’ approach of doubling down on the early phases of the startup founders’ journey, which the business has been implementing since its founding. This is in line with the firm’s core premise of working as co-founders, company builders, and value investors.
Bedaya Fund II, like its predecessor, will largely invest in pre-seed, seed, pre-series A, and series A stage fintech, software, platform verticals, and digital assets firms. With its Web 3.0 thesis, Shorooq Partners has recently made inroads as a first mover in the MENAP region. Shorooq Partners recently led the pre-seed round of Nuqtah, the first NFT to emerge from Saudi Arabia, and will continue to focus on the expanding Middle East, North Africa, and Pakistan area, where the majority of its companies are based.
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“We have always been early movers, be that robo-advisory, crowdfunding, SME lending, open banking, card issuer processing, and so forth. We believe Web 3.0 models like DeFi, NFT, Metaverse are going to be the key players in the next iteration of online business,” said Shane Shin, a founding partner at Shorooq Partners.
“Shorooq Partners has been preparing for this new wave of technology disruption, and we are well-positioned to back the upcoming category leaders of Web 3.0 in our region.”
The Bedaya Fund II has already begun deploying, and the first investments are expected to be announced soon. The fund now has an impressive roster of investors, including top-tier sovereign wealth funds, corporations, organizations, and family offices from throughout the world. DisruptAD — ADQ’s venture platform, Dubai Future District Fund, and Bupa Insurance are among the newest investor groups.
The business has made over 80 investments in over 50 firms, with a total value of $1.5 billion in gross equity. Pure Harvest Smart Farms, TruKKer, Capiter, Lean Technologies, Sarwa, Lendo, NymCard, Breadfast, Airlift, Mozn, Aumet, and others are among the enterprises that have produced over 5,000 jobs.
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Over the last five years, Shorooq Partners has grown at a remarkable pace. The firm is well-known, and its funds are backed by seven sovereign wealth funds. It also has a significant physical presence in six countries, with distinctive deal sourcing capabilities on the ground. Shorooq Partners launched the first Middle East-focused venture debt fund, Nahda Fund, in 2021, and has been actively supporting some of the region’s premier startups, including Pure Harvest Smart Farms and Retailo Technologies.
The firm has depended on its experienced investors and staff to provide portfolio firms with a strong on-the-ground presence, which is made possible by its network of physical offices.
The growing interest from regional and worldwide institutional investors in exploring merger and acquisition opportunities in the region, as well as tapping into developing market startups as a source of distinction and better returns, is strengthening the exit market.
“Merely a few years ago, Shane and I started Shorooq Partners from humble beginnings, bootstrapping our first investments with only our close friends and families committing to it,” said Mahmoud Adi, a founding partner at Shorooq Partners.
“Now with six offices across our core markets and a large team, we are humbled and privileged to be a market maker in the region’s accelerating startup ecosystem. We are proud to take on this mission to support founders who deserve only the best kinds of investors that can provide them with inflection points.”
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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