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Openner Backs Qurious Labs To Target North African Web3 Startups

August 7, 2022

The first Venture Studio model with a Web3 focus to enter the MENA region is Qurious Labs. This business model supports daring entrepreneurs in MENA who are creating web3 businesses that leverage blockchain, virtual currencies, NFTs, gaming, and the Metaverse as well as exploiting decentralised applications.

Qurious Labs can collaborate with Web3 creatives and developers that have incredibly low resources and produce world-class products with them by fusing the incentive structure of a co-founder, the assets of a development firm, and the venture fund network.

Openner, an Egyptian venture capital firm, is supporting The Venture Studio. Openner is sure that additional VCs will recognise the value of the Venture Studio model and the promise that web3 holds for emerging countries when it comes to utilising open protocols on the blockchain and token economics.

As a studio, its objective is to enable people to profit from and own a piece of this new internet while assisting developing markets in gaining access to a global talent and financial pool.

“We deeply believe that web3 will have the biggest impact on society and business since the introduction of the internet”, says Ahmed El Wassimy, Studio Director. “Over half a million developers around the world are building the infrastructure that will shape an always-on, economically equitable future for society leveraging web3 and we’re excited to embark on this journey to bridge the gap between web3 and emerging marketing in the Middle East and North Africa.”

Qurious Labs’ main objective is to provide a complete ecosystem for developers to start their web3 projects and for brands to investigate web3 business strategies. They accomplish this by serving as a one-stop shop for developers to create and publish their web3 projects. In order to create and finance resilient communities, platforms, and economies, builders receive valuable expertise from seasoned builders, thought leaders, and veteran investors.

In order to leverage and contribute to web3 projects they work on and have “ownership” in high-quality projects before anyone else, Qurious Labs is growing a network of web3 talent and expertise in many fields, including UX/UI, full-stack, content creation, community building, marketing, and game design & development.

“Web3 is the golden age for creators and artists,” says Kareem Karam, Venture Architect at Qurious Labs, “We see the potential of Web3 as a force for good, and we are eager to work with policymakers to define a vision for how to use these powerful new tools to benefit society and ensure they realise their full potential.”

A lot of well-known VCs are placing large bets on gaming and web3 business concepts. The Qurious Labs team predicts that web3 will start receiving the majority of the attention once the current global recession storm has passed.

“The old ways of raising money and growing at all costs are over with. Web3 communities and networks will motivate participants to become owners and investors in the networks they want to be a part of and help grow. This will be a whole new way of raising capital from your early believers and die-hard fans. That’s the power of web3 and there’s no better time to build for it.” says El Wassimy.

While delivering and extracting value with web3 communities around the world, Qurious Labs is concentrating on venture formation and venture support that will on-ramp adoption for emerging markets in MENA. In order to expand on existing infrastructure, Qurious Labs recruits talent from all over the world. The company is also excited to collaborate with partners in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt’s civil society and private sector to shape one of the most important dialogues of our time.

“The way we coordinate, govern, and participate in networks will change the way we work and value our time with the growth of web3 and we believe that Qurious Labs is well positioned and resourced to unlock that potential and prioritise the development of world-class, decentralized digital infrastructure for communities everywhere,” says Ash Rofail, General Partner at Openner.

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Charles Rapulu Udoh

Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based lawyer, who has several years of experience working in Africa’s burgeoning tech startup industry. He has closed multi-million dollar deals bordering on venture capital, private equity, intellectual property (trademark, patent or design, etc.), mergers and acquisitions, in countries such as in the Delaware, New York, UK, Singapore, British Virgin Islands, South Africa, Nigeria etc. He’s also a corporate governance and cross-border data privacy and tax expert.
As an award-winning writer and researcher, he is passionate about telling the African startup story, and is one of the continent’s pioneers in this regard. You can book a session and speak with him using the link: https://insightsbyexperts.com/view_expert/charles-rapulu-udoh

A New $50m Venture Capital Fund For African Startups, Courtesy Of Benya-Openner Partnership

November 9, 2021

Benya Group has signed a memorandum of understanding with international venture capital firm Openner to build a $50 million venture capital fund as part of its plan to promote the talents of young calibres as the driving force in the field of digital innovation. The fund will invest funds and provide support to entrepreneurs and startups in Egypt, as well as the Arab and African markets.

Benya Group and Openner will form consultational and investment committees to select eligible startups and offer them with support and resources as a result of this arrangement.

“We are optimistic about our involvement in an investment fund focused on digital transformation in multiple sectors, especially that Openner will launch this fund with Benya Group, which has a proven track record of making a significant impact in the digital transformation in various sectors in Africa and the Middle East,” said Ashraf Rofail, General Partner and Founder of Openner. “We believe that the combination of capital and market access will drive startups to grow faster.”

Benya Group, Openner launch $50 million fund to invest in Arab and African startups

Openner focuses on investing in local technology-based firms at the pre-seed and seed fundraising stages. Dr. Ashraf Rofail, an assistant professor at Johns Hopkins University and author of six publications as well as multiple patents in artificial intelligence, launched the venture capital firm. Since its start in 2016, Openner has invested in a $25 million fund with over 100 firms in the United States, with a total valuation of $9.2 billion USD. Over the next two years, Openner plans to invest in 50 Egyptian businesses. Last year, Openner started an accelerator in Egypt, with the goal of investing in 50 Egyptian entrepreneurs over the next two years.

In Egypt, the Middle East, and Africa, the Benya Group is a leader in creating and executing integrated solutions and products in the fields of telecommunications infrastructure and digital transformation. The company provides a wide range of digital products, services, and solutions that span the technology value chain, which is critical to developed countries and organizations. This covers information security, large data and information platforms, the design and implementation of integrated technological systems, and proactive technical solutions, among other things.

“Benya Group believes in the innovative ideas and efforts provided by young calibres, so the group is interested in investing and supporting them through the implementation of a series of partnerships,” said Eng. Ahmed Mekki, Chairman and CEO of Benya Group. “We are pleased to commence this partnership with Openner launching a fund that supports innovative ideas and helps speed up the implementation of the plans to develop the field of technology and digital transformation in all sectors in Egypt and the Arab and African markets.”

Openner African fund startups Openner African fund startups

How Startups In Egypt Can Apply For US-based VC Openner ‘s New Accelerator Program

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 write

Newly Launched US Accelerator Openner Makes Investment In Egypt’s Tejarra.com

June 8, 2021

Openner, Egypt’s first “Venture Builder” model, has injected a 6-figure USD seed investment into electronics e-commerce website tejarra.com. Openner will provide not just finance, but also in-depth, hands-on technical assistance, scientific experience, and extra resources to the platform’s marketing and sales operations, as well as its market success and positioning, as part of the agreement.

*Islam Erfan, Founder and CEO of tejarra.com,*

“In an already fast paced world, with challenges that rise every day, both consumers and retailers around the region are seeking new and innovative shopping and marketing solutions respectively. After closely monitoring both local and regional trends, tejarra.com team identified an unfilled space on the ecommerce platforms that would act as our entry point,” said Islam Erfan, Founder and CEO of tejarra.com, elaborating that “the partnership with Openner will enable us to streamline our market success and solidify our position among other market players.”

“tejarra.com was born out of the current global challenge to deploy bespoke marketing solutions for our partners, and a consistent and enjoyable shopping experience for our shoppers. While focusing on electronics, mobiles and mobile accessories, we are always on the hunt for the latest trends and gadgets to keep our clients updated and facilitate their shopping experience,” Erfan added.

Why The Investor Invested

Openner’s Founder and General Partner, Ash Rofail, stated his excitement about investing in tejarra.com and his confidence in the high returns expected from this round of funding. He further said “Tejarra.com is specialising only in the category of electronics that is gaining a huge momentum in the online sphere, attracting an increasing base of onlineshoppers.”

“The founders’ deep domain, market and distribution knowledge and experience combined with their long-standing relationships with wholesalers in a niche market is what helped them optimise their reach to consumers, while providing a best price and best service buying experience.” Rofail added.

In Egypt, Openner is launching a new unique venture model for businesses. The company is a “Venture Builder” with three streams: it creates new businesses, invests in existing ones, and collaborates with enterprises to develop innovative business models.

“We believe in what the Egyptian market has to offer, its broad tech-savvy youth segment and their promising and pioneering ideas. This incentivised us to take our first steps in the Middle East, through Egypt, driven by the rising understanding and rapid growth of the entrepreneurship ecosystem in the country.” Rofail stated.
Read also:On Track To Conquer African Fintech Market, MFS Africa Signs A New 100m Mobile Money Cards Partnership

A Look At What The Startup Does

Tejarra.com, which launched in January 2021 and has over 50 vendors selling over 18,000 products, is a marketplace where wholesalers, suppliers, and vendors sell electronic consumer goods such as refrigerators, TVs, printers, wearables, computers, tablets, and mobile phones, as well as fitness and personal care equipment.
Tejarra.com, which aims to sell EGP 100 million in appliances, electronics, and gadgets by the end of the year, focuses on B2C and B2B solutions for selling appliances, electronics, and gadgets in a dedicated and specialized marketplace. Buyers and sellers will benefit from focusing on this specific area.

How Startups In Egypt Can Apply For US-based VC Openner ‘s New Accelerator Program

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 write

How Startups In Egypt Can Apply For US-based VC Openner ‘s New Accelerator Program

September 16, 2020

50 startups in Egypt stand a great chance to be accepted into a new accelerator program launched by the Washington DC-based venture capital firm Openner. The firm is now accepting applications from Egyptian startups, through which it aims to identify brilliant founders with brilliant ideas. This Openner’s first entry into Africa, and consequently Egypt. Once on board, Openner aims to expand and scale Egyptian startups locally, regionally, and globally through its local accelerator.

Ash Rofail, founder and general partner of Openner — founder and general partner of Openner

“We want startups to organically grow into revenue generating companies without having to raise funds, match them with a strategic investor when they are ready for rapid growth and position them as acquisition-ready,” said Ash Rofail, Founder and General Partner of Openner. “We have a very strong and proven track record building companies that have exited or have become leaders in their target industries, with 10% of our portfolio companies exiting within three years of operation.”

Here Is What You Need To Know

Openner is a pre-seed and seed venture capital firm that focuses on investing in tech startups globally and has invested in over 100 startups. Entering Egypt with its accelerator program should allow the company to invest in 50 local startups.
Applications are open all-year round, as no specified one-size-fits-all programme will be implemented across all 50 selected startups.
Each portfolio startup will be subject to a custom-designed programme tailored to its needs, combining cash injection with growth resources while focusing on the startup’s product development, tech development and distribution.
This means that startup founders will be able to fully concentrate on sales and customer acquisition. In the meantime, functions like marketing, engineering, UX/UI and public relations will be provided by the accelerator and its partners.
Openner has historically co-invested with Andreesen Horrowitz, NEA, Sequoia, Khosla Ventures, YCombinator, Goldman Sachs and several other leading global venture capitalists (VCs). The companies in its portfolio have received follow-on investments from ExxonMobil, Mastercard, CitiVentures and other multinationals, as well as dozens of US-based Tier 1 venture capital firms.

how to apply Openner Egypt how to apply Openner Egypt

What Oppenner Offers Startups

Openner Accelerator offers seed funding, technical product development, business development, legal, operations, back office as well as a partnership with Amazon Web Services (AWS), among other services.
This, in addition to strategic advice from top international executives who are mostly exits and regular founders, a path to fundraising, licensing and acquisition through his publicly traded company in the United States. United States.
So far, Openner has deployed $ 25 million to more than 100 holding companies in the United States since the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2016, with an aggregate valuation of $ 2.95 billion.
The Accelerator also helps to transform pre-seed and seed startups with a minimum viable product (MVP) into ready growth and / or acquisition.
This is proven by their strong global performance in raising Series A funds for 90% of their pre-seed and seed investments.
Their main goal is to work with startups to help them build sustainable, resilient and scalable businesses.

Openner’s accelerator is the VC’s first entry into Africa, and Egypt

Rofail said that Openner is entering the Egyptian market because it believes in the country’s geographic and cultural centrality and its promising technological talents.

How Startups In Egypt May Apply

Interested startups in Egypt may apply by following this link.

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