Friday 29 March 2024
 
»
 
»
Story

Kareem Elsirafy

Modus Capital launches $75m Mena venture fund

DUBAI, November 3, 2019

Modus Capital, a New York-based hybrid venture capital firm, has launched its first regional fund, Modus Mena Venture Fund I (MMVFI), a $75 million fund targeting early and growth stage companies across the Mena region.

The versatile fund is adaptable for a range of industries and structured to invest across asset stages from early to lower-mid market. The fund will invest in companies that have strong positive social impact as a by-product, including those with a focus on women and financial inclusion, health, education, and battling unemployment. Strengthening Modus Capital’s commitment to the region, the first investment from the fund was made in Q4 2018 complemented with the launch of the Egypt office in November.

The Modus Mena Venture Fund I will focus on Mena-based early stage/post-accelerator technology companies as well as Small-to-Medium Enterprises (SMEs) where technology can enable them to grow rapidly. The asset allocation by stage serves as a major de-risking measure to Limited Partners as more mature companies carry significantly less risk. The fund also includes an allocation for US based companies that are portable to the Mena region.  

Modus Capital is making investments through an incubation program starting from $50,000 to $250,000, and up to $1 million for Seed and Series A rounds. The verticals that the firm has particular interest include FinTech, HealthTech, Direct to Consumer e-commerce, Enterprise & Consumer SaaS products in addition to products leveraging Blockchain Protocols.

Modus Capital is developing the regional ecosystem by investing in startups across the Middle East and North Africa, launching regional co-working spaces, and curriculum-based series of programs and workshops that focus on knowledge transfer addressing local entrepreneurial challenges and skills gaps.

The firm also has plans to expand the same model to other countries in the region, with plans for establishment in the GCC in Q1 of 2020. In addition to Modus Capital, the group has launched Modus Operations, Modus Events and the Modus Collective, offering a 360° approach and structure to nurture startups and foster their growth and success.  

Modus Operations will develop, operate, and grow companies by providing holistic support throughout their various stages of growth. The operations teams consist of marketers, product managers, growth hackers, operators, strategists, designers, and technical developers. Modus Events will organize highly focused workshops and other events with the aim of facilitating knowledge transfer and encouraging collaboration among different stakeholders of the ecosystem.

The Modus Collective will create collaborative co-working spaces, with plans to inaugurate the concept in Cairo & Dubai in mid-2020. The firm plans to set up several co-working spaces across the region with the expansion of the business to other countries.

“We actively assist entrepreneurs in building transformational businesses by not only investing in them, but also partnering with them to create the most effective strategies to take their company to the next level,” said Kareem Elsirafy, founder and managing partner of Modus Capital.

“We allow investors to participate in high-value, high-growth opportunities while operationally supporting entrepreneurs and guide them with our seasoned experts, propelling them to realize their goals. We believe that institutional investors like Modus Capital have a responsibility to provide more than just funding to their portfolio companies and now is the right time to offer an all-inclusive solution, harnessing the global expertise for a dynamic Mena market.”

The fund has built its portfolio with eight companies in its first year (2019) deploying their proven operational frameworks via Modus Operations which serves as yet another de-risking measure. The hands-on approach helps companies avoid first timer mistakes, be more capital efficient and in-turn, mature and exit in a shorter time frame.  – TradeArabia News Service




Tags:

More Finance & Capital Market Stories

calendarCalendar of Events

Ads