The Oman Investment Authority (OIA), the Sovereign Wealth Fund of Oman, has committed $150 million to ewpartners for the enhancement and stimulation of its economy and the surrounding region.

 

The OIA is joining other marquee sovereign wealth funds and international investors in backing ewpartners Technology Innovation Fund II, a $1 billion private equity fund with a focus on expansion stage technology and technology-enabled investments in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries (GCC).

 

The partnership also includes the establishment of a local fund with the OIA’s Future Fund Oman, through which ewpartners will support Oman’s National Vision 2040 by leveraging products, technologies and capabilities of industry champions from matured markets, especially China, to build successful companies.

 

Investing across sectors

ewpartners will invest across sectors of relevance for Oman’s economy, with focus on Advanced Manufacturing, ICT, Renewable Energy, Logistics, Tourism and Agriculture, as part of the country’s ambitious economic mandate.

 

OIA has selected ewpartners because of its strong track record of investing in the GCC, as well as its relationships with Sovereign Wealth Funds in developing the economic agenda for the region. ewpartners was the first private equity firm to establish an Asia-Mena cross-border investment platform, in 2017, and has since partnered with the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia (PIF) to create and scale local and regional businesses using a cross-border strategy. In total, ewpartners has invested in 18 GCC portfolio companies with industry leading Asian enterprises such as Alibaba Cloud and J&T Express.

 

Future Fund Oman, owned by OIA, made the investment announcement at a signing ceremony and panel discussion in Muscat to highlight its latest investment projects. In attendance was ewpartners’ Founder and Managing Partner Jessica Wong, who said:

 

National Vision

“We are proud to be selected by the OIA for this important investment mandate as Oman looks to achieve its ambitious National Vision 2040. We have invested on behalf of Sovereign Wealth Funds in the GCC for seven years using a cross-border strategy with Asian partners to identify opportunities for economic transformation and deliver financial returns.

 

“We aim to facilitate the knowledge-sharing between East and West, leveraging established markets’ capabilities for the benefit of the region. We remain ready to deliver on the economic transformation agenda of the GCC and assist companies in Asia who see the impact they can have in supporting the GCC in its objectives.”

 

Mulham bin Bashir al Jarf, deputy chairman of Oman Investment Authority (OIA), said that the announced projects align with the strategic goals of the Oman Future Fund, which aims to stimulate and grow the local economy, develop key economic sectors, collaborate with the private sector, attract foreign investment, and create opportunities for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and start-ups. He noted that the projects, including the local fund with ewpartners, represent the Fund’s first batch of investments since its operational launch on January 17, 2024, with strong interest from both local and international investors.

 

In addition, during the event, many senior leaders from OIA expressed strong enthusiasm for collaborating with ewpartners. They believe that leveraging ewpartners' proven success in the Saudi market can yield similar benefits in Oman. The OIA is confident that this partnership will attract leading Asian companies to the region and effectively advance the National Vision 2040 initiative.--TradeArabia News Service