Saudi Arabia-based telecom operator Mobily has announced the launch of a new fund that will invest in emerging Internet and Information Technology startups.

The company continues to foster its position of innovation and market leadership by the launch of “Mobily Ventures”, the corporate venture capital arm of Mobily.

Mobily Ventures invests in high-tech startup companies in the Telecommunication, Information Technology, Media and Entertainment industries, said a statement from the company.

The focus will be on early-stage and growth-stage startups in areas including e-commerce & retail innovation, mobile financial services & payment, digital advertising, digital content & entertainment as well as IT & cloud services.

As a strategic investor, the goal of Mobily Ventures is to build technological and economical synergies between the startup and Mobily. Mobily Ventures will enable startups to leverage Mobily assets to accelerate their growth, it stated.

Commenting on the move, CEO Khalid Bin Omar Al Kaf said: “Mobily Ventures will further strengthen our company’s position in the ICT sector through the adoption of innovative products and services from the startups and at the same time foster entrepreneurship in the Kingdom and the wider Arab world.”

Dr Karl-Michael Henneking, the chief corporate strategy and M&A officer, said: "We not only gain valuable insight and understanding of market trends through equity investments in young high-tech companies, but also can build technological and economical synergies with the business units of Mobily."

Mobily Ventures on Saturday announced its first two investment targets - the Easy Taxi and Anghami.

Easy Taxi is a company which provides an application for smart phones, through which users can book a taxi to their location. The "Easy Taxi" application is available on iPhone, Android, BlackBerry and Windows iPhone.

Anghami is a mobile application that provides millions of Arabic and Western songs to listen to and download for free. It allows users to discover new music based on their taste, along with the ability to share their favorite songs with friends.-TradeArabia News Service