Al Waha invests half of $100m fund

Bahrain-based Al Waha Fund of Funds has commemorated its first anniversary by announcing that it has invested 50% of its $100 million fund.

The investment has been spread across five funds within the Mena region, including UAE-based Beco Capital and Middle East Venture Partners (MEVP), as well as European fund manager Finch Capital and as many as 500 startups.

Both the Beco and MEVP funds have now registered in Bahrain in an effort “to help support the local ecosystem and build venture capital capability,” states Al Waha.

Additionally, Beco’s US-headquartered Wahed Invest recently registered in Bahrain and will soon graduate from the Central Bank of Bahrain’s (CBB) regulatory sandbox.

The fund is backed by a number of Bahrain-based institutions including Batelco, Bahrain Development Bank and sovereign wealth fund Mumtalakat, whose chief executive, Mahmood Alkooheji, praised Al Waha’s efforts to invest in local start-ups.

“The mandates of sovereign wealth funds invariably involve economic growth and although the majority of our portfolio management in Bahrain is geared towards the development of important national projects and job creation, these cannot be successful without entrepreneurship and innovation,” said Alkooheji.

“Al Waha is a great collaborative effort and has quickly become part of the connective tissue that is binding governments, investors, funds and entrepreneurs closer together for the benefit of all parties.”

©2019 funds global mena

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