Zain Group, a leading innovator of mobile communications in eight markets across the Middle East and Africa, announces its first foray in venture capital investment through a strategic anchor participation in Middle East Venture Partners' (MEVP)latest fund. The Dubai based MEVF II fund will invest in early stage technology companies with proven traction in the MENA region and will focus its investment on three verticals: Web and mobile digital plays; e-marketplaces; and B2B companies.
This investment by Zain builds on the establishment of the Zain Digital Frontier and Innovation (ZDFI) business unit in 2014, which is charged with launching Zain into the digital space with the view to growing the company through new innovative business streams that add to Zain's customer service offerings. ZDFI focuses on the areas of innovation; digital services; corporate venturing; and smart cities.
Founded in 2010, MEVP is the Arab world's leading independent venture capital firm with more than 25 investments in the digital space since inception. MEVP's assets under management have reached in excess of $100 million, conducting business across three offices in Beirut, Dubai, and Silicon Valley.
Commenting on the strategic investment, Zain Group CEO Scott Gegenheimer said, "By investing in MEVP's latest fund, Zain is increasing its exposure to the digital economy and becoming an active participant in this new digital age. We believe there is significant growth potential for digitally-focused companies and this investment showcases our intention to remain at the forefront of innovation."
On his part Emre Gurkan, Zain Group Chief Strategy and Business Development Officer said, "MEVP's fund will invest in promising Arab entrepreneurs dedicated to building the region's best technology companies, and we aim to leverage the development of these start-ups in several ways, which includeZain bringingunique and life-enriching digital products and services to its customers."
Walid Hanna, Founder and Managing Partner of MEVP said, "Our portfolio companies will be thrilled to know that telecom operators, with Zain at the forefront, are finally investing and becoming actively involved in MENA's digital start-up scene. Most of our portfolio companies are looking to leverage telecom operators' infrastructure and customer base to activate new markets and scale, and so the synergies expected are significant with Zain."
MEVP's investment philosophy is to back superior entrepreneurs in solving sizable pain points using technology. The Fund has already identified four prime opportunities that it will invest in:
* YouGotAGift.com (YGAG) is the leading online marketplace specialized in digital gift cards in the MENA region. Based in Dubai, YGAG offers e-gifts that are redeemable at 100s of stores to consumers and businesses across the region.
* AlTibbi.com is the largest Arabic medical website and mobile app that provides users with easy and free access to medical information as well as direct e-connections to more than 5,000 doctors. Based in Amman, Al Tibbi reaches over4 million unique Arab users per month.
* TheLuxuryCloset.com is the region's largest and fastest growing online market place where users buy, sell, and consign pre-owned luxury bags and accessories at a heavily discounted price. Based in Dubai, The Luxury Closet provides customers with thousands of pre-owned high-end luxury items and offers up to 70% discounts, authentication and instant item return guarantees.
* Lamsa World is a leading interactive educational smartphone and tablet app providing quality Arabic e-content to children aged between 1-7 years of age. Based in Abu Dhabi, Lamsa offers children more than 100 e-books and educational e-content all updated on a regular basis.
With more than 25 investments in the tech space since inception, MEVP has pioneered venture capital investments across the Middle East and has backed some of the region's best web and mobile companies. Recently, MEVP announced its first successful investment exit by selling Shahiya.com, the leading Arabic recipe website, to Japanese-based Cookpad, the world's leading online recipes service.
The exit reflected a 600% return for MEVP validating the venture capital firm's strategy of investing in companies with the potential to become MENA leaders in their own vertical markets.
