Cairo Angels launches venture capital fund for early stage start-ups

The fund aims to start investing in the first quarter of 2021

Egypt ranked first in terms of the number of funding deals and accounted for 25 per cent of the region's total funding. Getty Images

The Cairo Angels, a Egypt-based investment firm, rolled out a micro venture capital fund to invest in early stage start-ups in the Middle East and North Africa region.

The investment vehicle aims to start investing in the first quarter of 2021. It will finance companies in pre-Series A stage that are looking to expand regionally, the venture capital company said in a statement.

It is currently at the fund raising stage, Cairo Angels said without specifying the size of the fund.

"We have enjoyed great success investing in this space and we now want to democratise access to this exciting asset class to active and passive investors alike," said Aly El Shalakany, a member of the fund’s investment committee, said.

"Our new model will bring something different to the market and provide much needed capital to a clear gap in the funding life cycle of start-ups in our region.”

Funding to Mena start-ups rose 35 per cent to reach $659 million in the first half of this year, according to data platform Magnitt. The increase was largely driven by a few start-ups that were involved in sizeable and high-profile funding rounds before the coronavirus outbreak began, the report said.

Egypt, which counts start-ups such as doctor-booking platform Vezeeta and transport app Swvl among its local success stories, ranked first in terms of the number of deals and accounted for 25 per cent of the total funding raised in the region.

With a population of nearly 100 million, the country has also recently gained traction among VCs who scout for early stage companies.

In October, Egypt -based Foundation Ventures launched its new debut fund to invest in early stage start-ups within the country.