Another piece of good news for Arab entrepreneurs: , one of the region's better VC funds. Riyada has invested in some pretty cool regional startups, including (which runs the MedieME website among others), the tech/media research house , and , a pretty interesting software company specialised in security for flash applications. Khaldoon Tabaza, an old hand in Jordan's startup community, will remain in charge of Riyada, which will have $200 million of new funding through Abraaj. Mr Tabaza has been a part of some of the region's best known startups and funds, including Arabia Online (the first Arab dotcom), the Ideavelopers tech fund, ABAN and the iPark incubator in Amman. , the newly cash-rich Riyada will provide what the Abraaj CEO calls "patriotic capital," partnering with the entrepreneurship and SME development programs of regional governments. That is a very smart move - governments across the region are realising that bankrolling entrepreneurs is a no-brainer, but most lack is the VC mindset (and skill set). If Abraaj / Riyada are clever, they can team up with the big government funds, access pools of money, make lots of money in the process, and maybe make the Middle East a better place to be a smart entrepreneur.