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Saudi-based venture capital firm, Khwarizmi Ventures, announced today that Ameer Sherif has joined its team as Partner. He joins Khwarizmi Ventures (KV) to parlay his experience and expertise into a variety of areas and functions within the firm. Ameer will work alongside existing partners, Yasser AlKadi (Founding Partner) and Abdulaziz AlTurki (Managing Partner), as well as KV’s investment team to source and evaluate investment opportunities, and realize the fund’s founder-first approach by supporting the growth of its portfolio companies well beyond capital.
Ameer Sherif is the Co-founder and Chairman of BasharSoft, the technology company behind Egypt’s leading online employment platforms: Wuzzuf (white-collar professionals) and Forasna (blue-collar workers). Both platforms have collectively impacted the lives of more than 6 million job seekers across Egypt, and helped 50,000+ companies hire more than 800,000 people. Since co-founding the company in 2009, Ameer managed to bootstrap the company with minimal funding before successfully fundraising from top global VC tech investors from Silicon Valley and Europe, most of which were first time investors in Egypt and the region. In 2021, Ameer moved into a non-executive Chairman role to focus on public policy and venture capital.
Ameer Sherif, Partner at KV and Co-Founder & Chairman of BasharSoft - “Over the past year, I've had discussions with more than 10 regional VC funds, where Khwarizmi Ventures stood out for multiple reasons: the overwhelmingly positive feedback from portfolio founders on the support and value-add they received, the partners’ impressive reputation and network in Saudi Arabia, and its astounding portfolio built in such a short period, thanks to a proficient investment team. Together with my operating experience, network, and connections in Egypt, KV is strongly positioned to strengthen the bridge between the largest two markets and tech ecosystems at the center of MENA, and accelerate current and future founders’ expansion across both markets.”
Back in 2019, Ameer was selected as an Endeavor Entrepreneur and named as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum. He sits on the board of multiple private and publicly listed companies, in addition to being a board member at ITIDA, the executive arm of the Ministry of ICT in Egypt, which focuses on setting strategies on digitization, innovation, and entrepreneurship in Egypt. Ameer holds a MSc degree in Computer Engineering and BSc in Electronic and Communications both from Cairo University, and has also completed executive programs on Public Policy at Harvard Kennedy School and business leadership executive programs at Stanford, MIT, INSEAD, and HBS.
Abdulaziz AlTurki, Managing Partner of Khwarizmi Ventures - “As an entrepreneur-centric VC, we’re excited to have Ameer on board and to welcome the new perspective he brings to the table as an entrepreneur and ecosystem builder. There are very few entrepreneurs who have endured and grew their tech companies for more than a decade in MENA well before the boom of entrepreneurship, and Ameer is one of them. Together, we hope to capitalize on his rich expertise and firsthand founding experiences to further drive our efforts in supporting our portfolio companies and founders during the different stages of their journeys.”
Khwarizmi’s current fund of $70m has an active portfolio of 27 companies that tap into various sectors and regions, including companies like Khazna (Fintech), Bosta (Logistics), Pylon (SMaaS), Calo (Foodtech), Eyewa (E-Commerce), Dastgyr (B2B E-Commerce), RemotePass (HR Tech), Soum (Re-Commerce), Maqsam (SaaS), among others. The fund has already seen 2 exits that include Fatura (acquired by Tanmeyah) and POSRocket (acquired by Foodics).
During Q1 of this year, KV was recognized as 2nd most active investor in MENA by number of deals and bracket size. The sector-agnostic fund continues to strengthen and diversify its team’s regional and industry expertise as it expands its network and further extends needed support to portfolio companies. In his new role, Ameer will be a definite value-add across all stages of sourcing, selection, and support for Khwarizmi Ventures' growing portfolio – which currently spans from Morocco to Pakistan, with two-thirds of the portfolio based in either Saudi Arabia or Egypt.
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