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Shuaa Capital has launched the GCC’s largest regional venture debt fund, with a value of $250 million, to support growth in regional technology and tech-enabled enterprises .
The Dubai-based investment banking and asset management firm said in a statement to Dubai Financial Market (DFM) that the fund was aimed at those seeking alternative sources of funding without significantly diluting their shareholding.
Natasha Hannoun, head of debt at Shuaa Capital said: “SHUAA Venture Partners will provide alternative capital solutions to high growth companies across the GCC.
“We aim to support the growth of businesses, create jobs, lead further developments in innovation and technology, support economic diversification and guide founders towards realizing their vision.
“Our investors have the opportunity to diversify into a new asset class in technology, with a shorter investment horizon, frequent distributions and attractive financial returns.”
Shuaa said the strategy was shared the vision of the GCC’s regional goals of economic diversification and growth of the new economy, and that investments in growth companies throughout the GCC have been dominated by early-stage transactions and investors, with few able to support businesses throughout their growth cycle.
“As a result, several growth-stage companies have limited access to larger pools of capital and non-equity financial solutions; a gap which needs to be filled for new ventures to succeed,” the statement added.
Shuaa said venture debt regionally quadrupled from 2020 to 2021, with a total of $257 million deployed into 14 investments.
The firm has $545 million deployed in private debt transactions and $3 billion structured across sectors. Most recently it invested $50 million investment in Pure Harvest and the private investment in public equity (PIPE) funding for Anghami, the first Arab tech company to list on NASDAQ in New York last month.
(Reporting by Imogen Lillywhite; editing by Seban Scaria)
