Investment firm Sawari Ventures has announced the US$35 million first closing of a fund for investing in technology and knowledge driven companies in Egypt, Tunisia and Morocco.
The raise, which is part of the US$70 million Sawari Ventures North Africa Fund I (SVNFI), was announced on the sidelines of the Africa 2018 Business Forum in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt. Investors include the European Investment Bank (EIB), the UK’s CDC, Proparco, and the Dutch Good Growth Fund (DGGF) managed by Triple Jump.
The fund will invest an average ticket size of US$1.5 million and will be looking to back 25 growth stage North African companies leading the knowledge economy in sectors such as ICT, fintech, ed-tech, e-health, and renewable energy. Sawari Ventures will also soon announce the closing of an Egypt only fund in parallel to SVNFI.
“We are creating the first of a kind VC vehicle to combine top tier international and local institutional investors to cement VC as an asset class in Egypt; we are initiating a sustainable Egyptian VC industry to ensure availability of funding for future entrepreneurs,” said Wael Amin, partner at Sawari Ventures.
