Canada’s leading healthcare technology investors, iGan Partners has partnered with Dubai-based investments professional and entrepreneur, Mr. Faisal Belhoul to create a regional fund to support MedTech innovation across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.
The $250 million iGan Arabia regional fund will focus on investing in artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud-enhanced medical devices and digital health technologies that will improve patient outcomes and reduce the cost of healthcare services in the region.
The fund aims to invest $250 million through limited partnerships with an additional $250 million in co-investments. This was announced during Arab Health 2022, the MENA region’s premier healthcare exhibition held in Dubai.
The first four initial investments have been identified to drive breakthrough MedTech in the region. These are Exact Imaging, the world’s first micro-ultrasound for unmatched resolution of prostate cancer, Okadoc, the region’s most advanced digital patient management solution, eSight Corporation, wearable electronic vision devices for legally blind people challenged by various eye diseases, and MolecuLight, the world’s first handheld imaging device that enables clinicians to visualize bacteria in real-time for advanced wound care.
HE Jean-Philippe Linteau, Consul General of Canada in Dubai and the Northern Emirates, commented, “I am pleased to see Canadian and UAE health innovation leaders partner together to create iGan Arabia. The UAE has proven to be an early adopter of innovation. This new partnership will help our healthcare technology companies grow and succeed globally.”
Faisal Belhoul Co-Chairman iGan Arabia
“Over the years, my focus has been on investing in education and healthcare, two core sectors that are at the heart of the region’s transformation. Through iGan Arabia we aim to invest in startups and other healthcare companies, especially in the GCC region and help them evolve as the best-in-class. We will support not only their operations in the region but also help scale up their operations to key markets in North America, Europe, and LATAM. iGan Arabia will help establish GCC as a world-class MedTech hub that will create thousands of new jobs and add value to the economy.”
iGan Arabia will help catalyze a vibrant MedTech ecosystem in the region spurring innovation and driving the emergence of new startups in the sector. Young innovators and healthcare practitioners can benefit from the fund in realizing their tech-entrepreneurial aspirations.
The fund brings the expertise of two successful international investment leaders, iGan Partners and Faisal Belhoul, who have proven credentials in driving MedTech venture capital funding and supporting healthcare entrepreneurs in Canada, the US and the GCC.
Commenting on the collaboration, Mr. Sam Ifergan, Founder & CEO, iGan Partners, said, “We see the GCC as a rapidly transformative region, particularly in the healthcare sector. We have identified and uncovered several innovative opportunities across Digital Health, Connected Medical Devices, Healthcare IT and AI. These are sectors in that iGan brings a lot of expertise and we understand what it takes for companies to scale and succeed. Through this first-of-its-kind Fund, we will invest locally and will showcase the GCC’s healthcare innovations to the world.”
