Shorooq Partners, Abu Dhabi-based leading technology investor, has launched the second edition of its seed stage-focused fund, Bedaya Fund II, targeting a fund size of $150 million.
The Bedaya Fund II is part of the same strategy Shorooq Partners has been executing since its inception, as the firm is doubling down on the earliest stages of the startup founders’ journey. This is aligned with the firm’s fundamental principle of acting as founders’ partners, company builders and value investors.
The fund will primarily focus on the pre-seed, seed, pre-series A, and Series A stage startups in fintech, software, platform verticals, and digital assets.
Shane Shin Founding Partner Shorooq Partners
“We have always been early movers, be that robo-advisory, crowdfunding, SME lending, open banking, card issuer processing, and so forth. We believe Web 3.0 models like DeFi, NFT, Metaverse are going to be the key players in the next iteration of online business. Shorooq Partners has been preparing for this new wave of technology disruption, and we are well-positioned to back the upcoming category leaders of Web 3.0 in our region.”
The Bedaya Fund II currently boasts an exceptionally strong list of investors from the world’s top-tier sovereign wealth funds, corporates, institutions, and family offices. The newest investor groups include DisruptAD – ADQ’s venture platform, Dubai Future District Fund, Bupa Insurance, among others.
The firm has made over 80 investments in over 50 companies that currently have a gross equity value of $1.5 billion. The companies, which created more than 5,000 jobs, include Pure Harvest Smart Farms, TruKKer, Capiter, Lean Technologies, Sarwa, Lendo, NymCard, Breadfast, Airlift, Mozn, Aumet, and more.
Shorooq Partners has rapidly expanded over the past five years. The firm is trusted and its funds are backed by seven sovereign wealth funds and has established a strong physical foothold in six countries with on-ground proprietary deal sourcing capabilities.
“Now with six offices across our core markets and a large team, we are humbled and privileged to be a market maker in the region’s accelerating startup ecosystem. We are proud to take on this mission to support founders who deserve only the best kinds of investors that can provide them with inflection points,” said Mr. Mahmoud Adi, a founding partner at Shorooq Partners.
