New VC fund to invest $60 million in 120 Mena startups

New VC fund to invest $60 million in 120 Mena startups

The former managing partners of 500 Startups Mena (500 Falcons) Sharif El-Badawi and Hasan Haider have launched a new venture capital fund, Plus Venture Capital (+VC), with a target fund size of $60 million.

With its headquarters in Bahrain and offices in Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Egypt, +VC is planning to invest in 120 early-stage startups across the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region, focusing on tech and tech-enabled startups across a variety of sectors, including fintech, healthtech, edtech, logistics, content and e-commerce.

"The Mena startup scene, rather than being crushed by the pandemic, has bounced back with renewed vigour. Major market slumps usually lead to big rebounds -the 2008 financial crash is just the most recent example. Tech companies emerged the clear winners from the last downturn, and this time