Kuwait’s Zain launches VC arm with investments in Swvl and Pipe

Kuwait’s Zain launches VC arm with investments in Swvl and Pipe

Zain, the leading telecommunications group of the region that’s present in seven markets and serves close to 50 million individuals and businesses has launched a venture capital arm, Zain Ventures, it announced today. With the launch, Zain Ventures has also announced its first two investments; Dubai-based mobility startup Swvl and American fintech Pipe.

It did not disclose the size of any of these investments but given the stage the two companies are at, it is safe to assume that Zain Ventures is interested in growth-stage technology companies, across the world. Zain is the third leading telecom operator from GCC to have launched a VC arm. Mobily had done it first without much success and STC Ventures which was managed by an external team (Iris Capital) was the second one. It backed companies like Careem, Modanisa, and YallaCompare, with the Careem exit generating 100x return on their initial investment. STC is also the single limited partner in STV.

Zain Ventures is investing in Swvl through a $100 million PIPE (a private investment in a public entity) that’s part of its recently announced SPAC merger. The second investment, Pipe, is a trading platform for recurring revenue contracts. It enables companies to convert their recurring revenue streams into upfront capital.