Why investing in start-ups is still attractive during the pandemic – The National

Why investing in start-ups is still attractive during the pandemic – The National

VCs and angel investors continue to inject capital into new ventures, but later stage companies and tech entities focused on solving pandemic challenges are gaining the most

















Illustration by Mathew Kurian









When movement restrictions ground the UAE to a halt, forcing schools, businesses and malls to close, start-up entrepreneurs may have assumed all investment activity would stop as well.



However, angel investors and venture capital funds have continued to inject capital into young businesses in the Mena region, particularly those that tackle pandemic-related challenges.









There has been a shift towards more established later stage start-ups than riskier earlier stage start-ups in the venture space





Philip Bahoshy, Magnitt





In February, Jassim Al Marzooqi, the founder and chief executive of Abu Dhabi angel investor network Path Investment Partners, chose to invest in a seed stage round of Dubai-based CleverX - a platform that connects people and organisations with experts in various domains - when the full effects of the pandemic were starting to be realised.



"The coronavirus situation accelerated the growth of this business proposition," he says. "With people at home not able to meet