Sawari Ventures plans new $200m fund to back Egyptian startups

🇪🇬 Egypt-based VC firm Sawari Ventures is preparing to launch its second fund, “Sawari Ventures II,” in early 2025, with a target of raising $200 million.

• Of the total $200 million, approximately 70%, or $140 million, will be allocated to Egyptian startups over the next four to five years.
• The firm will focus most of the fund on startups in their Series A and B stages, with a portion reserved for seed-stage investments.

💰 Investor low-down: Founded in 2010 by Ahmed Alfi, Hany Al Sonbaty, and Wael Amin, Sawari Ventures currently manages a $69 million Egypt-focused fund it closed in 2021, and another $71 million fund that is focused on North Africa.

⚙️ Breaking it down

The firm has directly backed over 30 companies, including Swvl, MoneyFellows and Instabug.

• Roughly 35% of its portfolio is dedicated to fintech, with a focus on digitising Egypt's economy and enhancing financial inclusivity.

Flat6Labs, a leading accelerator in MENA, was also founded by Sawari Ventures in 2011.

It has supported over 500 startups across the region through various Flat6Labs accelerators.

🔮 Flashforward

The new fund will consist of two components — an Egypt-focused fund to mobilise local capital and an international fund targeting foreign investors and development finance institutions to support startups across Egypt, Tunisia, Morocco, Kenya, and West Africa,

The new fund will focus on sustainable growth in Egypt in sectors like fintech, edtech, healthtech, cleantech, and deeptech.