SVC invests $15 million in Vision Ventures' $90 million Saqr Fund II, targeting pre-Seed to Pre-Series B startups across MENA

💸 Saudi Venture Capital (SVC), a Saudi government-backed fund of funds, has invested $15 million into Vision Ventures' Saqr Fund II, marking their second time as an anchor investor in a Vision Ventures fund.

• Launched in 2022, Saqr Fund II is targeting $90 million to support early-stage startups, ranging from pre-seed to pre-Series B. The fund takes a sector-agnostic approach, investing across various industries in Saudi Arabia and MENA.
• Notable investments from Fund II include Faceki, Rewaa, NearPay, and Ejari, with Vision Ventures leading NearPay’s $3.6 million pre-Series A and participating in Rewaa’s $27 million Series A and Ejari’s $14.65 million seed round.

💰 Investor low-down: Founded in 2016 by Haitham BuAisha and Kais Al-Essa, Vision Ventures has a strong track record in early-stage tech investments. Before launching their first GP/LP fund in 2018, the duo initially invested from their own balance sheet. SVC's $15 million investment supports its mission to catalyse venture capital activity and ease the fundraising process for Saudi-based high-growth startups.

⚙️ Breaking it down

Vision Ventures' first fund, which backed 43 startups, was approximately $25 million — about one-third the size of Saqr Fund II. Notable early investments from this fund include Salla, Rain, The Chefz, and Gathern.

Earlier this year, Vision Ventures exited part of its stake in Salla, generating an impressive 225x return. The stake was sold as part of a secondary transaction during Salla’s pre-IPO $130 million round, led by Investcorp and Sanabil Investments. Vision Ventures first invested in Salla during its seed round in 2018.

🔮 Flashforward

The larger fund size and its wide-stage focus will enable Vision Ventures to conserve capital for follow-on investments, allowing them to continue backing promising startups from their early stages as they scale towards growth.