Our
Perspectives

Mohammed AlTwaijri is an investment professional at Shorooq Partners in Riyadh, with a background in entrepreneurship, having built and exited multiple F&B and retail ventures. He holds a degree in Electrical Engineering and Electronics and enjoys chess in his free time.

To most, the desert represents emptiness. Sky Kurtz saw it as a land of opportunities. His startup, Pure Harvest Smart Farms, is revolutionising hydroponic farming, enabling high-quality fresh fruits, vegetables and leafy greens to grow in the harshest of landscapes. That is, the UAE's sand dunes.

In this Investment Digest, our Partner Yousef Albabtain dives into the reasons why we invested in the Saudi AI company Intelmatix.

وفي مقابلة مع سكاي نيوز عربية، تحدث يوسف البابطين، الشريك في شروق بارتنرز، عن قطاع الذكاء الاصطناعي الناشئ، مؤكداً أنه لا يزال في مراحله الأولى. وسلط الضوء على كيفية دعم دولة الإمارات العربية المتحدة والمملكة العربية السعودية بشكل فعال لتطوير الذكاء الاصطناعي، حيث تمثل المنطقة حاليًا 2٪ فقط من سوق الذكاء الاصطناعي العالمي.

In this Investment Digest, our Principal Tina Daher dives into the reasons why we invested in Climatetech company 44.01.

تامر عازر يتحدث لمغامرة عن الاستثمار في مصر وإفريقيا.

In this video, our panel of experts talk about, Skill Sets of the Future.

In the second episode of the VC React Podcast, Shorooq Partners' Tamer Azer joins to discuss key industry news, including WakeCap's acquisition of Crews by Core to enhance global construction projects and Hashed Ventures' expansion to Abu Dhabi's crypto and tech sectors. The episode also covers Breega's new Africa fund and Saudi Arabia's Esports World Cup, with insights into how these developments are shaping the MENA region.

At Shorooq Partners, we believe in nurturing the next generation of innovators and leaders. We recently sat down with one of our brilliant former interns to hear about their transformative experience with us. Their journey was filled with hands-on learning, mentorship, and the opportunity to work on impactful projects.

جانب مختلف من ريادة الأعمال بيكشفهولنا تامر عاذر واحد من أهم رائدي الاستثمار في مصر اعرف أكتر على نظرة المستثمرين للمشروعات والشركات الناشئة.

Dr. Bilal Baloch leads value creation at Shorooq Partners, the region’s fastest growing venture capital fund. Bilal is the Co-Founder and Board Member of Enquire AI, a software company that uses artificial intelligence to verify and deliver expert insights to organizations worldwide. He was formerly COO and then Co-CEO of the firm from 2016-2023. He holds a patent, with his co-founders, on the matching technology undergirding the Enquire AI platform.

Meet Selim, a Strategy Associate at Shorooq Partners, who focuses on evaluating and launching new fund opportunities, while providing strategic and operational support to portfolio companies. With experience in strategy consulting and investment banking, he has a strong background in tech-related finance and holds advanced degrees from Sciences Po, Paris, and Bocconi University, Milan.

In collaboration with MAGNiTT, Shorooq's Nathan Kwon recently discussed the dynamics of private credit and venture debt in emerging markets as part of a broader report on MENA's 2023 venture debt activities.

From engineer to leading venture capitalist in the region, Mahmoud Adi has built a multidisciplinary career that’s now shaping the future of tech in the Middle East. As the founding partner of ‪Shorooq Partners‬, he invests in leading tech companies and drives innovation.

شركة شروق بارتنرز تُطلق صندوق الائتمان الثاني بقيمة 100 مليون دولار بعد نجاح الصندوق الأول في دعم روّاد الأعمال التكنولوجيين في منطقة الشرق الأوسط وشمال أفريقيا

Hear from our team members on their roles, the culture at Shorooq Partners and what is it like on a daily basis.

In this video, Tamer Azer, a partner at Shorooq Partners, discusses his journey as an investor, the challenges of building a reputation in new markets, and insights on Egypt's startup recovery. He also delves into fintech models, regional infrastructure challenges, the future of climate tech, and opportunities in the MENA venture capital space.

في هذه الحلقة من برنامج ريادة، نتحدث عن أحدث المستجدات في منظومة الاستثمار الجريء في السعودية، حيث ينضم الشريك في شروق بارتنرز، يوسف البابطين، مباشرة من الرياض. نستعرض التحديات والفرص التي تواجه الشركات الناشئة في المنطقة ونتحدث عن قطاعات الاستثمار المستقبلية.

ما الذي يتطلبه الأمر لتكون رئيس شركة أو رائد أعمال؟ ما جديد منظومة الاستثمار الجريء في السعودية؟ عملاق التوصيل الصيني ميتوان يخطط لإطلاق تطبيق كيتا لتوصيل الطعام في الرياض

Shane Shin joins other experts at the Paklaunch Unconference to discuss the Pakastani Startup Ecosystem.

Meet Sofia. Sofia has nearly a decade of experience in debt investing across emerging and developed markets, leading investments in Europe and MENAP at Symbiotics. Fluent in Russian, English, and French, she enjoys mindfulness practices and outdoor adventures with her daughter.

This blog post summarizes insights from a panel discussion at our AGM event, moderated by Mohammad Alblooshi of DIFC Innovation Hub and FinTech Hive. Panelists, including leaders from Shorooq Partners, Outliers Venture Capital, and Emirates Investment Authority, covered topics such as the impact of SVB’s collapse, the "capital drought," assessing startups, ChatGPT, healthcare opportunities, and advice for founders.

Robby Yung, CEO at Animoca Brands and Tarek Fouad, Partner at Shorooq Partners discuss the relevance of Web3 amid dynamic changes in the tech sector and why it is crucial for investors navigating a competitive landscape.

"If you are growing from Pakistan today to the US or to Egypt or to Saudi - what has worked for you in this market probably would need rethinking. It is a lot more insightful for you to talk to people who have gone through it and who can give you some tips to make sure you are a lot more efficient in that growth plan." Mahmoud Adi talks about the insight that Endeavor entrepreneurs can gain from the experiences of mentors within the Endeavor network.

Tarek Fouad, Partner at Shorooq Partners speaking on opportunities and challenges of expanding Korean Startups to the Middle East and beyond.

A Fireside chat delving into the dynamic world of gaming investments in Turkey vs MENA! joined by Tarek Fouad from Shorooq Partners.

We are honored to present a profound session by Tarek Fouad, a Partner at Shorooq Partners, at the Mobidictum Conference 2023. Tarek is a beacon of visionary leadership in the tech investment and fund management sphere across the MENAP region, leading the acclaimed SHFT incubator and accelerator and pioneering initiatives in the Gametech sector.

In this episode, I had a conversation with Mahmoud Adi, Founding Partner of Shorooq Partners and Co-Founder & Board Member at Pure Harvest Smart Farms, the largest Agri tech business in MENA region. Mahmoud is a celebrated Entrepreneur, a successful Venture Capitalist leading one of the largest tech investment firms in emerging markets and sitting on the Board of various companies.

Dr. Bilal Baloch, Partner at Shorooq Partners talks about our latest investment in climate tech company 44.01 and how this is a game changer in carbon elimination and fighting climate change.

تابعوا آخر الأخبار على موقعنا

Midsalike interviews Tamer Azer, Partner at Shorooq Partners, on the start up ecosystem, the MENA region, and what separates Mindsalike from other ENTs.

An expert panel discusses 'From Idea to Investment: Navigating the World of Game Development Funding for First-Time Developers'.

Shane Shin talks to Yousuf Khan, partner at Ridge Ventures, and discusses the learnings from Shorooq's recent fundraise for the founders, including valuable insights on pitching going forward.

Abdur-Rahim Syed, Partner, sat down with Mahmoud Adi, Founding Partner at Shorooq Partners @shorooqpartners7780, to discuss how to navigate challenges and opportunities for the start-up ecosystem in MENAP.

شاهد حديث محمود عدي، الشريك المؤسس لشركة شروق بارتنرز، المستثمر التكنولوجي الرائد في الشرق الاوسط، شمال أفريقيا و باكستان عن تداعيات إنهيار سيليكون فالي بنك و الإجراءات الاستباقية التي اتخذتها الشركة لحماية أموال المستثمرين و ما هي الخطة المستقبلية لتجنب حدوث هذه المخاطر في المستقبل.

In this episode, Shane Shin, Founding Partner at Shorooq Partners, shares key lessons from his journey, Shorooq’s investment thesis, and how he sources deals. He also discusses his investment criteria, process, thoughts on firing founders, fund returns, governance as a board member, and Shorooq's long-term vision.

Tamer Azer, Partner at Shorooq Partners, speaks to Changelabs one the topic of raising money.

Aya Sadder of Why Bolt, Aboudi Al-Qattan of Dash Ventures, Tina Daher of Shorooq Partners and Hamza Khan of Letswork answer your questions of what startups look for in a VC and how investors value a startup and the process they go through.

MANTRA ($OM), the Layer 1 blockchain for Real World Assets (RWA), has announced the completion of a new funding round. Top venture and technology investor in the MENA region, Shorooq Partners, led the $11M investment round. Additionally, a diverse range of strategic investors such as Three Point Capital, Forte Securities, Virtuzone, Hex Trust, GameFi Ventures, Caladan, Token Bay Capital, BlackPine, Mapleblock, Fuse Capital and others, joined the funding.

Tamer Azer Partner at Shorooq Partners shares his journey and experience working in policy making & the powerful but slow cycle that policy making can have to affect change.

Amal Enan Managing Partner at Lotus Capital, Minoush Abdelmeguid Founding Partner of Mezzan, Hany Assaad Managing Director at Avanz Capital, Tamer Azer Partner at Shorooq Partners give practical advice for female founders on how to approach investors and how to “game” the system that is usually stacked against female founders.

Joining "The Egypt - Pakistan Venture Corridor" webinar are Hadeer Shalaby (MD, talabat), Mahmoud Ibrahim (Co-Founder & CEO, Homzmart), Sumair Farooqui (Co-Founder, Kashat Egypt), Tamer Azer (Partner, Shorooq Partners), and Faisal Aftab (Co-Founder & Managing Partner, Zayn Capital). Our host will be Ovais N. (Partner, Rise Capital). Our guests will be sharing knowledge of their ecosystems and discuss potential lessons to be learnt and the areas of collaboration.

Shorooq Partners enjoys backing from prominent institutional investors like Mubadala, Saudi Venture Capital Company, AlWaha, Jada, ADQ and KVIC. In our candid chat with Tina, we try and explore Shorooq's investment ethos, sectors it operates in, values it brings to the table and its future plans.

As momentous as Careem’s journey as a startup was, perhaps its more important legacy will be in how it gave rise to a whole new set of entrepreneurs who are today making waves around the MENA region and beyond. In a conversation featuring past and current employees of Careem, we look into the factors that made this success story possible, and how other enterprises–startup or otherwise–can follow their lead in shaping innovators of the future.

This panel highlights representatives from the builders of the MENA startup ecosystem, and the role of each player to create the fertile land for more startups to come.

Join Tamer Azer, Partner at Shorooq Partners and Siddiq Farid, Co-Founder and CEO of SmartCrowd as they discuss what makes for a successful investment.

This event is brought to you by 9x90™, Shorooq Partners, Molo9™ & The IE Alumni Club of Saudi Arabia.

On the second episode of the show, we had the pleasure of being joined by Shane Shin (شين شن) 유근. Shane co-founded Shorooq Partners, a leading early-stage, technology-focused venture capital firm in the GCCC region which has been acclaimed by Forbes Middle East as one of the Top-20 VC in the entire Middle East.

A Fintech Advance Team Conversation with Shane Shin, Founding Partner of Shorooq Partners.

Since the discovery of oil in the Middle East during the early 1900s, Middle East has been one of the world’s largest producer / exporters of oil and this is how the world has been looking at the region. Yet, over the last many years, the region has been gradually yet surely transitioning to the post-oil era, driven by talents, innovation, technology and financial services among others. This session is to highlight Middle East in a concise summary and illustrate what the region is really about, and what we can do to be part of this gigantic movement happening in the region. There are too many mistrued preconceptions towards the Middle East and we hope to demystify this.

In this panel discussion from the Abu Dhabi Global Market, prominent investors Shane Shin, Tala Al Jabri, Sonia Gokhale, and Frank Meehan share their expertise on identifying promising startups in the Middle East.

ADGM is pleased to host a live webcast session with prominent experts from VC Circle, Global Ventures, Shorooq Partners and VentureSouq, who will provide insights on the Middle East’s ever evolving start-up investments and VC ecosystem.

Africa Tech Summit Connects is a digital series to share insights and resources from across the African tech ecosystem and connect the industry through webinars and online content. Recorded on April 30th we discussed the current market in Egypt with Tamer Azer Principal at Sawari Ventures.

Shane Shin, Co-Founder & Managing Partner at Shorooq Partners, talked about leading (or not) early stage startup investments and why it’s important to look for an investor who can fully partner up and fight for you for a successful capital raising.

Startup Hustle Middle East had the chance to catch up with Shane and discuss what the motivations were behind Shorooq investments backing four startups. These startups are from different industries and were at different stages on their startup journey, but there are definitely some commonalities between the four, that makes them investable. If you are a startup looking to raise and don't know how to approach VCs or what they look for, this episode is for you!

In this episode, we interview Dr. Eric Siegel (‪@EricSiegelPredicts‬) the co-founder and CEO of Gooder AI, about the field of machine learning and its deployment in organizations. We discuss the importance of deploying machine learning models and the challenges that organizations face in achieving successful deployment.

In this conversation, Tarek Fouad interviews Firas Al Msaddi, the founder and CEO of FAM Properties, Dubai's largest real estate company. They discuss the role of technology in the real estate market, and the success of FAM Properties' ERP system. They also touch on the impact of COVID-19 on the real estate market and the recent increase in interest rates.

Ayman Ahmed, Founder and CEO of Pearl Semiconductors, shares his journey in the semiconductor industry, from the challenges of entering the business to the establishment of Pearl Semiconductors as a global player. He discusses the unique technologies and team dynamics that have contributed to the company's success, as well as the management of diverse teams across different countries.

Join us on Groundbreakers as Ceren Gokoglu, Chief of Staff, Innovation and AI at Careem, delves into the transformative role of AI in enhancing customer experience and driving operational efficiency. In this episode, Ceren discusses the strategic integration of AI across Careem's services, emphasizing the importance of clear objectives and strong leadership buy-in for successful AI adoption.

Ahmed Mahmoud, founder and CEO of DXwand, shares his journey as a founder and how AI is shaping the future of enterprise. DXwand offers conversational knowledge discovery for enterprises, turning unstructured data into actionable insights.

Dr. Bilal Baloch discusses the value creation function at Shorooq Partners, a private equity firm. The value creation team goes beyond providing financial support and aims to help companies with talent acquisition, business strategy, capital advisory, and more.