PIF’s Jada Fund of Funds Co. plans to invest in Investcorp’s $500m Saudi pre-initial public offering growth fund CAIRO: Saudi Arabia’s startup landscape has received a significant push after a subsidiary of the Kingdom’s Public Investment Fund committed to investing in several venture capital vehicles. PIF’s Jada Fund of Funds Co. plans to invest an undisclosed amount in Bahrain-based Investcorp’s $500 million Saudi pre-initial public offering growth fund. The investment vehicle is exclusively focused on supporting a diverse range of companies based in Saudi Arabia during their pre-IPO stage. Launched last year, the growth fund aims to invest in a diversified portfolio of fast-growing startups looking to go public. “One of Jada’s primary goals is to support the growth of the local private equity ecosystem, and we look forward to see Investcorp’s Saudi Pre-IPO Growth Fund playing an impactful role in supporting companies across the Kingdom that have strong growth trajectories and the ability to invigorate the wider small and medium enterprise community,” said Bandr Al-Homaly, CEO of Jada Fund of Funds Co. Last August, Investcorp led a $100 million pre-IPO funding round in TruKKer, a Saudi-based trucking marketplace with over 45,000 trucks on its platform. “Jada’s commitment to Investcorp Saudi Pre-IPO Fund marks the start of a long-term strategic partnership, as Investcorp continues to grow its assets under management across multiple asset classes in Saudi Arabia,” said Yasser Bajsair, head of Investcorp Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia’s startup investment landscape has experienced remarkable growth and transformation in recent years, mainly driven by government initiatives. PIF has allocated significant funds to invest in promising startups, fueling their growth and expansion. Jada has also participated in a joint fund between Saudi Arabia and South Korea to invest in startups from both countries. The joint fund falls under an agreement for investment cooperation and startup support between South Korea and Saudi Arabia, which was signed during a visit by Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman to the country in November last year. It was initially established with an injection of $10 million in an existing fund worth $150 million, in which Saudi Arabia is a key investor. An additional $160 million was raised on Wednesday, with participation from Saudi Venture Investment and Jada, Wamda reported. Launched in late 2019, Jada is a $1.07 billion fund targeting investments in startups, venture capital funds and private equity funds. Saudi VC Nama Ventures leads another cross-border funding round Saudi Arabia’s venture capital firm Nama Ventures led a pre-seed funding round for Nigeria-based logistics startup Messenger, Wamda reported. The firm also participated in a $3.6 million funding round for Termii, a Nigerian customer engagement solutions provider. Founded in 2018 by Amanda Etuk and Essein Etuk, Messenger looks to digitize the retail supply chain in Nigeria through its end-to-end logistics platform. The company claims to have processed 700,000 deliveries for its clients which include Jumia Food, Omnibiz, DHL, Glovo, and Shopex TV. Messenger plans to acquire 100,000 new customers in the next 12 months. Meanwhile, Termii offers a communication platform that supports 9,000 fintech companies to communicate with their clients. Founded in 2017, Termii is backed by startup accelerator Y-Combinator, along with investors including Fintech Collective, Launch Africa Ventures Aidi Ventures, and Ralicap Ventures, as well as Now Venture Partners, Vastly Valuable Ventures, and Nama Ventures. Egypt’s marketplace for trucks raises $3.5m Egypt’s Uber for trucks Trella has closed a $3.5 million funding round from newly launched private equity fund Avanz Capital Egypt. Founded in 2018, Trella connects shippers with trucks in real-time and has operations in Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and Egypt. The Avanz Capital fund, launched in 2022, is a subsidiary of Squared Capital International, and manages a couple of funds — one focuses on investing in startups and SMEs, and the other is aimed at supporting low-carbon projects MENA startup funding bounces back in May after a major slowdown in April The Middle East and North Africa region witnessed a massive slowdown in startup funding in April with just $7 million raised throughout the month, but managed to bounce back in May with $445 million invested across 39 deals. According to Wamda’s monthly startup funding report, the UAE led May’s funding growth with $422 million largely taken by buy now, pay later giant Tabby’s $350 million debt funding round. Qatar secured the second position for the first time, raising $12 million through superapp Snoonu. Saudi Arabia followed with $6 million raised across 15 deals. Excluding Tabby’s debt round, the total funding in the region decreased to $95 million, with the UAE contributing $71.6 million. Saudi Arabia took the lead in terms of deal count, driven by the graduation of seven local startups from the renowned Flat6labs Riyadh accelerator program.