Fresh off closing a $10 million fund earlier this year for Latin American startups, 500 Startups has pulled together capital for a new $15 million fund that will exclusively target startups in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA).
Despite just closing today, 500 Startups has already made 39 investments in MENA out of other funds, so the group does have experience deploying capital in the region. The Oman Investment Fund and the Qatar Science and Technology Park are serving as anchors for the new fund. The Oman Investment Fund has previously invested capital into 500 Startups’ main fund, but the Qatar Science and Technology Park is new.
Hasan Haider, the managing director of the MENA fund, has a massive task ahead of him. The Middle East alone encompasses a land area nearly the size of the United States, and, as such, the role will involve a lot of traveling. Haider is based in Bahrain but will be making regular trips to cities that are hotbeds for business activity, like Cairo, Riyadh, Dubai and Doha, where 500’s…