Village Capital initially embarked on our ecosystem-building journey in 2016 to address the question, “How can ecosystem builders best support entrepreneurs to succeed?”
Fast-forward seven years, and we have collaborated with more than 170 ecosystem builders— including accelerators, incubators, and seed funds from 90 countries. These locally-led organizations have gone on to provide essential support to thousands of entrepreneurs who have collectively raised over USD$60 million in investment capital.
In recent years, the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region has witnessed exponential growth in capital invested in high-growth ventures. However, much of this capital is concentrated in a small pool of ventures, with investors citing challenges in unlocking the necessary pipeline to diversify their investments across a broader group. In 2022, we collaborated with the Dutch Good Growth Fund (DGGF) to launch our inaugural program for ecosystem builders in the MENA region.
Over the past six months, we have engaged in discussions with some of the most prominent early-stage investors, entrepreneurs, accelerators, and incubators in the MENA region. In this insights snapshot, we share some of the key themes which are currently shaping the early-stage venture ecosystem in the MENA region, as identified through these conversations.
Learn more by downloading the full report and the country snapshots.
