UAE’s Top 11 Venture Capital Firms [2023]

Since recently, UAE has become one of the world’s top destinations for tech startups. Indeed, in 2021 UAE’s VCs and its venture capital ecosystem together have invested in total a whopping $1.2 billion, more than 2x vs. 2020..!

In addition to funding, UAE’s VCs often also offer founders valuable support for hiring, product development, sales and marketing.

In this article we have listed our top picks for the best venture capital firms (VCs) in UAE. So, if you haven’t yet started to reach out, here is a good place to start learning about them.

Note: this article is part of a series where we present you the top Venture Capital firms across the world. Have a look at the complete list here.

Looking for UAE’s top startup incubators and accelerators instead? Check out our ranking here.

UAE’s Top 11 Venture Capital Firms

Here’s a summary of our top 11 picks for UAE’s best VCs for tech startups (in alphabetical order):

Name	Round	Investment size	Investments
Arzan Venture Capital	Seed	$1M-$20M	15
Dtec Ventures	Seed	$100K-$500K	22
EQ2 Ventures	Seed, Series A, A+	Undisclosed	21
Global Ventures	Seed	$500K -$4M	50
Iliad Partners	Seed, Series A	$300K-$1M	5
Jabbar Internet Group	Series A+	$2M-$5M	33
Wamda	Seed, Series A, A+	$1M-$5M	44
BECO Capital	Seed, Series A	$500K – $5M	36
Mudabala Ventures	Series A+	Undisclosed	72
Shorooq Partners	Seed, Series A	Undisclosed	45
Venture Souq	Seed, Series A	Undisclosed	144

1. Arzan Venture Capital

Arzan Venture Capital is one of the earliest venture capital firms investing in the UAE region. Since its inception in 2014, the VC firm has been investing in early-stage and fast-growing innovative technology startups. 

While the VC firm makes global investments, they focus mainly on entrepreneurs with interests in the UAE region. Their particular focus enables them to add value and work closely with the startups they are funding. 

Overall, Arzan Venture Capital remains committed to building a long-lasting relationship with the region’s talented entrepreneurs and ensuring their success. 

Their initial investments fall in the range of $1M-$20M. 

2. Dtec Ventures

Dtec Ventures is a venture capital that focuses on the UAE and North Africa regions.  

The VC firm prefers Investing in early-stage technology companies led by innovative founders. The VC firm provides investee companies access to startup funding, creating successful business ventures.

For every investment, they consider talented, passionate, and ambitious technology founders and teams that seek to create meaningful impact and add value to the region.  

Typically, the VC firm prefers consumer and enterprise software companies. Their initial investment amount falls in the range of $100K-$500K. 

3. EQ2 Ventures

EQ2 Ventures is a technology-focused VC firm backing entrepreneurs in their journey of building tomorrow’s large businesses. The VC firm was founded by strategic investors with a strong business legacy and focused on supporting talented entrepreneurs to create long-term value.

They have a strong focus on the areas they understand well and where they can mobilize their ecosystem to help top-notch entrepreneurs to solve their challenges.

Typically, the VC firm invests in Ad-tech. eCommerce, Fintech, Health-tech, digital content, Ed-tech, and marketplaces. 

They prefer investing at Seed to Series B stage companies. 

4. Global Ventures

Global Ventures is a VC firm that invests in big ideas that create a huge impact. The venture capital firm seeks to invest in global-minded founders who lead growth-stage technology companies that transform markets and the world. 

The international VC firm has a diverse team that ensures a collaborative approach in helping their investee companies grow. 

Their portfolio companies have access to passionate and curious individuals who operate together in an ever-changing and dynamic marketplace. 

5. Iliad Partners

Iliad Partners is a UAE-based Venture Capital firm investing in early-stage technology companies.  

The VC firm adopts a hands-on approach in helping business founders build the disruptive companies of tomorrow. 

Ideally, they target the startups that power the technology enablement and digitize the UAE region’s economy across several sectors. 

In addition, the VC firm invests in innovative global startups with developed disruptive technologies that fill critical innovation gaps.

Iliad Partners work with experienced founders who have strong, fully committed teams and are well-positioned to execute local solutions suitable for the region.

The VC firm’s initial investment is between $300K and $1M per portfolio company.   

6. Jabbar

Jabbar is a venture capital firm that focuses on growing technology companies within the UAE region. The VC firm embraces innovative founders who are ready to take risks to create disruptive solutions.

Some of their notable investments include Maktoob, the first and largest Arabic online portal acquired by Yahoo in 2009. In addition, the VC firm takes pride in having invested in SOUQ.com, a leading eCommerce platform in the Middle East region, acquired by Amazon in 2017.

Their initial investment is between $2M to $5M. 

7. Wamda

Wamda is undeniably one of UAE’s top VCs. Besides UAE, Wamda also invests in ventures in Turkey, and Sub-Saharan Africa. 

The VC firm seeks to accelerate entrepreneurship ecosystems through its multi-stage investment vehicle. As such, the VC firm provides financial funding and offers portfolio companies opportunities for thought leadership and research to accelerate their growth.  Ideally, the VC firm invests in post-launch startups that have generated traction.

Wamda expects founders to submit a pitch via their contact form to attract their investment. The company founders must indicate adequate information about their idea and illustrate how they intend to make an impact. 

Their initial investments fall in the range of $1M-$5M. 

8. BECO Capital

Beco Capital is an investment firm that seeks to back resourceful and daring founders with unique visions and operating cultures. The VC firm looks for founders whose focus is building innovative solutions to solve the world’s most significant problems.

The VC firm prefers leading Seed and Series A rounds, and their initial investments range between $500K and $5M depending on the stage of the deal. However, the VC firm takes initial ownership equity of 20% for every investment they make. 

The VC firm provides portfolio companies access to a network of experts and talented management teams. Besides, they offer portfolio companies access to ongoing data analytics, enabling them to reach informed decisions. 

9. Mudabala Ventures

Mudabala Ventures is another of UAE’s best VCs. a technology-focused VC firm that backs early-stage firms led by visionary founders. 

The VC firm seeks to support innovative founders by providing financial investments. The VC firm is based in the world’s leading technology hubs and has maintained an international focus. 

Typically, they support outstanding founders who have shown deep domain expertise and are actively running their businesses.  

Mudabala Ventures takes active board positions at the portfolio companies. Their investment teams support portfolio companies’ management, enabling them to create value over time. 

10. Shorooq Partners

Shorooq Partners is a leading technology investor targeting emerging markets and collaborating with exceptional entrepreneurs in building enduring businesses. Since it came into existence, the VC firm has invested in more than 45 portfolio companies and attained a portfolio gross equity value of over $1.5Billion.

Typically, the VC firm loves collaborating with Seed and Series A startups that use technology to impact financial services, agriculture, education, healthcare, and various sectors.

Shorooq partners has a track record of scaling up companies consistently and ensuring more robust performance.  

11. Venture Souq

Venture Souq is an investment firm targeting seed-stage companies. The VC firm invests in high-growth companies within the Middle East and North Africa region. 

Headquartered in the UAE, the VC firm leverages its global network in helping the portfolio companies to scale, hire key personnel, and enter new markets. They provide educational content and guide management teams through the challenging journey of building successful ventures. 

Venture Souq ensures a conscious approach to investing. Therefore, they choose early-stage companies that harness the power of technology to address the most pressing societal issues. The VC firm invests in Fintech, Enterprise software, Mobility, Health tech, Food tech, and Digital media.