Name: Ibtikar Fund
Location: Palestine
Website: www.ibtikarfund.com
Size: We are currently raising Ibtikar Fund II, which we are targeting to be a $30M fund. We conducted a first close in December 2021 of $15M. Fund I was $10.35M.
What it is: Ibtikar Fund invests in tech startups founded by Palestinians. The majority of our fund will be invested in Palestine, with a third of our fund reserved for Palestinians in the MENA region diaspora.
We invest early, seed through Series A, and couple our investments with hands-on support from our management team and outside experts as needed, helping them grow and expand in the Arab world and beyond.
Minimum investment for LPs: $250K for individuals, $1M for institutions.
Leadership: Ibtikar’s managing partners are Habib Hazzan and Ambar Amleh.
Habib has a track record of over 25 years as a business pioneer in the Middle East and worldwide, as an attorney, strategy consultant and venture capitalist. Ambar has extensive experience supporting Palestinian entrepreneurs, including managing Palestine’s first acceleration program.
Track record: All Ibtikar Fund I companies have moved from ideas to sales, with 17 companies moving to regional or international sales. Some of our best performing companies are making six to seven figures in yearly sales in international markets. Nine companies have received investments by third parties at higher valuations. In terms of impact, our portfolio companies have created over 250 direct professional jobs– over half of which are held by youth (under 30) and a third by women; and 40% of our active portfolio is female founded.
We are excited to build on this great momentum with Fund II.
Quote:
“We are very proud that investors from Fund 1 have strongly invested in Fund 2– most of them have increased their investment amount, doubling down not only in our team, but also in the potential of Palestinian startups,” said Amleh.
“Through Fund 1, we invested in various companies that are growing throughout the Middle East, Europe, and the Americas,” said Hazzan. “We are excited that through Fund 2 we will be able to build on this momentum and provide much needed funding for the next wave of Palestinian startups.”
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