Egypt’s Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprise Development Agency (MSMEDA) has announced a significant $7.5 million investment across three regional venture capital funds, reinforcing its commitment to fostering entrepreneurship and supporting startups.
This initiative aligns with Egypt’s Vision 2030 strategy, which emphasizes economic diversification and innovation to drive long-term growth. One of MSMEDA’s latest contributions includes a $2 million investment in the P1 Ventures Fund, which seeks to support high-potential startups across multiple industries.
While its primary focus is on Egypt, the fund also aims to empower businesses with the potential to scale into African markets. MSMEDA’s CEO, Basil Rahmi, highlighted the importance of leveraging Africa’s economic growth to create new opportunities for Egyptian youth, enhancing both market competitiveness and regional integration.
Just a month earlier, MSMEDA pledged $3 million to the Foundation Ventures Fund, marking a key milestone in its collaboration with the World Bank. This investment forms part of Egypt’s pioneering “Fund of Funds” (FoF) initiative, which finances local, regional, and international venture capital firms to support early-stage Egyptian startups. As the first of its kind in the country, the FoF model aims to create a thriving entrepreneurial landscape by facilitating access to diverse funding sources.
In November 2024, MSMEDA further solidified its venture capital strategy by committing $2.5 million to the Capital Ventures Development Fund 2 (Tanmia Capital Ventures 2). This move aligns with Egypt’s broader objectives of attracting foreign capital and offering varied financing solutions for startups, ultimately driving economic growth and diversification under the Vision 2030 framework.
These investments represent significant steps toward establishing a dynamic and competitive startup ecosystem in Egypt, fostering innovation, job creation, and regional economic integration. They also form part of the ambitious FoF initiative, which seeks to secure up to $1 billion in funding to revolutionize the country’s venture capital landscape by attracting international investors.
Since its pilot phase in 2022 which saw $50 million being deployed across approximately 15 venture capital funds, with MSMEDA contributing 10% to 20% of their capital, the FoF program has demonstrated notable success. Advisor to the Prime Minister for Entrepreneurship, Amr Al-Abd, emphasized the strategic importance of this initiative, stating, “The Fund of Funds is the main driver of this strategy,” in a recent interview with Al Sharq Bloomberg Channel.
The FoF model is designed to minimize risk and diversify investments by channelling funds into multiple venture capital firms rather than directly investing in startups. This approach has already yielded promising results, as seen with Endure Capital, a program beneficiary that successfully closed its $50 million Africa-focused fund in 2022. Founded by Tarek Fahim, Endure Capital has backed prominent startups such as Careem, MaxAB, and Breadfast, illustrating the FoF initiative’s potential to accelerate startup growth and regional expansion.
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