Dubai-based TURN8 launches $60m venture capital fund

Dubai-based TURN8 has launched a new $60m venture capital fund to support start-ups in technology innovation, it announced on Sunday.

The new fund will follow a dual investment strategy of seed funding to accelerator stage startups and follow-on funding for growth stage startups graduates of the TURN8 accelerator.

The new fund makes TURN8 one of the largest providers of seed capital in the region, it said in a statement.

Kamal Hassan, general partner at TURN8 said: “This strategic move comes from witnessing a major gap in the market for startups to grow from the accelerator stage into full-fledged businesses that attract venture capital.

“We are very excited to see more startups with different innovative technology rising from the MENA region and this fund will provide a further push to their business.

“The fund will continue to support the startup ecosystem and look for opportunities in technology innovation that match our portfolio requirements,” he added.

The TURN8 accelerator has launched and invested in over 60 companies till date since it was launched in 2013. It has provided pre-seed funding to startups ranging from sectors such as digital healthcare, crowdsourcing, EduTech, FinTech and enterprise cloud solutions.

It has raised over $6m in co-investment for its portfolio companies from various worldwide investors.

Some of the companies in its portfolio includes online marketplace for freight exchange Loadme, peer-to-peer payments service Kashmi, technology company Pixelbug and e-commerce delivery platform Paack.

The TURN8 accelerator was set up by Dubai-based ports operator DP World along with Innovation360. DP World is the first anchor investor, with over 20 per cent ownership of the fund.

Also read: Dubai to invest $270m in future accelerators programme

The rise of VC investors from the GCC

Saudi plans $1.1bn fund for smaller companies