VentureSouq Strategic Resilience Fund
Snapshot
Fund Type: Venture Capital
Fund Size: $50MM
Investment Stage: Early-Stage (Seed and Series A)
Geographic Focus: MENA
Sector Focus: Food and Agriculture, Water Security, Energy Management, Supply Chains, Risk and Financial Infrastructure, and AI-enabled Industrial Intelligence
Fund Overview
VentureSouq’s Strategic Resilience Fund is a USD 50 million early-stage venture strategy focused on technology companies strengthening critical systems across MENA. It covers food and agriculture, water security, energy management, supply chains, risk and financial infrastructure, and AI-enabled industrial intelligence. The strategy backs companies that improve the efficiency, reliability, transparency and adaptability of these systems, supporting the region’s long-term economic resilience.
Gender and inclusion are embedded in VentureSouq’s investment assessment and due diligence. The team captures workforce and leadership data, assesses alignment with the 2X Criteria, and considers gender-related product, workplace and supply-chain risks alongside company policies and action plans. This provides a practical basis for assessing women’s participation in leadership and employment, and how products and services affect women.
Why We Invested
The Fund takes a holistic and integrated approach to climate and gender, woven throughout its investment process. The fund applies an implicit gender lens and brings deep commitment, intentionality, and authenticity to embedding gender and broader DEI considerations at both the fund and portfolio company levels. There is strong representation of women across the portfolio, particularly among female founders, women in leadership and governance roles, and through talent development initiatives within portfolio companies.They have invested team capacity in deepening their gender focus, especially via technical assistance programming.
The fund is led by a gender and culturally-diverse team, each with a demonstrated track record in investment and value creation. It invests entirely in scalable climatetech solutions that reduce harm, restore biodiversity, and support climate adaptation. At both the fund level and across VentureSouq, women play a critical role — from founding partners and top management to portfolio company leaders and investors.
Women as Agents of Change
The fund embraces a clear and intentional ‘Women as Agents of Change’ thesis across its investment strategy. The fund promotes female representation in leadership and governance roles and encourages women’s entry into traditionally male-dominated sectors like energy and science. The fund recognizes women as key decision-makers in households and early adopters of new products and services. It also builds relationships with women in corporate sustainability roles to support pipeline and exit opportunities.
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