gulfbusiness.com - The fund has invested in three companies including News Group International, Jamalon and LittleBits Electronics

Entrepreneurship platform Wamda Capital has launched a $75m regional growth stage venture fund, the largest of its kind in the Middle East and North Africa region, it announced on Sunday.

The Wamda MENA Ventures I fund completed its first close with investors including the International Finance Corporation, the Abraaj Group, Crescent Enterprises and Zain Group.

“This new fund is indicative of investor confidence in the region,” said Wamda’s executive chairman Fadi Ghandour.

“It fills an emerging equity funding gap facing entrepreneurs, which inhibits otherwise scalable companies from unlocking market potential and becoming regional and global successes.”

Wamda Capital has launched the fund with investments in three companies including News Group International – which specialises in the sourcing, distribution, creation, monitoring and analysis of media intelligence in the Middle East, Africa and Indian sub-continent; online Arabic books store Jamalon; and LittleBits Electronics – which makes modular electronic bits that snap together for prototyping or learning.