Nuwa Capital, a venture capital firm, has announced the first close of its flagship fund Nuwa Ventures Fund I (“NVFI”), having raised three-quarters of its US$100 million target in less than a year since its launch. The fund primarily targets rapidly growing markets in MENA and neighbouring geographies, including Turkey, Pakistan, and Sub-Saharan Africa.

Nuwa Capital was founded in February 2020 by Khaled Talhouni, Sarah Abu Risheh and Stephanie Nour Prince in response to a lack of impactful operational and strategic support from investors. To this effect, the fund has launched the ‘Nuwa Network’, a close-knit network of founders and operational experts, to help startups navigate challenges with scaling and expansion, among others.

“We launched the fund in a year forever marked with the upending of how our economies and societies have traditionally functioned. At the heart of this shift was the unprecedented adoption of technology, particularly in emerging markets. This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity for us to reshape our economies around innovation and entrepreneurship and prime our societies for decades of positive growth,” said Khaled Talhouni, Managing Partner at Nuwa Capital.

The firm’s uniqueness derives from its closeness to the investment and startup community in the Middle East serving as a platform to build lasting and impactful relationships. Nuwa Capital has built its value proposition around supporting founders and companies it invests in through a structured value creation framework with a network of operating partners and through connecting the fund’s investors and Limited Partners (LPs), particularly corporate investors, with the startups that are effecting change in their respective industries.

Prior to closing the fund, the company has invested in several regional companies, including Eyewa, Homzmart and Flexxpay and is set to announce further investments in the coming weeks as Nuwa Capital accelerates its investment program following the first close.