Propeller, a Jordan-based early-stage VC, announces the first close of Propeller Ventures II fund that will invest in pre-seed and seed-stage startups in the country and other MENA countries. The fund is sector agnostic but will favour investments in software and technology startups — such as SaaS and cloud infrastructure startups — over tech-enabled solutions. Propeller aims to reach a final close of $15M within the upcoming year.
Propeller Ventures II’s limited partners include the Innovative Startups and SMEs Fund (ISSF), Capital Bank of Jordan, BeyondCapital, and several individual investors including startup founders and an ex-Careemer.
“The ISSF is extremely excited to have concluded an investment in Propeller Ventures II. Our excitement stems from the fact that Propeller provides the startups they invest in with real-world and practical mentoring, enabling investee companies to better navigate the chaotic waters of starting and growing successful businesses. We see Propeller’s proactive coaching as a great added value, particularly since its principals are themselves successful entrepreneurs who are intimately familiar with the challenges of establishing and expanding thriving businesses,” commented Laith Al Qasem, CEO at the ISSF.
Propeller was founded by Tambi Jalouqa and Zaid Al-Farekh in 2017 with the backing of early-investor and partner AbdulMajeed Shoman and others. Since then Propeller has invested in a total of 13 early-stage startups and were the first backers of Arabot, POSRocket and Nestrom.
“With this new fund Propeller will continue working towards their mission of enabling Middle East’s top innovators to build technology companies that deliver value to the world,” said Jalouqa. “We are confident that there are founders in the region who are itching to build products for global consumers, and we want to be there to back them.”
