Plus Venture Capital (+ VC) announced the opening of its operations and its USD 60 million debut fund focused on investing in early-stage technology businesses in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region and its diaspora.

The firm's leadership, headed by former Google executive Sharif El-Badawi and venture veteran Hasan Haider, is taking an ambitious approach to funding early-stage businesses – exploiting more than 35 years of collective investment and operational expertise.

Haider said: "We are excited to launch + VC with a distinct investment thesis for the field. The goal of the business is to invest in a globally diversified portfolio of seed-stage start-ups, targeting 120 investments over the next 3 years. Our 5-year experience of investing in Mena and global start-ups has helped us create strong personal networks for exceptional deal flow.

The Mena area is quickly evolving as a crucial start-up ecosystem, with many recent exits, including the USD 3 billion acquisition of Careem by Uber in 2019 and the acquisition of Souq by Amazon in 2017. The area has a positive macro-story, with a relatively youthful, strongly linked market of over 400 m people with a common culture and language. While the industry is still evolving, it is rising increasingly with financing and exits increasing year on year, demonstrating the enormous potential for early investment that +VC is placed to focus on.

+VC has been investing in several start-ups over the years, providing the right level of support to startups. "Investment is only the first step that allows our founders to expect robust support from experienced experts from around the world and access to a specific network of carriers, consultants and investors", said El-Badawi.

+VC in a statement said that they are committed to partnering with excellent and innovative entrepreneurs to help grow viable industries and contribute to a stable regional economy. The company is open to invest across sectors, as long as technology is a product or a means of supply and are keen to find teams that have established opportunities that meet emerging needs and are expected to grow significantly, particularly in Fintech, Health Technology and Edutech.