Beltone’s unit, UAE-based Citadel International back startups via $30mln fund

PHOTO

Cairo – Beltone Venture Capital, a subsidiary of Beltone Holding, penned a deal with CI Venture Capital, a wholly-owned unit of Abu Dhabi-based Citadel International Holdings, to manage a $30 million fund.

The fund, which began deploying in the last couple of months, aims to back fast-growing startups, according to a press release.

The transactions were finalised with a couple of top startups from different countries and various sectors in the region such as Bosta, Trella, Qlub, and ariika.

Fady Dahlan, Managing Partner of CI Venture Capital, commented: “Our investment will contribute to the development of the early-stage innovation ecosystem in the MENA region.”

Ali Mokhtar, CEO of Beltone Venture Capital, said: “The fund is a continuation of the same strategy Beltone Venture Capital has been executing since its inception in 2023.”

This is aligned with our fundamental principle of acting as founders’ partners and value investors, supporting startups' scale-up and reaching their full potential,” Mokhtar added.

He underlined: “We are aiming to expand our regional presence with a focus on high-margin sectors that offer foreseen exponential growth where technology can play a substantial role.”

The CEO mentioned: “The fund will typically invest in pre-seed and seed funding rounds and will continue to support the best-performing portfolio companies in follow-up rounds; in addition to potentially investing in attractive opportunities at different funding stages.”

As of 31 December 2023, the consolidated net operating profit of listed Beltone amounted to EGP 1.02 billion, an annual leap of 3,597% from EGP 27.80 million.