Innoventures
Innoventures is a Cairo-based early-stage venture capital firm investing in disruptive Egyptian technology startups through its 10 million EGP fund, having backed 17 startups and 50 founders with capital and strategic guidance.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2015
- HeadquartersCairo, Egypt
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Innoventures does
Innoventures is a Cairo-based venture capital firm that invests in disruptive early-stage technology companies in Egypt through its Innoventures Fund. Founded in 2010, the firm has invested in 17 Egyptian startups and supported 50 founders, with a combined portfolio startup valuation exceeding 100 million EGP. The fund is sized at 10 million EGP and the firm positions itself as an innovation platform rather than a traditional financial sponsor, providing capital alongside coaching, strategic guidance, and ecosystem access. The core customer segment is early-stage technology startups in Egypt seeking investment and operational support to scale.
The firm's leadership is concentrated in a six-person team led by Co-Founder and CEO Hesham Wahby, who holds an MBA in Entrepreneurial and Strategic Management from the Wharton School and brings 16 years of experience in technology and entrepreneurial ventures (he also co-founded Ideaspace, a separate innovation hub). Co-Founder and Investment Partner Sameh Shaheen adds 28 years of tech industry experience spanning Infineon Technologies and Mentor Graphics; he also co-founded Cultiv (with offices in Cairo and Zug, Switzerland) and runs Scenario Design Services, an IC design and EDA consulting firm that is itself a portfolio company. The broader team includes an Investment Associate handling fundraising and portfolio management, a Fund Analyst overseeing deal origination through portfolio growth, an HR/People & Culture Lead, and an Accounting Manager with five years of tenure.
Innoventures monetizes through two primary streams: management fees tied to the Innoventures Fund, and carried interest from successful portfolio exits. GTM motion is community-led, anchored on direct engagement with the Egyptian startup ecosystem, accelerator program participation, and institutional partnerships. The firm has extended its ecosystem footprint beyond Egypt through a partnership with Standard Chartered and Village Capital on the Women in Tech Pakistan Accelerator. Dual-office presence via Cultiv in Cairo and Zug provides access to both local founder networks and an international capital/structuring node. Note: A conflicting data point lists founding year as 2015 in the company timeline; firmographics record 2010 as the primary year_founded value and is used here.
Innoventures firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Innoventures
- Legal name
- Innoventures
- Website
- https://innoventures.me
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2015
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Innoventures is a Cairo-based early-stage venture capital firm investing in disruptive Egyptian technology startups through its 10 million EGP fund, having backed 17 startups and 50 founders with capital and strategic guidance.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Innoventures industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Early-stage venture capital investing
- NAICS
- Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940)
- SIC
- Investment Advice (6282)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Accelerators & Incubators (Investor-Operated) (FSANAAAM)
Keywords
Where Innoventures is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Cairo
- HQ country
- Egypt
- HQ region
- Africa
Offices2 records
Markets served
Innoventures business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Investment Returns (Carried Interest): Earnings from successful portfolio company exits and returns on investments in early-stage startups.
- Fund Management: Management fees and carried interest from the Innoventures Fund investing in Egyptian startups.
Go-to-market motion2 records
Innoventures product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Innoventures is a Cairo-based venture capital firm that deploys the 10 Million EGP Innoventures Fund to invest in disruptive, early-stage, technology-based innovative companies in Egypt. Beyond providing capital, the firm offers strategic coaching, access to its entrepreneurial network, and operational support to founders, and tracks a portfolio of 17 startups and 50 founders with combined portfolio valuation exceeding 100M EGP.
Product overview
Innoventures is a venture capital and startup investment firm that operates as a unified investment platform rather than a product company. The company provides funding and support to early-stage technology startups in Egypt through its Innoventures Fund. The fund focuses on identifying and supporting innovative entrepreneurs, with a portfolio that includes ventures in game development, technology development, and technology-enabled social impact projects. The firm has supported 50 founders across 17 startups with a combined startup valuation exceeding 100 million EGP.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Innoventures Fund A 10 Million EGP venture capital fund that invests in disruptive, early-stage, technology-based innovative companies in Egypt, providing capital, strategic coaching, and ecosystem access to founders of startups across gaming, technology development, and tech-enabled social impact projects.
Companies that use Innoventures
Customer profileSegments1 record
Ideal customer profiles1 record
Innoventures technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Innoventures partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- Village CapitalcoreVillage Capital partnered with Standard Chartered and Innoventures Global to launch the eighth cohort of the Women in Tech Pakistan Accelerator, supporting women-led, tech-enabled businesses. The initiative has supported over 1,300 enterprises and helped more than 150 women founders graduate, with over 50 securing seed funding.
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves4 records
Expansion highlights4 records
Innoventures competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Algebra Ventures: Egypt-focused early-stage venture capital firm investing in technology startups. Directly comparable to Innoventures given shared geography (Egypt), stage focus (early-stage), and sector concentration (tech).
- Sawari Ventures: Egypt- and North Africa-focused VC firm with a portfolio spanning tech and tech-enabled startups. Highly comparable as both firms are Cairo-headquartered, Egypt-led, and target similar early-stage founder profiles.
- Flat6Labs: MENA region's leading early-stage seed accelerator and VC. Comparable to Innoventures given shared early-stage/seed focus, accelerator-style programming, and MENA geographic exposure (including Egypt presence).
- Cairo Angels: Egypt-based angel investor network investing in early-stage Egyptian startups. Directly comparable as both target Egypt-based early-stage founders with community-led deal sourcing and small-ticket investment model.
- Beco Capital: MENA-focused venture capital firm investing in early- and growth-stage tech startups. Comparable to Innoventures given shared MENA focus, tech sector concentration, and early-stage investment thesis.
- MEVP (Middle East Venture Partners): MENA-focused venture capital firm managing multiple funds and investing across stages in tech-enabled businesses. Comparable to Innoventures given shared MENA region focus, tech sector emphasis, and fund-based investment model.
- Endure Capital: Egypt-based early-stage venture capital firm backing technology founders in MENA. Directly comparable given shared Cairo headquarters, Egypt-first investment thesis, and early-stage tech focus.
Broad incumbents
- 500 Global (formerly 500 Startups): Global venture capital firm and accelerator with active MENA investments through programs and funds. Comparable to Innoventures given shared accelerator-style model and emerging-markets focus, though 500 Global operates at much larger scale.
Regional players
- OQAL Angel Investors Network: MENA's largest angel investor network, with significant presence across the Arab world. Comparable to Innoventures given shared early-stage investment focus, though OQAL is structured as a member-led angel network rather than a fund manager.
Others
- Village Capital: Global venture firm running accelerator programs, including the Women in Tech Pakistan cohort that Innoventures co-partnered on with Standard Chartered. Comparable as both run accelerator-style programming for early-stage founders, though Village Capital operates globally and is much larger.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat3 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights5 records
Customer concentration
Innoventures social profiles
Digital presenceInnoventures financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Innoventures leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles11 records
Innoventures funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Innoventures M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments25 records
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Innoventures
What does Innoventures do?
Innoventures is a Cairo-based venture capital firm that deploys the 10 Million EGP Innoventures Fund to invest in disruptive, early-stage, technology-based innovative companies in Egypt. Beyond providing capital, the firm offers strategic coaching, access to its entrepreneurial network, and operational support to founders, and tracks a portfolio of 17 startups and 50 founders with combined portfolio valuation exceeding 100M EGP.
Is Innoventures a public or private company?
Innoventures is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Innoventures founded?
Innoventures was founded in 2015. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Innoventures based?
Innoventures is headquartered in Cairo, Egypt, in the Africa region.
How does Innoventures make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Investment Returns (Carried Interest) is the primary driver. The others are fund Management.
Who are Innoventures's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Algebra Ventures, Sawari Ventures, Flat6Labs, Cairo Angels, Beco Capital, MEVP (Middle East Venture Partners) and Endure Capital. 500 Global (formerly 500 Startups) is listed as a broad incumbent. OQAL Angel Investors Network is listed as a regional player. Village Capital is listed as an others.
Does Innoventures have an API?
No public API is recorded for Innoventures.
What industry is Innoventures in?
Innoventures's product category is Early-stage venture capital investing. Its primary akta.pro industry code is FSANAAAM, Accelerators & Incubators (Investor-Operated). Its NAICS code is 523940 and its SIC code is 6282.