Al Waha Fund of Funds

What Al Waha Fund of Funds does

Al Waha Fund of Funds is a Bahrain-based, government-backed fund-of-funds established in 2018 to develop the venture capital and startup ecosystem across the MENA region, with a particular mandate to grow Bahrain's domestic startup economy. The vehicle deploys capital into other venture capital funds and, increasingly, directly into high-growth startups, operating through partnerships with regional investors Salica Investments and Faraday Investments. Its most strategic position is as a core backer of Spring, the Bahrain-based venture and innovation platform that consolidated Spring Venture Services and Spring Studios under a unified brand operating across Capital, Capability, Ecosystem, Partnerships, and Network pillars.

The fund's observable direct portfolio includes Better (a Dubai-based men's wellness startup, $550K pre-seed round in December 2024) and Popcorn AI (a UAE-based conversational commerce platform, $500K pre-seed round in November 2024), both routed through the Spring Studios fund alongside Salica Investments. Al Waha does not operate a technology product, software platform, or proprietary research capability; its offering is purely capital deployment and ecosystem coordination. The fund is led by Areije Al Shakar as Director and Fund Manager, with a small team sized at 11-50 employees, consistent with a lean institutional investment vehicle rather than an operating company.

As a fund-of-funds, Al Waha's revenue mechanics derive from management fees on committed or deployed capital and, eventually, carried interest on underlying fund performance, though neither AUM nor fee schedules are publicly disclosed. The provided "Financials" block in the input contains figures (revenue in the hundreds of trillions of dollars) that are not credible for a Bahraini fund-of-funds of this size and should be treated as a data-quality issue rather than substantive disclosure. Al Waha's strategic value lies less in standalone return generation and more in anchoring Bahrain's national venture infrastructure alongside its partner ecosystem.

Name

Al Waha Fund of Funds

Legal name

Al Waha Fund of Funds

Website

https://alwahafund.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Al Waha Fund of Funds is a Bahrain-based, government-backed fund-of-funds that deploys capital into MENA venture capital funds and high-growth startups, anchoring the Spring platform alongside Salica and Faraday Investments to develop Bahrain's startup ecosystem.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Venture Capital Fund of Funds

NAICS

Funds, Trusts, and Other Financial Vehicles (525), Other Investment Pools and Funds (5259)

SIC

Finance Services (6199)

akta.pro primary industry

Fund of Funds & Multi-Manager Mutual Funds (FSAAAEAL)

akta.pro secondary industries

Trust Funds & Multi-Donor Pooled Funds (BPADAOAE), Impact Investment & Development Investment Funds (BPADACAO)

Keywords

• Venture capital
• Fund of funds
• MENA startups
• Startup ecosystem
• Capital deployment

Headquarters

HQ city

Manama

HQ country

Bahrain

HQ region

Middle East

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others

Core offering

Al Waha Fund of Funds is a Bahrain-based fund of funds investment vehicle that allocates capital to venture capital funds and high-growth startups across the MENA region, with particular emphasis on Bahrain's startup economy. The fund operates as a strategic investor, backing venture platforms (such as Spring) and emerging companies (including Better, Popcorn AI, and Receiptable) alongside co-investors such as Salica Investments and Faraday Investments.

Product overview

Al Waha Fund of Funds is a Bahrain-based fund of funds investment vehicle that provides capital and support to venture capital funds and startups in the MENA region, particularly Bahrain. The fund acts as an investor in other venture capital vehicles and emerging companies, backing platforms such as Spring (venture and innovation platform), Receiptable (meal subscription), Better (men's wellness), and Popcorn AI (conversational commerce). The company does not offer a technology product or software platform—its offering is capital deployment and investment management services.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Al Waha Fund of Funds (Fund of Funds Vehicle) A pooled investment vehicle that invests in venture capital funds and high-growth startups in the MENA region, targeting Bahrain's startup economy and the wider regional innovation ecosystem. Designed for institutional capital deployment and ecosystem development.

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Regional players

• Wamda Capital: MENA-focused venture capital firm with a multi-fund platform. Comparable as a regional VC that, like Al Waha's underlying GPs, supports founders across stages in the MENA digital economy.
• MEVP (Middle East Venture Partners): One of the longest-standing MENA venture capital managers, investing across stages and geographies including the Gulf. Comparable as a regional VC that competes for the same deal flow and ecosystem visibility as Al Waha's underlying GPs.
• Nuwa Capital: MENA-focused venture capital firm investing in early-stage technology startups from the UAE. Comparable as a regional VC with similar sector breadth (consumer, fintech, digital health) and similar pre-seed to Series A entry points.
• B&Y Capital Partners: MENA-based private equity and venture capital platform. Comparable as a regional investment manager deploying capital across the Gulf and broader MENA, often alongside sovereign-aligned capital.
• Global Ventures: MENA-focused venture capital firm investing in early-to-growth stage startups from the UAE. Comparable as a regional VC that, like Al Waha, deploys institutional capital into the MENA venture ecosystem and co-invests with peer funds.
• Raed Ventures: Saudi Arabia-based early-stage venture capital fund backing MENA founders. Comparable as a regionally-focused VC operating in the same Saudi/Bahrain/Gulf corridor where Al Waha and its partners are most active.
• Shorooq Investments: UAE-based early-stage venture capital firm investing across MENA with a multi-fund platform approach. Comparable as a regional capital allocator deploying into MENA startups and funds, often co-investing with the same syndicate partners as Al Waha.

Broad incumbents

• Sanabil Investments: Saudi Arabia's sovereign-backed investment vehicle with significant allocations to global and regional venture capital funds. Comparable as a larger sovereign fund-of-funds-style allocator competing for top-tier regional GPs.
• Mubadala Capital Ventures: UAE sovereign-backed investment platform with broad VC, PE, and alternatives exposure including MENA venture allocation. Comparable as a much larger sovereign capital allocator operating in the same regional venture ecosystem.

Direct peers

• Sanad: Bahrain-headquartered, MENA-focused fund-of-funds and development finance vehicle with a similar mandate of backing funds and companies to develop regional private capital markets. Directly comparable as a regional FoF with sovereign alignment.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/AlwahaFund

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments4 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Al Waha Fund of Funds