Phoenix Venture Partners is an FSRA-regulated firm backing the exceptional founders others overlook — across the GCC, MENA and the G20, from seed to Series B, pairing capital with hands-on operating knowledge.
A $50M debut Innovation Fund · Seed → Series B · Checks $100K–$7.5M · GCC · MENA · G20
Not themes, but outliers. Phoenix pairs institutional capital with hands-on operating knowledge to build regional and global companies across seven technology sectors — from the GCC and MENA to the G20.
The name is deliberate. Like the Phoenix of Phoenician myth, the companies we back — and the region's venture landscape itself — regenerate, adapt and rise again. We invest in the disruptive technologies of the Digital Age.
Our edge is pairing capital with operating knowledge — leading, guiding and building alongside founders, not just funding them.
We back unique innovators and exceptional founders — disruption-first, across sectors — rather than chasing a single narrow vertical.
Resilience and regeneration: the companies — and the GCC venture landscape itself — that rise, adapt and are born again.
Our proprietary value-creation layer — a shared operating and talent bench deployed across the portfolio, so every company draws on the same institutional muscle.
Three closes since 2024, with commitments now spanning five-plus countries. The fund remains open.
22+ years across investment banking, investment management and strategy — overseeing more than $1.6B in AUM and $6B+ in advisory and IB deals, latterly as EVP, Investment Banking at Arab Investment Company (Kuwait). NDU–Louaize (BBA, Banking & Finance, Dean’s List) and INSEAD; holds the CFMP and CFM. Born and raised in war-torn Lebanon — a career defined by resilience under pressure.
/in/stevekhayat
18+ years in fintech and payments. VP & General Manager at Mastercard Kuwait — where he established the entity — and a strategic advisor on the region's Vision 2030 / New Kuwait 2035 agendas. Four years as an executive at Tamara, MENA's leading fintech unicorn, winning regulatory approvals across Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman and Qatar. Born and raised in Paris; trilingual, and an early backer of US ventures.
20+ years as an analytical strategist and investor at the intersection of medicine, science and technology. Helped grow a fund past $1B+ in AUM, with rare sovereign-wealth-fund experience, and focuses on innovations that raise quality of life across MENA.
GAGA runs 1,000+ live programs across 200 subjects for students aged 4–18 — a live, gamified classroom model with vetted educators and AI-powered personalization. In March 2026, Phoenix led GAGA's $2.5M Pre-Series A through PVPIF — the company's first fully priced institutional round.
Phoenix Venture Partners Limited (Abu Dhabi, ADGM) is not affiliated with Phoenix Venture Partners LLC, the US materials-science fund.
View the ADGM public registerAre we entering another crypto winter? Reading Bitcoin's drawdowns from the late-2025 highs — and the discipline the moment demands of founders and the funds that back them.
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Independent coverage of the closes and the GAGA investment, from the region's venture press.
Regional coverage of the first close also appeared in Al Jarida and Al Qabas.
Founders raising a round, and LPs looking to commit — we read every one.