Algebra Ventures

Who's heading to Cape Town? 👀 We’re excited to announce that Omar Khashaba, General Partner at Algebra Ventures, will be speaking at the highly anticipated SuperReturn Africa 2024, happening from December 3-5 at the Westin in Cape Town, South Africa. We see significant synergies between Egypt and the broader African continent. We are eager to immerse ourselves in the African ecosystem and explore opportunities where Algebra can create meaningful value. If you're in the area, let's connect! #SRAfrica #SuperReturn #AlgebraVentures #AfricaEcosystem #AfricaVC #EgyptVC

Excited to witness this dynamic duo (Heba El Gabaly and Dina Elhaddad) take on the home space in the region by expanding their offering and forging new streams to cater to design firms and interior designers as well as home customers. Knowing these two founders separately across different lifetimes and now as a team through Efreshli, I am in awe at their relentless pursuit to drive change in the home space. In an industry riddled with attempts to build simple experiences that just don’t work for furniture, Efreshli brings a refreshing designer-first approach to the entire customer journey. I believe this is only the first step towards pushing the bounds of the home furnishing space, in a country where furniture making has a rich legacy. At Algebra, we’re proud to have led this round and look forward to what Heba El Gabaly and Dina Elhaddad have in store. https://lnkd.in/dHGm5p3x

We are proud to have FMO - Dutch entrepreneurial development bank as an investor in our fund and a partner to Algebra. Truth be told, FMO Ventures' Portfolio Day held last week was truly exceptional. Not only did we build valuable connections with fellow fund managers from across the world, but the dynamic and engaging activities conducted left us energized and eager to forge even stronger relationships. A heartfelt thank you to the entire FMO team for making your inaugural portfolio event, a remarkable experience and day to remember. Marieke Roestenberg Tessa Blokland Charnez Jacobs Johannes Radnitz

Wrapping up our last acceleration Batch with Plug and Play Africa!  Last month, we wrapped up the 7th Batch of our acceleration program in collaboration with Plug and Play Africa. The program's fourth focus week, hosted from September 23rd to 25th, provided participating startups with insightful workshops, including sessions on investment readiness and fundraising best practices. We also had the opportunity to welcome notable investors, including representatives from Ventures Platform Fund, Rasmal Ventures, Silicon Badia, Rally Cap VC, Finance in Motion, Algebra Ventures, Kalys Ventures, BMCE Capital , and First Circle Capital. One of the week's standout moments was the Circle of CEOs led by Nabil Amar, CEO of CASHPLUS , who shared his entrepreneurial journey and insights with the participants. To give startups more face time with investors, a private dinner in Marrakech on September 23rd brought together founders, partners, and investors for more networking and one-to-one discussions. As we wrap up this seventh batch, we also conclude an inspiring four-year journey alongside Plug and Play Africa. Together, we’ve accelerated over 100 startups across different verticals, including fintech, edtech, and energy... and fostered innovation in Morocco’s retail sector through the Moroccan Retail Tech Builder. With the invaluable support of the Ministère de l’Industrie et du Commerce - Maroc and the OCP Group Foundation, we have made strides toward a thriving ecosystem. We look forward to seeing the continued impact of these efforts. ✨

I’m excited to mark off a significant milestone: Delivering a workshop to a full house of strangers about a topic I’m truly passionate about ✅. A heartfelt thank you to everyone who attended my workshop at Techne on the impact of PR on startup growth. I was pleasantly surprised by the turnout—looks like PR can be pretty cool after all! Not only was it fulfilling to share insights from my career, but the energy and engagement throughout the session were absolutely incredible. It was also wonderful to reconnect with old friends, partners, and founders. A big thank you to Techne for hosting us in Alexandria; networking with a stunning view and enjoying delicious food is always a bonus 🐟. And yes, I apologize for my shirt—it may look a bit wrinkled, but I promise it was ironed. Algebra Ventures #PRforStartups #PR #AlgebraVentures #Techne #Networking #EgyptStartups #EgyptVC

With the launch of our second $100 million fund two years ago, we embraced a new vision and investment thesis. While we remain deeply focused on Egypt, we see significant opportunities for synergies across African nations. Notably, we have also invested in two African companies outside of Egypt, including Moroccan #agritech company YoLa Fresh, underscoring our commitment to the continent. In this context, we invite you to watch Algebra Ventures partner Omar Khashaba and Connect Money's CEO Ayman Essawy as they discuss the strategic rationale behind #ConnectMoney's expansion into other African markets, such as Morocco and Kenya. Earlier this year, we proudly supported Ayman Essawy for the third time by leading Connect Money's $8 million seed funding round. Connect Money empowers businesses to connect with cash users through digital payments and instant lending, leveraging a network of over 20,000 marketplace partners. #AlgebraVentures #Fintech #EgyptVC #AfricaTech #Money #DigitalPayment

We're thrilled to have led Cartona's $8.1M Series A extension round with existing investors Finance in Motion and Silicon Badia also participating. Cartona has built an exceptionally capital-efficient model, allowing it to deliver strong growth and profitability even during economic headwinds. Cartona's asset-light, scalable infrastructure enables quick expansion into new markets and adjacencies. The company's CEO, Mahmoud Talaat, seamlessly blends deep domain expertise in retail with a willingness to leverage technology, rewriting the playbook. Features like merchant group ordering that allow merchants to overcome minimum order value limitations or daily dynamic changes to a supplier’s serviceable merchant base are just a couple of examples. Partner at Algebra Ventures, Omar Khashaba said: “Cartona has an incredibly capital efficient model and scalable infrastructure that can quickly be adapted for entry into other markets/adjacencies. Mahmoud’s focus on profitability, even when capital was cheap, has helped cement the company as a front runner in the African B2B commerce space. We’re lucky to have been able to lead the financing round and look forward to supporting Mahmoud and his team.” Read more about Cartona's story in the link below 👇🏽 #Cartona #B2B #InvestinEgypt #VC #AlgebraVentures https://lnkd.in/gjbiDa3P

"Is it a great time to invest in Egypt?" asked Erika Masako Welch, "A hundred percent," said Tarek Assaad. Over the past two years, we have been actively investing capital to support companies. From our second $100 million fund, we have deployed more than $20 million in funding to date, despite turbulent and challenging times. Looking ahead, we are excited to continue backing transformative Egyptian and African businesses. Our investment strategy remains focused on identifying and empowering innovative ventures that are driving positive change and sustainable development across the region. Watch and listen to Tarek's conversation on Lucidity Insights's 'The Perfect Pitch' as he looks into the unique challenges and opportunities within the Egyptian startup ecosystem, reflecting on how economic turbulence can sometimes inspire exceptional growth. Full episode: https://lnkd.in/gYmHcK5x and on all streaming platforms. #VC #AlgebraVentures #VCPodcast #Resilience #EgyptStartups #VCInvestment

Algebra Ventures backs Ayman Essawy for the third time, co-leads Connect Money's $8M seed funding 🚀 We're thrilled to co-lead #ConnectMoney's $8M seed funding round alongside our friends at DisrupTech Ventures and Lorax Capital Partners. Over the past few years, we've had the privilege of backing Ayman Essawy as he built not one, but two impressive startups - Dsquares and Lucky ONE alongside his co-founders Marwan Kenawy and Momtaz Moussa. When he shared his vision for Connect Money, we knew we had to be a part of it. Connect Money is addressing a crucial fintech infrastructure gap in the region by enabling companies to offer financial services to their customers, partners, and suppliers without the burden of building the required technology and regulatory infrastructure from scratch. Companies can now focus on their core business while Connect Money handles the heavy lifting. To commemorate this milestone, Algebra partner Omar Khashaba sat down with Ayman Essawy for an insightful conversation about Connect Money's genesis, its objectives, and future plans. We're excited to share the second episode of our "Formulas" mini-series, created in collaboration with our long-standing partner, WAYA. You can read more about Connect Money's journey via #TechCrunch's article: https://lnkd.in/geK79E7Z Thank you, Annie Njanja, for your support and for taking the time to talk with Ayman. Stay tuned as we release snippets of the conversation in the coming days. #AlgebraVentures #EmbeddedFinance #Fintech #AfricaFintech

Thank you Lara Al Arab for recognizing our partner Laila Hassan as a trailblazer in MENA's VC industry. We're thrilled to be featured amongst these incredible women in the venture capital space. #WomenInVC #WomenLeaders #Inclusion