CONSCIOUS INVESTING

VentureSouq's cofounders and general partners, Suneel Gokhale, Sonia Gokhale, Tammer Qaddumi, and Sonia Weymuller, are actively reshaping the investment landscape. With $250 million in assets under management, the thematic fund manager is forging a distinct path, with a focus on fintech and climate tech.

-  RAWAN HASSAN

The 2024 global venture capital landscape has revealed an emphasis on sustainable growth and measurable impact, though numbers have declined. In the first nine months of the year, venture capital funding rounds globally totaled $203.83 billion, marking a 3.7% drop from the same period in 2023, according to S&P Global. The number of deals also fell sharply, dropping from 13,068 in 2023 to 11,286 in 2024. Regionally, startups in the U.A.E., Saudi Arabia, and Egypt led MENA's funding activity, with startups across the region raising an aggregate of $1.6 billion over the first nine months-a 12.5% decline compared to $1.8 billion during the same period last year, according to data from Wamda.

Despite this, in September, Saudi Arabia reclaimed its position as MENA's top-funded ecosystem, securing $170.8 million across 23 deals. Building on that momentum, Saudi fintech Mala closed a $7 million pre-seed round In October, led by VentureSouq, among other investors, aiming to address MENA's credit gap. At the time, Suneel Gokhale, Cofounder and General Partner at VentureSouq said "There continues to be a massive credit gap in the MENA region, and we are excited about how Mala can help solve this very real problem, particularly for SMEs in Saudi Arabia."