Iliad Partners Closes $50M Fund II, Bringing Greek Banks to MENA VC
Iliad Partners, a UAE-based early-stage venture-capital fund, has successfully closed its second round of funding for its $50 million-target inaugural investment vehicle. This marks the first-ever venture capital investment in the MENA region by Greek banks, with National Bank of Greece, Eurobank, and Piraeus Bank joining as additional Limited Partners.
Founded in 2016 by Christos Mastoras, Iliad Partners focuses on highly scalable, post-revenue technology companies. The fund invests in early-stage B2B software startups driving digital transformation in target verticals such as fintech, logistics, and proptech, at the pre-Series A and Series A stages in MENA, with a primary focus on Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
The fund has already made several investments in regional startups, including OTO, Penny, Qashio, Trukker, OSeven, and Fetcher. The second close, which comes nine months after the first close, was backed by prominent regional and global investors, including Jada, the Olayan family, Masarrah Investment Company, and others. This round also saw significant commitments from Greek institutions to support tech startups primarily across Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
Partnerships with Greek banks will offer Iliad's portfolio companies additional financing options, market access, and exit opportunities. The fund will also allocate a portion of its total investible corpus to Europe, primarily Greece, to support startups expanding into MENA.
With the second close of its fund, Iliad Partners has secured substantial backing from Greek institutions, marking their first venture into the MENA region's VC scene. This investment will not only support the growth of tech startups in the MENA region but also facilitate European, particularly Greek, startups' expansion into the region.
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