Investors

Alberto Caruso is Chief Operating Officer of Nefes Holding FZ-LLC, an investment platform focused on deeptech, healthtech and fintech ventures. He is also Co-founder and Chairman of Fortis Digital Global Holdings DMCC, a UAE-based fintech/SaaS payments group he co-founded in 2022 Previously he spent 13 years at banks in senior finance and risk roles, following positions at Protiviti and Deloitte. He holds a degree from Bocconi University and is based in Dubai.

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Nikolai Legkodimov is Chief Investment Officer at Nefes Holding (Dubai), focusing on deep tech and emerging technology investments globally. Former KPMG Partner and Head of Technology Practice for Russia & CIS, and former CIO at TNK-BP Downstream. Physics graduate of Lomonosov Moscow State University. Regular speaker at SPIEF, Eastern Economic Forum, INNOPROM, and other major international forums.

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We partner with exceptional founders building breakthrough companies and creating scalable impact in MENA

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Habib is a business pioneer with over 25 years as an attorney, strategy consultant and venture capitalist, driving the growth of Palestinian hi-tech and entrepreneurship. He co-founded Ibtikar Fund 1 in 2016, managing a portfolio of 26 startups, and previously co-founded Al-Bawader (Pitango Group), a first-of-its-kind $50M fund investing in Palestinian founders. Earlier, he held leadership roles at McKinsey & Co. and worked with IBM, PwC, Adam Smith International and Elias D. Khoury Law Offices across the Middle East, Europe, the Americas and Africa. He holds an LL.B. and LL.M. from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and an MBA from Emory University as a Fulbright Scholar.

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Ambar co-founded Ibtikar Fund 1 in 2016, leading its establishment and fundraising and actively managing its portfolio of 26 startups. Previously, she grew Palestine for a New Beginning (PNB) into an established institution, running the Celebration of Innovation, Global Entrepreneurship Week in Palestine, and FastForward, Palestine's first accelerator. A Kauffman Fellow (Class 23), she was named one of the "50 Most Influential Women in the Arab World" by CEO Middle East and one of the "20 Women VCs of MENA" by MENAbytes. Ambar holds an MBA from the Thunderbird School of Global Management and a Marketing degree from Arizona State University.

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Aaliya works with early-stage startups across investment, market entry, and growth at Plug and Play. She supports both international founders entering the UAE and local founders looking to strengthen their go-to-market approach, helping them refine their positioning, build partnerships, prepare for investors, and navigate fundraising and growth in the region.

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I sit where capital meets community. At Plug and Play, I run early-stage deals end to end, from sourcing and first call through diligence to the investment committee, and design and deliver accelerators for governments, sovereign funds and global corporates. A Chartered Accountant by training and a builder by instinct, I bring investor rigour to the first conversation and an operator’s bias for action to everything after.

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Angel group based in Dubai investing in pre-seed and seed stage startups. Top 5 most active early stage investor in MENA.

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Investments at VentureSouq

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Yousif Damirji is an Associate on the Investments team, working across sourcing, market analysis, and investment diligence to help build conviction around early stage founders and opportunities across MENA. Yousif also plays an active role in expanding BECO’s access to the regional ecosystem through ongoing founder engagement, market mapping, and network development. Before joining BECO, he spent time in the Dubai tech and venture community, gaining exposure to the dynamics of early-stage company building and evaluation.

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Nabil focuses on sourcing, deal execution, and pipeline development across the region. Prior to GV, he worked in private equity in New York, with experience in commercial real estate transactions and investor relations. Having lived in eight countries and speaking four languages, he brings a global perspective to working with founders and investors across diverse markets. He also runs Bayanat, a media platform covering the MENA startup and tech ecosystem. Nabil holds a BSc in Business Management and Entrepreneurship from ESCP Business School and a Master’s in Real Estate Finance and Investment from NYU.

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Head of Portfolio at Antler MENAP

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Venture Capitalist with 5+ years of experience across venture investing, alternative investments, and international M&A transactions. Studied in Dubai, where he co-founded a healthcare startup and participated in a social impact investment accelerator, bringing a unique blend of entrepreneurial experience and institutional investment expertise.

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Iman Haider is an Investment Associate at Nuwa Capital, an early-stage venture capital fund in DIFC, Dubai, backing technology founders across MENA. Before Nuwa, she was employee number five at Baraka, the YC-backed retail investing app for the GCC, where she built and led community and content. She has around four years in venture and startups, working across sourcing, diligence, portfolio support and ecosystem events. Iman holds an engineering degree and lives in Dubai.

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