QIA, Mubadala, and EIB Global just backed Europe’s first dedicated Middle East and Africa venture fund, and Pakistan is explicitly in the mandate. Here is how they pulled it off and how you can get funded.
A Vienna-based early-stage venture firm has launched its first flagship fund dedicated to the Middle East and Africa. Speedinvest, backed by a firm managing over €1.2 billion in assets under management across all its funds, has launched this new MEA vehicle as a major, formalized commitment to the region. This is not the firm’s total capital redirected, but a dedicated vehicle built specifically for it, supported by QIA, Mubadala, and EIB Global as anchor investors.
Three of the world’s most powerful institutional investors have anchored the fund: Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), Mubadala Investment Company, and EIB Global, each with a distinct mandate.
The geographic focus covers MENAPT, Middle East, North Africa, Pakistan, and Turkey, alongside Sub-Saharan Africa. Pakistan is not an afterthought. It is the “P” in the mandate.
Why This Matters for Pakistani Founders
On April 20, 2026, the fund was formally announced with anchor commitments from QIA, Mubadala, and EIB Global. The firm behind it has been deploying capital across the region for over 15 years, in Nigeria, Egypt, Kenya, UAE, and Pakistan.
This fund formalises that conviction. It is the first dedicated vehicle, not a side allocation.
The fund’s portfolio already includes Abhi, a Karachi-born fintech backed from the seed stage as a salary advance app. Abhi has since grown into a regional platform operating across Pakistan, UAE, and KSA, and was named a Technology Pioneer by the World Economic Forum in 2023.
It has since acquired a microfinance bank in Pakistan, making it the first fintech in the country to do so, a sign of what regional-scale ambition can unlock.
The fund manager identifies Abhi as a market leader in earned wage access, placing it alongside other global category-defining portfolio companies such as Moove and FairMoney. This is not a fund that dabbles in Pakistan, it backs category leaders there.
The mandate explicitly covers MENAPT Middle East, North Africa, Pakistan, and Turkey. This is not a distant European headline.
How the Fund Was Secured
This fund was not raised overnight. Over a decade of deploying capital in the region came first.
By the time the firm approached sovereign LPs, the pitch was not a thesis, it was a portfolio of live, growing companies across Nigeria, Egypt, Kenya, UAE, and Pakistan. That track record was the pitch.
Qatar Investment Authority Fund of Funds Program
The firm joined QIA’s Fund of Funds program, a formal channel designed to route global VC expertise into the GCC ecosystem and support local market development.
QIA does not open this to everyone. Entry requires a strong track record, a credible thesis, and demonstrated ability to add value beyond capital.
Mubadala and EIB Global
Mubadala committed through their MENA Venture Capital Fund, which specifically backs ADGM-anchored managers, meaning a legal presence in Abu Dhabi was a prerequisite. EIB Global joined as a cornerstone investor to channel capital into African tech startups focused on financial inclusion, adding a development finance dimension that broadened the LP base.
Where the Capital Will Be Deployed
Pakistan’s fintech sector has seen a strong rebound, funding reached $52.5 million in just the first half of 2025, with 450 fintech companies collectively raising $391 million in venture capital. The fund targets sectors most pivotal to the digital economy:
- Fintech and embedded finance
- Health, climate, and AI applications
- Consumer technology
- Core infrastructure verticals, the foundational digital layers powering the broader economy
The geographic mandate covers MENAPT, Middle East, North Africa, Pakistan, and Turkey and Sub-Saharan Africa, with Pakistan explicitly named as a priority market.
How Pakistani Founders Can Get This Funding
This is an equity fund. Capital is exchanged for ownership stakes, typically at pre-seed to Series B. The firm is sector-focused, operationally hands-on, and known for staying close to founders across multiple rounds.
What They Look For Pre-seed to Series B startups in fintech, health, climate, AI, or digital infrastructure Founders building for regional scale not a single local market Startups operating or planning to expand across MENAPT or Sub-Saharan Africa Demonstrated traction: active users, pilots, or existing investor interest Strong founder-market fit with a clear cross-border expansion thesis.
Your Action Plan
- Build a regional story from day one. This fund is not looking for a startup solving a single-city problem. Abhi started in Karachi and expanded across three countries. That is the model they have already backed.
- Get to traction first. Even at pre-seed, come with proof, active users, a pilot, or a term sheet from a local angel. Evidence anchors conviction at every stage.
- Find a warm introduction. The MEA team is active at GITEX and Step Conference in Dubai. A shared investor or connection through a portfolio founder, including Abhi’s team, is the most effective entry point.
- Consider a GCC presence. Mubadala specifically backs ADGM-anchored managers. That preference filters down to the companies they support. A UAE entity opens doors that remain closed to purely Pakistan-registered startups at Series A and beyond.
- Study the Abhi playbook. The fund backed Abhi as a local product and it became a regional market leader and then a microfinance bank acquirer. Understanding how Abhi framed earned wage access as a financial inclusion story relevant across Pakistan, UAE, and KSA gives you a template for framing your own pitch.
A firm managing over €1.2 billion in assets has now formalised its MEA conviction with a dedicated flagship fund backed by QIA, Mubadala, and EIB Global. The mandate covers MENAPT Middle East, North Africa, Pakistan, and Turkey. Pakistan is already in the portfolio. The capital is real. Founders who build for regional scale, demonstrate traction, and find the right introduction will be first in line.
