Viaka #7 - Building a road network between emerging and developed startup ecosystems
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Hi everyone, this is Hani. This week has been an exceptionally busy one, so there’s no interview to share. Instead, I’ll do a quick intro to Viaka and its high-level vision.
Background (the short version)
For the past year and a half, over the course of various engagement and initiatives (shoutout plus.vc, Startup Boston, Mashvisor, StartMENAup, to name a few), I’ve had the opportunity to speak and work with founders and investors in MENA, as well as in the U.S.
Pain Point
One thing that I observed across the board is a major “road” shortage between the MENA ecosystems and those in North America/Europe.
What do I mean by “road?”
The dictionary definition gets us mostly there - I really just need to make a couple tweaks.
A road is a “a wide way leading from one place to another, especially one with a specially prepared surface which human & financial capital can use.” Even in a world of remote-first work, it is still extremely difficult for a startup in Tunisia to find the right “road” to investors in North America, a founder in Lebanon to find the road to an advisor with experience building Saas products for global users, or a family office in Qatar to find its road into top-tier startup deals in North America.
At the other end of the road, it’s equally as difficult for an experienced startup operator in Boston to find their way to an advisor role with one of Saudi Arabia’s most promising startups, or for an angel in New York to find their way to investing in one of Morocco’s hottest new fintech startups.
Solution
The fact that “Viaka” is a portmanteau of viae and shabaka (“roads” in Latin, and “network” in Arabic) belies the long term vision - to build a network of “roads,” with specially prepared surfaces on which dealflow, mentorship, investment, etc, can flow more freely (in both directions) between emerging and developed markets.
We’ve already started paving!
If you find yourself at either ends of the “roads” that I described above, we’d love to connect with you:
Startup founders, investors, operators based in North America/Europe and looking to connect with the most promising startups and capital in MENA, please join our Viaka Network
VCs, Startup Support Organizations, and startups based in MENA and looking to connect with investors, advisors, or founders in North America & Europe, please sign up as a MENA Partner
Promising Opportunities from Our MENA Partners
Here are some highlighted opportunities from our MENA partners.
For the full list, check out this page.
For Investors:
Iman Invest is closing a $3m post-seed round to build out their halal BNPL solution similar to Affirm/Klarna, that enables customers to invest and get funding ethically according to their belief
For Advisors:
Band Industries, an AI-powered music tuner and education app, is looking for A) a digital marketing strategist, and B) a product expert, preferably with deep expertise in the music and edtech space, to help drive app downloads and subscription conversions
For Founders:
Plus.vc invests in early-stage founders (up to Series A) that have a MENA background or connection, but are founding their companies outside of MENA.
If you would like to get involved with any of the opportunities above, please fill out the form below and indicate what opportunity you are interested in in the “Reason for Joining” section.
Exciting Announcements From Our Network
Below are a list of updates, wins, and asks emanating from members of the Viaka Network in the “West.”
TechWadi is excited to announce the launch of the TechWadi Membership.
As we all do, we’re launching in Beta – opening it up for our very-first 25 members. Purposefully small because we believe a tight-knit group is key to building meaningful relationships. Click here to learn more and apply to become a member.
If you’re a member of our Network and would like to share your own update next week, email info.viaka@gmail.com.
That’s it for this week. Thank you!
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