How to raise a fund in the Gulf

👉 Before it’s everywhere, it’s in FWDstart. Subscribe for $99 and save 17% on the first year to support independent reporting on the MENA tech and startup ecosystem

This episode is the final installment in a five-part series filmed on the ground in Saudi Arabia in partnership with COLABS, exploring the founders, operators and ideas shaping the Kingdom’s startup ecosystem.

Listen or watch now on
YouTube, Spotify, or Apple Podcasts

We just published my conversation with Fariha Ansari Javed, who leads global capital formation at Stride Asset Management and heads its GCC fund, on the FWDstart Podcast. You can listen on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.

For anyone raising a fund, there’s plenty here on how Stride approaches capital formation, from deciding which prospective LPs are worth spending time with to building a dedicated fundraising team and giving existing investors reasons to reinvest.

We got into how the firm has moved beyond individual investors towards deeper institutional pools, why co-investments have become such an effective way to bring capital in, and what it takes to attract investors who want access to private companies without having to source and monitor every deal themselves.

Fariha also explains how Stride is bringing its Indian lending experience to the Gulf, why its risk team never meets founders, and how the depth of capital in the region took her from asking investors for $2 million or $3 million to starting conversations at $50 million.

Give it a listen.

We’ve had some great conversations recently, including Jawad Shreim and Nauman Ali on raising a seed round in MENA, navigating term sheets and choosing the right VCs; Mohammad Al-Khalili on building ClearGrid and putting AI to work; and Talal Bayaa on raising $55 million, bringing Bayzat back from zero runway and the pressure to deliver an exit.

If you’re interested in coming on the FWDstart podcast, reach out to [email protected] If you’re interested in sponsoring the podcast, email me at [email protected].

Independent reporting, deep dives and analysis on the companies, investors and markets shaping technology across the Middle East and North Africa