Tech Investors Head to Mideast for Deals

Silicon Valley has never felt more intertwined with the Middle East—and I’m not just saying that because I’m writing this column as I graze on dates in the lobby of Rosewood Abu Dhabi. I spent the last week meeting investors, operators and founders in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, where evidence of U.S. venture capital was easy to find.

One of those meetings was with Fadi Ghandour, founder of Wamda Capital, which made an early investment in ride-hailing company Careem. The startup became a regional success story when Uber acquired it in 2019 for $3.1 billion. Ghandour, a former CEO of publicly listed logistics and shipping company Aramex, has been so active in backing local startups that local investors described him to me as the “Ron Conway” of the region, a reference to the prolific Silicon Valley angel investor.