West Bank-based Ibtikar notched a $3 million investment from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, bringing the amount invested in its second fund to $25 million.
Ibtikar reached a $15 million first close in 2022 from a pool of investors including Dutch Good Growth Fund, International Finance Corp. and the World Bank’s $3 billion Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative, or We-Fi.
“We are excited to support the further establishment of the early-stage innovation ecosystem in the West Bank,” said Anne Fossemalle of EBRD.
The investment was EBRD’s first in a West Bank venture fund.
Early-stage focus
The humanitarian crisis in Gaza and the West Bank has exacerbated the struggle to secure investment for Palestinian businesses. Palestine has limited tech ecosystem infrastructure, like accelerators or incubators.
“There was a lot of intense effort at the ideation stage of business, and then nothing. So if you had a good idea, there was no one to fund you,” Ibtikar’s co-founder Ambar Amleh told ImpactAlpha.
Ibtikar’s first fund invested more than $10 million in two dozen Palestinian startups. Its portfolio includes Verity, a financial literacy platform for teens and kids, and Mashvisor, a data platform for real estate investors.
Job creation
Ibtikar’s second fund will cut checks of around $500,000 for seed and pre-Series A startups in the West Bank and Gaza, as well as Palestinian-led businesses elsewhere in Middle East and North Africa. The aim is to bolster job opportunities, particularly for women and youth, in the region, where 99% of businesses are small family-owned enterprises that employ fewer than 20 people.
The fund has invested in Algebra Intelligence in Jordan, which uses AI to track energy consumption. Alma Health provides digital health services for users with chronic conditions. Vatrin offers payments and order management solutions for small businesses.
