The first partnership fund to be established under Bahrain’s new Investment Limited Partnerships Law, will see Al Salam Bank-Bahrain (ASBB) partnering with China-based MSA Capital to launch Al Salam-MSA Bahrain Fund I.
The new US$50 million venture capital fund will invest mainly in opportunities that put innovative Chinese technologies and business models to work within the MENA. The fund, which is poised to use Bahrain as a gateway to launch into the region’s $1.5 trillion economy, will encourage capital and technology flow and cooperation between the two regions while capitalising on best practices pioneered in the Chinese tech-industry.
The new fund will cover investments in multiple tech sectors, including e-commerce, FinTech and the array of technology ecosystem enablers like big data, artificial intelligence, and cloud computing, as well as logistics and networking systems.
Speaking about the new venture the Group CEO at ASBB, Rafik Nayed said that Bahrain has been serving as commercial bridge linking East and West for thousands of years and that the new partnership is a continuation of this long trading history.
For his part, the Managing Partner of MSA Capital, Ben Harburg added that adopting Chinese-inspired mobile-first business models can accelerate the inflection point at which many MENA businesses now find themselves.
“High mobile penetration and high Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) in the region, along with a large youth population and substantial space for growth given the low level of e-commerce penetration and the large unbanked populations, offer an incredible opportunity for investment.”