Investor Profile: Nama Ventures — Thesis, Cheque Size & How to Apply

For technology founders in Saudi Arabia and the wider Middle East and North Africa, Nama Ventures funding is one of the earliest institutional doors worth knocking on. The Riyadh-based firm calls itself "tech founders funding tech startups" and has built its reputation as the champion of first money in — the pre-seed investor that writes a startup's first proper cheque.

Thesis & focus

Nama Ventures is a CMA-licensed early-stage venture capital firm investing in technology-driven startups across MENA, with a strategic focus on Saudi Arabia. Its founder-first approach pairs capital with mentorship and governance support from day one: building boards and advisory structures, installing reporting processes, and tracking the KPIs that make companies attractive to top-tier investors at Series A.

Sectors & stages

The firm invests at pre-seed and seed stages across SaaS, fintech, logistics, ecommerce and marketplaces, and it can lead rounds. Deal flow is MENA-wide — the portfolio stretches from Saudi Arabia to Egypt and Nigeria — but the Kingdom remains the core hunting ground. Nama does not back solo founders; complementary founding teams are a stated requirement.

Fund size & cheque size

In 2021, Nama Ventures set out plans to raise a SAR100 million (about $26.7 million) fund dedicated to pre-seed and seed-stage MENA startups. It has not publicly disclosed a newer fund total. On cheque size, fund data compiled by VC Sheet puts its typical range at $250,000–$300,000 at pre-seed and $500,000–$1 million at seed.

Notable portfolio

Nama says it has backed more than 60 startups, including two of the Kingdom's most prominent unicorns, Salla and Tamara, and Brev.dev, which was acquired by NVIDIA. Disclosed deals include Nowlun's $1.7 million seed round (co-led with A15), Faceki's seed round (led), Termii's $3.65 million raise, Duplo's $4.3 million seed round, PIESHIP's SAR 7.875 million seed (led) and Cargoz's seed round (led).

Key people

The firm was founded by managing partner Mohammed Alzubi, an engineer-turned-investor, TechWadi co-founder and founding board member of Riyadh Angel Investors, alongside managing partner Abdullah Alaraj, an academic-turned-investor who also chairs Riyadh Angel Investors.

Programs, credits & perks

Nama runs no public accelerator and advertises no startup credit packages. Its programme, in effect, is hands-on company-building support — governance, reporting discipline and Series A readiness for portfolio founders.

How to apply for funding

For founders asking how to get funding from Nama Ventures, the route is the pitch submission form on the firm's official website — fund-data platform VC Sheet lists the site's submit page as the best way to reach the team. Apply if you are a MENA-based startup with a complementary founding team. While our list of angel investors in india covers domestic early-stage networks, Gulf founders should keep Nama on their radar as a genuine first-cheque option.