Anara Impact Capital closes $48M of a $50M debut fund, the first early-stage impact VC for MENA

AMMAN — Anara Impact Capital has reached a $48 million first close on its debut fund, just short of its $50 million target, establishing the first early-stage impact venture fund focused on the Middle East and North Africa.

German development bank KfW anchored the close as lead development finance investor. The European Union, Saudi family office Dara Holdings and Jordan's Innovative Startups and SMEs Fund also committed, with ISSF putting in $4 million. Regional family offices and high-net-worth individuals across the GCC, Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt, Tunisia and Palestine fill out a book split roughly 50-50 between development finance and private capital.

Anara spun out of Alfanar, which has run venture philanthropy in the region for twenty years. Managing partner Nafez Daqqaq and principal Mohamed Hussain will invest from Amman into seed through Series A companies in learning, wellbeing and climate across North Africa and the Levant. The fund plans tickets of $500,000 to $1.5 million into 25 to 30 companies over a ten-year life. Early portfolio companies include Jordanian mental health platform Arab Therapy and Egyptian PCR diagnostics firm Reme-D.

For ISSF, the commitment fits a phase-two strategy of using fund investments to pull regional capital toward Jordanian startups, following its $7 million commitment to Endeavor Catalyst V in June. ISSF chief executive Mohammed Al-Muhtaseb framed the Anara commitment in those terms, and the fund has committed an allocation to Jordan.

Watch for the final close in the coming months and the pace of first cheques, which will show whether impact mandates can deploy at seed speed in the region. Dealroom first reported the close.