Qatar’s first independent venture capital firm, Rasmal Ventures, announced that its inaugural fund, Rasmal Innovation Fund I, has secured funding from Qatar Investment Authority (QIA)’s Fund of Funds programme, making it the first fund to join the $1-billion initiative.
Launched in June 2024, Rasmal Innovation Fund I LLC targets investments in high-performance startups across technology sectors, including fintech, B2B software-as-a-service, healthtech, and artificial intelligence.
The fund has closed commitments from QIA’s Fund of Funds, corporates, family offices, and individual high-net-worth investors, with an aim to reach $100 million in total investment, according to the announcement.
“As the first private VC fund based in Doha, we have forged strong partnerships with leading Qatari institutions to work closely with exceptional founders, stimulate innovation, and meet the region’s unique needs,” said Alexander Wiedmer, co-managing partner of Rasmal Ventures.
Rasmal Ventures, which was established in 2023, is managed by a team with experience in more than 100 venture capital deals. It invests in companies at pre-Series A, Series A, and Series B stages, with a strategic interest in fintech, supply-chain logistics, healthtech, B2B SaaS, and artificial intelligence.
QIA’s Fund of Funds programme, launched in February 2024, aims to invest over $1 billion in both international and regional venture capital funds.
The fund of funds aims to attract leading venture capital funds and entrepreneurs to Qatar, developing a strong startup and venture capital ecosystem to spur investment, growth, and innovation across the country and help close the current funding gap for local and regional entrepreneurs.
In March last year, Qatar launched a programme that seeks to fund tech startups in both seed and growth stages as part of efforts to attract these companies to establish or expand operations in the country.
The Startup Qatar Investment Program, which is powered by Qatar Development Bank, provides $500,000 to startups in the seed stage and up to $5 million in the growth stage.
The programme focuses on two types of startups — those that are launching in Qatar and those that are already established but want to expand in the country.
In November, Qatar’s emir appointed Mohammed Al Sowaidi as CEO of QIA. Al Sowaidi served as the $510-billion sovereign wealth fund’s chief of investments in the Americas and previously established the fund’s offices and investment team in New York. He replaced Mansour Ibrahim al-Mahmoud as QIA’s CEO, whom the emir on Tuesday appointed as Qatar’s next minister of health.
