Birth of Venture Capital in the Arabian Gulf

On February 20-22nd, 2006, a historic gathering of the nascent Venture Capital and Private Equity industry of the MENA region was organized in Manama, Bahrain under the auspices of the newly formed Gulf Venture Capital Association (GVCA).  What's the big deal?  Afterall there are so many events happening in the region that are just talk with little substance.  Well this event apparently turned out to be something special.

According to Jerry Borrell of Private Equity Week, who attended the event, at least 21 new funds were announced, ranging in size from $28 million to over $10 billion.  Interestingly the focus was on investing in regionally-founded, regionally-run and regionally-operated funds.  Little interest was shown on raising funds for American or European venture funds.  PE Week also projects that funds from the Gulf region will raise at least $17 billion by the end of 2006 which could pass the total of all new PE funds being raised in Asia (inclusive of China and India)!

So will the GVCA live up to its purpose?  Only time will tell.  We certainly pray and hope that the GVCA will not just wither away, but play a sustained critical role in developing the financial engine of an entrepreneurial, innovative regional economy.