Regional growth follows the final close of Endeavor Catalyst Fund V, an oversubscribed $320 million fund announced earlier this month
- Endeavor Catalyst has invested in 64 companies across the Middle East, 15 percent of its portfolio companies and 15 percent of all capital deployed.
- Regional investment has grown from $3.5 million a decade ago to $76.6 million, a 22X increase and one of the fastest growth rates in the portfolio.
- Three of the 15 liquidity events across the portfolio since the start of 2025 came from the Middle East, second only to Latin America.
- Regional portfolio companies include Tabby, MNT-Halan, Tamara, Kitopi and Moove.
Endeavor Catalyst today announced that its Middle East portfolio has grown to 64 companies across six markets, with $76.6 million invested, up 22X from $3.5 million a decade ago. The regional expansion follows the final close earlier this month of Endeavor Catalyst Fund V, an oversubscribed $320 million fund that brings total assets under management to more than $850 million.
Three of the 15 liquidity events across Endeavor Catalyst’s portfolio since the start of 2025 have come from the Middle East, placing the region second only to Latin America on recent realizations. The region has produced five exits in total. Regional portfolio companies include Tabby, MNT-Halan, Tamara, Kitopi and Moove, companies helping redraw the map of where category-defining technology businesses are built.
Endeavor Catalyst now invests across six markets in the region: Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Fund V will keep backing founders where ambition is rising faster than access to capital, with Endeavor’s Global Hub in Dubai connecting them to investors, mentors and operators across borders.
Why the Middle East
“The past few years have been tumultuous in the Middle East. Some outside the region might think that’s a reason not to invest, but at Endeavor Catalyst we know the opposite is true. The response to the disruption has shown just how ambitious and determined Middle Eastern founders are. With Fund V, we’re continuing our bet that big challenges lead to big impact,” said Yana El Dirani, Regional Lead for Endeavor Catalyst and Managing Director for Endeavor’s Dubai Global Hub.
As a co-investment fund, Endeavor Catalyst invests alongside leading venture capital and growth equity firms, backing companies only after their founders have been selected into the Endeavor network. The model puts capital behind companies outside major tech hubs and connects those founders with investors who can help them scale across borders.
Dubai sits at the crossroads between Africa and South Asia, which makes it a natural crossing point for that work. Endeavor’s Global Hub there reflects a view that the world’s fastest-growing markets are increasingly linked to each other, not only to Silicon Valley. Today 90+ Endeavor Entrepreneurs from 20 countries are based in the Dubai hub.
For the complete Fund V announcement, including the oversubscribed $320 million close, Endeavor Catalyst’s founder-backed LP base, global portfolio and deployment outlook, read the global release.
