• Tunisia’s ANAVA fund of funds invests USD 4M into Qatar-based Rasmal Innovation Fund to boost startup ecosystem links.
• Rasmal Ventures’ first fund, backed by QIA’s USD 1B program, targets USD 100 million for MENA startups.
• ANAVA, supported by the World Bank and KfW, uses a “fund of funds” model to attract global VC into Tunisia.

Anava Fund of Funds

Tunisia’s ANAVA fund of funds invested USD 4 million into Rasmal innovation Fund. This is part of the Tunisian fund’s commitment to the Qatar-based fund to help channel more international investment into Tunisia’s startup ecosystem.

Founded in 2023, Rasmal Ventures is a Qatari venture capital company aiming to invest in Qatari and MENA startups. It launched its first fund Rasmal Innovation Fund I in June 2024.Additionally, it was the first fund selected for Qatar Investment Authority’s (QIA) USD 1billion fund of funds programme.

ANAVA Fund of Funds is a public-private initiative supported by the World Bank, Germany’s KfW Development Bank, and Tunisia’s Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations (CDC).

Funding

The Rasmal Innovation Fund I is targeting a final close of USD 100 million after securing USD 30 million from QIA, corporates and family offices. The fund aims to invest in in seed to Series B stage startups across the MENA region. Furthemore, it seeks to focus on sectors including FinTech, B2B SaaS, HealthTech, and logistics.

For Tunisia and other emerging ecosystems, attracting global venture funds is a vital step toward scaling their local startup scenes. This is because the government-backed “fund of funds” approach is a proven model. It essentially involves injecting capital into foreign managers while requiring them to reinvest multiples of that capital into domestic startups.

Bottom line: ANAVA’s commitment highlights Tunisia’s push to integrate with regional VC networks. Thus, the fund-of-funds model could help bring more capital to local startups.