10 UAE venture capitalists make Forbes’ Middle East’s top VCs list + Mashreq Al Islami’s retail brand receives accolade

The UAE dominated Forbes’ Middle East’s top venture capitalists ranking this year, with 10 UAE-based firms securing top positions, trailing only Saudi Arabia, which had 11 firms featured on the list, and followed by Egypt at 4.

Among the highest-ranked Emirati leaders: Mahmoud Adi (LinkedIn), founding partner of Shorooq Partners, claimed the 22nd spot; Faisal Al Hammadi (LinkedIn), managing partner of Further Ventures secured the 12th position; and Dany Farha (LinkedIn) of Beco Capital ranked ninth.

Heads of VC firms with dual headquarters in Saudi Arabia and the UAE also made the cut, including Access Bridge Ventures ’ Issa Aghabi (LinkedIn) and Rakan AlRashed (LinkedIn) at #16, and Nuwa Capital ’s Khaled Talhouni at #20.

Our friends at Mashreq’s Islamic banking arm, Mashreq Al Islami, was named the Best Islamic Retail Banking Brand in the UAE for 2024 by the Islamic Retail Banking Awards (IRBA), according to a Linkedin post.