UAE – Mubasher: Dubai-based marketing holding company FAST Ventures has launched FAST Foundry, its investment arm and venture studio backed by a $3 million fund to support early-stage startups across the MENA region.
The fund targets founders building the next wave of adtech, retail, creator, AI, and marketing products with global potential, according to a press release.
FAST Foundry invests in the full FAST Ventures ecosystem, enabling startups to access specialist teams across products, marketing, creators, and AI.
Waseem Afzal, CEO of FAST Ventures, commented: “We created FAST Ventures to address that – to build original, homegrown IP that understands this region deeply and can scale globally. FAST Foundry is the next chapter. We’re backing founders who want to create tools, platforms and products that redefine how marketing and growth work – built in MENA, for the world.”
FAST Ventures highlighted that roughly 90% of MENA startups fail within the first few years before reaching profitability, and that 43% struggle to build repeatable demand.
Hence, it will enable startups to receive investment as well as workspace at FAST Ventures’ headquarters in Dubai Internet City or its offices in Riyadh. Founders will gain engineering and go-to-market support from multiple entities under the FAST Ventures umbrella.
