Averroes Ventures operates as a specialized venture capital and management firm focused on driving industrial innovation and circular economy principles across Egypt and the broader MENA region. By targeting early-stage SMEs and startups, the firm addresses the regional gap in venture financing for industrial and sustainability-focused enterprises. Averroes Ventures aligns its investment and acceleration activities with Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) targets, prioritizing scalable, high-impact innovations that mitigate climate risks through resource efficiency and environmental resilience.
Business Model and Platform
The firm executes its mission through the Circulate MENA Platform, which integrates three distinct pillars: Circularity Labs, CircuHub, and Capital. Circularity Labs provides industry-led innovation and business acceleration to drive sustainable impact. CircuHub serves as a center for market intelligence, policy insights, and strategic matchmaking, facilitating partnerships between SMEs, investors, and policymakers. The Capital arm focuses on early- and growth-stage investments, bridging the financing gap for startups at the intersection of technology and circular innovation.
Sector Focus and Core Offering
Averroes Ventures concentrates its efforts on several critical emerging sectors, including advanced manufacturing, agri-tech, renewable energy, packaging, textiles, and water management. The firm’s support extends beyond capital to include capacity building, expert guidance, and access to vetted networks. Notable investments within its portfolio include Breadfast, Trukker, Nawah Scientific, Illa, and Khazenly. These ventures reflect the firm’s commitment to closed-loop systems and the “reduce, reuse, recycle” framework.
Leadership and Strategic Framework
The firm is led by Founding Partner and CEO Dr. Ahmed A. Alsharif and Partner Eman Wahby. Dr. Alsharif brings over 25 years of experience in private equity and venture capital, having previously chaired the Abdullatif Alsharif Group and led the Venture Capital Chapter at the Egyptian Private Equity Association. Eman Wahby contributes over 20 years of expertise in international development and climate finance, including prior roles at the World Bank Group and UNCDF. Averroes Ventures operates under the IFC’s Operating Principles for Impact Management and incorporates Gender Lens Investing across its portfolio.
Market Intelligence and Policy Alignment
Through its CircuHub component, the firm provides sectoral insights and feasibility analyses to enable informed investment decisions. It engages in policy advocacy and recommendations to inform regulations and incentive designs that support circularity. By facilitating high-impact partnerships between the private sector, R&D partners, and government entities, the firm seeks to position the MENA region as a global leader in industrial sustainability.
Collectively, the data indicates that Averroes Ventures is positioning itself as a central intermediary between development finance, private capital, and industrial sustainability in the MENA region.