Malaysia-based ethical investment and social finance platform operator Ethis Group has partnered with renowned VC firm Gobi Partners to launch a US$20 million Shariah-compliant seed fund.
Once launched, the joint fund will invest in Shariah-compliant startups globally with an initial geographic focus in the MENA (the Middle East and North Africa) and ASEAN regions.
The partnership aims to capture the growth of startups in the Halal economy, where startups adhere to Shariah law, and thus their products are built to serve a large Muslim community.
Furthermore, the fund’s focus on the broader ethical investment agenda resonates well with the post-pandemic emphasis on environmental, social, governance and sustainable investments that also stretch beyond the Muslim community.
The fund aims to make the first close by the end of this year.
Also Read: Ethis Global closes US$1.7M Pre-Series A funding round to accelerate global expansion effort
This is Ethis Group’s first move into the venture investment space and Gobi’s first-ever fully Shariah-compliant fund. The collaboration combines the venture guiding acumen of Gobi Partners (which has US$1.5 billion of assets under management across North Asia, South Asia and ASEAN) with Ethis’s growing fintech investment and crowdfunding platforms in Indonesia, Malaysia and Oman.
“Establishing this joint fund will allow us to channel investments into tech startups driving change and making an impact. Venture capital is in high demand and suitable for ethical investment,” said Mohamed Shehzad Bin Mohamed Islam, CEO of Ethis Investment Platform.
Founded in 2002, Gobi Partners (dual-headquartered in Kuala Lumpur and Hong Kong) supports entrepreneurs from the early to growth stages and focuses on emerging and underserved markets. It has raised 15 funds, invested in over 320 startups and nurtured nine unicorns, including Carsome.
In 2016, Gobi launched its TaqwaTech vertical, which focuses on investments in Islamic ventures and the global Muslim economy.
“Muslim consumers represent a US$2.2 trillion market opportunity, and the Muslim community is anticipated to make up more than 31 per cent of the world’s population by 2060. However, the community’s digital needs are largely unmet or underserved. Through this partnership with Ethis and the creation of this dedicated fund, we will now be able to fund, nurture and support even more Muslim entrepreneurs,” said Gobi Co-Founder Thomas Tsao.
Ethis Group operates crowd-investment platforms approved by regulators in Indonesia, Malaysia and Oman. Its platforms serve ordinary people, high-net-worth individuals, corporates, and government entities.
It recently launched EthisX, a cross-border ethical private capital market platform. EthisX aims to address the lack of availability of Shariah-compliant and ethical alternative funding and financing in emerging and developed non-Muslim countries with sizeable enough Muslim populations.
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