Euphrates Advisors

Managing Partners Geoffrey Batt and Grant Felgenhauer lead investment decisions for both the Euphrates Iraq Fund and Euphrates Ventures. Batt, who founded the public-equities fund in 2010, focuses on listed opportunities; Felgenhauer, investing in Iraq since 2012, co-leads venture sourcing alongside Partners Shwan Ibrahim Taha and Rawaz Rauf. The team's decision-making is concentrated and relationship-driven, with no external investment committee.

Euphrates sources venture deals through the personal networks of its four named partners, who collectively operate across Baghdad, Erbil, and Sulaymaniyah. Shwan Ibrahim Taha's ownership of Rabee Securities—the brokerage that managed the AsiaCell and Zain listings—provides market intelligence, while Rawaz Rauf's angel investing and CEO role at payments startup Ecopay surfaces early-stage opportunities. Grant Felgenhauer travels frequently to all regions of Iraq to maintain relationships with founders and management teams.

Shwan Ibrahim Taha, a Partner at Euphrates Advisors, owns Rabee Securities, an Iraqi brokerage firm. Rabee Securities has served as sole manager for the two largest listings on the Iraq Stock Exchange—AsiaCell and Zain—and provides Euphrates with local market access, custody infrastructure, and deal flow visibility. The two entities are related through Taha's ownership but are operationally distinct.

No. Both the public-equities fund and the venture fund are restricted to Iraq and the Kurdistan Region. The firm's website and team biographies reference no investments outside those geographies. The entire investment platform is built on the thesis that Iraq's demographics, rising tech adoption, and capital scarcity create a distinct return profile unavailable in neighboring Gulf markets.