Fajr Capital

CEO Iqbal Khan leads the firm and represents Fajr Capital at major industry forums such as SuperReturn Middle East and the Global Private Capital Conference. Day-to-day investment decisions are taken by a management team overseen by a Board of Directors and a Shari'a Advisory Board, which ensures every transaction complies with Islamic finance principles. The firm has not publicly identified a separate CIO or disclosed the detailed composition of its investment committee.

Fajr Capital's partnership-centric philosophy — 'investing in what we know, where we know, and with whom we know' — points to a relationship-driven sourcing model rooted in its shareholders' sovereign and family-office networks across the GCC and Southeast Asia. This combination gives the firm access to transactions that require a Shari'a-compliant, culturally fluent partner, often in markets where conventional private equity firms face barriers. Consortia, such as the one assembled for the Aster GCC deal, are a repeatable syndication tool.

Fajr Capital is a Dubai-based private equity firm, not a family office. It manages third-party institutional capital from a shareholder base that includes sovereign-linked entities from the GCC and Malaysia, and deploys it into control and significant minority positions across growth markets. It is regulated as an asset manager and competes directly with conventional PE firms, differentiating on its Shari'a mandate.

The firm's disclosed activity centers exclusively on direct, control-oriented private equity investments. Confirmed deals such as GEMS Education, Cravia, and the Aster GCC investment are all direct positions. There is no public evidence that Fajr Capital operates a fund-of-funds program or makes LP commitments to external managers.

Fajr Capital targets buyout and growth-stage opportunities. Its investment approach states it targets 'high-growth companies' and supports their 'long-term strategic, financial and operational development.' The Aster GCC acquisition is a classic buyout, while the firm's earlier investment in GEMS Education was a significant minority growth deal. The firm does not engage in seed or early-stage venture capital.

As a Shari'a-compliant investor, Fajr Capital screens out any business that generates material revenue from alcohol, conventional financial services (interest-bearing), gambling, pork-related products, tobacco, and weapons. The Shari'a Advisory Board's governance role ensures these screens are applied at deal origination and monitored through the hold period. Beyond its religious mandate, the firm has not published a separate exclusion list.

The Fajr Capital Foundation is a legally distinct philanthropic entity that advances social and economic development in the communities where Fajr Capital invests. The firm states that it integrates social responsibility into its business model and that the foundation operationalizes the 'giving back' component of its values-based approach. The foundation's work is separate from the profit-seeking investment activities of the firm.