Updated:
Innoventures
Innoventures was established in Cairo by five co-founders: Hesham Wahby, Ashraf El Sharkawy, Rafik Dalala, Sameh Shaheen, and Ahmed Mikkawi.
Innoventures
Innoventures was established in Cairo by five co-founders: Hesham Wahby, Ashraf El Sharkawy, Rafik Dalala, Sameh Shaheen, and Ahmed Mikkawi. The group set up shop at Ideaspace Heliopolis on Othman Ibn Affan Street, operating an investment company and a commercial co-working space under one roof. The firm's design ties capital deployment directly to an operating hub, giving portfolio companies physical infrastructure alongside funding. The firm concentrates on early-stage technology deals, covering seed and start-up rounds. Its mandate spans generalist tech investments across Egypt and the broader MENA region. Innoventures has collaborated with infoDev, a World Bank Group program, to structure early-stage innovation financing facilities for the region. The firm maintains membership in EBAN, the European Business Angel Network, and participates actively in Endeavor Egypt's entrepreneurship ecosystem, creating cross-border angel syndication channels. Innoventures operates from a single location in Cairo's Heliopolis district through Ideaspace Heliopolis. The firm's operating model blends an investment vehicle with a startup campus, housing the founding team alongside its investee companies. The five co-founders run the operation without publicly disclosed professional headcount figures. Their network ties to EBAN and Endeavor Egypt suggest a model that relies on angel co-investor networks rather than large institutional limited partner commitments. The structural differentiator is the fused real-estate-and-capital model. Innoventures does not merely write checks from a remote office; it provides a physical HQ for early-stage companies while deploying startup and seed capital. This creates an operating-company relationship with portfolio firms uncommon among MENA venture managers, where the investment manager also acts as landlord and ecosystem convener.
General information
Firm type
Venture Capital
Year founded
—
AUM
Undisclosed
Location
Region
Middle East
Country
Egypt
City
Cairo
Corporate office
124 Othman Ibn Affan St, Heliopolis, Cairo, Egypt
Principals
Hesham Wahby
CEO and Co-founder
Ashraf El Sharkawy
Co-founder
Rafik Dalala
Co-founder
Sameh Shaheen
Co-founder
Ahmed Mikkawi
Co-founder
Frequently asked questions
Who runs investment decisions at Innoventures?
The five co-founders — Hesham Wahby, Ashraf El Sharkawy, Rafik Dalala, Sameh Shaheen, and Ahmed Mikkawi — run the firm collectively, with Wahby serving as CEO and the most visible principal. The team structure suggests a committee-based investment process rather than a single CIO model. Their shared operational presence at Ideaspace Heliopolis indicates hands-on involvement with portfolio companies.
How does Innoventures source proprietary deal flow?
The firm sources through its physical startup campus, Ideaspace Heliopolis, which attracts early-stage founders directly to its Cairo facility, and through its membership in Endeavor Egypt's entrepreneurship network, which provides access to high-potential local founders. Its affiliation with EBAN, the European Business Angel Network, creates cross-border syndication channels linking Egyptian startups to European angel capital.
Is Innoventures a venture capital fund or a startup incubator?
Innoventures operates as a hybrid — an investment firm that makes seed and start-up equity investments while housing portfolio companies at its Ideaspace Heliopolis campus. This structure combines capital deployment with physical incubation and shared operational infrastructure. The firm is not exclusively a fund manager or a pure incubator but a blended early-stage investment platform.
Does Innoventures invest outside Egypt?
The firm's primary footprint is Egypt, anchored by its physical campus in Heliopolis, Cairo. However, its collaboration with infoDev/World Bank Group and its membership in EBAN, the European Business Angel Network, point to a mandate that extends across the MENA region. The firm has not publicly disclosed specific non-Egyptian portfolio companies.
How is Innoventures related to infoDev and the World Bank Group?
Innoventures has partnered with infoDev, a World Bank Group program focused on technology entrepreneurship and innovation in developing economies. Together, they have collaborated on structuring early-stage innovation financing facilities for the MENA region, per public record. The relationship provides Innoventures with institutional credibility and co-financing infrastructure for its regional mandate.
Profile maintained by Altss using OSINT (open-source intelligence), regulatory filings, licensed data partners, and verified direct submissions. Read the methodology. Last updated: . Continuous refresh with full update cycles at least every 30 days.
Need institutional-grade insight on venture capital firms?
Altss delivers:
Prefer a guided tour?
We’ll walk you through: