Leap Ventures

Co-founders Henri Asseily and Hala Fadel act as Managing Partners and make all investment decisions. Fadel brings deep operational and venture-building experience from her tenure as chair of the MIT Enterprise Forum Pan Arab, while Asseily has a background in technology commercialization and regional startup policy. The firm does not publicize a broader investment committee.

Leap Ventures sources heavily through the MIT Enterprise Forum Pan Arab network, the American University of Beirut's entrepreneurial community, and the partners' personal relationships across the Levant and GCC. The firm also maintains ties to diaspora Lebanese founders who return to build companies in the region. This network-driven approach provides access to early-stage companies that international funds often overlook.

Leap Ventures operates as a conventional venture capital firm, not a family office. It manages external limited partner capital alongside, in some cases, partner commitments. The firm is not tied to a single family's wealth and does not operate as an MFO.

Leap Ventures invests from pre-seed through growth stages, with an emphasis on seed and Series A rounds. The firm typically reserves capital for follow-on investments in companies that demonstrate product-market fit beyond their home markets, particularly those expanding from Lebanon into the UAE and Saudi Arabia.

Since the 2019 banking crisis, Leap Ventures has systematically helped portfolio companies restructure their legal entities outside Lebanon, commonly relocating holding companies to the UAE or Cayman Islands. This restructuring aims to protect companies from Lebanese capital controls and make them investable for foreign follow-on capital. The firm itself operates from Beirut but structures new investments under foreign holding vehicles.

Leap Ventures has not publicly stated explicit sector exclusions, but its portfolio concentration in enterprise software, fintech, mobility, and digital media suggests deliberate avoidance of capital-intensive verticals like hardware manufacturing, deep biotech, and heavy industry. The firm also appears to avoid sectors dependent on Lebanese sovereign procurement or subsidies.

Leap Ventures often leads or co-leads early-stage rounds in its portfolio companies, particularly in deals sourced directly through its regional network. In later-stage rounds, the firm tends to participate alongside larger international and Gulf-based venture funds, leveraging its local expertise to help outside investors navigate the operating environment.