Sarava

Sarava

Sarava launched in 2012 under founder Said Rahmani and quickly became the dominant institutional technology investor inside Iran, a market where foreign venture capital has been largely absent. Its portfolio concentrated on the first wave of Iranian internet companies scaling domestically. Rahmani, now in exile in France, built the firm's position through early entry into businesses that would define Iran's digital economy. Sarava's strategy spans venture and growth equity, with confirmed core holdings including Digikala, Iran's largest e-commerce marketplace, and Cafe Bazaar, its dominant Android app store. The firm also moves into buyout situations opportunistically. Sarava's portfolio extends into gaming, cloud computing, and software-as-a-service. The firm co-invests alongside International Internet Investment Coöperatief (IIIC), a Dutch vehicle that has backed both Digikala and Cafe Bazaar. Geographic coverage centers on Tehran, serving Iran's 85-million-person domestic market. Swedish listed entity Pomegranate Investment AB holds approximately 15% of Sarava, offering non-Iranian investors a public-market proxy for exposure to Sarava's underlying assets. Sarava board member Alireza Kolahi, a prominent domestic industrialist, anchors the firm's local operating presence. Founder Rahmani also launched iBRIDGES, a nonprofit platform connecting the Iranian diaspora to startup opportunities inside Iran. Sarava's structural differentiator is its de facto role as a public-private bridge: it operates as a Tehran-based investment company holding private technology assets, while its partnership with Pomegranate offers international LPs a listed vehicle in Stockholm. No other Iranian venture firm has replicated that dual-market structure. The firm's evolution has been shaped by sanctions, political risk, and the departure of its founder from Iran, making governance and local board leadership central to its ongoing operation.