Fatima Gobi Ventures to close $20m Pakistan fund by end November

SINGAPORE: Fatima Gobi Ventures, a joint venture between Pakistani venture capital firm Fatima Ventures and Shanghai-headquartered VC Gobi Partners, expects to close its first fund of $20 million by the end of November, reports foreign media. The Pakistan-focused joint venture was first announced at the Pakistan-Malaysia Business and Investment Roundtable in March this year. Fatima Gobi Ventures CEO Ali Mukhtar said the firm had seen healthy fundraising despite its Pakistan-only focus, due to the combined expertise of Fatima's expertise on the ground in Pakistan and Gobi's experience in Southeast Asia and China.

Its limited partners include development finance institutions and companies from Pakistan and the Middle East. Fatima Group, a Pakistani conglomerate with businesses in fertilizers, textiles, sugar, trading, mining and energy, has also agreed to invest in the fund.

Mukhtar added that the fund would likely seek more capital from Southeast Asia and China in the future. Fatima Gobi Ventures will typically write its first cheque for in the region of $100,000-$200,000, with room to deploy up to $2 million. It aims to invest in about 15 to 20 startups across the e-commerce, fintech and mobility sectors.