FWD logo

ISSUE 006 - August 2023

Why the Middle East is bucking the rest of the world’s investment trends

Unique dynamics are shaping the Middle East investment landscape—and they have global implications. We dove into the region’s trends and discovered four things:

  1. The Middle East has a uniquely positive outlook. Only 19% of Middle East investors believe the macroeconomic cycle is starting to decline or at the bottom, in contrast to 94% of global investors.
  2. Private debt is the preferred asset class. It performs well regardless of the market, and there’s a particular sweet spot for Middle Eastern investors.
  3. From oil and gas to tomorrow’s tech boom. Politics and capital are aligned in the move away from economic dependence on hydrocarbons and local startups are benefitting.
  4. Liquidity draws investors to the region. With exits down in the rest of the world, the availability of cash in the Middle East has piqued the interest of stateside VCs.

Read more about these trends, what they mean for you, and how technology helps firms capitalize on them.

Read now

Was this forwarded to you? Sign up for monthly insights.

Sign up

Snacks

OpenAI and Fifty Years discuss AI in Venture Capital

AI is transforming Venture Capital. We recently spoke to Peregrine Badger, Instigator at Fifty Years and Adam Perelman, Engineering Manager of ChatGPT at OpenAI to unpack how VCs can start folding AI into their processes.

Learn more

13 ways VC firms can get more out of Affinity

We recently sat with Kristen Ostro, founder of Let's Talk Ops, and other Affinity superusers to learn how they use Affinity to optimize their core workflows and efficiently manage their relationships.

Read now

Press Play

Life after the investment: How top VCs drive value

In a market where LPs are hesitant to double down on venture and portcos are seeing fewer paths to IPOs and exits, the impact that investors create on both sides of the deal has never been more crucial.

And how you report on fund value creation is key to long term success.

Hear from Brian Cashin, Vice President at Teamworthy Ventures, on how his firm approaches fund value creation—with tried and tested best practices for other dealmakers looking to make an impact. Join us on September 6.

Register now

VOICES FROM THE INDUSTRY

“What attracted us to Affinity was the fact that they were really focused on Venture Capital customers… this is a CRM for VCs.”

Nolan English,
Director of Portfolio Services, SOSV

Your network is bigger
than you think

Join our weekly demo to see Affinity in action and learn how you can use your network to find, manage, and close more deals.

Register