Beyond the Silk Roads: Middle Eastern Venture Investing, With Noor Sweid (Global Ventures)

Today we welcome one of the Middle East’s most successful angel investors and venture capitalists, listed in 'FORBES 100 Most Powerful Business Women 2025'. Noor Sweid explains her journey, from early career in management consultancy and relocating to Dubai, followed by growing and listing a business on the London Stock Exchange and NASDAQ in 2008 (Depa), through to establishing her VC business, Global Ventures, in 2018. She sets the scene for the investing dynamics of MENA (Middle East North Africa), where the domestic market comprises 450 million people, half of whom are below 30 years old. Noor explains both the geographic and industry opportunities, why she established Global Ventures, and the priorities in their investment process. From fintech, agritech, consumer goods and solving the most pressing medical challenges, she details their approach, selection criteria, and the characteristics they look for. She explains how they prioritise, how much they become involved in their investee companies, what they look for in “winning entrepreneurs” and why they believe their success rate can be higher than typical industry norms. Subscribe to stay up to date with our range of fascinating interviews, featuring some of the biggest names in global finance and business! TOPICS: 00:00:00 The Surge of Venture Funding in MENA 00:03:30 A Multi-Cultural Upbringing: A Journey from Boston to Dubai 00:06:01 Investing Potential in the MENA Region 00:08:56 UAE: A Hub for Global Tech Talent 00:11:54 Strategies for Scaling a Business Globally 00:14:52 Transitioning Dubai from Tourism to Innovation Hub 00:18:07 Investment Opportunities in the GCC and Sector Agnosticism 00:21:01 Transforming Health and Banking Accessibility in MENA 00:23:58 Innovative Water Treatment and Indoor Farming Solutions 00:26:57 The Power of Founder-Led Pivoting 00:29:46 Effective Venture Capital Strategies and Risk Management 00:32:52 Importance of Patience in Venture Investments 00:35:52 Innovations in Mobile Payment Solutions in Egypt 00:39:01 Gender Disparities in Venture Capital Funding 00:42:10 Key Strategies for Successful Venture Capital Exits 00:45:18 Embracing Growth: From Media Shy to Shark Tank Star 00:48:25 Important Disclaimer on Investment Advice SPONSORS: Schroders is a global investment and wealth manager, with a purpose to provide excellent investment performance to clients, through active investment management. Find out more: https://www.schroders.com/en/global/i... IFM Investors are a global institutional asset manager whose purpose is to invest, protect and grow the long term retirement savings of working people. They manage investments across infrastructure, debt, listed equities and private equity assets. Find out more: https://ifminvestors.com/en-gb/ The World Gold Council is membership organisation that champions the role gold plays as a strategic asset, shaping the future of a responsible and accessible gold supply chain. Their team of experts builds understanding of the use case and possibilities of gold through trusted research, analysis, commentary, and insights. Find out more: https://www.gold.org/ LSEG is a leading global financial infrastructure and data provider, which plays a vital social and economic role in the world's financial system. Backed by three centuries of experience, they help 40,000+ customers in 170 countries fund innovation, manage risk & create jobs. Learn more: https://www.lseg.com/en STAY UP TO DATE ✅ Newsletter: https://www.moneymazepodcast.com/subs... ✅ LinkedIn:   / the-money-maze-podcast   ✅ X/Twitter:   / podcast_maze   LISTEN: 🎧 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast... 🎧 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0uT0iw8... DISCLAIMER All content on the Money Maze Podcast is for your general information and use only and is not intended to address your particular requirements. In particular, the content does not constitute any form of advice, recommendation, representation, endorsement or arrangement and is not intended to be relied upon by users in making (or refraining from making) any specific investment or other decisions. Guests and presenters may have positions in any of the investments discussed. The Money Maze Podcast is funded by third party advertising, with all episodes editorial - and not commercial - in relation to all interview content discussed. Please note, Money Maze Curated Podcasts do not contain third party advertising, and are instead funded by the featured interviewee and/or their business (these episodes are commercial, as opposed to editorial features).