Leap Ventures

Leap Ventures is a technology-focused entrepreneur-led venture capital firm operating across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region and Europe, founded in 2015 and headquartered in Beirut, Lebanon with additional operational presence in the Gulf region, Saudi Arabia, and Europe. The firm was founded by Hala Fadel (former Managing Director at Banque Saradar and INSEAD MBA; founder and chair of the MIT Enterprise Forum Pan Arab Regional) alongside co-founders Henri Asseily and Noor Sweid (who subsequently founded Global Ventures), and invests in late-seed through Series A and Series B stages in MENA-region and Europe-based technology companies across enterprise SaaS, fintech, marketplaces, consumer internet, and adjacent technology themes. Leap Ventures has raised multiple institutional funds (Leap Ventures I at approximately USD 50-70 million, Leap Ventures II) with aggregate AUM in the USD low-to-mid-hundreds of millions range, backed by a combination of Gulf-region strategic investors, development-finance institutions (IFC), and regional family offices. The firm operates in a regional VC ecosystem historically supported by Banque du Liban's Circular 331 venture-capital guarantee scheme. Notable portfolio companies include Shahid VIP (MBC / Saudi Arabia streaming; acquired by MBC Group), Instabeat, Falafel Games, Myki, and other MENA and European technology start-ups.