The Gulf has produced startups for a decade. What it has not produced is a reliable path from seed round to IPO. My next guest is building exactly that. Shane Shin, Co-Founding Partner at Shorooq. Welcome to the show.
Thank you for having me.
Shane, you have watched this region's venture market since 2017. What has actually changed in the last 12 months?
Despite the challenges, we are actually seeing many companies from Abu Dhabi and the UAE expanding — not only within the region but globally. Companies from here are actually expanding to the US, to Asia, to Korea and Japan. Years ago, that was not the case. We were only dreaming when that could happen. But now the founders from here are so good and very competitive internationally.
Walk us through the Catalyst Fund — a dedicated late-stage pre-IPO vehicle, which is a first in the region.
Since 2017, we were all focusing on early stage. We also have a private credit fund. Finally, after about eight years of hard work, we launched what we call a late-stage growth or pre-IPO fund. Our region needs that vehicle. We have a gap at this stage — the gap that can take a company to public or to M&A. It should really fulfil that need. Think Tamara-type of companies — mature and right before they go public, like to ADX. We want to have a dedicated fund vehicle where we focus on exit with the founders.
How does a company go from your portfolio to a public listing? What has to happen in between?
First, they need to have the right infrastructure ready — governance, reporting, shareholding structure, regulatory regime. You have to talk to ADX, DFM, all of these to actually get ready. You also need to be a certain size so you can do the road show and talk to investors regionally and globally. And sometimes you engage an investment bank to run the process. So it is not just that a company has to be big or successful. You actually need to have the infrastructure internally ready. Governance particularly is the key piece that many founders miss. They think — I have $10 million EBITDA, I am ready for IPO. No. You need your accounting books ready, internal controls, all those processes in place.
You are from South Korea and are headquartered here in Abu Dhabi, regulated by the FSRA. What makes Abu Dhabi the right base?
We have always been Abu Dhabi first. We were the first fund manager in VC with an ADGM licence. We were the first fund manager to have multiple funds within ADGM. Capital of capital is Abu Dhabi's slogan — and we are extremely confident and bullish on that. The ecosystem has only been growing exponentially. This is where to do business. You have a robust regulatory regime, an extremely stable ecosystem. And we find our friends from Korea, Japan, China, the US, and Europe flying in.
What are foreign allocators still not understanding about MENA?
Seeing is believing. People who have been here understand how amazing the city, the country, and the ecosystem is. But 99% of people globally have not visited Abu Dhabi. Perception is still there — especially with the current regional conflict. The first step is I actively encourage them to come. If you are here, it is so much easier to do business. There are so many companies to invest in, so many LPs to talk to, so many partners to work with.
What should people be watching in Gulf tech over the next six months?
Sovereign AI is extremely important — AI to solve compliance, to solve UAE and Abu Dhabi-specific issues. We are also very strong on fintech B2B infrastructure. We still have so much more to grow and amazing companies and founders are giving birth to new ideas. Climate tech and food security from the region are also flourishing. These are the sectors worth spending time on.
Thank you very much for joining us.
Thank you very much for having me.
