The A15 Insider - Q1 2025 Edition
Dear friends,
We're grateful for the thoughtful feedback you’ve shared about the first issue of A15 Insider. It’s great to know that it resonated with you, and we’re already working to take it even further based on your input.
When we started A15, our goal was simple: to be the investor we’d want on our own cap table. A decade later, that vision still guides everything we do, and we couldn’t be happier with the results.
From our first fund, we’ve delivered a 10x realized return on capital for our limited partners (aka DPI), with 15 active portfolio companies still in play. As many of you know, such outcomes are rare, not just in emerging markets, but globally.
But the part we’re proudest of isn’t the number. It’s the network we’ve built around A15. A community of founders who show up for each other, who think long-term, and who quietly build real value.
Today, we’re more energized than ever. Our current portfolio spans 40 companies in 20+ countries. And we’re actively investing in a new generation of founders with the grit to scale across borders and the clarity to build deliberately.
Here’s what’s happening across the A15 ecosystem lately.
Inside A15
We’ve had a busy few weeks on the community front, with a handful of gatherings that brought different parts of the A15 network together. Mostly small, focused conversations, and a good chance to reconnect.
A15 Portfolio Founders Dinner was a low-key gathering for our founders to catch up, share updates, and talk about what’s next. It’s a simple but important part of keeping the community connected.
We also co-hosted the Middle East Venture Capital Association’s first event in Egypt, alongside AMK Investment Office and Global Ventures. It was a private lunch with a small group of investors and partners, focused on regional collaboration and strengthening ties across MENA.
Finally, during RiseUp Summit, we co-hosted an ecosystem gathering with 500 Global. Over 400 founders, investors, and enablers joined. It was a good moment to reconnect and take stock of where the region’s heading.
From the portfolio
I: Paymob became one of the first fintechs to receive a Retail Payment Services and Card Schemes license from the UAE Central Bank. It’s a major step for their growth in the Gulf, giving them full authorization to offer digital payments and POS infrastructure to merchants across the country. Just a few months ago, they had become the first payment facilitator in Egypt to enable Apple Pay both in-store and online.
II: Flapkap was selected to join Mastercard’s Start Path, a global program supporting later-stage startups shaping the future of commerce. As part of the cohort, Flapkap will collaborate with Mastercard teams and enterprise partners, with a focus on embedded finance and AI-driven lending.
They also partnered with Toothpick, a digital health platform, to offer revenue-based financing dental clinics in the UAE. The partnership gives clinics access to non-dilutive capital through Flapkap’s infrastructure, helping them manage growth without taking on traditional debt.
III: Cloudcom and Velents have partnered to combine AI-powered hiring automation with omnichannel communication tools. By integrating Velents’ assessment platform with Cloudcom’s CPaaS, the two A15-backed companies aim to improve how businesses across MENA, the Gulf, and LATAM engage with candidates and customers. The partnership was announced at LEAP 2025.
IV: Quantum Dice had a strong start to the year with two major milestones. The company placed third at the Abu Dhabi Police x EDGE Innovation Challenge, a competition focused on breakthrough technologies in national security. Shortly after, they took the stage at MWC Barcelona 2025 alongside AT&T to present a joint use case for Entropy-as-a-Service (EaaS), an enterprise-ready solution for post-quantum encryption. Both milestones mark early but promising steps as the team continues building toward real-world applications for quantum-secure infrastructure.
V: Reme-D has officially launched operations in Kenya, their first expansion market outside Egypt. They were also selected for the SPARK Kenya Health Innovation Program, an initiative supporting early-stage healthtech founders building for local systems. It’s a strong start for the team as they test and scale their model in a new geography.
New Investment:
We made one investment in the first quarter of 2025.
InCurA. A Saudi and Egypt based healthtech that’s developing cutting-edge hemostatic bleeding control and wound management products. The team has built their IP in-house and is in the process of obtaining regulatory approvals to start local manufacturing later this year.
Their products focus on achieving high-performance and enhanced efficacy, as well as low-cost, local manufacturing. The company looks to license its IP to specialised manufacturers and distributors.
Why we invested: We were drawn to the structural tailwinds in Saudi supporting local manufacturing and IP, and to a team that combines deep technical expertise with a commercial mindset. We were impressed by the team’s strong R&D capabilities and built conviction on their ability to continue developing more cutting-edge products in the future. It is still early days, but the opportunity is clear: world-class medical products, developed and produced in the region for the region, and hopefully, beyond.
Signing Off.
On the whole, we’ve had a good start to 2025, with several of our portfolio companies making impressive strides in growth, expansion, and financial performance. Some of these updates are highlighted above.
In this issue, we mention our single investment in Q1, but we’ve been busy exploring a number of promising opportunities. We’re excited to potentially invest in a few of them in the next few weeks, and we can’t wait to share more with you in the upcoming issue.
See you in a few months,
Team A15