Kuwait-based mobile telecom network Zain Group has expanded its corporate venturing activities to the US with a strategic investment in venture capital fund Colle Capital Partners.
The size of the investment was not disclosed. Zain’s core markets are in the Middle East and Eastern Europe, while Colle has offices in New York and San Francisco.
Founded in 2015, Colle is an early-stage fund focused on diversified technology investments in sectors such as energy, media, telecom, health information technology, security and software development.
Zain made the investment in Colle as part of a growth strategy formed in 2014. Zain Digital Frontier and Innovation strategy seeks to bolster the company’s financial viability by moving into the digital sector.
In an effort to boost its exposure to digital startups, Zain invested in three early-stage funds in 2015: Middle East Venture Partners (MEVP) in April, Wamda in May and EarlyBird in August of that year.
Scott Gegenheimer, CEO of Zain, said: “We are keen to extend our reach to the US as we are well aware of that market’s innovation and hi-tech credentials, and we believe ideas and solutions from that geography will drive real-life digital applications and create new revenue streams in our region.”
Victoria Grace, founder and managing partner at Colle, said: “We aim to bring to our portfolio companies not just capital but also access to forward thinking, strategic partners that will create significant synergies for our companies beyond US borders.
“We are already engaged with Zain on a number of efforts and view this as a win-win partnership.”