Cisco (NASDAQ:CSCO) and Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) are among several companies and entities backing Sadara Ventures, built to develop start-ups in the Palestinian Authority.
Also backing the venture are the European Investment Bank, AOL Inc. (NYSE:AOL) founder Steve Case and former eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY) president Jeff Skoll, among others.
Politically, it is supported by Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad.
Yadin Kaufmann, one of the fund’s general partners, said in response to questions on the timing of the fund, “If you wait for the perfect time to invest in a fund in the Middle East, you probably never will. There was a time when people thought” that investing in Israel was too risky, “and the people who thought that way missed out on an opportunity to make a lot of money.”
The fund will be searching for investments in software development, mobile communications and Internet content and technologies. “We might look at health-care IT or a medical-device opportunity,” Kaufmann added. “It’s not an area we’ve seen a lot of in the West Bank.”
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Cisco (CSCO), Google (GOOG) Invest in Palestinian VC Fund
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