e& Capital’s Kushal Shah on Entrepreneurship in MENA

“I think it’s a good time to be an entrepreneur,” said Kushal Shah, Managing Director of e& Capital, as he spoke of opportunities currently presented by the MENA startup ecosystem in an interview with Inc. Arabia. 

e& capital, the investment arm of UAE-based global technology group e&, has been in the news of late for its investments in regional startups, which include Sharjah-based Maxbyte Technologies, where it led a $5 million Series A round.  

Speaking on the sidelines of this year’s edition of the Dubai AI & Web3 Festival staged in September, Shah also shared insights on e& Capital's investment strategy.  “Consider us as a lead investor when you're looking for a Series B or a Series A," he said. "We typically inject US$10 million as our average ticket, like AED40 million.”  

Shah also discussed e&'s transformation from being a telco to a technology-driven entity, which he noted was in response to evolving customer expectations and technological advancements. “We cannot just provide connectivity services,” he said, highlighting the shift toward integrated services that support productivity and trust in the digital age. 

Check out the full video for more of Shah’s insights.