Follow The Money: Iliad Partners' Christos Mastoras

For Follow The Money, the cover story for Inc. Arabia's January/February 2025 issue, we tapped industry leaders for insights to guide your moves in the MENA entrepreneurial landscape in 2025. In this piece, we go one-on-one with Christos Mastoras, Managing Partner at Iliad Partners, on the opportunities he and his firm are keeping an eye on this year. 

Christos Mastoras, Managing Partner of the UAE-based venture capital firm Iliad Partners, has been at the forefront of investing in early-stage B2B technology startups driving digitization and innovation in verticals like fintech, logistics, and proptech at the pre-Series A and Series A stages in the GCC. The firm focuses primarily on investing in Saudi Arabia and the UAE, while also allocating 10 percent of the fund to Europe to support startups there that are expanding into the MENA and bridging innovation gaps in the region. 

In terms of where he and his firm are looking at investing in 2025, Mastoras tells us that fintech remains a standout sector, alongside logistics and proptech, with these industries serving as keys to the ongoing digital transformation of the region. “We believe fintech, along with other verticals such as logistics, will continue to grow in 2025 driven by the need to further develop the supporting ecosystem around e-commerce, fuel innovation in the infrastructure and product offerings of financial services and payments, and tech-enable trade and supply chain and fintech for logistics,” Mastoras tells Inc. Arabia. 

Mastoras also notes that a major opportunity lies in the digital transformation of corporates and traditional family groups. “From our perspective, given our B2B focus and close collaboration with the strategics in our limited partners (LP) base, one of the major needs that we see being addressed is the digital transformation of corporates and traditional family groups that are seeking to tech-enable their operating companies and innovate in order to offer better, more competitive offerings to a market that is constantly evolving and becoming more sophisticated,” he says. 

In terms of technologies in the spotlight, Mastoras says that artificial intelligence (AI) is set to play an increasingly important role in 2025 and onward in terms of driving efficiency and productivity, while also accelerating the pace of innovation and disruption by tech startups in the region and beyond. However, the way in which this trend will evolve remains unclear. “In this context, while AI is becoming a major consideration in VC investments, it will not necessarily alter VC investment strategies, but it will rather become a factor in how target investments are evaluated, and thereby be an overlay to investment strategies,” he adds. 

Mastoras also points to overlooked industries as significant opportunities for investors willing to venture into underexplored territory. “There are still sectors that are in need of digitization and innovation in the region, but, for a variety of reasons, remain underfunded in terms of VC,” he says. “For example, such sectors include proptech and the ecosystem around technology for the real estate industry, including sub-verticals such as construction and commercial real estate. It also includes sub-verticals of logistics, such as maritime tech and the supply chain around warehousing, for example. These are indicative examples; however, they could pose significant opportunities in 2025.” 

But while there may be a lot of excitement about “what’s next,” Mastoras cautions investors from getting swept up in all of it, and instead encourages them to be “focused, disciplined, and not lose sight of what is important, and work with the right partners.” This piece of advice is a testament to Mastoras’ experience in the industry, given that he and Iliad Partners have borne witness to various iterations of the VC industry as well as the overall economy. “We have learned that regardless of where we are in the cycle, VC investors must carefully navigate through the noise, and not lose sight of fundamental principles,” Mastoras points out. “It is important to be selective and disciplined, invest in sustainable businesses with robust unit economics, at reasonable valuations, and maintain a long-term view.” 

That said, Mastoras cannot dispute the fact that VC in the region is entering an influential phase. “The GCC, and particularly Saudi Arabia and the UAE, have emerged as global hubs of entrepreneurship and capital,” he points out. “The ongoing transformation of the region gives rise to once-in-a-lifetime opportunities for founders and tech startups to digitize and disrupt large parts of the economy and key industries. In this context, MENA VC is a great investment opportunity and one that cannot be ignored, whether you are an LP in the region or global, financial or strategic.” 

Pictured in image is Christos Mastoras, Managing Partner at Iliad Partners. Image courtesy Iliad Partners.

This article first appeared in the January/February issue of Inc. Arabia magazine. To read the full issue online, click here.