We Back the Most Driven Founders From Day Zero to greatness

We are one of the most active early-stage investors globally, empowering driven founders to build transformative companies. Whether you are an individual seeking a co-founder or a team validating your idea, we provide everything you need to build at lightning speed.

Our residencies in Dubai, UAE, and Riyadh, KSA, bring together entrepreneurs from diverse backgrounds.

Why join the Antler residency?

1. Find your co-founder

2. Validate your idea

3. Secure your first investment

Sign up for an AMA session with one of our partners and learn how Antler empowers founders in MENAP or apply directly to our next residency.

* For the September residency, French founders will need to relocate to Amsterdam, Berlin, or Munich.

Join an upcoming AMA session

  • Funding for your startup in just 5 weeks
  • Get your first cheque from a global VC

Who is Antler in MENAP for?

We seek founders with a proven track record, fierce ambition, a strong drive to execute, and change the world.

Our 10-week full-time residency is joined by serial entrepreneurs, experienced business operators, technologists, and domain experts who can motivate themselves and others to join their mission to build a transformative business.

Whether you are an aspiring entrepreneur seeking a co-founder or a team in the early days looking to validate your idea further, Antler is the ideal environment to bring your vision to life.

Secure your first investment and join our global community of 8,000+ entrepreneurs.

Individuals

Looking for a co-founder?

Antler brings together an exclusive group of ~80 exceptional individuals enabling them to match with their perfect co-founder. Whether you have just an idea or are ready to sprint forward, we facilitate team formation, provide masterclasses, personalized coaching, and a thriving community of entrepreneurs.

Teams

Already have the dream team?

Antler welcomes teams in the early stage and pre-investment. Typically, teams which are still validating their idea, building a product, gearing up for launch, or seeking another co-founder. We provide masterclasses, personalized coaching, and a thriving community of entrepreneurs.

What to expect from Antler in MENAP

The 10-week in-person residency at Antler enables you to find a co-founder within a community of 80+ exceptional founders and validate your idea.

You may have the opportunity to pitch our investment committee at the end and secure your first investment. Having invested worldwide in 1,200+ companies and supported 8,000+ entrepreneurs through our residency in 30 locations, we know what works and what doesn't.

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Find your co-founder and validate your idea

The residency begins with team-building activities, masterclasses, workshops, and team challenges. After finding your co-founder, you start talking to customers, develop your MVP, refine your business model, and build your go-to-market strategy.

Pitch and secure your first investment

After completing the residency, you may be invited to pitch to our investment committee. If successful, you'll receive $180,000 for 11% equity to start building your company.

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Join a global community and foster the growth of your startup

On receiving an investment from Antler, you will join the Antler portfolio, gaining access to a 600+ member operator network, global portfolio community, and talent network. Portfolio companies also benefit from deals on various software, and services, and receive tailored coaching from Antler partners, venture partners, and advisors on topics such as fundraising, product development, go-to-market strategies, and organizational development.

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Application Process

The full application process takes about 2-3 weeks to complete. Our team will guide you through the full process and will be available to answer all your questions. The next residency kicks off in October 2024.

Apply to the Antler residency

To embark on this journey, begin by filling out the application. We'll ask a few questions to get to know you better.

Attend our AMA

Join an AMA (Ask Me Anything) session with one of our partners to learn about Antler, our residency, founder selection criteria, commercial terms, and next steps. Use this opportunity to ask questions and see if our residency is the right fit for your entrepreneurial journey.

Chat with us

In this series of interviews, we aim to understand your passion, skills, expertise, and unique experiences that could make you an outstanding founder. We'll also assess your mindset, commitment, energy, and motivation to build a company.

Join Antler

Once accepted, you’ll receive an offer. After signing the Antler founder agreement, we’ll send you an onboarding email with pre-residency steps to prepare you for your first week and help you start connecting with the exceptional founders in your cohort.

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Application Process

The full application process takes about 2-3 weeks to complete. Our team will guide you through the full process and will be available to answer all your questions. The next residency kicks off in October 2024.

Apply to the Antler residency

To embark on this journey, begin by filling out the application. We'll ask a few questions to get to know you better.

Attend our AMA

Join an AMA (Ask Me Anything) session with one of our partners to learn about Antler, our residency, founder selection criteria, commercial terms, and next steps. Use this opportunity to ask questions and see if our residency is the right fit for your entrepreneurial journey.

Chat with us

In this series of interviews, we aim to understand your passion, skills, expertise, and unique experiences that could make you an outstanding founder. We'll also assess your mindset, commitment, energy, and motivation to build a company.

Join Antler

Once accepted, you’ll receive an offer. After signing the Antler founder agreement, we’ll send you an onboarding email with pre-residency steps to prepare you for your first week and help you start connecting with the exceptional founders in your cohort.

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Application Process

The full application process takes about 2-3 weeks to complete. Our team will guide you through the full process and will be available to answer all your questions. The next residency kicks off in October 2024.

Apply to the Antler residency

To embark on this journey, begin by filling out the application. We'll ask a few questions to get to know you better.

Attend our AMA

Join an AMA (Ask Me Anything) session with one of our partners to learn about Antler, our residency, founder selection criteria, commercial terms, and next steps. Use this opportunity to ask questions and see if our residency is the right fit for your entrepreneurial journey.

Chat with us

In this series of interviews, we aim to understand your passion, skills, expertise, and unique experiences that could make you an outstanding founder. We'll also assess your mindset, commitment, energy, and motivation to build a company.

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Founder Testimonials

Arslan Berbic

The team we have assembled to build with would not have come together without Antler

Ekta Bhojwani

The most valuable thing Antler has provided is energy - in just a few weeks, I’ve been so inspired by the caliber of the people in the cohort and the valuable insights provided by the masterclasses and guests - I’ve found the momentum I need to get to the next stage of building my venture.

Kate Kheistver

The most valuable part of my Antler journey has been the incredible atmosphere created by top-notch individuals. Each one is eager to share their wisdom, experience, network, and creativity. It’s like going through a hackathon and an MBA program simultaneously!

Entrepass Partner

Our Team

Meet the people dedicated to our founders’ success.

Romain (رومان) Assunção
Partner

Romain is the Partner at Antler in MENAP. He has served as an Associate Partner at McKinsey & Company in Dubai / Riyadh offices, where he notably helped governments in MENAP to foster startup and tech ecosystems. Prior to that, he focused on go-to-market functions within Amazon, Rocket Internet / Jumia, and L'Oreal. Romain holds an MBA from London Business School and is a member of Tomouh Community of Leaders.

Dr. Jonathan Doerr
Partner

Jonathan is the Partner at Antler in MENAP. He has a proven track record of successfully building ventures across diverse markets. Before Antler, Jonathan founded Smileneo, a direct-to-consumer health tech business in the MENA region, which was acquired in 2023. He also served as the Co-CEO of Daraz, the leading online marketplace in South Asia, acquired by Alibaba in 2018. Additionally, Jonathan held the position of Managing Director at Jumia, the leading online marketplace in Africa that went public on the NYSE in 2019.

Amy Zaghloul
Director, Capital

Amy is a Director Capital at Antler, she combines her global experience in Investor Relations and M&A to support fundraising for Funds and early-stage companies. Most recently, she led Investor Relations efforts at a Venture Fund focusing on the capital raising process for the Fund as well as providing strategic advisory to portfolio companies on growth initiatives. Previously, she spent several years in Investment Banking in New York focusing on M&A and capital raising projects in Healthcare and Technology. Amy enjoys building relationships and attracting strategic investors to help exceptional entrepreneurs build impactful businesses. She is an advisor to a mental healthcare start-up and sits on the board of the Canadian Venture Capital and Private Equity Association.

Hala Ebrahim
Director, Investments

Hala is an Investment Director at Antler in MENAP, based out of the Riyadh office. She has over 16 years of experience in program management, strategic comms, and business consulting, having worked with a range of startups, investors, and government entities in the MENA region. Most recently, Hala worked at Brinc MENA, where she led the expansion and program setup with regional entities such as NEOM, Omantel, and the Mohammed Bin Rashid Innovation Fund.

Lino Ahlering
Director, Investments

Lino is an Investment Director at Antler in MENAP. Prior to Antler, he served as Group Chief Customer Officer and Managing Director at Daraz, the leading online marketplace in Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, and Myanmar, which was acquired by Alibaba Group in 2018. He further worked as a Global Venture Development Manager for Rocket Internet in various markets across Asia. Lino holds a Master's degree from IE Business School.

Zade Al Borshaid
Director, Investments

Zade is a Director at Antler in MENAP. He was previously at McKinsey's Middle East Office, where he worked on engagements at the cross section of their Digital and PE/Principal Investor practices. He mainly focused on strategy work around funding startup ecosystems, investment and set up strategies for vertical-specific VC/Growth PE investment funds, and investment processes for institutional investors. He graduated from Columbia University with a degree in Economics and hails from Bahrain.

Mohamed Hamza
Manager, Investments

Hamza is an Investment Manager at Antler in MENAP. He has cultivated invaluable experience working with more than 250 sustainable startups across various sectors. His primary focus lies in driving the commercialization of innovation and fostering meaningful corporate engagement within these dynamic entrepreneurial ventures.

Karan Teckchandani
Senior Investment Associate

Karan is a Senior Investment Associate at Antler in MENAP. He has over 6 years of experience in venture capital, he has invested in and managed a portfolio of technology startups from seed to series A across India, the Middle East, Africa, Europe, and North America. Prior to joining Antler, Karan worked at Equanimity Investments, Modus Capital, and Hashgraph Ventures. He holds a Masters in Finance from Johns Hopkins University.

Mohamed Elmalik
Senior Investment Associate

Mohamed is a Senior Investment Associate at Antler in MENAP. He spent time at a Bay Area-based Venture Capital Fund investing in early-stage startups in the United States. He also brings operating experience, having led expansions into new geographies with Wanderjaunt, a Real Estate and Hospitality start-up; he helped develop a comprehensive launch playbook and set up operations, and build teams and processes in cities across several states. Mohamed started his career in Consulting at Redwood Advisors in Austin, where he led strategy and growth projects for start-ups, enterprises, and leading philanthropic organizations.

Shadi Karra
Senior Investment Associate

Shadi Karra is a Senior Investment Associate at Antler in MENAP. Prior to joining Antler, his experience spanned strategy and business operations within both the public and private sectors. Shadi began his career at the United Nations Development Programme and the San Francisco Mayor’s Office. He later transitioned to the startup ecosystem, overseeing business operations and strategy at a health tech startup, followed by a role as a strategic client partner at a leading media company. Shadi studied Political Science at the University of California, Berkeley.

Ammar Zaidi
Senior Finance Associate

Ammar is a Senior Finance Associate at Antler in MENAP. Before Antler, he was serving as the Commercial Finance Lead at Daraz, which is part of the Alibaba International Digital Commerce Group. He also has extensive experience in banking, with an expertise in Digital Banking. Ammar is a Chartered Certified Accountant (ACCA) and also holds a Masters in Business Administration from the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS).

Kaye Han
Venture Partner

Kaye was the co-founder and COO of Woo Space, the second largest co-working space venture in Beijing upon its acquisition by UCommune (Nasdaq: UK). In addition to its entrepreneurial endeavours, Kaye also brings extensive experiences in strategic planning and business operations in retail and financial services industry. She obtained her MBA from Harvard Business School, and she graduated with Summa Cum Laude from Cornell University.

Nadine Mezher
Venture Partner

Nadine is a Venture Partner at Antler in MENAP. She is a co-founder and board member of Sarwa, a leading investing and personal finance Fintech platform.

Prior to that, she spent more than 15 years in leadership roles and growth strategy consultancy across industries and geographies in the private and public sectors, with multinationals like Nestle, and government entities like Dubai Economy and Tourism, government of Dubai, as deputy director in the retail and strategic alliance department.

Sabine El Najjar
Venture Partner

Sabine is a Venture Partner at Antler in MENAP. She has 8+ years of experience in consulting focused on financial services, real estate, and digital transformations. She also led the growth of Kitopi KSA, the world's largest multi-brand restaurant, in her role as managing director and is currently launching prop-tech company SIlkhaus KSA as Founding GM. In her roles, she has gained significant experience in scaling start-ups in KSA.

Wafaa Al Obaidat
Venture Partner

Wafa Al Obaidat is a Venture Partner at Antler in MENAP and a renowned CEO, TEDx speaker, and serial entrepreneur. She has led Obai and Hill for over 12 years, overseeing 5000+ global projects with a team of 40+. She also founded Sketchbook, a rapidly growing digital magazine in London. A champion for women's advancement, Wafa hosts the Women Power Summit and podcast. Recognized by Business In Gulf and a fellow at The Vital Voices GROW program, she has given over 50 talks globally. Her accolades include the Leader of Tomorrow award from MasterCard MENA and recognition from Entrepreneur Magazine.

Adam Jaffer
Advisor

Adam Jaffer is an advisor at Antler in MENAP and a visionary entrepreneur dedicated to leveraging technology for global impact. As Co-Founder of Voi, he leads an urban mobility company that transforms city transportation with eco-friendly electric scooters, promoting sustainable urban mobility and reducing carbon footprints. Under his leadership, Voi has raised over $300 million from top investors, including Balderton Capital and Creandum. Adam’s commitment to innovation and sustainability drives Voi's mission to reshape urban transportation for future generations.

Beau Seil
Venture Partner

Beau is a Venture Partner at Antler in MENAP. Prior to his move to Dubai, he co-founded Patamar Capital, the leading early-stage impact investing VC firm in SE Asia, and led the firm for over 10 years. He is on the board of Lhoopa and SwipeRx, and is also an executive coach for select startup CEOs in the MENAP region.

Florian Jansen
Venture Partner

Florian is a Venture Partner at Antler in MENAP. He co-founded and led the fashion ecosystem Lamoda, and spearheaded Russia’s largest retailer Magnit through its transformation. Being focused on MENA, Florian runs the IT service & investment firm FJX and serves the board of noon.

Jerry Gamez
Venture Partner

Jerry is a Venture Partner at Antler in MENAP. He is the CEO of VOV, an integral part of Savvy Games Group both in KSA and worldwide. Prior to that, he has over two decades of senior executive positions in entrepreneurship, retail, and hospitality, in major brands like Walmart, Restaurant Brands International, and Le Pain Quotidien.

John Mady
Venture Partner

John is a Venture Partner at Antler in MENAP. He is the Co-founder and MD at Qlub, a global fintech focused on digitizing payment in the F&B sector. Prior to that, he spent 3 years at Deliveroo in various Operational and Commercial leadership roles in the Middle East, and was a manager at McKinsey & Co.

Jonathan Labin
Venture Partner

Jonathan is a Venture Partner at Antler in MENAP and a distinguished business leader, advisor, board member, and investor with 20+ years of experience driving transformational growth at companies like Meta, Unifonic, and Paramount. As President of Unifonic, he transformed it into an AI-powered customer engagement leader. Previously, he led Meta MENAP for 7 years, establishing it as one of the region’s top tech and media companies. Jonathan also serves on the advisory boards of AI innovators Sestek and LocAI.

Malik Alyousef
Venture Partner

Malik is a Venture Partner at Antler in MENAP. He co-founded and acts as COO of Mozn AI. He has 12+ years of experience in technology, consulting, and financial services spanning across 4 continents. Prior to Mozn, he was an Engagement Manager at McKinsey & Company in Dubai. He has an MBA from MIT and a BSc in engineering from the University of Maryland.

Manav Daryanani
Venture Partner

Manav is a Venture Partner at Antler in MENAP, boasts over 14 years of diverse industry experience, having worked with renowned firms like McKinsey & Company, BlackBerry, American Express, and Morgan Stanley. In his recent endeavors, he held pivotal commercial leadership positions at fintech scale-up Mambu, playing a key role in propelling its growth to unicorn status over the past three years. He holds an MBA from London Business School and is an active angel investor and advisor, with a focus on emerging markets.

Marc Weill
Venture Partner

Marc is a Venture Partner at Antler in MENAP, his career has spanned more than three decades and in nearly every aspect of financial services, Marc has served in key roles at several top firms, including Chief Investment Officer at Citigroup. He is currently a Senior Advisor at Two Sigma Ventures where he helps source and evaluate investment opportunities while providing strategic support to their portfolio companies, fascinated by the intersection of health and financial wellness and the tech solutions created by dynamic founders.

Maximilian Plank
Venture Partner

Maximilian Plank is a Venture Partner at Antler in MENAP and a serial entrepreneur with a diverse portfolio, including enterprise software development, horse feed production, animal feed delivery services, fashion-on-demand production, and fintech consulting and placement services. He is the Chairman of MPG Partners, a consultancy that facilitates business opportunities between the Middle East, Asia, and Europe. Additionally, he mentors for the Cyberport (HK) Entrepreneurship program and serves as a senior advisor to the boards of Stabelton (CH) and Trust Square (CH)

Michael Trüschler
Venture Partner

Michael  is a Venture Partner at Antler in MENAP. He is an entrepreneur with expertise in FinTech and e-commerce, is known for founding citrussTV and FlexxPay. With successful exits from both ventures, he now mentors startups and provides consultancy on financial matters. Michael's interests extend to blockchain technology, and he enjoys sports, wood carving, and reading.

Omar Chihane
Venture Partner

Omar is a Venture Partner at Antler in MENAP. He is the CEO of Englease.com, a leading online English language school in MENA. Featured in Forbes and other publications, he advocates for entrepreneurship. With an MBA from London Business School, Omar has led sales transformations at Siemens, Nokia, and Microsoft, achieving significant growth. Englease.com offers accredited English classes around the clock, poised to become the premier ESL platform in the region.

Sebastien Wakim
Venture Partner

Sebastien is a Venture Partner at Antler in MENAP. He is a co-founder of Wisewell, a sustainability-focused consumer water technology company in the US and GCC. Prior to that, he assumed leadership roles at OLX and was a General Manager with Uber, launching and scaling multiple Uber markets in the MENA region. Sebastien started his career as a consultant at Booz Allen Hamilton and Delta Partners. He has an MBA from Columbia Business School and a MS in engineering from UC Berkeley.

Teddy Himler
Venture Partner

Teddy is a Venture Partner at Antler MENAP. He is the Founder and General Partner at Optimist Ventures, a VC firm dedicated to investing in technology sea changes. Prior to Optimist, Teddy was a Partner at Antler and helped establish and co-run the Antler Elevate fund. He served as a Vice President at SoftBank in SF, NY and Jakarta as well as a principal at Comcast Ventures in NY. He started his career in Goldman Sachs' Technology banking group in San Francisco. He is an active angel investor in and supporter of Pakistan and insisted on its inclusion in the Antler MENAP scope.

Baghdad Gherras
Venture Partner

Baghdad is a Venture Partner at Antler MENAP. He works at the intersection of Web 3.0 and Data Science for an Abu Dhabi based conglomerate contributing to the launch of several ventures including Zand Bank. He was one of the pioneers in Data Science in the region, being a professional working with organizations such as RTA, UAE Prime Minister Officer, MAF, etc. Lecturer at IE Business School and RIT Dubai or Community Builder with Google.

Leonard Stiegeler
Venture Partner

Leo is a Venture Partner at Antler MENAP. He is a serial entrepreneur & investor, having set up and funded companies in different regions. He founded & scaled the leading digital media company in Africa, Pulse, which today has platforms in 6 countries across the continent and was acquired in 2022. His investments include ventures in Fintech, SaaS, eCommerce and Health Tech across the world.

Hala Ebrahim
Director, Investments

Hala is an Investment Director at Antler in MENAP, based out of the Riyadh office. She has over 16 years of experience in program management, strategic comms, and business consulting, having worked with a range of startups, investors, and government entities in the MENA region. Most recently, Hala worked at Brinc MENA, where she led the expansion and program setup with regional entities such as NEOM, Omantel, and the Mohammed Bin Rashid Innovation Fund.

Romain (رومان) Assunção
Partner

Romain is the Partner at Antler in MENAP. He has served as an Associate Partner at McKinsey & Company in Dubai / Riyadh offices, where he notably helped governments in MENAP to foster startup and tech ecosystems. Prior to that, he focused on go-to-market functions within Amazon, Rocket Internet / Jumia, and L'Oreal. Romain holds an MBA from London Business School and is a member of Tomouh Community of Leaders.

Anne-Maria Salmela
Associate, Investments

Anne is an Investment Associate at Antler MENAP, based out of the Riyadh office. She co-founded a UAE-based student startup community, Violet Ventures, which brought Slush to the Middle East and supported 700+ young founders with programs and training. Prior to Antler, she worked in Investment Banking at Morgan Stanley, impact VC, growth at Nasdaq’s impact-data provider, right-hand for family office investors, amongst others.

Akshat Agarwal
Manager, Investments

Akshat is an Investment Manager at Antler MENAP, based out of the Riyadh office. He was the first employee in both Antler MENAP Fund I and Antler Australia Fund I. He has led and supported several roles in startups ranging from Fintech, Edtech, and SaaS. Prior to Antler he led a NFP, Textbook Ventures with the aim of educating all students in Australia about entrepreneurship.

Hollie Stoner
Manager, Finance

Hollie is the Finance Manager at Antler MENAP. She has over 7 years of experience in finance, having held senior roles across property, parking, and technology industries. Prior to Antler, she worked in Dubai as the Finance Manager of a digital identity start-up.

Zade Al Borshaid
Director, Investments

Zade is a Director at Antler in MENAP. He was previously at McKinsey's Middle East Office, where he worked on engagements at the cross section of their Digital and PE/Principal Investor practices. He mainly focused on strategy work around funding startup ecosystems, investment and set up strategies for vertical-specific VC/Growth PE investment funds, and investment processes for institutional investors. He graduated from Columbia University with a degree in Economics and hails from Bahrain.

Dr. Jonathan Doerr
Partner

Jonathan is the Partner at Antler in MENAP. He has a proven track record of successfully building ventures across diverse markets. Before Antler, Jonathan founded Smileneo, a direct-to-consumer health tech business in the MENA region, which was acquired in 2023. He also served as the Co-CEO of Daraz, the leading online marketplace in South Asia, acquired by Alibaba in 2018. Additionally, Jonathan held the position of Managing Director at Jumia, the leading online marketplace in Africa that went public on the NYSE in 2019.

Some of our Past Speakers

Throughout our residencies, successful entrepreneurs have shared their insights and experiences with our founders, offering valuable mentorship !

Clare Jones

CEO of Polarsteps

Daniel Krauss

Co-founder of Flix

Marc-Alexander Christ

Co-founder of SumUp

Francesco Wiedemann

Co-founder of Kyte

Frank Freund

Co-founder and CFO of Raisin

Robert Kraal

Co-founder of Silverflow

Clare Jones

CEO of Polarstep

Daniel Krauss

Co-founder of Flix

Marc-Alexander Christ

Co-founder of SumUp

Francesco Wiedemann

Co-founder of Kyte

Frank Freund

Co-founder and CFO of Raisin

Robert Kraal

Co-founder of Silverflow

Connect on LinkedIn

News and Views from Antler

Read our latest insights and stories about our phenomenal founders.

View all
From around the world to MENAP: Antler's first Riyadh residency

The startup ecosystem in the Middle East, North Africa, and Pakistan (MENAP) is bursting with potential. With a young, tech-savvy, and increasingly urban population of 600 million and governments evaluating ways to diversify and modernize their economies, vast opportunities await founders building in the region. Antler is thrilled to support the next generation of standout founders from across the region—and the world—through the launch of our inaugural residency in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). Learn more about the 92 exceptional founders who joined our first cohort.

Antler launches $60 million MENAP fund

Antler launches a $60m MENAP fund led by partners Dr. Jonathan Doerr and Romain Assunção with plans to invest in 100+ startups in the next four years. Antler is replicating its proven global track record from across six continents to boost early-stage investing in MENAP.

FAQs

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