Bunat Ventures Research
Investment Thesis
Bunat Ventures describes itself as a hybrid Venture Builder plus Operational VC. It incubates startups from its own Venture Studio and also invests in impact-oriented growth startups from other founders. The firm says the businesses it backs are profitable and combine that with a positive impact. Its stated mission is to support visionary entrepreneurs with capital and resources, partner with startups that transform industries through sustainable investments, build a diverse portfolio of founders solving real-world challenges, and offer mentorship, connections and expertise alongside funding.
Two Arms: Venture Studio and Operational VC
The Venture Studio selects, validates and launches ideas at Pre-Seed and Seed, building companies from the ground up using the firm's expertise, resources and network. The Operational VC arm invests in high-impact startups from early stage to Series B, with a hands-on operational approach, continuous support and follow-on investment.
Stage Focus
Pre-Seed and Seed through the studio, and early stage to Series B through the operational VC arm. Disclosed activity includes a seed round (Rize, 2024), a pre-Series A (AILA, August 2026) and a follow-on in a Series A (Journify, November 2026).
Check Size
The firm does not publish check sizes or fund size on its site. Third-party aggregators give conflicting or unreliable AUM figures, so none is recorded here.
Lead Tendency
Unknown. In the recent public rounds found (AILA, Journify) Bunat participated alongside other investors rather than leading. Rua Growth Fund led AILA; Al Mada Ventures led Journify.
Recent Activity
- November 2026: Increased its investment in Journify's $12M Series A, led by Al Mada Ventures and co-led by Silicon Badia, with Shorooq also increasing.
- August 2026: Participated in AILA's $3M pre-Series A led by Rua Growth Fund, with Jo Academy, 500 Global and Fikr Ventures.
The firm appears to be actively investing, with its website copyright dated 2026.
Portfolio Highlights
The website lists 20 companies, concentrated in fintech and retail tech:
- Fintech: CoinMENA, Oori, Sooq Al Thahab, Lamaa, Abyan Capital, Desaisiv, Fintech Galaxy, Hakbah, Rize, Wadaie
- Retail tech: Ninja, Bonat, 10Ten Labs, Omniful, Rebound
- Health tech: Okadoc
- Edtech: ALGooru
- Regtech: Enactia
- HR tech: PTway
- Media tech: Amplifidor
- Logistics tech: HashMove
Press also confirms AILA (edtech) and Journify (adtech), which are not on the site's portfolio page.
Team
- Khaled Zainalabedin, Founder and Managing Partner
- Khalid Saad, Founder and Managing Partner
- Chadi Hajjar, Co-Chief Investment Officer
- Mustafa Abdelhamid, Co-Chief Investment Officer
The firm also lists a board and advisors group including Basim Saeed, Dr. Jarmo Kotilaine, Abdullah Alkasabi, Dr. Bhaskar Dasgupta, Fahad Murad, Jamal Alhazeem and Hani Alsaleh, among others.
Decision Process
Not disclosed. The firm has a managing partner and co-CIO structure, which suggests a partnership process, but this is not stated.
Founder Preferences
Founders solving real-world challenges with a positive-impact angle and a path to profitability. Hands-on operational support is a core part of the offer.
Geographic Focus
GCC and wider MENA. The firm is based in Abu Dhabi Global Market (Al Maryah Island) and is regulated by the ADGM Financial Services Regulatory Authority as a collective investment fund manager. Communications are directed at professional clients only. Portfolio companies are largely Saudi and UAE based, with some investments in companies selling into the US and Europe such as Journify.
Gaps
No disclosed check size, fund size, AUM, partner LinkedIn profiles or emails. No portfolio company domains were taken from the page, so domains are left for server-side discovery. Stage per company is not recorded because no stage source was verified.