Outliers Venture Capital

In an increasingly vibe-coded world, design and experience become the defining edge. Read our inaugural piece by Rayouf Alhumedhi, Outliers Venture Capital Designer-in-Residence, as she examines the evolution of design in the region, how it's unfolding in tech today, and why design matters now more than ever. Ft. stories on trust, building local, and rethinking design from Soum Kenzz Stream and Ramp. Read + subscribe: 📭 🔗 https://lnkd.in/dCGJPxJh

How did a region with such a deep inheritance of craft, architecture, and systems-thinking end up building software where design is treated as an afterthought? Read our inaugural piece by Outliers Venture Capital Designer in Residence Rayouf Alhumedhi; with examples from Soum, Kenzz, Stream, and Ramp on what happens when startups take design seriously from day one. 📖 Read the full piece: https://lnkd.in/dzEc8Cri

Proud to see the Stream team continue to deliver on the promise of frictionless payment. 🚀 We’ve held a strong conviction from day one: the next generation of payments in MENA will be defined by infrastructure-first companies that remove complexity, compress friction, and own the transaction layer at scale. Read more about our thesis: https://lnkd.in/dKrQr7if

Outliers joined the Financial Times' Future of Asset Management conference today, where our General Partner Mohammed Almeshekah spoke on the panel Beyond 2030, the Future Leaders in Gulf Asset Management. Mohammed emphasized that the bottleneck is investable supply, not capital. The Gulf’s next growth phase is about creating investable assets, not just managing money, and doing that takes a builder mindset in a region that is actively building for the future. He also shared that success will be defined by moats, not labels and that the future leaders will look like platforms built on local origination, global standards, and long term partnerships. On technology, the point was practical. AI will not create champions through "magic alpha". It will create champions by improving decision quality and compressing cost to serve. One takeaway: the future leaders will not be the loudest brands. They will be the firms that create investable assets, earn trust at scale, and build enduring partnerships that compound over time.

This is your chance to become an entrepreneurial leader in MENA, a region rich with opportunity, capital, and promise!

Applications for the Outliers Fellowship, built in exclusive partnership with SVC, are rolling in - and we’ve already received hundreds of applications for the 2026 cohort. We’re seeing exceptional students from top global universities apply. 𝗙𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗲𝗶𝘃𝗲:  🌟 A summer internship with leading tech companies across the Outliers and SVC network 🌟 Curated, high-impact in-person programming designed to accelerate your career  🌟 Tailored one-on-one mentorship sessions 🌟 A lifelong community of Fellows ⏳ 16 days left to apply. 📅 Applications close February 27. 🎯 Demand is high. Spots are limited. We’re looking for individuals passionate about solving the challenges of building innovative solutions for emerging markets - and eager to grow as leaders shaping the future of MENA. 𝗜𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂, 𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗹𝘆 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 👉 https://lnkd.in/dqds-5AH

Outliers participated in SuperReturn Saudi this week, with our General Partner Mohammed Almeshekah joining the closing keynote discussion on Inside AI. The conversation reinforced a conviction we hold strongly. AI is unlocking value across the MENA stack in tangible and durable ways. From core infrastructure such as data centers and energy systems, to the supply chain and tooling that makes this infrastructure scalable and efficient. And increasingly within verticalized businesses that are becoming more competitive while delivering meaningfully better customer experiences. Equally important, AI is reshaping one of the region’s most persistent constraints; deep technical talent has historically limited speed and scale. AI is relaxing that constraint, compressing the distance between ambition and execution and enabling small and focused teams to build capabilities that previously required significant scale and global distribution. This shift is unlocking a new generation of companies built from the region, with global ambition and category-defining potential.

🚀 𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗢𝘂𝘁𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗙𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗺 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗻 - 𝗶𝗻 𝗲𝘅𝗰𝗹𝘂𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗻𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 SVC! We’re excited to welcome the next cohort of students ready to learn, build, and grow inside leading tech companies across the Outliers and SVC network. If you’re currently enrolled at a university and want meaningful exposure to MENA’s tech ecosystem, this Fellowship gives you the platform to accelerate your career. What Fellows receive: 🌟 A summer internship with leading tech companies 🌟 Curated, high-impact in-person programming  🌟 Tailored one-on-one mentorship sessions 🌟 A lifelong community of Fellows 𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗰𝗹𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝗙𝗲𝗯𝗿𝘂𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝟮𝟳. 👉 Apply now: https://lnkd.in/dqds-5AH 📩 Any questions? Reach out to fellowship@outliers.vc