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Silicon Valley Venture and Innovation

Top view of Dubai's high-rise towers soaring above a sea of clouds, illustrating SVVI's reach and influence in the Middle East.

Unparalleled Access in MENA & Silicon Valley

SVVI US VC Access Fund

Throughout our 10 year US VC experience, we invested and worked with the world’s best emerging and established managers.

We look for solid track records, talent, value add, and the discipline to build investment platforms delivering repeatable, top tier, realized returns.

Funds we secured access to in the past include:

SVVI Direct US VC Deals

VC is a game of access. The best opportunities are oversubscribed.

With 9+ years of VC experience in Silicon Valley, a team on the ground, and a deep understanding of the asset class, we have mastered accessing the most sought-after deals and rounds and turned it into a process.

SVVI accessed direct deals include:

SVVI Consulting and Advisory

We work with leading governments, corporates, and innovators on assisting them in developing and implementing robust VC strategies.

We know the best resources in each one of our markets to get the best human capital, regulatory framework, anchor clients, key partnerships and investors.

SVVI consulting and advisory clients include:

Investments

Direct Deals

Carta logoSuper logoIllumio logoDark Trace logoSkill Share logoBolt logo

Funds

Hoxton logoThird Point logoRace Capital logoandeessen horowits logo

Advisory Corporate & Government Clients

Angel List logoKobe. The City of Design logoMitsubishi Chemical logoThe Government of Japan logoUnrwa logo

Our Team

Zafer Younis

Zafer Younis

DUBAI, UAE

SAN FRANCISCO, USA

Ramzi Halaby

Ramzi Halaby

DUBAI, UAE

Tetsuya Yamashita

Tetsuya Yamashita

TOKYO, JAPAN

Jumana El Saadi

Jumana El Saadi

Dubai, UAE

Rani Al Jelwah

Rani Aljelwah

DUBAI, UAE

Lusana Ornelas

Lusana Ornelas

SAN FRANCISCO, USA

Dima Shahin

Dima Shahin

Amman, Jordan

Zafer Younis

DUBAI, UAE

SAN FRANCISCO, USA

Chief Executive Officer
Partner

Zafer founded Silicon Valley Venture and Innovation (SVVI) in 2019 in San Francisco with the aim of working with world-leading governments, corporations, and Institutional Investors on capital deployment and ecosystem development strategies and execution.

Before SVVI, Zafer was at Social Capital, a pioneering VC firm in Palo Alto, where he lead capital formation for the MENA region and later was tasked with spinning out Capital as a Service, an AI,  data-driven investment technology set of tools.

Zafer worked with entrepreneurs from all over the world as a partner at 500 Startups (2015-2018), through 500's acceleration programs in Silicon Valley and its Ecosystem Development Programs around the world. In 2016, Zafer launched 500 Startups' Ecosystem Development Programs in Japan, which scaled to Australia and Latin America in 2017. He created and led the 500 Startups' Corporate Startup Innovation (CSI) Program in San Francisco, which aims at getting corporations and startups to innovate together.

Previously, Zafer co-founded The Online Project, where his team developed and executed digital strategies for Fortune 500 companies and high-profile organizations. In 2004, Zafer co-founded his first company: Modern Media, LTD, a media house that owns and operates popular radio stations which received recognition from the US-based National Association for Broadcasters in 2007 (In 2014, Modern Media was acquired by D&C Electronics).

Cover image of the MENA Venture & Tech Events Calendar

SVVI’s MENA VC Calendar

2024—2025 Investor Events

download the Calendar

The VC’s Guide to Fundraising in the Middle East

In this guide, we answer the most recurring questions we get from GPs we work with. We also share our recommendations for success.

download the guide
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