Gulf Islamic Investments (GII) has launched Bahrain-based Gulf Ventures Capital as part of its MENA expansion strategy. Focusing on the food sector in the GCC, the new Bahrain base will also see GII expand its investment asset class.
Shariah compliant GII’s wholly-owned company will invest in food, with a focus on strategic food sustainability projects in agriculture, aquaculture, food processing and production, in addition to logistics, green technology and healthcare.
“We see significant growth potential in food projects and logistics in Bahrain and the larger GCC region. We continue to deliver on our strategy through expanding our portfolio for our stakeholders and partners,” Mohammed Al Hassan, co-CEO and co-founder of GII, commented.
Investing in the food sector will see GII address the rising demand for food as a result of the growing population, increase in standard of living as well as the steadily increasing disposable income.
According to the newly appointed CEO of Gulf Ventures Capital, Saleh Albelushi, the company will focus on the strategic sectors across the GCC, beyond just Bahrain.
“…We will focus on covering not only Bahrain but also the GCC,” Saleh noted.
While no specific details regarding the asset offerings under the new company have been shared, Pankaj Gupta, the co-founder and co-CEO of GII, has noted that the Bahrain office will be offering different asset classes.
According to GII, increasing local food production will address the supply-side gap. Its investments seek to narrow the gap and contribute to long-term food sustainability by creating market competitiveness of locally produced and processed food.
Citing the GCC Food Market Report (2022 to 2026), the asset manager relayed that GCC food market consumption is forecasted to experience a compounded annual growth rate of 3.15% for the period.
Based in Dubai and regulated by the Emirates Securities and Commodities Authority, GII has over US$3 billion of assets under management, deploying private capital to asset classes including real estate, private equity and venture capital.