Investing in MENA+ founders in the diaspora

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Hi friends! 👋

What if the most underfunded founders in the world were also the most likely to win?

65% of leading AI companies in the U.S. were founded by immigrants.

In the UK, nearly 40% of the fastest-growing companies have foreign-born founders.

Yet diaspora capital is still treated as a “niche,” while most venture dollars chase the same local signals in overfished ponds.

Jad Fadl disagrees – and he’s betting on it.

His platform, MENA+, is not a venture fund. It’s a thesis-driven syndicate backing MENA diaspora founders building globally – not as a diversity play, but as a source of repeatable, outlier returns.

The approach is deceptively simple:

• Find a founder community that you have direct access to – MENA+ immigrants with global ambitions.

• Build a syndicate of high-signal operators.

• Back world-class companies — early, precisely, and on thesis.

But what makes MENA+ stand out isn’t just the pipeline or precision. It’s what happens after the cheque:

• A 1:10 pledge that channels capital back to education in conflict zones like Palestine and Lebanon.

• A network that acts more like a founder-led OS than a passive cap table.

• A filter that is beginning to win allocations ahead of better-known, better-resourced funds.

In this conversation, Jad breaks down the mechanics of how to build a high-performing syndicate, why values alignment is a competitive moat, and the MENA+ diasporic founders you should know.

Here’s what we covered:

• 📊 Why the MENA+ diaspora is such an exciting early-stage asset class in venture

• 📈 How to structure a syndicate to add value and generate returns

• 🌎 Why founder identity can also be a powerful signal for early-stage investing

• 🤝 How values-aligned capital wins in competitive rounds — and isn't a trade-off

• 💥 The MENA+ diasporic founders you should know: from Replit to Writer to nsave

Let’s get into it 👇

Actionable insights 🧠 🛠️

What investors, operators, and founders should take away from Jad's approach at MENA+ and what it tells us about the future of thesis-led capital, diaspora investing, and founder-market fit.

Premium members get the full version of this article, plus a TLDR summary with key takeaways and actionable insights right here.

Okay, let’s dig into it 👇

Let’s talk about the thesis – it’s built around the idea that migrant founders outperform in Europe and the US, specifically focusing on MENA+ founders building global businesses. Why do you think that’s happening now?

You’re asking whether immigrants outperform in the UK and Europe. But really, immigrants outperform – full stop. The immigrant profile of taking risks and persevering to achieve better economic outcomes, is completely aligned with that of a founder. 

Let me clarify – immigrants outperform as founders at a higher rate compared to the broader founder community – they are statistically more likely to succeed. For example, 65% of leading AI companies in the US were founded by immigrants, and almost 40% of the fastest-growing 100 companies in the UK have founders who were not born there. It comes down to their tenacity, grit, risk appetite and other attributes that make them outperform.

Now, why focus on MENA+ diaspora founders? First, on a personal level, I see it as a niche where I can make a real impact. But beyond that, there’s a more structural reason – MENA+ founders have extremely high levels of education. Studies from the World Bank show that the vast majority of intellectual property (IP) generated by MENA+ individuals is actually created outside their home countries. So, I’m tapping into that – high education levels and high IP generation alongside the desire to win. 

But another key reason, and I hear this from founders all the time, is that people want values-aligned investors. There’s been a lot of noise in the space from investors who don’t share the same values, and negativity in the media, politics, and certain segments of society about immigrants more broadly, members of our community more specifically. I’m proud to be a MENA+ immigrant that is supporting other MENA+ immigrants. 

What was the driving force behind your decision to focus on this now? Was there a particular moment or event that pushed you toward this?

The remainder of this interview is for members.

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