Homegrown Ventures Closes $22.8M Fund I to Accelerate Consumer Brands in MENA
Homegrown Ventures has officially announced the final close of its Fund I, raising over $22.8 million, surpassing its initial $20 million target. With this milestone, the firm positions itself as the region’s first dedicated venture capital fund focused exclusively on consumer packaged goods (CPG), fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG), and the development of locally built consumer brands across emerging markets.
The fund is supported by a selective group of regional and international investors and is set to deploy capital into early-stage “better-for-you” companies spanning food and beverage, health and wellness, personal care, home care, and lifestyle categories.
At its core, Homegrown Ventures is addressing a long-standing structural gap in the MENA consumer ecosystem. For decades, the region’s consumption landscape has been largely shaped by multinational corporations, with products and brands developed outside the region dominating retail shelves. This left limited room for locally rooted innovation despite the emergence of a new generation of founders deeply connected to regional culture, preferences, and consumer behavior.
Homegrown Ventures was established to redefine this dynamic, not as a traditional accelerator, but as a specialized CPG-focused investment firm built by industry operators. The firm is led by Ahmad Shamieh and Nader Amiri, who bring extensive experience from global corporations including Unilever, Coca-Cola, Kraft/Mondelez, Nokia, Danone, and Microsoft, before transitioning into entrepreneurship and venture investing.
Speaking on the shift in consumer behavior, Nader Amiri, General Partner at Homegrown Ventures, stated:
“With over 55% of the MENA population under 35, we are witnessing a structural shift that most investors are still sleeping on. These consumers don’t just want local alternatives, they are actively choosing them, demanding transparency, better ingredients, and brands that reflect who they actually are.”
The firm has already deployed capital across five portfolio companies ahead of the fund’s final close, reflecting growing momentum within the regional CPG sector.
Homegrown Ventures believes that the consumer goods industry in MENA is currently undergoing a transformation similar to the early stages of the region’s tech sector 15 years ago. As global supply chains evolve and local demand strengthens, the opportunity for regionally built brands continues to expand.
Among its early investments are PawPots, a company focused on fresh, real food for pets, and Plaay, a clean-ingredient chocolate brand offering indulgent products with zero processed sugar, reflecting the fund’s broader vision of healthier, locally driven consumer alternatives.
Commenting on the firm’s positioning, Ahmad Shamieh, General Partner at Homegrown Ventures, said:
“What separates Homegrown from everything else in this market is that when a founder sits across from us, they’re getting partners who have negotiated with the same retailers, built the same supply chains, and made the same mistakes. That’s an unfair advantage we pass directly to our founders.”
Looking ahead, Fund I will continue to invest in early-stage consumer companies across the Middle East and North Africa, South Asia, and select international markets, with a strong focus on food and beverage, health and wellness, personal care, home care, and lifestyle products.
