Saudi-based Pool Investments Launches to Back the Next Generation of MENA Founders

May 2026, Middle East Investor Network

Saudi-based Pool Investments Launches to Back the Next Generation of MENA Founders

In conversation with Salman Hamidaddin and AlQassem Hamidaddin, Founding Partners of Pool Investments, Saudi-Based Smart Capital Firm.

At a time when capital is rapidly entering the region, one of the biggest challenges facing MENA’s startup ecosystem isn’t access to funding, it’s readiness and quality deal flow. We sat down with Salman and AlQassem Hamidaddin, Founding Partners of Pool Investments, to discuss why they’re building at this critical stage and what they believe is missing in early-stage investing today.

Identifying a Gap in the Early-Stage Market
Pool Investments didn’t start from a formal strategy, it started, as many of the best ideas in early-stage ecosystems do, with a few conversations; as those conversations widened, a pattern began to emerge. Founders across the region were building ambitious companies, yet many struggled to translate early potential into something investors could recognize.

“There were strong ideas and capable founders,” AlQassem explains, “but something wasn’t connecting. Either the positioning wasn’t clear, the structure wasn’t there, or they simply weren’t ready for institutional capital yet.” This realisation became the foundation for Pool.

“Pool Investments is an enabler for ambitious founders seeking to leverage tailored resources to validate their ideas and scale their businesses toward commercialisation. We focus on pre-seed and seed-stage funding for startups based in, or expanding to, Saudi Arabia and the wider region.”

While much of the venture landscape remains focused on deploying capital, Pool is built around a different premise: at the earliest stages, building matters more than funding. This philosophy shapes how Pool works with founders.

Rather than engaging only at the point of investment, the firm takes a more hands-on role helping refine narratives, strengthen positioning, and prepare companies for the next stage of institutional capital and commercialization.

“We don’t just look at what the company is today,” Salman says. “We look at what it can become and then we work with the founder to actually get there.”

Drawing Attention to Overlooked Early-Stage Opportunities

One of the most consistent gaps Pool identified early on is the disconnect between founders and investors at the pre-seed stage.

Most founders don’t need funding first, they need clarity, once that’s in place, everything else becomes easier.” Salman told us.

This lack of early-stage alignment has led to missed opportunities on both sides, founders struggling to communicate their vision, and investors overlooking companies that simply aren’t yet fully formed.

“Instead of helping founders get there, a lot of investors just pass,” AlQassem says. “And that’s where a lot of potential gets lost.”

Pool’s approach is to step in earlier, before the pitch is polished, before the metrics are clean and help shape companies into something that can raise, scale, and sustain.

The launch of Pool comes at a pivotal moment for Saudi Arabia and the wider MENA region. With increasing capital inflows, a growing base of founders, and strong institutional support, the ecosystem is entering a new phase of maturity. But with that growth comes a new challenge: ensuring that early-stage companies are prepared to meet it.

“The energy in the ecosystem right now is real,” says AlQassem. “There’s more capital and more ambition than ever, but the systems are still catching up.”

Closing the Pre-Seed to Series A Gap

In particular, the transition from pre-seed to Series A remains one of the most difficult stages for founders to navigate. “We’re seeing more players enter the market, which is great,” Salman notes. “But what’s still missing is that early layer, helping founders go from idea to something that can actually raise and scale.” Strengthening that layer, they believe, has a compounding effect across the entire ecosystem.

“If you improve the quality of companies at the earliest stage, you improve everything that comes after.” says AlQassem.

Founder First, Always.

Many of the firm’s earliest interactions with founders begin informally, through conversations, introductions, and time spent understanding how founders think before any formal process begins.

“A lot of the strongest relationships we’ve built started very casually,” Salman says. “That’s actually where you see the most.”That philosophy extends beyond their investment decisions. “Even if we don’t invest immediately, we stay involved,” AlQassem explains. “We help where we can. Because we believe everyone plays a role in building the ecosystem.”

It’s a model that prioritizes long-term alignment over short-term transactions, something the founders see as essential in a market still being shaped. “If we can help founders get to that next stage, where they’re ready, structured, and positioned correctly that’s where we create the most impact,” says AlQassem.

A Closer Look at Their First Portfolio Companies

We asked the founders what stood out across some of their early investments.

In the case of Madak, a proptech platform enabling retail participation in real estate, the answer pointed to a clear market inefficiency. “There’s a large flow of capital leaving the region,” they explain, “not because there’s no opportunity, but because access hasn’t been built in the right way.”

For Pool, the appeal lay in unlocking that access through a more simplified, scalable model.

With Croptimus, an Egypt-based agritech company, the focus was a bit different. The company’s technology converts agricultural waste into biochar, improving soil quality, reducing irrigation needs, and increasing yield addressing a critical issue in food security. However, it was the founder himself that ultimately drove conviction.

“It’s usually not just about the idea,” they note. “It’s about whether the founder and solution can evolve with the market.”

Most recently, the firm invested in Thanawi, which is building infrastructure to enable liquidity and more efficient share transfers in private financial markets, an area gaining importance as the region’s financial ecosystem matures.

As Pool Investments begins deploying capital, its early portfolio reflects a clear focus on backing companies addressing structural gaps and critical innovations to support the region.

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About Pool Investments

Pool Investments is a Saudi-based smart capital firm backing early-stage founders across MENA. The firm focuses on supporting companies at pre-seed and seed stages, combining capital with hands-on involvement to help founders build, refine, and scale their businesses.