Mohammed Alzubi: From Silicon Valley Entrepreneur to Shaping the Future of Venture Capital in the Arab World

Building a successful technology company requires conviction, adaptability and an understanding of how innovation becomes commercially viable. Investing in one requires another level of judgement: recognising potential before it becomes obvious to the wider market.

For Mohammed Alzubi, both perspectives have shaped a career spanning more than 25 years across technology, entrepreneurship, venture capital and investment leadership.

Today, as Founder and Managing Partner of Nama Ventures, Alzubi focuses on supporting pre-seed and seed-stage technology companies across the Middle East and North Africa, particularly in Saudi Arabia.

His professional journey connects the entrepreneurial culture of Silicon Valley with the expanding technology investment ecosystem of the Arab world.

An Entrepreneur Who Understands Failure

Alzubi’s approach to venture capital is informed by his own experience of building businesses.

An engineer by education, he began his career in technology infrastructure before establishing Sulaf Solutions, a Silicon Valley-based IT consulting company specialising in network infrastructure and internet technologies.

His entrepreneurial journey was not without setbacks.

Alzubi openly acknowledges experiencing three unsuccessful entrepreneurial attempts before establishing a successful venture. That experience provides an important distinction in his investment perspective: he understands the uncertainty of entrepreneurship from the founder’s side of the table.

Having experienced both business setbacks and investment outcomes, he brings practical knowledge of the challenges associated with turning technical ideas into sustainable enterprises.

Understanding entrepreneurship requires more than evaluating business plans. It requires recognising the uncertainty, resilience and judgement involved in building a company.

Bringing Silicon Valley Experience to Regional Investment

Before concentrating on venture capital in the Middle East, Alzubi developed extensive experience within the American technology ecosystem.

His professional background includes work and consulting engagements involving Cisco Systems, Sun Microsystems, American Express and other technology organisations.

He also became involved in initiatives connecting technology professionals, entrepreneurs and investors.

As a Founding Board Member of TechWadi, he helped develop a network supporting Arab technology professionals in Silicon Valley and internationally.

The organisation grew from six founding members to approximately 2,000 members during its development.

Alzubi subsequently became a member of Sand Hill Angels in 2008, establishing a long-standing connection with a Silicon Valley angel investment network.

These experiences exposed him to the relationships between founders, investors, technical expertise and the commercialisation of emerging technologies.

They also provided a foundation for his later work connecting international investment practices with opportunities across the Middle East.

Developing Venture Capital Across the Region

Alzubi’s move into regional investment leadership included serving as Director of the Technology Investment Group at Dubai Silicon Oasis Authority from 2009 to 2011.

He later worked in venture capital at Global Investment House, a Kuwait-based investment company, before becoming Managing Director of Tharwa Capital Management in Dubai.

At Tharwa Capital, his responsibilities centred on investment and advisory activities involving equity markets in the Gulf.

These positions broadened his understanding of regional investment environments, capital markets and the challenges facing technology businesses seeking financing.

His career increasingly moved towards an area where his technical background and entrepreneurial experience could be applied together: identifying promising technology ventures and supporting their development.

Early-stage investment is ultimately a judgement about people, markets and the potential for an idea to become a viable business.

Building Nama Ventures

In April 2019, Alzubi founded Nama Ventures, establishing a venture capital platform focused on pre-seed and seed-stage technology companies.

Based in Riyadh, the firm concentrates on opportunities across the MENA region, with particular emphasis on Saudi Arabia.

The focus on early-stage companies is significant.

At the pre-seed and seed stages, businesses often have limited operating histories, evolving commercial models and considerable uncertainty around future growth.

Investment decisions therefore require an assessment of more than financial performance. They involve understanding the founding team, the problem being addressed, the market opportunity and the company’s ability to execute.

Alzubi’s experience as an engineer, entrepreneur and investor provides a perspective across these different considerations.

His professional record also includes investments in companies that subsequently achieved unicorn status, alongside investments that did not succeed.

Rather than presenting venture capital as a process of consistently identifying winners, his career reflects the reality that investment outcomes vary considerably and that risk is inseparable from early-stage innovation.

Supporting Founders Beyond Capital

An important dimension of Alzubi’s contribution is his involvement with technology companies beyond the initial investment decision.

His current governance responsibilities include board positions at Pieship, Cargoz, FACEKI and JafarShop, alongside board observer roles at Nowlun and GrocerApp.

These businesses operate across different areas of the digital economy.

Pieship applies technology to last-mile delivery, while Cargoz connects businesses with storage solutions. Nowlun provides a digital platform for freight forwarding, and GrocerApp operates within online grocery services.

The diversity of these ventures reflects the breadth of opportunities emerging from the application of technology to established industries.

Through board participation, Alzubi remains connected to the challenges of business development, strategic decision-making and organisational growth.

His experience also includes mentoring regional technology companies and advising entrepreneurial initiatives associated with in5 in Dubai and Oasis500 in Jordan.

The contribution of venture capital extends beyond financing. Founders also benefit from informed guidance, industry connections and experience navigating difficult business decisions.

Strengthening the Regional Investment Ecosystem

Alzubi’s professional involvement extends beyond individual companies and investment funds.

He served as a Founding Board Member of Riyadh Angel Investors, contributing to an organisation focused on early-stage technology investment in the MENA region.

His earlier participation in Oqal, together with his long-standing membership of Sand Hill Angels, reflects continued engagement with angel investment communities.

These networks play an important role in connecting entrepreneurs with investors, experienced business leaders and potential strategic partners.

For emerging technology ecosystems, such relationships can be particularly valuable.

Access to capital is one requirement for growth, but entrepreneurs also need commercial knowledge, professional networks and exposure to experienced founders and investors.

Alzubi’s career has placed him within these different communities, allowing him to contribute from both entrepreneurial and investment perspectives.

A Leadership Perspective Shaped by Technology and Business

Alzubi holds a Bachelor of Science in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from Brigham Young University and an MBA from London Business School.

His technical qualifications include professional certifications in networking, systems engineering and database administration.

This combination of engineering expertise and business education reflects the multidisciplinary foundation of his investment career.

He understands technology from an operational perspective, entrepreneurship through direct experience and venture capital through years of investment activity.

Across these disciplines, his professional journey demonstrates how specialised technical knowledge can evolve into broader business and investment leadership.

Recognition by The Arab CEOs

Mohammed Alzubi’s career represents a contribution to the development of technology entrepreneurship and venture capital across the Arab region.

From founding a technology business in Silicon Valley to leading regional investment activities and establishing Nama Ventures, his professional journey has consistently connected innovation with commercial opportunity.

His involvement in angel investment networks, entrepreneurial mentorship and startup governance further extends that contribution beyond the companies in which he invests.

For The Arab CEOs, Alzubi represents an entrepreneurial leader whose influence lies in helping connect promising technology businesses with the capital, experience and relationships required for growth.

His story illustrates the importance of investors who understand the realities of building businesses, recognising that the development of a strong entrepreneurial ecosystem depends not only on funding innovation, but also on supporting the founders responsible for bringing it to market.