He is a former Deputy Minister of Investment and International Cooperation in Egypt. He is the brain behind several accelerators. He now runs an investment firm and financial services platform that supports fintech startups.
Shehab Marzban (photo) is an Egyptian entrepreneur and investor. He is the co-founder and managing partner of Camel Ventures, the first venture debt and fintech-focused investment firm in Egypt.
The investment firm, founded in 2020, partners with exceptional co-founders to help them build sustainable and high-growth businesses with regional and even global reach. It recently launched a $16 million fund focused on the Egyptian fintech startup ecosystem. The fund is regulated by the Egyptian Financial Regulatory Authority and offers equity investments for early-stage startups and local currency venture loans for later-stage startups.
“The success of the startup relies on the collective strength of all partners and stakeholders. We focus on our deep local knowledge, regulatory and business expertise, as well as our global outreach and network to support local champions while strengthening their growth on a regional and global level,” Camel Ventures said when announcing the VC fund.
Its managing partner, Shehab Marzban, graduated from Cairo University with a Master's in Operations Research and Decision Support in 2004. He received his Ph.D. in Information Systems and Operations Research from the University of Cologne in 2008 and did postdoctoral research in Islamic Economics and Finance at Durham University between 2009 and 2012. In 2015, he completed an executive program in venture capital at the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley.
In 2021, he founded Digital Finance Holding (DFin), a financial services platform that supports and promotes financial technology (fintech) companies in the non-bank financial services sector.
In 2012, he founded the crowdfunding company Shekra to support the education, legality, funding, mentoring, and monitoring processes of startups. In 2017, he also founded the entrepreneurship center Fekretak Sherketak, the investment company Egypt Ventures, and the accelerator EFG EV Fintech that focuses on fintech startups.
Formerly an external consultant on venture capital, micro, small and medium enterprises, and Islamic finance at the World Bank Group (2013-2015), he worked at Egypt's Ministry of Investment and International Cooperation for 4 years. First appointed as a senior economic advisor to the minister in 2015, he later held the positions of deputy minister and chief advisor to the minister there.
Melchior Koba
