Together with his friends, who are also investors, he has helped many tech entrepreneurs in Africa and the Middle East gain access to funding. He is now back to his passion: tech entrepreneurship.  

Ziad Mokhtar (photo) is an Egyptian venture capitalist and tech entrepreneur. He is the co-founder and managing partner of venture capital firm Algebra Ventures, founded in 2016 with Tarek Assaad and Karim Hussein.

By partnering with bold and resilient entrepreneurs, Algebra Ventures allows the creation of ventures that can have strong positive impacts on residents in Africa and the Middle East. Through its first fund, Algebra Ventures financed several startups -including Elmenus, Trella, Eventtus, Orcas, and La Reina- earning Ziad Mokhtar a spot on the board of the funded startups. 

In September 2020, Mokhtar announced his withdrawal from the venture capital firm’s decision-making circle, remaining just the managing partner of the first fund. He aimed to renew his passion: tech entrepreneurship. 

“Some might think that walking away from Algebra, given where it is now heading, is foolish. I sometimes thought that myself. But as foolish as it might be, I hope it sets me on a path to discover equally meaningful success,” he said that year. Months later, in July 2021, he founded a tech startup baptized expeditions.tech.  

About twelve years ago, when he graduated from the University of Alexandria, he assumed a position as a software developer at Unilever (he left in 2003). Concurrently, he co-founded eSpace, an IT consulting firm he managed till 2006. In 2007, he was a product marketing intern at Yahoo. Then, the following year, the tech entrepreneur became an associate at McKinsey & Company in Egypt.

In 2017, while he was managing Algebra Ventures Fund I and sitting on the board of some 15 startups, he was appointed partner of Ideavelopers, the venture capital arm of financial service company EFG Hermes.

Melchior Koba