From LP to GP in the Middle East

“From LP to GP in the ME”, a fireside chat with Mazin Alshanbari, General Partner at Sukna Ventures and former Chief Investment Officer of Jada Fund of Funds.

Hosted by Professor Luisa Alemany for members of the PE/VC Club and students in her Financing the Entrepreneurial Business class, the conversation will explore Mazin’s experience building institutional investment platforms, supporting emerging fund managers and backing founders, alongside perspectives on Saudi Arabia’s evolving venture capital ecosystem.

Mazin Alshanbari's Bio:

Mazin Alshanbari is a General Partner at Sukna Ventures, the early-stage venture capital arm of Sukna Capital, a Riyadh-based, CMA-licensed alternative asset manager. He brings nearly two decades of experience across banking, venture capital, private equity and institutional fund investment.

Mazin was the founding architect of Jada Fund of Funds, the Public Investment Fund (PIF) company established to anchor emerging venture capital and private equity managers investing in Saudi Arabia. Engaged by PIF as a consultant before Jada's launch, he built its investment strategy, governance framework, underwriting processes, legal structure, portfolio management infrastructure and brand from the ground up. He went on to lead Jada's venture capital and venture debt portfolios across local, regional and global markets, and later became Chief Investment Officer.

Before Jada, Mazin built Musharakah at Takamol Holding, a government-backed guarantee program designed to de-risk Saudi venture capital and private equity funds to mobilize private capital into the asset class. He also launched the 9/10ths accelerator program. He began his career at the Saudi National Bank and later at Banco Santander in Boston, working across consumer credit policy, risk management and retail distribution.

Mazin holds an MBA with a concentration in Entrepreneurial Finance from Babson College's F.W. Olin Graduate School of Business and a BSc in Industrial Engineering from Northeastern University.

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