The fundraising is still in its early stages, with conversations ongoing with a mix of family offices, development finance institutions, and successful tech founders. 

If the round closes as planned, it would push the firm’s total assets under management beyond $800 million.

Endeavor Catalyst operates on a distinct model; it invests only in founders who have already been vetted and selected by Endeavor Global’s network. 

These are scale-stage companies already gaining traction in regions typically overlooked by mainstream capital, including Africa, Latin America, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East.

In an environment where many venture firms are pulling back, thanks to weak exit markets, fewer follow-on rounds, and a sluggish global capital flow, Endeavor Catalyst is not giving up. It believes its model, anchored in founder quality and local market insight, gives it a long-term edge.

Since launching in 2012, the firm has made more than 360 investments across 34 countries. Its portfolio includes 63 companies that have crossed the $1 billion valuation mark. Flutterwave in Nigeria, Rappi in Colombia, Tabby in the UAE, Insider in Turkey, and Carro in Indonesia are among them. 

Over 30 of its portfolio companies have exited, either through IPOs or acquisitions, Argentina’s Globant, Chile’s Cornershop, and Tunisia’s InstaDeep among the more recognisable names.

What makes the firm different is how it approaches investing. It doesn’t lead rounds, just simply co-invests in equity rounds, typically Series A to C, of $5 million or more, alongside other institutional VCs. This lean model allows it to scale with minimal overhead while gaining access to high-potential deals.

“Endeavor Catalyst is not here to compete with traditional VCs,” a source familiar with the fund’s strategy told TechCrunch. “It exists to back founders already proven within the Endeavor network who are ready to raise serious capital.”

The Endeavor model starts with identifying promising entrepreneurs early. It surrounds them with mentorship, opens global networks, and supports them with local expertise. 

Once they hit their growth stride, Endeavor Catalyst steps in with funding, not to dictate terms, but to back them alongside top-tier investors like QED Investors, Tiger Global, Kaszek Ventures, and Prosus Ventures.

The fund is also backed by some of the world’s most influential investors and founders. Bill Ackman, Pierre Omidyar, Michael Dell, Bill Ford, and Reid Hoffman are among its backers. Notably, 30% of its LPs are founders themselves, so-called “Endeavor Entrepreneurs” including Marcos Galperin (MercadoLibre), David Vélez (Nubank), and Marcin Żukowski (Snowflake).

Even in colder market conditions, Endeavor Catalyst has been active. In Q4 2024 alone, it closed 13 new deals across seven different countries, making it one of the most active funds globally in that quarter.

What Endeavor Catalyst is doing matters beyond just returns. It’s helping to prove that some of the world’s most investable companies are not in Silicon Valley, but in Lagos, Jakarta, São Paulo, and Dubai. Its performance is changing perceptions around venture potential in emerging markets.

While it declined to comment on the ongoing fundraising, the firm’s track record reveals that the $300 million goal is realistic, and that it’s well-positioned to reach it.

The round, which includes $52 million in equity led by Partech Africa and $23 million in debt financing from leading Egyptian banks, is one of the continent’s largest Series A rounds to date.

Founded by Mostafa El Beltagy alongside Abdel-Azim Osman, Ahmed Rafea, Mohamed Abou Ghanima, and Aly Rafea, Nawy began with a personal issue, trying to buy property in Egypt. 

El Beltagy, a former Vodafone executive, quickly realised how inefficient the process was, relying on sales agents, navigating scattered listings, and enduring biased guidance.

“I had no way to look at the market and understand what’s out there, aside from going almost developer by developer, picking up their brochures and asking their salespeople questions, which was highly inefficient,” said El Beltagy. “In this sector, everyone is incentivised to push you one way or another.”

That issue gave birth to a new model; a platform that doesn’t just list properties but supports users throughout the buying journey, from discovery to financing. Today, Nawy is building itself as a full-stack real estate platform, providing everything from listings and brokerage to innovative financing tools.

The $23 million debt financing supports Nawy’s flagship financial product, “Move Now, Pay Later,” which enables customers to buy homes through tailored instalment plans, filling a gap in a market where traditional mortgages are rare and difficult to access. “It’s mortgage packaged differently because mortgages are almost non-existent here,” El Beltagy added.

To strengthen this offering, Nawy earlier signed a funding agreement worth 1 billion Egyptian pounds with Contact Financial’s Med Wealth Funds. The deal gives users immediate access to homes with payment plans stretching up to 10 years.

The platform’s appeal isn’t limited to financing. Nawy also introduced fractional ownership through “Nawy Shares,” allowing individuals to invest in property with as little as $500, a strategic move to include Egypt’s middle class, many of whom have long been excluded from property investment.

Growth figures are striking. In just four years, Nawy claims to have increased its revenue 50-fold in dollar terms, despite a 69% drop in the Egyptian pound’s value. Its gross merchandise value (GMV) surged from $38 million in 2020 to over $1.4 billion in 2024.

To support this growth, the company has built a tech-driven backend used by more than 3,000 brokerages. The introduction of instant commission payouts, funded in advance, helped overcome early scepticism and got brokers to engage with the platform. Developers, now competing for visibility among more than a million monthly site visitors, provide access to live inventory.

Now the company is plotting its next phase, expansion is firmly on the table. Nawy is eyeing Morocco, the UAE, and Saudi Arabia as entry points into new markets. The company recently acquired ROA, a property management firm, and rebranded it as “Nawy Unlocked” to broaden its suite of services.

The funding round includes participation from a wide group of local and international investors: Development Partners International’s Nclude Fund, e& Capital, Endeavor Catalyst, HOF Capital, March Capital Investments, Outliers, Plug and Play, Shorooq Partners, VentureSouq, and Verod-Kepple Africa Ventures.

Partech’s General Partner, Tidjane Deme, who led the equity round, said: “We’re excited to support Nawy as they build the foundation for a modern, tech-driven real estate experience. Their team has deep market insights, coupled with ambitious regional expansion plans and exceptional execution, positioning them as the clear proptech champion in Africa and the Middle East.”

The investment, which brings the company’s total funding to $85 million, was led by Highland Europe, with contributions from existing backers Left Lane Capital, Palm Drive Capital, Y Combinator, and Endeavor Catalyst.

Founded by Ridwan Olalere and Rian Cochran in 2020, LemFi has grown fast by supporting the diaspora communities in North America and Europe, providing reliable cross-border payment services. 

The platform, known for its multi-currency accounts and low-cost transfers, facilitates remittances to over 20 countries, including Nigeria, Kenya, India, and Pakistan.

This latest funding will enable LemFi to expand its payment network, acquire additional licences, and deepen its partnerships to deliver more localised services. 

Plans are also underway to introduce a payment card for customers in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada, alongside scaling recruitment efforts for its workforce of over 300 employees.

LemFi’s monthly transaction volume has surged to $1 billion, going beyond its annual transaction volume of $2 billion in 2023. Much of this growth has been attributed to its strong adoption in Asia, where the company’s transactions in the region now amount to $160 million monthly, with a 30% month-on-month growth rate.

In recent years, LemFi has gained traction by leveraging its user-friendly interface and solid fraud prevention measures.

According to Olalere, these have allowed the platform to maintain competitive prices, ensure trust, and achieve high customer retention, with approximately 70% of its earliest users still active today.

LemFi recently partnered with Modulr, an embedded finance provider, to kickstart its European operations. To boost its presence in the region, the company has acquired a Republic of Ireland-based firm, which will provide it with independent operational capabilities beginning next month.

This expansion builds on LemFi’s strategy of entering large remittance markets. After establishing operations in the US in 2023, the platform extended its services to countries like China, India, and Pakistan in 2024.

Its ability to adapt to complex regulatory environments and integrate seamlessly with various payment systems has been key to scaling efficiently.

With over one million active users, LemFi aims to evolve into a comprehensive financial hub for immigrants globally.

The company’s mission to simplify international payments and reduce costs aligns with the needs of emerging market economies, where remittances serve as a necessary source of foreign exchange.