New Egyptian venture fund Algebra Ventures has announced the first closing at $40 million.

The fund, first announced in June, plans to reach a final close of $50 million and invest in up to 25 technology startups. Ticket sizes will range from $500,000 to $4 million, so the fund will span angel, Series A and Series B investments.

In a statement released Wednesday, managing partner Tarek Assaad said he believed technological innovation was critical for progress against the economic challenges Egypt was facing.

“There has been a dry up in funding recently, and this new investment comes at a very important time to revitalize growth in the sector. The new Algebra Ventures fund will provide much-needed capital to allow startups to accelerate their growth and build lasting value,” he said.

Algebra Ventures is led by managing partners Tarek Assaad, Ziad Mokhtar and Khaled Ismail. Other investors include Cisco Investments and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). The American Enterprise Fund (EAEF) and International Finance Corporation (IFC) both committed $10 million.

IFC invests in Flat6labs fund

In another previously announced deal the IFC signed an agreement with the Flat6labs incubator in Cairo to invest $2 million in a seed fund. 

The amount is larger than originally announced in October, and will be invested in up to 100 Egyptian startups with average ticket sizes of 350,000 Egyptian pounds (about US$20,000), over the next five years.

To date Flat6labs has invested in 54 companies.

This article has been updated with information about the Flat6labs deal.

Feature image via Pexels.