Our Focus

We invest in talented Egyptian entrepreneurs and up-and-coming companies that can be found worldwide. We look for opportunities that can demonstrate a high likelihood of success across an array of technologies and related sectors. And, in order to be able to gage this rate of success we blend our first-hand knowledge with intensive research to uncover the most promising people, businesses and market opportunities.

Since most of the projects presented to us are in the development process it is hard to assess the value of the project or the company. So we put the main focus on the entrepreneur’s experience, track record, and capabilities.

Business Concept. Has the company hit upon an idea that’s truly unique to the industry, one that has significant barriers to entry that will inhibit others from encroaching upon its market? Has the company considered economic and technological change that may affect the business model? Who are the company’s potential competitors?

Identifiable Market. Is there a clearly defined market for the company’s product or service? Does the company’s product or service meet an identifiable need in that industry? Does the company have a reasonable plan to meet the identified need in an efficient, revenue-generating manner?

Strong Management. Does the company’s leadership inspire confidence? Do they have the vision, expertise, and the ability to propel a business to a significant level of growth? Does the team consider best practices of those that have gone before them?

Like most investment firms we do not sign NDAs. Our reputation depends on our professionalism and our ability to maintain the trust of the entrepreneurs with whom we work.

Our Process

Our thorough evaluation and assessment approach is designed to identify promising projects and recognize their inherent strengths and weaknesses.

Our process also aims to cut down on the evaluation time, since we know how time is a critical factor in such a dynamic fast-paced sector. The following is an over view of the process steps that TDF follows:

Screening: Business opportunities are screened based on the basic data provided to decide on their fit with the Fund's general investment guidelines and criteria. In this phase the business concept is examined, along with the basic financial requirements, regulatory issues and relevant experiences / competencies of entrepreneurs.

Initial Evaluation. The business plan is examined in detail by the appraisal team. Additional information might be required and basic research is conducted to assess the opportunity from the legal, financial, technical and operational aspects.

Due-Diligence. All the details of the business come under scrutiny and are examined and refined by the appraisal team. The due-diligence is only conducted once the business has been approved for investment in the earlier phase. Once the due-diligence confirms and verifies the required info/details, the process of finalizing and closing the deal begins.

Funding. Funding occurs after there has been enough interest generated through dinner meetings and internal communication from the entrepreneur and deal lead. Members invest in deals individually; however everyone invests upon the same term sheet. Thus only a small percentage of our members need to participate for the venture to secure funding.

The whole evaluation process usually takes between 6-12 weeks - until deal closure - and the entrepreneurs are actively engaged in all the phases of the evaluation.