Homegrown Ventures is a UAE-based venture capital firm focused exclusively on consumer packaged goods (CPG) and fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) in the MENA region and South Asia. The firm raised $22.8 million for its debut Fund I, co-founded by Nader Amiri and Ahmad Shamieh, two operators with combined careers spanning Unilever, Coca-Cola, Kraft, Danone, Nokia, and Microsoft. Homegrown invests in early-stage consumer brands and the technology enabling them, bringing an operator-first perspective shaped by decades of experience inside global consumer goods companies.
Homegrown Ventures backs consumer brands, FMCG companies, and CPG-enabling technology in the MENA region, South Asia, and select global markets. The firm looks for founders building differentiated products for mass consumer markets, particularly where there is an opportunity to leverage regional manufacturing, distribution, or demographic trends. The investment thesis is grounded in the belief that MENA and South Asia represent one of the largest underserved opportunities in global consumer goods, and that the next generation of category-defining brands will emerge from these markets.
Homegrown Ventures Fund I closed at $22.8 million, the firm's debut institutional vehicle. The fund targets early-stage investments across CPG, FMCG, and related technology companies in MENA and South Asia, with selective investments in other global markets where portfolio companies are expanding.
Five portfolio companies have already been backed through Fund I, including PawPots, a pet care brand, and Plaay, a sports and lifestyle company. The fund is positioning itself as the anchor institutional backer for consumer brands in a region that has historically received limited dedicated CPG venture capital.
Leadership
Nader Amiri and Ahmad Shamieh co-founded Homegrown Ventures. Amiri brings senior leadership experience from Coca-Cola, Nokia, and Microsoft, while Shamieh's background covers Unilever, Kraft, and Danone across multiple markets. Together, they bring a combination of global corporate supply chain knowledge, category management expertise, and regional market relationships that most consumer-focused investors cannot replicate.
Investment Strategy
Homegrown invests at the early stage in consumer brands and CPG technology companies. Given the co-founders' backgrounds, the firm offers portfolio companies direct operational support on go-to-market strategy, retail distribution, supply chain optimization, and category positioning across MENA and South Asia. The firm looks for founders with a clear understanding of their target consumer, a defensible product, and the ambition to build a regional or global brand from the MENA or South Asian market base.
Notable Investments
Homegrown's Fund I portfolio includes early-stage consumer brands across categories:
Other
Homegrown Ventures fills a gap that has existed in MENA venture capital for years: institutional backing for consumer brands and CPG companies at the earliest stages. The co-founders' combined decades at the world's largest FMCG companies gives them a level of category and distribution expertise that is genuinely rare in the VC ecosystem. Founders building consumer brands targeting MENA or South Asian consumers should view Homegrown as one of the most strategically relevant first checks available in those markets.
United Arab Emirates
