Jada Fund of Funds, an investment vehicle created by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund Public Investment Fund (PIF), has joined as a limited partner for the first time in a fund managed by an India-headquartered firm by betting on venture debt firm Stride Ventures.
The Riyadh-based investor has made a commitment to Stride’s Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) fund. The firm, which specialises in providing venture debt, is planning to deploy $200 million (around Rs 1,821 crore) in Saudi Arabia’s entrepreneurial and innovation ecosystem over the next two years.
“The partnership with PIF’s Jada Fund of Funds adds to a series of strategic sovereign and global investor relationships supporting the broader Stride platform,” Stride said in a statement.
The deal is Jada’s third investment in the private debt space, as it doubles down on the fast-growing asset class in the GCC region.
In 2024, it backed California-based global private credit firm Partners for Growth that offers specialised debt solutions for entrepreneurs in the tech and innovation space, investing in the $500 million fund. Only a year before, in 2023, had Jada ventured into the private credit space with its commitment to Abu Dhabi-based Ruya Partners' $250-million Private Credit Fund I. Ruya, the region’s first partner-owned private credit firm, offers capital solutions in the form of private debt to small and medium enterprises in the region.
Jada Fund of Funds was set up in 2018 with $1 billion in capital from PIF to support the development of Saudi Arabia's private capital ecosystem. The platform invests across venture capital, private equity and increasingly private credit. Since inception, it has deployed close to $600 million across nearly 50 funds.
The firm has since invested in Iliad Tech Ventures Fund I, Investcorp’s Saudi Pre-IPO Growth Fund, Aliph Capital Fund I, OB - iMENA Rua Growth Fund I, Beco Capital, Global Ventures, Shorooq Partners, Nuwa Ventures, Hala Capital, and 500 Falcons.
Meanwhile, Stride, founded in 2019, has expanded from a domestic debt player to an international financial platform and has on-ground presence across India, GCC and UK/ Europe. It had enabled $1.6 billion in credit across nearly 200 portfolio companies, including 20 unicorns.
