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Innovation, Impact and Imagining the Future: Part 4
Talks about Venture Capital, New Internet and Insurtech
OD
Omar Darwazah
General Partner at AAF Management Ltd.
New York, New York
Overview
Omar Darwazah is the Managing Director & General Partner at AAF Management Ltd., with a notable achievement of being selected as a Kauffman Fellow and recognized in the Wharton 40 Under 40 list. He has invested in a variety of successful companies across different stages and sectors, such as MoneyHash, Fuze, and Cartona, showcasing his expertise in private equity and venture capital.
Currently, Omar Darwazah leads AAF Management Ltd. as the Managing Director & General Partner, demonstrating strong leadership skills and strategic acumen in managing investments. His career highlights include being a Kauffman Fellow and a Wharton 40 Under 40 honoree, reflecting his exceptional contributions to the finance and investment industry.
Work Experience
Managing Director & General Partner
2017 - Current
AAF Management Ltd. (AAF) is a leading early-stage venture capital firm focused on pre-Seed, Seed, and Series A stage technology companies in North America as well as global emerging managers. Since late 2016, we’ve invested in 137 venture-backed portfolio companies across fintech, healthcare, consumer, enterprise software and deep tech and backed 37 emerging managers. The firm currently has $234M in assets under management. We are backed by over 120 Limited Partners (LPs) across two funds, a fund-of-funds and two SPVs. Our investors include leading multi-family offices, single family offices, royal families, c- level executives, ministers, ambassadors, fund-of-funds, foundations, hedge fund managers and other strategic investors across the US, Europe, and MENA region. We actively manage Limited Partnership (LP) allocations into early stage emerging managers globally exposing us to over 1,000 venture-backed companies. We’ve backed emerging managers who were previous venture investors at prestigious firms such as Sequoia Capital, Lightspeed Ventures, NEA, Khosla Ventures, Kleiner Perkins among others. Notable companies in our extended portfolio include: Robinhood, Didi, Savage X by Fenty, StockX, Figure, Reddit, Current, Synthego, Jasper, Drata, Epic Games, FiscalNote among many others. Notable exits in our extended portfolio include: CrowdStrike (NASDAQ: CRWD), TruOptik acq. by Transunion (NYSE: TRU), Even Financial acq. by MoneyLion (NASDAQ: ML), Prodigy acq. by Upstart (NASDAQ: UPST), Portfolium acq. by Instructure (NYSE: INST), now a Thoma Bravo Company, HeyDoctor acq. by GoodRx (NYSE: GDRX), Medumo acq. by Philips Healthcare (NYSE: PHG) among others.
Founder
2017
AAF Management Ltd. is an early-stage VC firm focused on Seed and Series A technology companies.
Kauffman Fellow | Class 25
2020
The Kauffman Fellowship is a top innovation and leadership organization for senior venture capital leaders, who are thoughtfully vetted and selected to complete a holistic, rigorous two-year program. The extraordinarily active global network is a lifelong resource for 882 Fellows, who represent 765 VC firms and institutional LPs, more than $355B AUM, and at least $8.5T in exits. The Kauffman Fellows community reflects society and values diversity of person and experience; Fellows support innovation in 58 countries and are 9x more diverse than the VC industry at large.
Co-investment VC firm supporting the mission of the Kauffman Fellows
Managing Partner
2017
Darwazah Capital is the private investing arm of Omar Darwazah. The investment firm's assets span equities, real estate, venture capital LP positions, early and growth stage technology company investments.
Darwazah Capital is the private investing arm of Omar Darwazah. The investment firm's assets span equities, real estate and venture capital.
Investor
2016
Andela extends engineering teams with world-class software developers. We recruit the most talented developers on the African continent, shape them into technical leaders, and place them as full-time distributed team members with companies that range from Microsoft and IBM to dozens of high-growth startups. Backed by Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, GV (Google Ventures) and Spark Capital, Andela is building the next generation of global technology leaders.
Andela's mission is to connect brilliance with opportunity.
Raised $381,005,800.00 from Generation Investment Management, Spark Capital, Golden Palm Investments, Whale Rock Capital Management, SoftBank Vision Fund, Chan Zuckerberg Initiative and Sweetwater Capital Partners.
Investor
2020
Pioneering commission free investment in Egypt. Thndr, is designed to make investing easy and accessible to everyone.
Investor
2021
A digital wallet for the Middle East & North Africa. Ziina is bringing the next generation of financial services to the Middle East
Investor
2024
Taxo (YC S24) integrates with electronic health records (EHRs) to automate medical billing and coding. Its AI-powered solution reduces the time and cost of claims processing by 90%, enabling providers to focus on patient care rather than administrative tasks.
Investor
2025
ClearGrid is reshaping debt resolution with AI-driven, customer-first solutions. We empower lenders to maximize recovery while giving borrowers tailored, flexible options that prioritize financial stability and trust. Committed to transparency and regulatory compliance, ClearGrid is the go-to digital platform for smart, efficient debt collection in today’s fast-evolving financial landscape.
Investor
2019
Halan is a fast growing ride-sharing technology company, offering transport and logistics solutions to provide people with a fast, affordable, and reliable means of transportation Halan is the first app in Egypt and Sudan that lets you order a toktok or motorbike that you can always rely on. To ensure that every ride is safe and convenient, our drivers are thoroughly selected and undergo an effective training program. In addition, the app will inform you who your driver is and the cost of the trip, before starting your ride.
Investor
2023
We are Africa and Middle East’s first all-in-one flexible payment orchestration and revenue operations platform that covers all of your payment needs. We help you build, optimize, and scale your payment infrastructure at any stage of growth.