Overview
Stratum's Venture Practice is actively involved in identifying, developing, and financing venture opportunities both regionally and internationally. The firm typically acts as a founder, developer, and lead investor in ventures ranging between US$ 1 million to 5 million in initial capital. The company also provides growth funding through subsequent rounds of financing ranging between US$ 10 to 50 million.
Stratum actively supports the management teams of its ventures across a range of strategic and operational issues, playing a key role in both the creation and realization of value over time. Since early 2003, Stratum has built a portfolio of ventures in industries such as financial services, telecommunications, manufacturing, and real estate.
Our Portfolio
The firm's current portfolio of ventures includes the following companies:
Ensurion
Ensurion is the first insurance management firm licensed in the Middle East providing a range of alternative risk transfer and finance solutions to leading institutions in sectors such as energy, transportation, and real estate. Regulated by the Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB), the company currently manages the first regionally-domiciled captive insurance company (TCIC) on behalf of Abu Dhabi-based Tabreed, the world's largest district cooling company.
Viacloud
Viacloud is an international telecommunications company focused on providing a full range of affordable voice services to the communities of the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia. Having established operations in Bahrain, Jordan, and the United States, the company's vision is to become the leading Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) in the Middle East as telecom markets continue to be liberalized across the region.
Petrogenera
Petrogenera is an industrial development company focused on the downstream petrochemicals sector. Some of the opportunities that are under review by the company include synthetic rubber, specialty chemicals, plastic polymers, and synthetic fibers. It is currently in the process of funding and launching its first project, which involves manufacturing a unique set of consumer products for the GCC market.
Venstra Properties
Venstra Properties is an innovative real estate development company focused on niche opportunities primarily in the GCC property market. The company has recently funded its first real estate project in Bahrain, which involves the delivery of a unique value proposition to small to medium sized enterprises (SME) in an emerging business district where this key market segment has remained largely underserved.
Alustream
Alustream is an industrial development company focused on the downstream aluminum sector. Some of the opportunities that are under review by the company include transportation, packaging, and construction applications for aluminum-based end use products. The company is in the process of developing the business strategy for its first manufacturing project as well as identifying the target location for its GCC-based plant.
Our Process
Stratum utilizes a proprietary venture development process which spans the entire venture lifecycle, from the generation of business concepts to the realization of shareholder value:
Stratum's Venture Development Process
Click on each phase for more information
| Generating venture concepts; evaluating alternatives; conducting market and industry research; identifying risks; developing business strategy |
Building analytic models to measure the feasibility of a business venture; developing financial projections and investor return expectations |
Acquiring new investors; creating legal or investment structures, negotiating key partnerships; recruiting management teams |
Continually reviewing venture performance; governance and strategic oversight; evaluating exit options to realize value for investors |
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