Dina El Shenoufy brings over 15 years of financial services experience managing venture capital and investment portfolios in the Middle East and North Africa.

At Flat6Labs, the leading startup accelerator and seed funding organisation in MENA, she drives investment strategy and portfolio management. Previously, Dina managed a US$200mn oil and gas portfolio at Al-Ahly Capital Holding and co-managed a US$28mn MENA regional portfolio at Beltone Asset Management.

In your view, what is the most pressing challenge facing the VC ecosystem right now?

I believe the biggest challenge currently facing the ecosystem is a significant drop in confidence and conviction in the asset class. This has had a trickle effect on the availability of funding. Particularly, a massive drop in the availability of seed funding as investors all prefer to look at more mature businesses which they perceive as less risky, but then that has created a shortage in the pipeline driving valuations up.

Which sectors offer promising opportunities for investment amid macroeconomic challenges?

I continue to believe that the most promising sectors are those that offer scaling opportunities and as such serve a wider audience. These would still include financial inclusivity, economic inclusivity and SaaS solutions.

We’re witnessing increased scrutiny of diversity and inclusion initiatives globally. How should the African private capital industry maintain momentum on gender equity in the face of fluctuating commitment?

The African continent is at a stage that does not allow it to ignore gender equity and more specifically female integration into the workforce to maximise its overall economic gains as developing economies are still quite nascent. At just above 50% female participation vs 67% in Europe, we have a long way to go to unlock further economic benefits for the whole continent.

Which bold move have you taken in your career that created unexpected opportunities for you or others in the industry?

Increasing the seed investment value early on to attract more mature founders into the ecosystem. Though Flat6Labs was initially criticised for driving valuations up, we strongly believe it created a way for higher-calibre companies, thus benefitting the whole ecosystem.