GEM Capital MD and Jetapult CEO communicate MENA investments and unlocking the area’s attainable

The Dubai Sport Expo Summit powered via Pocket Gamer Connects returns on Would possibly seventh to eighth 2025, providing an opportunity to realize insights into the arena’s fastest-growing video games marketplace, MENA.

Take a look at extra tales from PocketGamer.biz’s MENA Month particular, the place we interview the highest corporations and delve into the funding panorama, proper right here.

The MENA video games trade is experiencing sped up expansion, the place giant investments are converting how video games are made.

Prematurely of the Dubai GameExpo Summit powered via Pocket Gamer Connects on Would possibly seventh and eighth, we had the chance to talk with one of the vital most sensible video games traders within the area. 

We spoke with GEM Capital managing director Roman Gurskiy and Jetapult CEO and co-founder Sharan Tulsiani about opting for startups to spend money on, the average errors founders make when pitching to traders, and the way sport studios can draw in extra funding.

Selecting the proper startup

Chatting with us on what they search for when making an investment in a startup, Gurskiy says GEM Capital prioritises robust founding groups with deep trade enjoy, a confirmed observe report, and a compelling product imaginative and prescient. 

“The startup will have to reveal a scalable product with important marketplace attainable and a strong enterprise type in a position to reaching 10x expansion in 5 years,” he explains.

Gurskiy additional states that GEM Capital, in particular its UAE-based GEM II fund, has invested in MENA video games corporations akin to Atomic Middle writer Mundfish and cellular developer Hypemasters. 

Whilst Jetapult additionally has a demand of skilled founders, Tulsiani stocks that the company is fascinated with mobile-first groups within the ‘informal+’ area, starting from hybridcasual to midcore, with robust scaling functions. 

“We’re in particular enthusiastic about studios that deeply perceive participant behaviour and style dynamics and are open to adopting lean, AI-augmented workflows to boost up their ambitions,” he says. 

To this point, Jetapult’s sole MENA funding is UMX Studio, however it is actively scouting the area, particularly Saudi Arabia, for residences in a position to achieving high-ARPU markets. 

Discovering investment

To draw extra funding, Gurskiy says MENA studios will have to construct video games with each regional and world attraction, reveal monetary self-discipline with transparent monetisation and consumer acquisition methods, and have interaction actively with native accelerators and occasions.

“Governments and personal traders will have to proceed fostering ability building methods and early-stage investment alternatives to maintain long-term expansion,” he provides.

Jetapult, then again, urges MENA studios to mix original cultural storytelling with common attraction and reveal business readability via forged monetisation and retention methods. 

“Original, scalable content material is turning into a significant draw for global traders,” says Tulsiani. “On the similar time, studios that display business readability stand out.”

Not unusual errors

Gurskiy says one commonplace mistake founders make is overemphasising inventive concepts with out appearing a viable enterprise trail, as he instructed founders to stability innovation with execution.

“Founders incessantly provide formidable gameplay concepts however lack a transparent trail to profitability or scalability,” states Gurskiy. “Creativity is vital to good fortune, however studios will have to even be business-oriented.”

In a similar way, Jetapult CEO believes that some other commonplace mistake founders make is focusing an excessive amount of on imaginative and prescient with out detailing a grounded, executable plan. Conversely, Tulsiani urges extra world traders to keep in mind that MENA isn’t a one-size-fits-all marketplace.

“We want extra traders recognised that MENA isn’t a copy-paste marketplace,” he states. “There are a couple of excessive ARPU areas with deep cultural richness and an rising era of creators construction for each native and world audiences.”

World pageant

So, what wishes to switch for MENA to be on par with areas like China or the USA.? 

Along with its endured executive strengthen, Gurskiy says in contrast to saturated Western markets, MENA provides untapped attainable in hypercasual, midcore, and culturally adapted video games.

“Whilst the groundwork is in position, effects will take time – proficient builders from around the globe wish to determine roots within the area to develop and mentor native ability,” he explains. 

Gurskiy provides that traders will have to recognise that with the fitting backing, MENA studios can compete on a world scale with the prospective to rival main gaming hubs. 

Then again, Jetapult CEO believes that so as to compete globally, the area will have to fortify its ability pipelines and ecosystem infrastructure. 

“What’s wanted now could be focused development on two fronts: ability building and ecosystem adulthood,” says Tulsiani. “We wish to make investments extra in nurturing inventive and technical ability via mentorship, schooling, and publicity to world absolute best practices.” 

He provides that encouraging indicators are already visual via projects like NEOM’s accelerator and Harmony-led coaching, however extra constant strengthen in manufacturing, publishing, and monetisation is an important.

All over the Dubai GameExpo Summit powered via PGC 2025 we’re going to be webhosting The Funding Summit, welcoming a bunch of knowledgeable audio system to talk about the investment panorama in MENA, in addition to connecting builders, publishers and traders in combination for attainable deal-making.