#115: How the Middle East’s Startup Scene & Gulf SWFs Are Reshaping Venture Capital with Bunat Ventures' Khalid Saad

Geeks Of The Valley

Khalid Saad is a seasoned venture capitalist and FinTech entrepreneur with a proven track record of launching new ventures and accelerating existing ones. Over the years, he has partnered with startups and established companies on digital strategy, business development, partnerships, and market-entry plans—spanning payment systems, remittance services, crypto platforms, open banking, and more .

He is the Founder & Managing Partner of Bunat Ventures, a Bahrain-based regulated venture-builder VC focused on nurturing and investing in high-growth startups across the GCC.

Khalid serves on the board of CoinMENA, a Central Bank–regulated crypto-asset exchange, and is a board member of Oqal – Bahrain Chapter, the region’s largest and most active angel investment network . Additionally, he advises 01 Systems, a leading regional financial technology and digital transformation firm, and contributes to the Finance, Insurance & Tax Committee of the Bahrain Chamber.

Until recently, Khalid was the Founding CEO of Bahrain FinTech Bay (BFB)—the largest FinTech hub in MENA, recognized by S&P Global Ratings as one of the region’s two most advanced FinTech ecosystems . Under his leadership, BFB united ~100 public and private stakeholders (regulators, banks, telcos, asset managers, family firms, educational institutions, etc.) and hosted around 50 companies working across payments, blockchain, crypto assets, data analytics, robo-advisory, crowdfunding, and AI .

Before BFB, Khalid was a Business Development Manager at the Bahrain Economic Development Board, where he promoted the financial services sector and attracted major institutions—from banks and wealth managers to FinTechs and insurers—to Bahrain . Prior to that, he worked with Ernst & Young, conducting feasibility studies, market research, and implementing a governance, risk & compliance platform in Bahrain, and with SEI Investments in London managing UK and European equity portfolios .

Khalid holds an MSc from Imperial College London and a First Class BSc from the University of Exeter .

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/khalidesaad/