Fundraising Advisory in
Dubai, UAE & GCC
CFA-Led · Investor Search · Investment Memorandum · Financial Modelling · Series A to Pre-IPO · Fixed Fee
What is fundraising advisory? Fundraising advisory is the professional service of helping a business raise equity capital from investors — covering investment thesis development, preparing institutional-grade materials (IM, pitch deck, financial model), identifying and approaching qualified investors, managing due diligence, negotiating term sheets, and closing the round. In the UAE and GCC, where investor relationships and trust carry disproportionate weight, an experienced fundraising advisor significantly accelerates and de-risks the process.
Raising capital in the UAE requires more than a pitch deck. GCC family offices, regional private equity funds, and institutional investors have high expectations for the quality of materials they receive and the credibility of the team running the process. Corvian Advisory manages equity fundraising mandates end-to-end — from investment thesis development through to signed term sheet and closing — with a CFA Charterholder leading every engagement.
What Corvian Advisory Delivers
in a Fundraising Mandate
A full fundraising mandate covers four integrated workstreams. Each can also be delivered as a standalone engagement.
End-to-end capital raising mandate. We manage the entire process from investor identification through to closing — running a structured, competitive process that creates leverage for your business.
- Investment thesis development and positioning
- Investor universe mapping and qualification
- Structured outreach under NDA
- Investor meetings and Q&A management
- Term sheet evaluation and negotiation
- Due diligence management through to close
The quality of your IM determines the quality of investors you attract. We prepare institutional-grade Investment Memoranda and pitch decks that sophisticated GCC investors expect to receive.
- Executive summary and investment thesis
- Market opportunity and competitive positioning
- Business model and revenue architecture
- Financial summary and key metrics
- Management team and governance
- Use of proceeds and investment structure
An investor-grade integrated financial model is non-negotiable for Series A and beyond. We build three-statement models with detailed revenue build-up, scenario analysis, and valuation bridge.
- Integrated P&L, balance sheet and cash flow
- Bottom-up revenue build by segment/geography
- Explicit assumption documentation
- Scenario analysis (base, upside, downside)
- Valuation bridge and exit assumptions
- Use of proceeds detail and cash runway
We identify and approach investors whose mandate, sector focus, cheque size, and geography match your business. GCC family offices, regional PE, and MENA-focused growth investors.
- GCC family office investor network
- Regional private equity relationships
- MENA-focused venture capital
- Strategic corporate investors
- Sovereign-linked investors
- International growth equity funds
Before raising capital, you need to know what your company is worth — and be able to defend it. We prepare independent startup valuations that anchor your fundraising negotiation.
- Pre-money valuation for term sheet negotiations
- Revenue and ARR multiple benchmarking
- Scorecard and Berkus method (pre-revenue)
- Comparable transaction analysis (GCC data)
- Dilution modelling and cap table analysis
- ESOP pool sizing and impact analysis
Not ready to raise yet? A Fundraising Readiness Review identifies the gaps in your business, financials, and materials before you approach investors — so you don't waste the relationship.
- Financial data room review and clean-up guidance
- Business model and unit economics assessment
- Investor narrative and positioning review
- Key metrics and KPI framework
- Pre-raise action plan with timeline
- Valuation range indication
When Does a Business Need
Fundraising Advisory in the UAE?
Fundraising advisory is not just for startups. Any business at an inflection point — needing capital to grow, scale, or diversify — benefits from a structured, professionally run capital raising process.
Series A to Growth Equity
You have product-market fit and early revenue. You need to scale. A well-run Series A or growth equity round in the UAE requires institutional-grade materials and a credible process. Informal outreach rarely closes at the right valuation.
Family Business Expansion Capital
A GCC family business looking to expand into new geographies or sectors often needs external capital from a strategic partner or PE fund. A fundraising advisor helps structure the transaction, find the right investor, and protect family control preferences.
Pre-IPO Fundraising
Preparing for a UAE or Saudi IPO? Pre-IPO fundraising from institutional investors validates the story, establishes a reference price, and builds a credible institutional shareholder base before public listing. Timing and investor quality matter significantly.
Strategic Investor Search
Some businesses need a strategic partner — a corporate investor who brings distribution, technology, or market access — not just capital. We identify and approach strategic investors across GCC, MENA, and global sectors.
Secondary or Minority Sale
Founders and early shareholders looking to achieve partial liquidity through a secondary transaction need an advisor who can run a structured process — not a one-to-one negotiation that typically results in unfavourable pricing.
Debt Fundraising Support
Raising growth debt from UAE banks or regional credit funds? Your financial model, business plan, and lender presentation must be of institutional quality. We prepare the materials and support lender negotiations alongside your relationship banker.
What Makes an Investment Memorandum
GCC-Investor Ready?
An Investment Memorandum (IM) — sometimes called a Confidential Information Memorandum (CIM) or Information Pack — is the primary document you provide to investors after they sign an NDA and express initial interest. It must answer every question a sophisticated investor would ask before proceeding to due diligence.
In the GCC, investor expectations are high. Family offices with experienced investment teams, regional PE funds, and institutional investors have seen thousands of investment opportunities. A thin or poorly constructed IM closes doors before they open. A strong one builds conviction.
Corvian Advisory prepares IMs that meet institutional standards — written to be read by a sophisticated investment committee, not to impress friends and family. Every claim is supported. Every assumption is documented. Every risk is addressed honestly, because sophisticated investors know the risks anyway — concealing them destroys credibility.
"The quality of your IM signals the quality of your business. A disorganized document implies a disorganized business."
Our IMs cover: executive summary, investment thesis, market opportunity and sizing, business model and unit economics, financials (historical and projected), management team and governance, use of proceeds, key risks and mitigants, and transaction structure. Every section is written with investor skepticism in mind.
What Our Investment Memoranda Include
Investors We Approach
in the UAE & GCC
Not every investor is right for every business. Before approaching anyone, we map the investor universe against your sector, stage, cheque size, and strategic value — and prioritise the highest-fit targets.
The largest and most active investor class in the UAE and GCC. Family office direct investment mandates range from USD 1M to USD 50M+. Decision-making is relationship-driven and relationship-first — credibility and trust matter as much as the business case.
GCC-focused PE funds with USD 100M–USD 2B+ in AUM. Most focus on companies with at least AED 20–50M in revenue and strong EBITDA. Process-driven, rigorous diligence, strong governance requirements. Ideal for businesses targeting PE-backed growth and eventual exit.
MENA VC invested USD 3B+ in 2023. UAE is the largest recipient. Most MENA VCs focus on technology, fintech, logistics, and consumer — with a bias toward scalable, capital-efficient models. They move faster than PE but have stronger preference for tech-enabled businesses.
Large regional corporates and multinationals seeking minority positions in high-growth businesses that complement their core operations. Strategic investors bring distribution, supply chain, technology, or market access — not just capital. Negotiation requires careful structuring of control and governance.
Sovereign wealth funds and sovereign-linked vehicles — Mubadala, ADQ, PIF, QIA — and their subsidiary vehicles are increasingly active in direct investments and co-investments alongside PE funds. They require institutional-grade governance and reporting from day one.
Global growth equity funds and crossover investors with MENA coverage are increasingly active in UAE-based businesses targeting cross-border expansion. UAE-India and UAE-KSA growth stories attract significant interest from international investors with EMEA coverage.
How We Run a
UAE Fundraising Process
Five steps from initial engagement to closing. Each step is designed to maintain momentum, create investor competition, and protect your valuation.
Define the investment narrative, target investor profile, valuation anchoring, and fundraising structure. Build the financial model from the ground up with testable assumptions.
Prepare institutional-grade IM (40–80 pages), pitch deck (20 slides), data room structure, and management presentation. Every document written for a sophisticated investment committee.
Approach 15–25 qualified investors under NDA. Maintain a controlled, confidential process. Manage investor pipeline — first meetings, IOI submissions, shortlisting.
Manage investor Q&A, financial and commercial due diligence, and data room access for shortlisted investors. Maintain competitive tension. Respond to investor requests without losing momentum.
Evaluate and negotiate term sheets. Advise on valuation, anti-dilution, governance, and investor rights alongside legal counsel. Manage process to binding completion.
Growth Equity Round for a
UAE Technology Business
A UAE-based B2B SaaS platform with AED 18M in ARR had been approached by a single investor at a valuation the founders believed undervalued the business. They engaged Corvian Advisory to run a structured process before accepting any term sheet. We prepared a 60-page IM, rebuilt their three-statement financial model to institutional standard, and approached 22 investors across GCC family offices, MENA-focused VC, and international growth funds. Within 14 weeks of engagement, we had 4 term sheets at valuations 40–65% above the initial offer. The founders closed with a GCC family office at a valuation of AED 110M — representing 5.5x ARR — retaining an 82% equity stake and bringing in a strategic partner with distribution access across the wider GCC.
Why UAE Founders and Businesses
Choose Corvian Advisory
Every engagement is led by a CFA Charterholder with Big 4 M&A advisory experience. You will not be handed to a junior associate after signing. The person who pitches for your business is the person who runs it.
Our relationships with GCC family offices, regional PE, and MENA-focused investors are built over years of deal activity. When we make an introduction, it carries credibility — which accelerates your process and protects your valuation.
Our IMs, pitch decks, and financial models are built to the standard sophisticated investors expect. They have been stress-tested in real investor processes. Documents that generate meetings, not polite rejection.
Running a competitive process with multiple investors simultaneously is the single most effective way to protect your valuation and deal terms. A structured fundraising process consistently outperforms one-to-one bilateral negotiations.
We are independent. We do not have proprietary investment vehicles or fund interests that create conflicts. Our only incentive is to get you the best outcome. We work exclusively for you throughout the process.
Transparent, published fee structure. Fixed engagement fee for materials and outreach preparation, plus a success fee on capital closed — so we only succeed when you succeed. No hidden fees, no scope creep.
Fundraising Advisory Fees in the UAE & GCC
We publish our fee structure because transparency is how we demonstrate that we work for you. Every engagement is scoped individually and agreed in writing before work begins.
Fixed engagement fee (materials + outreach) plus a success fee of 2–5% on equity capital raised, agreed upfront. Retainer: AED 25,000–75,000 depending on scope. Success fees only apply if capital is raised.
Each deliverable can be engaged independently with a fixed fee agreed before work begins. No hourly billing, no scope creep.
Fundraising Advisory in UAE & GCC –
Questions We Get Asked Most
Ready to Raise Capital
in the UAE or GCC?
Tell us about your business, fundraising target, and timeline. We'll tell you honestly whether we can help, and what the process looks like.