Dhow

Invest in what you believe in.

Curated private-market deals backing Muslim founders & value-aligned ventures.

Community-led, Ethics-first, this is Dhow.

[Dhow @DhowApp]

Link in Bio

[Zain Abidi @ZainAbidi954]

I initially wanted to draft this when I saw the @a16z Linkedin post (referenced in the article). I started the article, and then forgot about it for a bit.

Then I saw the @FT video (also linked in the article) and realized that to much of our community, the concept of venture being native to the Islamic world is alien.

There seems to be a general misunderstanding of what economics and finance looks like in Islam.

Brother @omar_dddg said it best about a week ago:

"The longest verse in the Quran is on how to document a deferred financial transaction. Islam is very far from communism and modern capitalism. The Islamic model is make money ethically but do not hoard and spend most of it on your family and a good cause....

Islam is pro trade, private property, against price setting, government intervention. But it’s also, anti hoarding, you make money to spend it in a good cause."

Jazakallah, enjoy, and let's get our community off the sidelines.

https://t.co/6hUd0lZKtf

[Zain Abidi @ZainAbidi954]

We assumed venture was foreign to Muslims. It is the opposite. Profit sharing ran the Islamic world for a thousand years, Italy borrowed it, Sand Hill Road inherited it. Venture is native to Islam. https://t.co/2rV5anqIEG

[Dhow @DhowApp]

What is a Dhow?

It is not a play on the Dow Jones.

Dhow's were ships that carried wealth, ideas, and talent throughout the Muslim world.

A natural fit for Venture Capital. Learn more here: https://t.co/HfBtuRUjhH

[Dhow @DhowApp]

@themmmoussa Amazing 🔥

[Dhow @DhowApp]

@arishs24 All we do is give you $ and make intros

[Dhow @DhowApp]

One court said no. Another said yes. The map got redrawn.

The next order is being funded right now: space, AI, biotech, healthcare.

Do we participate as founders and funders, or sit on the sidelines while others chart our future?

Capital compounds courage. Fear not.

[Dhow @DhowApp]

VC 101

[Dhow @DhowApp]

Every venture relies on the same core agreement: one side brings the vision, the other brings the capital.

Historical models like Mudarabah proved early on that true alignment happens when risk and reward are shared between both parties rather than treated as simple debt.

[Zain Abidi @ZainAbidi954]

https://t.co/SKYW5sbZ0k

[Zain Abidi @ZainAbidi954]

I haven't yet put the "why" behind @DhowApp into writing, so I'm starting a series on the convictions, inspirations, and anxieties that led us to build it.

People start companies for all kinds of reasons: to make money, to build something they own, or to solve a problem, whether large or small.

We started Dhow for a different reason. We believe capital shapes power, and power shapes the future. In that sense, we are in the business of nation building. That conviction comes from more than two decades spent observing, studying, and working alongside the institutions where power is exercised.

Build with us at https://t.co/kNyC3JX8rz

[Dhow @DhowApp]

First close for Dhow Horizon Fund I is done.

$10K spots are closed. Capital deployment begins now.

Thank you to everyone who committed early. Next close open to accredited investors. https://t.co/EFzqWdp4ve

506(c) offering, accredited investors only.

[Zain Abidi @ZainAbidi954]

Get it direct from the source. Get @DhowApp (we did not invest into @anduriltech)

[Zain Abidi @ZainAbidi954]

This.

Since starting @DhowApp I’ve come to realize how gatekept the private markets are.

Multiple industry veterans have expressed disdain at the LPs we actively seek (our LP archetype is an accredited investor who has the ability to allocate 5-10% of their portfolio to private market investments, usually a professional, doctor, lawyer, dentist, etc that worked their ass off to get where they are). I guess they are not good enough for the private markets.

Every time someone in the industry comes for us, this only strengthens our resolve to bring these investments to our community. We will continue to knock down every gate thrown up in our way.

For the people, by the people.

[Dhow @DhowApp]

https://t.co/OCeSxD1mSu

[Zain Abidi @ZainAbidi954]

Muslims are 2 billion strong, yet we’ve never built real economic connectivity in the West.

A dollar should flip through our community again and again before it ever leaves. Capital backs founders, founders create jobs, jobs create wealth, and that wealth gets reinvested into our own.

That’s the engine we’re building with @DhowApp.

A social private markets platform where Muslim investors, founders, and operators connect, learn, and invest together.

Our first product, Dhow Horizon Fund I: a $5M seed fund backing Muslim-origin and values-aligned tech founders across North America. Institutions gate venture at $250K+. We set ours at $10K. Two institutional commitments in, first close in weeks, founding spots filling fast.

We’re not waiting for access. We’re building ours.

Economic power isn’t just what you boycott. It’s what you build, who you back, and where you put your money.

The app is live, free to download 👇

https://t.co/45Cj907qd3

UI built using @Replit. Built with insight from @tech4palestine and @alifdotbuild’s Sessions program.

[Zain Abidi @ZainAbidi954]

Muslims are 2 billion strong, yet we’ve never built real economic connectivity in the West.

A dollar should flip through our community again and again before it ever leaves. Capital backs founders, founders create jobs, jobs create wealth, and that wealth gets reinvested into our own.

That’s the engine we’re building with @DhowApp.

A social private markets platform where Muslim investors, founders, and operators connect, learn, and invest together.

Our first product, Dhow Horizon Fund I: a $5M seed fund backing Muslim-origin and values-aligned tech founders across North America. Institutions gate venture at $250K+. We set ours at $10K. Two institutional commitments in, first close in weeks, founding spots filling fast.

We’re not waiting for access. We’re building ours.

Economic power isn’t just what you boycott. It’s what you build, who you back, and where you put your money.

The app is live, free to download 👇

https://t.co/45Cj907qd3

UI built using @Replit. Built with insight from @tech4palestine and @alifdotbuild’s Sessions program.

[Dhow @DhowApp]

Eid Mubarak to everyone celebrating Eid al-Adha. 🌙

Wishing you a day filled with family, gratitude, and generosity, along with the kind of peace that lingers long after the celebrations end.

#EidAlAdha #EidMubarak

[Dhow @DhowApp]

Eid Mubarak to everyone celebrating Eid al-Adha. 🌙

Wishing you a day filled with family, gratitude, and generosity, along with the kind of peace that lingers long after the celebrations end.

#EidAlAdha #EidMubarak

[Zain Abidi @ZainAbidi954]

This one is a bit personal for me, as I have seen family members suffer from hearing loss.

@amano_labs is building a $20 hearing aid. The category averages $2,700. While not a replacement for the more "high-end" hearing aids, this makes hearing aids accessible, and opens the door to further innovation in a category that appears to relatively stagnant, but that affects millions.

We covered them in this week's Dhow Dispatch. Last week, their launch video made waves, even attracting the attention of @MrBeast.

The founders are also fellow Canadians: @arishs24

Full disclosure: I ordered one off the waitlist.

https://t.co/3RLgCFRYmj

[Zain Abidi @ZainAbidi954]

My future home (Austin) is coming in very strong. #5 overall, #3 in both Hardware and Healthtech. #5 in AI. Solid bones, and lots of room for expansion.

My current home, and hometown, also continues to surprise me. Miami is #3 in the FinTech ranking is both surprising and validation of the hard work of people like @saif305 that have built the ecosystem here.

[LaunchGood @LaunchGood]

Amin Abdullah.

He stood his ground so others could make it home safely.

When gunmen opened fire outside the Islamic Center of San Diego, Amin protected the community until his final moments. Police say his actions prevented the attack from becoming far worse.

Support Amin’s family with funeral costs, immediate household needs, education for his children, and long term financial stability.

May Allah accept him amongst the martyrs and grant patience to his loved ones. 🤲

https://t.co/yGh1LcCoFI

#aminabdullah