Abbas Kazmi
Co-Founding Partner @ BlackWood Ventures
London, United Kingdom
Abbas Kazmi is a multi-award-winning serial entrepreneur and investor who founded his first of several successful companies at 16. Abbas has been chosen as a Forbes 30Under30 Standout, as a Maserati 100, as one of the Great British Entrepreneur Awards Entrepreneurs' Champions of the Year, and as one of startups.co.uk’s Young Entrepreneurs ofthe Year and Business Growth Enablers, to name just a few amongst many other awards. He has been appointed as a United Nations Alliance of Civilizations Fellow and as a World Economic Forum Global Shaper. Ex-BlackRock working across EMEA and the US, Abbas co-founded the Oxford Accelerator and VC funds Collegiate Capital, BlackWood Ventures and SABAH.fund. He is an Investment Committee member of, advisor to and LP investor in several funds in EMEA. He is now co-founder of the first VC between Central Asia and MENA, SABAH.fund.Abbas sits on several boards, often being called upon to share his insights and expertise. He was recognised and selected by the UAE's Vice President and Deputy Prime Minister, Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, as an Arab Youth Pioneer. He has also been appointed as an Entrepreneurship Expert at Oxford University's Saïd Business School and Investor in Residence at London Business School. Passionate about blockchain and AI technologies, Abbas has been in the space since 2014, investing in and building many exciting projects. He advises the UK Government as a co-founding Advisory Board Member of the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for the Metaverse and Web 3.0 and several Azerbaijani government ministries through SABAH.HUB. He is also a Helena Group Fellow and one of the youngest fellows at the Royal Society of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce.An academic scholar both at Westminster School and Oxford University and a VC Fellow at London Business School’s Newton Venture Program, Abbas is Chairman of the illustrious Oxford Guild, the world's largest university society, hosting the likes of major CEOs, celebrities and Nobel laureates from Sam Altman and Kanye West to Woody Harrelson, Malala etc. He is also co-founder of the Horizon Global Network, the All In startup diversity pledge, the Global Fintech & Blockchain Conference, Europe2SiliconValley Trip and the Spirited Network Covid relief platform. He has guest lectured and taught at Oxford, Cambridge, LBS, LSE, UCL, INSEAD and more. He regularly judges leading startup competitions such as MIT InnovatorsUnder35 and speaks at top universities and conferences globally such as the WEF Annual Summit at Davos, Forbes 30Under30 Summit, Milken Institute MENA Summit, GITEX, World Governments Summit and many more.
- Total investments:
- 5
- Last investment:
- Lead investor:
- 60%
Last updated:
For AI agents: llms.txt
Industries Abbas Kazmi invests in
Stages Abbas Kazmi invests in
Countries Abbas Kazmi invests in
Contacts
| Type | Contact | Validation |
|---|---|---|
| Work email | ||
| Personal email | ||
| Work phone | ||
| Personal phone | ||
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Investment Focus
Industry
- Finance 2 (40%)
- Financial Services 2 (40%)
- B2B 1 (20%)
- SaaS 1 (20%)
- Software 1 (20%)
Stage
- Seed 2 (40%)
- Pre-Seed 2 (40%)
- Series A 1 (20%)
Country
- United Kingdom 3 (60%)
- United Arab Emirates 1 (20%)
Investments
| Company | Description | Round | Links |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sidekick is a wealth management firm that offers access to alternative investments as well as the ability to borrow against these portfolios. Sidekick provides an innovative suite of products, including stocks and cryptocurrency, as well as a funding line for customers to borrow against their portfolios when necessary. Customers will have access tothe Sidekick investment team, which will provide regular updates on portfolio performance as well as share editorial content to help customers build their investment knowledge as they progress. | $10.9M / Series A / Feb 05, 2026 | ||
| UPFRONT is a B2B financial platform that optimizes cash flow for small and medium-sized enterprises in MENA. The company offers solutions in financial analytics, payment orchestration, open banking, and working capital management to assist businesses optimize operations, get finance, and scale more quickly. | $10M / Pre-Seed / Oct 01, 2025 | ||
| Sidekick is a wealth management firm that offers access to alternative investments as well as the ability to borrow against these portfolios. Sidekick provides an innovative suite of products, including stocks and cryptocurrency, as well as a funding line for customers to borrow against their portfolios when necessary. Customers will have access tothe Sidekick investment team, which will provide regular updates on portfolio performance as well as share editorial content to help customers build their investment knowledge as they progress. | $5.7M / Seed / Jun 13, 2024 | ||
| Hybr is a student-letting platform. They offer all types of accommodation options for all types of students and budgets. It also helps students find houses, house shares, and any relevant services they need. | $4.1M / Seed / Nov 27, 2023 | ||
| PROSPECT 100 is building the digital space for co-creation, democratizing the creative industries | $750K / Pre-Seed / Aug 09, 2023 |
Co-Investors
About BlackWood Ventures
BlackWood is a network and technology-driven early stage venture capital fund and community of investors sharing a passion for driving advancements in Fintech, Cleantech, and Web 3.0/AI — while earning a solid risk-adjusted return. BlackWood is more than a traditional VC; it is a platform for supercharging innovation. We are committed to being the best partners and catalysts for revolutionary companies and pioneering entrepreneurs.
BlackWood Ventures Contacts
| Name | Phone | Socials | |
|---|---|---|---|
Bastian Larsen
Founder and CEO
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Abbas Kazmi
Co-Founding Partner
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Maxime Pasquier
Investor
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FAQ
What does Abbas Kazmi invest in?
Abbas Kazmi invests primarily in Finance, Financial Services and B2B startups, most often at Seed and Pre-Seed stage. Most of the 5 investments tracked by Shizune back companies in United Kingdom. The Investment Focus section breaks down every industry, stage and country in the portfolio.
How do I contact Abbas Kazmi?
Public channels for Abbas Kazmi include LinkedIn. For a verified work email and phone number, create a free Shizune account — contact data is searched across 20+ sources and validated before delivery, so your outreach lands in the right inbox.
When did Abbas Kazmi last invest?
The most recent investment recorded for Abbas Kazmi closed in Feb 2026. Shizune tracks 5 investments in total for this profile, including round sizes, stages and portfolio companies, all sourced from confirmed public funding rounds and refreshed monthly.
Is Shizune's investor data accurate?
Yes — every stat on this profile is calculated from confirmed public funding rounds monitored across hundreds of sources since 2020. This profile was last refreshed in Oct 2026 and is updated monthly. Spotted something off? Use the “Suggest an edit” link near the top of the page.
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