Shant Oknayan

Shant Oknayan is a Dubai-based investor associated with Iliad Partners, writing $100K to $250K at pre-seed through Series A into health IT software and digital health. The Iliad Partners affiliation signals access to a regional venture platform with structured deal flow, and the check size is meaningful for early MENA rounds where it can anchor or co-lead small syndicates. AI is not flagged as a focus, so the framing is on practical health IT, clinic-tech, and digital health software rather than algorithm-led pitches. The Dubai base provides access to Gulf family-office capital, regional payer relationships, and government healthcare digitization initiatives that are accelerating across Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Founders most likely to fit are MENA-focused or MENA-expanding health IT and digital health companies, clinic management software plays with Gulf-region buyers, and payer-provider workflow tools that ride regional digital-health government mandates. US-only founders, biotech, devices, and consumer wellness are weaker matches unless there is a clear MENA expansion plan. The entry path is a LinkedIn message, ideally warmed by a mutual MENA venture or healthcare connection, leading with the regional opportunity, the buyer persona in Gulf health systems or insurers, and the specific local relationships you need. Generic Western health IT pitches without a MENA wedge will not convert, and founders should be prepared with a credible regional commercial plan rather than treating the Gulf as a vague expansion market.