Saudi Arabia’s booming startup ecosystem
If you’re an ambitious entrepreneur with a breakthrough commercial proposition, this is a good time to be in Saudi Arabia. Within a relatively short space of time, the Kingdom’s startup ecosystem – particularly in the tech arena – has matured quickly and dramatically.
Whereas the KSA’s pre-2016 startup funding rate was about $8 million per annum, that figure leaped to just over $150 million in 2020 (a 35 percent year-on-year increase) and is seeing exponential growth in 2021, according to business research firm Magnitt.
Kholoud Al-Mohammadi of Impact46 (Riyadh-based venture capital and private equity firm) told Arab News there are two main drivers behind this shift. “First, you have consumer adaptation to technology. And the second element is the change in regulations and the support of regulatory bodies.”
Source Credit: Zawya
