The Saudi General Authority for Small and Medium Enterprises (Monsha'at) revealed the implementation of record investments in 2020 amounting to 570 million riyals (152 million dollars) in Saudi startups, achieving growth of more than 55 percent compared to 2019.
According to the "Venture Investment in Saudi Arabia 2020" report issued by Magnet, which specializes in data of venture investment in emerging companies, the Kingdom has maintained the third place among the countries in the Middle East and North Africa region in terms of the number of deals and the total value of venture investment, acquiring 15 percent of total venture capital and 18 percent of deals in the MENA region.
With these index numbers, the total value of venture investment in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has grown at a faster rate than the growth rate in the MENA region, as the growth rate in the total value of venture investment did not exceed 13 percent during 2020 compared to 2019, according to the report, while the rate of increase in Saudi Arabia is 55 percent.
In the context of the number of deals, the Middle East and North Africa region witnessed a 13 percent decrease in 2020 compared to 2019, while the Kingdom recorded an increase of 35 percent.
The venture investment system in emerging companies in Saudi Arabia recorded new records despite the Coronavirus pandemic, in terms of the volume of venture investment, the number of deals, and the number of venture investment funds and groups of angel investors who invested in Saudi emerging companies, as the investments were distributed among a record number of deals in 2020 when it reached 88 deals, and a growth of more than 35 percent compared to last year.
Source (Asharq Al-Awsat Newspaper, Edited)
