Over the past decade, startups in Saudi Arabia have seen a significant inflow of capital, with investments reaching $3.3 billion. Nabil Koshak, CEO of the Saudi Venture Capital Company, reported these figures during a discussion at a special meeting of the World Economic Forum held in Riyadh.
According to Koshak, the investment in technology startups in Saudi Arabia skyrocketed to $1.4 billion in 2023, up from around $65 million in 2018. This represents a 21-fold increase over the span of five years.
Despite a global slowdown, Saudi startups managed to defy the trend in 2023, securing more than half of the funding for the sector in the Middle East and North Africa, marking an annual growth rate of 22%.
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Koshak highlighted the remarkable milestone of two Saudi fintech companies reaching unicorn status last year, backed by major global investors, signifying a major shift in the sector.
In December, Saudi fintech firm ‘Tamara,’ supported by Goldman Sachs, joined the unicorn club after closing a Series C equity funding round, raising 1.3 billion riyals ($347 million) and valuing the company at 3.75 billion riyals ($1 billion).
