Venture capital investments in startups in Saudi Arabia posted a 72 percent jump in 2022 to reach $987 million, an industry report said.
Saudi Arabia achieved the highest growth rate of venture capital in 2022 compared to other countries in the Middle East and North Africa, the report by MAGNiTT, a platform specialised in venture capital data in startups, said on Thursday.
The report, prepared with support from Saudi Venture Capital Company (SVC), said though 2021 was a record year for venture capital in the kingdom, 2022 saw unprecedented growth, registering a new record.
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“The kingdom was able to maintain its position as the second largest market in terms of venture capital among countries in the region in 2022, accounting for 31 percent of total investments in the region, compared to 21 percent in 2021,” the report said.
Saudi Arabia also registered a new record of 104 investors in 2022, up by 30 percent compared to 2021.
The country also recorded double the number of exit deals for startups in 2022 compared to 2021, with a total of 10 exit deals.
CEO and board member of SVC Dr. Nabeel Koshak said the country could achieve an unprecedented growth in venture capital due to the launch of several government initiatives to promote the VC and startups sectors.
“We, at SVC, are committed to continuing to stimulate investors in the private sector to provide support to startups and small and medium sized enterprises to become able to quickly grow, which will lead to diversifying the national economy and realizing the targets of the Saudi Vision 2030,” he said.
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