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Saudi Arabia’s Venture Capital Investments Achieve 770% Growth

A night view of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. (AP)
A night view of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. (AP)
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Saudi Arabia’s Venture Capital Investments Achieve 770% Growth

A night view of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. (AP)
A night view of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. (AP)

A recent Saudi report revealed that the Kingdom’s venture capital investments achieved a growth of 770 percent, reaching a record-high of SAR 2 billion $548 million, up from SAR 236 million in 2018.

The Saudi Venture Capital Impact report also showed that the number of investors in Saudi startups rose by 192 percent, reaching 76 in 2021, up from 26 three years earlier.

The number of venture capital deals in Saudi startups also grew by 148 percent, to a new high of 139 deals, as compared to 56 VC deals in 2018.

The impact report showed that the strategy adopted by the Saudi Venture Capital Company succeeded over the past three years in increasing the number of investors in Saudi startups, encouraging existing and new financial companies to establish venture capital funds and contributing to closing the funding gap in investment rounds.

“The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is witnessing an unprecedented growth in the quality and quantity in the deal flow of startups,” said Dr. Nabeel Koshak, CEO of Saudi Venture Capital (SVC).

“This is a result of the emergence of many innovative entrepreneurs, VCs, and angel investor groups, in addition to the availability of an advanced regulatory and legislative environment backed by effective government programs,” he added.

The Saudi Venture Capital Company is a government-owned firm, which was established in 2018 by the Monshaat Authority within the Financial Sector Development Program (FSDP) to stimulate venture investments by investing SAR 2.8 billion ($750 million).

The report noted that the total committed investments of SVC amounted to SAR 1.2 billion, while the total committed investments including partners is estimated at SAR 6.5 billion.

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Saudi Private Sector Exports Financed by Banks Grow 21.1%

The Jeddah Islamic Port west of Saudi Arabia (Saudi Ports Authority)
The Jeddah Islamic Port west of Saudi Arabia (Saudi Ports Authority)
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Saudi Private Sector Exports Financed by Banks Grow 21.1%

The Jeddah Islamic Port west of Saudi Arabia (Saudi Ports Authority)
The Jeddah Islamic Port west of Saudi Arabia (Saudi Ports Authority)

The value of Saudi private sector exports financed by commercial banks through documentary credits (both settled and open) grew by 21.1% year-on-year, reaching SAR 40.4 billion ($10.8 billion) in the third quarter of 2024. This represents an increase of over SAR 7 billion ($1.9 billion) compared to SAR 33.3 billion ($8.9 billion) in the same period in 2023.

According to the Saudi Central Bank’s October statistical bulletin, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) emerged as the leading importer by value, accounting for SAR 26 billion ($7 billion), which represents 64% of total exports. Arab countries followed, importing goods worth SAR 7.7 billion ($2 billion), or 19.1% of the total.

On a quarterly basis, exports financed through documentary credits grew by 35%, rising by more than SAR 10 billion ($2.7 billion) compared to SAR 30 billion ($8 billion) in the second quarter of this year.

The composition of exports showed that “other industrial products” accounted for 79% of the total value of documentary credits, amounting to SAR 31.9 billion ($8.5 billion). Exports of “chemical and plastic materials” made up 19% of the total, valued at SAR 7.6 billion ($2 billion), while “agricultural and livestock products” contributed 2.3%, exceeding SAR 911 million ($243 million).

The Saudi Central Bank’s October bulletin also highlighted a decline in total assets, which stood at SAR 1.8 trillion ($477 billion), down by SAR 80.3 billion ($21.4 billion) compared to September. However, on a year-on-year basis, total assets rose by SAR 27.5 billion ($7.3 billion) compared to October 2023.

The Central Bank’s investments in foreign securities increased by 3% in October, surpassing SAR 1 trillion ($266 billion), compared to SAR 986.8 billion ($262 billion) during the same period last year.

The total reserve assets of the Central Bank grew by 2.19% year-on-year, reaching SAR 1.63 trillion ($433.8 billion) by the end of October, compared to SAR 1.59 trillion ($423 billion) in October 2023. However, reserve assets dropped by 4.7% month-on-month, falling from SAR 1.71 trillion ($455 billion) in September.

Saudi Arabia’s reserve assets include investments in foreign securities, foreign currency deposits, reserves with the International Monetary Fund, Special Drawing Rights, and monetary gold.