The kingdom captured more than half of the venture capital investments in the region during the first half of this year, with deals worth SAR 1.5 billion (USD 412 million) in Saudi startups, recording a 7%YoY decline.
New Leadership
A recent report by emerging market research firm Magnitt, sponsored by the Saudi Venture Capital Company (SVC), revealed that the kingdom maintained its lead in the Middle East and North Africa region, capturing the largest share of total venture capital investment in the region at 54%, compared to 38% in the first six months of 2023.
So What
The report showed that the e-commerce sector in Saudi Arabia had the highest value of venture capital investment in the first half of 2024, capturing 52% of the total venture capital investment, amounting to USD 215 million( SAR 806 million).
Meanwhile, the fintech sector continued to lead in terms of the number of deals in the country, attracting 14% of the total deals in the first half of 2024.
Some Context
The kingdom ranked second in venture capital in emerging markets during the first half of this year, following Singapore, according to Magnitt.
The software startup Salla raised USD 130 million during this period, boosting the total venture capital funding locally to USD 412 million, making it the highest in the Middle East and North Africa.
