Riyadh, Saudi Arabia — Saudi Arabia has maintained its first rank across MENA in terms of the amount of Venture Capital (VC) funding in the first half of 2024, which witnessed a total VC deployment of $412 million (SAR 1.5 billion), the Saudi Venture Capital Company (SVC) said Tuesday.
The “2024-H1 Saudi Arabia Venture Capital Report”, published today by the venture data platform MAGNiTT and sponsored by SVC, said the Kingdom captured the highest share of total VC funding in the MENA region in the first half of 2024, which accounted for 54 percent of the total capital deployed in the region, up from 38% in the first half of 2023.
E-commerce/retail was the highest sector in the Kingdom in terms of VC funding, accounting for 52 percent of total funding, amounting to $215 million (SAR806 million). FinTech continued to lead the Kingdom’s total number of deals, capturing 14 percent of deals in the first half of 2024.
In the release, SVC CEO and Board Member Dr. Nabeel Koshak said: “We are proud that SVC’s strategy contributed to the development of the Kingdom’s Venture Capital ecosystem. Through unwavering efforts, the Kingdom maintained its leading position in the region, which comes as a result of the economic development witnessed by the Kingdom with the support of the Custodian of the King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and the Crown Prince, through the launch of many governmental initiatives to stimulate the VC and startups ecosystem within the Saudi Vision 2030 programs”.
The CEO of MAGNiTT also commented that Saudi Arabia continues to make significant strides in fostering innovation and supporting a robust startup ecosystem.
He added that this progress is evident in the Kingdom’s deal flow, which accounted for 30% of H1 MENA deal activity, up from 24 percent in H1 2023.
MAGNiTT’s data shows that KSA led H1 VC funding in MENA, while non-mega funding (deals less than $100 Million) saw an impressive 84 percent YoY growth. This positive trend underscores the growth of investment in the foundational ecosystem, building a strong pipeline for future late-stage investments.
SVC is an investment company established in 2018. It is a subsidiary of the SME Bank, part of the National Development Fund (NDF). Through investments in funds and direct investments in startups and SMEs, it aims to stimulate and sustain financing for startups and SMEs from pre-Seed to pre-IPO.