The Saudi Venture Capital Company (SVC) celebrated its 5th anniversary and the Kingdom’s achievement of 1st rank across MENA for the first time in terms of the amount of Venture Capital (VC) funding in 2023. The ceremony was held in the presence of SVC’s partners, including leadership of related government entities, investment fund managers, entrepreneurs, and SVC’s team.The ceremony witnessed a presentation by Nora Alsarhan, Chief Investment Officer at SVC, in which she showcased SVC’s achievements since its inception and outlined the company’s future directions. Meanwhile, Vice President of Investment at SVC, Haifa Almoqbil, presented regional and global VC market insights and trends, and compared it to the Kingdom’s VC market positive position.Dr. Nabeel Koshak, CEO and Board Member at SVC, pointed out SVC’s strategic role in developing the VC ecosystem in the Kingdom. He stressed that the Kingdom’s leading position in the VC scene across the region comes as a result of the economic and investment evolution witnessed by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as a result of government support led by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, in line with the objectives of the Saudi Vision 2030 to strengthen and diversify the national economy.Koshak added: “Because success is the effort of an integrated ecosystem, I extend my sincere thanks to the government entities that launched unique programs and initiatives to support the VC ecosystem, developed the legislative and regulatory environment and created an environment that helps startups to innovate and launch with greater flexibility and support. Also, we would not have achieved this without the active investors and fund managers who backed startups during their various growth stages. Certainly, all these efforts would not have achieved results without the innovative entrepreneurs who worked diligently to launch companies capable of fast growth inside and outside the Kingdom.”

Saudi Arabia achieves first rank across MENA for the first time in terms of the amount of Venture Capital (VC) funding in 2023, according to MAGNiTT, the MENA-based venture data platform. This historic achievement reflects the development the Kingdom is witnessing in various economic and financial sectors in light of the Saudi Vision 2030 and its goals to strengthen the national economy.The Kingdom captured the highest share of total VC funding in the MENA region in 2023, accounting for 52% of the total capital deployed in the region, up from 31% in 2022. The funding deployed into Saudi Arabian startups grew by 33% in 2023 versus 2022. This confirms the attractiveness of the Saudi market, enhances its competitive environment, and consolidates the strength of the Kingdom’s economy as the largest economy in MENA, and its leading position globally as a G20 country, and a member of the “BRICS” group, which represents one of the strongest economic blocs in the world.Dr. Nabeel Koshak, CEO and Board Member at SVC, commented: “The Kingdom’s leading position in the VC scene in the region comes as a result of the many governmental initiatives launched to stimulate the VC and startups ecosystem within the Saudi Vision 2030 programs, and the development of the legislative and regulatory environment for the ecosystem, in addition to the emergence of active investors from the private sector as well as innovative entrepreneurs”.He further added: “We are proud that SVC’s strategy contributed to the development of the VC ecosystem in the Kingdom, as it was ranked fourth in the region in terms of the amount of VC funding in 2018, to be the top country in the region in 2023. The funding deployed into Saudi Arabian startups grew 21 times in 2023 versus 2018, the year SVC was launched. We at SVC are committed to continuing to lead the development of the VC ecosystem in Saudi Arabia through stimulating private investors to provide support in turn for startups and SMEs to be capable of fast and high growth, leading to diversifying the national economy and achieving the goals of the Saudi Vision 2030”.SVC is an investment company established in 2018. It is a subsidiary of the SME Bank, one of the development banks affiliated with the National Development Fund. SVC aims to stimulate and sustain financing for startups and SMEs from pre-Seed to pre-IPO through investment in funds and co-investment in startups and SMEs.

 Saudi Venture Capital Company (SVC), a subsidiary of the Small and Medium Enterprises Bank (SME) , one of the development banks affiliated with the National Development Fund, released today its recent Impact Report, which revealed SVC’s contribution to achieving record growth rates. The report highlighted the impact of SVC on the Venture Capital (VC) and Private Equity (PE) ecosystem in the Kingdom since the company’s establishment in 2018.The SVC Impact Report revealed that the total committed investments of SVC amounted to $560 Million since its inception, while the total committed investments including partners are estimated at $3.9 Billion. SVC invested in 35 funds that have invested in 525 startups through 904 deals so far, including several vital sectors such as e-commerce, fintech, information and communication technology, education, delivery, and transportation.The impact report showed that SVC’s strategy contributed over the past four years in increasing the number of investors in Saudi startups and SMEs, encouraging existing and new financial companies to establish VC and PE funds, and motivating regional and global funds to invest in Saudi startups and SMEs.The report revealed that the funding deployed into Saudi Arabian startups grew 17 times to a record-high close to $1 Billion in 2022 versus $59 Million in 2018 when SVC started operation.Commenting on the report, CEO and Board Member at SVC Dr. Nabeel Koshak said: “We at SVC are committed to supporting the development of the VC and PE ecosystem in Saudi Arabia and continue stimulating private investors to provide support in turn for startups and SMEs to be capable of fast and high growth, which leads to diversifying the national economy and achieving the goals of the Saudi Vision 2030”.