Saudi VC market in 2023 concludes positively

The Saudi venture capital market concluded 2023 positively despite global challenges. Riyadh Valley Co., affiliated with King Saud University, committed to an undisclosed investment in IMPACT46 Fund III, emphasizing technology startups. IMPACT46, founded in 2019 by Abdulaziz Al-Omran, expressed gratitude for Riyadh Valley’s support, highlighting past successes in investing over SR650 million ($173.3 million) in 35 technology startups.

Aramco’s Prosperity7 Ventures led a $14 million series B funding for China’s Cispoly, a femtech firm specializing in methylation detection tools. This marked Prosperity7 Ventures’ second foray into the Chinese healthcare market. Singapore’s Golden Gate Ventures expanded to Saudi Arabia, reflecting its commitment to the MENA startup ecosystem.

In Africa, Egypt’s MaxAB merged with Kenya’s Wasoko, forming a significant entity in the e-commerce sector, serving over 450,000 merchants across eight countries. UAE’s Qashio collaborated with Emirates Skywards, allowing customers to convert Qashio Points into Skywards Miles. Tameed, a Saudi digital lending platform, successfully closed a series A funding round, raising SR56.75 million, supported by Riyadh Valley and achieving over SR400 million in funding to date for SMEs.

Licensed by the Saudi Central Bank, Tameed’s CEO, Mohammed Al-Omayyer, expressed optimism about the platform’s growth amid Vision 2030 initiatives. The introduction of Performance Bond financing expands Tameed’s support for SMEs involved in major national projects. Omar Al-Romaih, CEO of investments at Alromaih Group, affirmed their belief in the sector’s potential and looks forward to Tameed addressing the funding gap estimated to be SR300 billion by 2030.