RIYADH — The venture capital investments in Saudi Arabia recorded robust growth, reaching 244 percent during the first half of 2022 while compared to the same period last year. The venture capital investments exceeded the total funds invested in Saudi startups in the whole of 2021, carrying out investments with a record value of SR2.19 billion in Saudi startups. According to MAGNiTT Venture Capital (VC) Investment Report, the first half of 2022 witnessed unprecedented growth in venture capital investments in the Kingdom. MAGNiTT is a leading community and data platform for startups, investors, corporates and enablers. The report indicated that although 2021 was a positive year for VCs in the Kingdom, the first half of 2022 broke a new record by posting a significant growth in the value of VC during the first half. Due to the number of deals that Saudi Arabia has made, which amounted to 79, it has advanced from third place to second place among the countries of the Middle East and North Africa region, achieving a growth of 36 percent compared to the first half of 2021. It is worth mentioning that the Kingdom has managed to maintain its position as the second largest market for attracting VC among the countries of the region during the first half of 2022. While the VC system in Saudi Arabia also registered a new record participation of 88 investors during the first half of 2022, which achieved an increase in the number of investors by 126 percent compared to the first half of 2021, when 42 percent of investors were from outside the Kingdom. Nabeel Koshak, CEO of the Saudi Venture Capital Company (SVC), stated that the establishment of Saudi VC in 2018 has directly contributed to the development of the VC ecosystem in the Kingdom, through which it contributed to stimulating investment in mutual funds, in addition to investing in partnership with groups of angel investors and fund managers. Over the past years, Saudi Arabia has achieved record growth in venture investment, Koshak said, adding that they have launched several new initiatives recently within the framework of the Kingdom's Vision 2030, which will help stimulate VC and the growth of emerging companies, as well as contribute to drive the emergence of more numbers of venture capital funds and angel investor groups. "Saudi Arabia has always been an attractive market for entrepreneurs and investors, whether from inside or outside the Kingdom due to the huge size of this market." Koshak added.
