Arab News, Wednesday, Mar 22, 2023 | Sha'ban 30, 1444
Saudi Venture Capital launches $80m Saudi fintech fund
Saudi Arabia:
Saudi Arabia’s booming fintech sector is set to be boosted by an $80 million
investment fund launched by Saudi Venture Capital Co..
The ‘Investment in Fintech VC Fund’ was launched
in partnership with Saudi Arabia’s Capital Market Authority and the Financial
Sector Development Program to preserve the Kingdom’s fintech industry growth
that attracted almost 25 percent of all Saudi venture capital funding last
year.
SVC aims to stimulate and sustain financing for
startups and small and medium enterprises from early stage to initial public
offering by backing venture capital and private equity firms all around the
region.
The firm has been keen to empower the startup
landscape in the Kingdom, and also signed a memorandum of understanding last
month with the Saudi stock market Tadawul to support SMEs going public.
The company will strategically place the new fund
to support Saudi Arabia’s fintech ecosystem which raised $239 million in funding
in 2022, according to venture data firm MAGNiTT.
Saudi Arabia’s venture capital market has been one
of the most attractive markets globally, capturing $987 million in funding last
year, a 72 percent increase from the year before.
The Kingdom’s 2022 funding boom came as investment
across the world decreased by 35 percent year-on-year, while the US venture
market experienced a 37 percent drop, according to Crunchbase.
The UAE and Egypt, which are the region’s leading
venture markets, also witnessed a decline in funding activity last year.
Founded in 2018, SVC is a government investment
company under the SME Bank and has invested in 35 funds which financed 525
companies through 904 deals.