- According to the Magnitt Report, the number of investment deals in the entire GCC region has surged up ahead by 44%.
- As per the latest report, Saudi Arabia is one of the fastest-growing start-ups, as well as venture capital, backed markets for the entire Middle Eastern and North African tertiary, backed in with total funding witnessing a jumping of 82 percent year-on-year in the first six months.
As per the report compiled from Magnitt, global platform tracking the reports and developments in Mena Entrepreneurship space, overall investment deal values have witnessed a surge of 44 percent overall within the kingdom in the six months till the end of June.
In a total of $40 million (Dh146.8m) was invested in building up these start-ups base in the kingdom during the period which Magnitt stated as a record in the ‘H1 2019 Saudi Arabia Venture Capital Snapshot’ that was released recently in the collaboration with the government-owned body, Saudi Venture Capital.
The two topmost deals that benefitted the kingdom largely was Noon Academy’s- the educational start-up that raised $8.6m in a Series A round, and as well the grocery delivery company Nana raising $6.6m in Series A funding.
As per the words stated by Nabeel Koshak, chief executive at SVC, the government body set up to boost the start-up ecosystem in the country, “The Saudi Arabian kingdom is at present witnessing a huge tumultuous surge in the quality and quantity of the deal flow of start-ups”. He also added that “the kingdom has overall witnessed a rise in more professional angel investors and venture capital funds in the recent year-on-year from past five years”.
Start-ups raised in an overall $48m last year in 34 venture capital deals, it stated. Within the half of this year, twenty-six start-up investment deals were formalized in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia with new investors like SVC and MiSK 500 Mena Accelerator rising on to the scene.
The number of deals has lived in up to expected norms and surged ahead as start-up businesses bear accelerator programs and appearance for funding from risk capital funds and different institutional investors.
The report also stated that “A total of 30 establishments invested within Saudi start-ups throughout the primary six months of the year, with native Saudi venture capital funds as well as Ra’ed Ventures, Wa’ed Ventures, Riyad Taqnia Fund and SVC taking part in funding rounds aboard international investors”.
The number of deals throughout the last half of the year is predicted to extend as a lot of establishments, accelerators and venture capitals line up investment for promising businesses within the kingdom, the report added.
Despite the expansion in funds raised, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is third in Mena for venture capital funding when the UAE, where $311m was raised, and Egypt, where start-ups secured $53m in funding.
In terms of deal volume, the kingdom ranked fourth regionally, trailing the UAE, Egypt, and Lebanon, according to the Magnitt. Saudi Arabia accounted for Eleven percent of the number of deals regionally throughout the survey period amounting to 1 percent higher than the same period last year.
The kingdom additionally accounted for nine percent of total funds raised within the region, a one percent year-on-year jump, Magnitt stated in its report.
