Saudi Arabia closed 71 startup deals worth SAR 251 million in 2019, the highest in the past 5 years, supported by government initiatives, accelerator programs and a surge in investors, startup data platform MAGNiTT said in its latest report on Wednesday.

 

The total number of startup investments and deals in 2019 grew year-on-year by 35% and 92%, respectively.  Among its MENA-based peers, the Kingdom is now ranked third by both deals and total funding, following the UAE and Egypt.

 

Read: Saudi Arabia home to 957 startups, says MAGNiTT CEO

 

In comparison, the Kingdom registered 37 startup funding deals worth SAR 184 million in 2018 and mere 16 deals worth SAR 26 million in 2015.

 

The evolving small and medium enterprise (SME) ecosystem encouraged 41 institutions to invest in Saudi-based startups last year, with accelerators accounting for 32% of the overall investments. The majority of investors (68%) were local firms, while the remaining 32% were based out of the country, mainly in the UAE. In addition, 48 Saudi investors pumped money into MENA-based startups.

 

The Kingdom further saw the establishment of new accelerator programs, in line with Vision 2030 program, such as the Misk 500 MENA Accelerator, the Misk Growth Accelerator, and Funds of Funds by entities such as Public Investment Fund’s (PIF) Jada and Saudi Venture Capital Company, which played a key role in the development of the startup ecosystem last year.

 

Saudi Arabia is one of the fastest-growing ecosystems in the region, said Philip Bahoshy, founder and CEO, MAGNiTT.

 

“Strong growth is expected in 2020 on the back of growing interest from the public and private sector, including matching programs, the new Fund of Funds and accelerators,” he added.

 

Top startup industries

 

E-commerce remained the most active industry by number of deals, accounting for 27% of all transactions, thanks to the region's buoyant economy and digitally-savvy population. Delivery and transport registered 9% of the deals, followed by data analytics and business intelligence (7%,) HR & Recruitment (7%) and consumer services (6%).

 

Meanwhile, the delivery and transport industry accounted for the highest amount of funding for any industry at 26%. E-commerce came in second place with 25%, followed by education (13%), IT solutions (8%), and food and beverage (6%).

 

Largest funding deal

 

Noon Academy, a Riyadh-based EdTech startup, closed the largest deal, raising SAR 32 million ($8.6 million) from Saudi-based investor group led by STV, Ra’ed Ventures and Alsamiah Investment.

 

Nana, online grocery platform, received a SAR 25 million ($6.6 million) funding, while Foodics, restaurant management system startup, received investments worth SAR 15 million ($4 million).

 

Most active accelerator

 

Meanwhile, Misk Innovation was among the most active investment facilitators in 2019, with 500 Startups investing in 20 Saudi startups.

 

Wa’ed Ventures, the venture capital arm of Saudi Aramco Entrepreneurship Centre (Wa’ed), topped the corporate venture capital list, while OQAL, the Saudi angel group, invested in 18 local startups to become the most active angel group by number of deals, the report noted.

Comments 16

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2579

Abusaleh2

منذ 4 سنه

الف مبروك ومزيد من الارباح تستاهلون وايضا نحتاج نعرف عن التوزيعات النقديه  كم ومتي ستكون وهذا هي الاهم للمساهم 

2
54
3960

CitezenoftheWorld

منذ 4 سنه

من الاخر شرح وضع السوق بدون لف ودوران.

8
114
8701

(أبوفيصل)

منذ 4 سنه
Replying to   CitezenoftheWorld

الحقيقة ألمح بماليس جيد؟ لمن يقراء مابين السطور

9
54
3960

CitezenoftheWorld

منذ 4 سنه
Replying to   (أبوفيصل)

هذا ماقصدته.

3
166
22632

إبن السعودية

منذ 4 سنه

نتائج شركتكم ايجابيه خلال الفتره الماضيه  تهانينا لكم ولكل العاملين معكم 

4
32
689

Aziz..op

منذ 4 سنه

( مشيراً إلى أنه سيصاحبه انخفاض في الأسعار بسبب ارتفاع مخزون الكلنكر في السعودية ) للأسف هذي الجزئية لاتدعو إلى التفاؤل

5
38
4912

ISD

منذ 4 سنه

فعلا مخزونات الكلنكر عالية....ستشكل ضغطا على اسعار الاسمنت

6
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3143

متفائم

منذ 4 سنه

شركة ناجحة، نسبة ما تصدره خارج المملكة = 24%

7
32
4455

(( أبـو هشــام ))

منذ 4 سنه

[[ ما أدى إلى تحول بعض المستثمرين من قطاع العقارات إلى قطاعات أخرى وخاصة قطاع الأسهم.]]

10
284
5888

الشركة تحتاج إحداث ثورة تقوم على التقنية الحديث في نشاطها التقليدي وإدخال انشطة جديدة مبتكرة تنقل الشركة نقلة نوعية على أن تقدم خطة إنعاش إستراتيجي للشركة وتعرض على مجلس الإدارة لإجازتها 

11
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6717

محتار2987

منذ 4 سنه

اسمنت نجران الي الان لم يودع الارباح

مدري البلا منهم او من بنك البلاد

12
114
8701

(أبوفيصل)

منذ 4 سنه
Replying to   محتار2987

تم إيداعها هذا اليوم الساعة 11صباحاً البنك(سامبا)

13
44
3730

الجريء

منذ 4 سنه

فيه ميزه جيده بقطاع التشييد والبناء وهو انخفاض الفوائد على القروض من جهات التمويل العقارية مما يرفع السيولة بالقطاع العقاري ...

14
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3458

متعب عبدالعزيز

منذ 4 سنه

التكاليف ام ترتفع سوى على الافراد اما المطورين المعتمدين والدولة فليس هناك تاثير 

15
0
4

daif77shihry

منذ 4 سنه
اسمنت ينبع لم يتم ايداع الارباح حتى الان، هل الجميع كذلك يا اخوان
16
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97

12mutheeb

منذ 4 سنه
شركه اسطوره .... نتمنى لها التوفيق .. استثمار ناجح بهذا السعر
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