Saudi Venture Capital inks MoU with US venture capitalist

Saudi Venture Capital Co. signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with US-based venture capitalist, Tim Draper, to set a venture capital investment fund in Saudi Arabia, under the patronage of the Small and Medium Enterprises General Authority (Monsha’at), an official statement said.

Under the terms of the MoU, the fund aims to encourage Saudi entrepreneurs to explore new fields of business, and will invest in their small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

The deal was signed during Draper’s visit to Monsha’at in Riyadh, where he attended a number of roundtable discussions on venture capital and the startup scene in the Kingdom.

“Draper is one of Silicon Valley’s venture capitalists, and blockchain and FinTech investors, who co-founded a number of companies and investment funds such as DFJ. He has founded Draper Ventures Network and a specialized university for teaching entrepreneurship,” Mohammed Al-Malky, Saudi Venture Capital Co.’s acting-CEO, said.

According to data compiled by Argaam, Monsha’at and the Local Content and Private Sector Development Unit (Namaa) launched in October 2018 a venture capital initiative worth SAR 2.8 billion.