RIYADH: Saudi Arabia is attracting international attention for its ambitious drive to create a thriving startup economy amid a record-breaking spike in venture capital and a wave of regulatory reforms. Thanks to the efforts of Saudi Venture Capital, a division of the National Development Fund, and incubation assistance from the Small and Medium Enterprises General Authority, often known as Monsha’at, the entrepreneurial environment in the Kingdom is changing.
Since a large portion of the initial impetus was financed by government funds, the difficulty today is converting that backing into sustainability powered by the private sector. Some market watchers warn against conflating quick expansion with long-term sustainability. “Ongoing private-sector involvement and market-driven investment flows will be necessary for the long-term sustainability of this support,” Philip Bahoshy, CEO of MAGNiTT, stated in an interview with Arab News.
“Saudi initiatives like SVC and Monsha’at have played a critical role in expanding access to capital, fostering entrepreneurship, and developing the broader startup ecosystem,” he acknowledged, acknowledging that sovereign-led investment vehicles have been instrumental in accelerating early-stage innovation. Along with new tools like venture debt and private equity, Bahoshy mentioned SVC’s fund-of-funds approach as a crucial way to boost market liquidity.
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