Saudi Arabia is MENA’s Top VC Hub with $750m in 2024

Saudi Arabia has secured its position as the top destination for venture capitalists in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region in 2024. 

This is according to the newly released “2024 Emerging Markets Venture Capital Report.”

The Kingdom recorded $750 million in VC investments, reflecting its ongoing economic and financial progress within the ambitious framework of Saudi Arabia Vision 2030.

The report which was published by venture data platform MAGNiTT, highlighted that Saudi Arabia accounted for 40% of total VC funding in the MENA region. 

Saudi Arabia also achieved a record 178 VC deals during the year, reflecting its market’s growing attractiveness, competitive business environment, and status as the region’s largest economy.

Dr. Nabeel Koshak, CEO and Board Member at Saudi Venture Capital Company (SVC) commented on the kingdom’s position and how the government has been instrumental.

He said, “The Kingdom’s leading position in the VC scene in the region comes as a result of the many governmental initiatives launched to stimulate the VC and startups ecosystem within the Saudi Vision 2030 programs, and the development of the legislative and regulatory environment for the ecosystem, in addition to the emergence of active investors from the private sector as well as innovative entrepreneurs.

“We are proud that SVC’s strategy contributed to developing the VC ecosystem in the Kingdom. We at SVC are committed to continuing to lead the development of the ecosystem by stimulating private investors to provide support for startups and SMEs to achieve rapid and sustainable growth, diversify the national economy, and achieve the goals of the Saudi Vision 2030.”

Saudi Venture Capital (SVC), established in 2018 as a subsidiary of the SME Bank under the National Development Fund (NDF), focuses on financing startups and SMEs at various growth stages, from pre-seed to pre-IPO, through investments in funds and direct enterprise support.