Saudi Arabia has been investing heavily in startups as the Kingdom focuses on growing its economy to achieve its Vision 2030 objective of moving away from dependency on oil. Young entrepreneurs are expected to play a key role as the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA) tries to boost foreign direct investment. “Value impact is very important,” said Dr. Mazin Al-Zaidi, head of innovation and entrepreneurship at SAGIA. “These startups, being able to establish themselves in the Kingdom will have a value impact.”

In order to support the young entrepreneurs in tech, the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) established special program named the TAQADAM Startup Accelerator, to hatch different technologies. This program, partnered with the Saudi British Bank, is a six-month intensive program to help young scientists create valuable technologies quickly. And there are really good outcomes in terms of specific technologies, such as in energy or artificial intelligence in the last two cohorts.

Saudi Arabia is aiming to be in the top 20 countries measured by “ease of doing business” by 2020, so in 2018, Saudi Arabia had the largest number of reforms in this field. So far this year $32.8 million has been invested, with 97.9 percent of annual growth of disclosed startup funding from 2014 to 2017 in Saudi Arabia. The trend is expected to continue, with more than 15 registered venture capitalists on the platform and more than 10 incubators and co-working spaces across the Kingdom.