The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's flag
Saudi Arabia maintained for the second year its top position across MENA region in terms of the amount of venture capital (VC) funding.
The Kingdom held more than 40% of VC investments in the region, or $750 million, in 2024, according to venture data platform MAGNiTT.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) came second with $613 million.
The value of venture investments in Saudi Arabia was down 44% in 2024, driven by an 85% year-on-year (YoY) decline in the value of mega deals (deals exceeding $100 million).
According to the Saudi VC Report for 2024, VC deals hit a record high during the period, reaching 178, up 16% YoY, driven by increased early-stage activity.
Saudi Arabia witnessed continued strong investor participation in 2024, as 135 investors supported emerging Saudi companies, an increase of 6% from 2023.
The report further stated that merger and acquisition deals in the Kingdom amounted to seven in 2024, equal to the merger and acquisition deals recorded in 2023 and 2022.
The following table illustrates the number and values of VC deals:
|
Number & Values of VC Deals Since 2018* |
|||
|
Period |
No. of deals |
Value ($ mln) |
Change in Value |
|
2018 |
56 |
59 |
-- |
|
2019 |
73 |
116 |
+97% |
|
2020 |
93 |
154 |
+33% |
|
2021 |
154 |
598 |
+282% |
|
2022 |
161 |
1022 |
+74% |
|
2023 |
153 |
1343 |
+31% |
|
2024 |
178 |
750 |
(44%) |
|
Top Five VC Deals in Saudi Arabia in 2024 |
||
|
Deal |
Sector |
Investment Value ($ mln) |
|
SallaApp |
Retail/Commerce-E |
130 |
|
Lean Technologies |
FinTech |
68 |
|
Syarah |
Retail/Commerce-E |
40 |
|
MDD |
Transport and Logistics |
27 |
|
Callo |
Sports & Fitness |
25 |
|
Total |
290 |
|
With 178 VC deals, Saudi Arabia maintained the second ranking in the MENA region after the UAE in terms of the number of deals, hitting its all-time high in the number of VC deals, which represented 31% of the total.
|
VC Funding in MENA Countries in 2024 |
|||
|
Country |
No. of Deals |
Value ($ mln) |
Change in Value YoY |
|
Saudi Arabia |
178 |
750 |
(44%) |
|
UAE |
188 |
613 |
(8%) |
|
Egypt |
78 |
329 |
(21%) |
|
Oman |
-- |
42 |
+179% |
|
Kuwait |
-- |
32 |
+167% |
E-commerce/retail sales ranked first among sectors in the Kingdom, contributing 33% of the total value of venture investments in Saudi Arabia at $247 million, supported by SallaApp deal which stood at $130 million.
FinTech industry came second at $182 million (down 74% YoY). The sector, however, led in terms of the number of deals with 32.
The top five industries captured 78% of the total VC funding in 2024.
|
Saudi Arabia’s Top Five Sectors in Terms of VC Value in 2024 |
||
|
Sector |
Value ($ mln) |
Change YoY |
|
E-Commerce/Retail |
247 |
(43%) |
|
Fintech |
182 |
(74%) |
|
Transport & Logistics |
64 |
+142% |
|
IT Solutions |
54 |
+1192% |
|
Enterprise Software |
34 |
+53% |
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