The Ministry of Investment of Saudi Arabia (MISA) and the Jada Fund of Funds, which is a fully owned by the Public Investment Fund (PIF), have formed a partnership to stimulate the kingdom’s burgeoning startup and innovation sector and support its economic diversification journey through the “Catalyze Saudi” initiative.
MISA, which aims to promote Saudi Arabia as a world-class investment destination, and Jada, which provides funding to Saudi innovative startups through commercially sustainable investments in venture capital and private equity funds, will host a series of Catalyze Saudi events with global and Saudi entreprenuers and investors.
The Catalyze Saudi events will feature networking, learning, and engagement opportunities, with the first to be held this month in Jeddah and Riyadh under the theme of disruptive technologies.
Illustrating its force for good, further events hosted by the platform this year will explore in-depth the private equity and healthcare sectors.
A diverse advisory board, including leaders in venture capital and leaders from large diversified family businesses, will be crucial to the engagement platform’s success. They will help further the platform’s mission and enable greater impact within the kingdom.
The objective of the programme is to connect leaders from governments, innovative startups, institutional investors, and leading family offices to participate in highly interactive roundtable discussions, and ultimately reinforce the impact and role of the private sector in the Saudi economy.
Reflecting on the announcement, Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Investment, Khalid Al Falih, said: “Innovative startups are the bedrock of developed industrial economies – which is why Saudi Arabia placed support for the sector at the heart of its National Investment Strategy.
“We are committed to supporting the next generation of entrepreneurs and we know that access to finance is one of the key factors that enables growth of new enterprises. Private equity and venture capital funds can play a vital role in this process and we are grateful to Jada for their groundbreaking work in this area that is unlocking the potential of entrepreneurs across the Kingdom.”
The chairman of Jada, Mazen Aljubeir added: “Catalyze Saudi will be an engagement platform bringing people together for learning and mutual benefit. We hope this effort will help Saudi entrepreneurs and investors increase their access to international markets, capital and expertise, while also creating awareness among global leaders on the great opportunities in the Saudi market.”
As part of Vision 2030, Saudi Arabia aims to increase SME contribution to GDP from 21 percent to 35 percent by 2030.
Last year, MISA launched the kingdom’s first National Investment Strategy to unlock the vast investment potential on offer in Saudi Arabia for both domestic and international investors.
Follow us on
