Saudi Vision 2030 outlines an ambitious nation and acts as a guide for its people to thrive within. Its aims include ensuring a thriving economy and providing opportunities for all by ‘building an education system aligned with market needs to give the youth the skills for the jobs of the future, and creating economic opportunities for the entrepreneur, the small enterprise as well as the large corporation.’
And with that, start-up funding growth has jumped from $8million per year in 2016 to $150 million per year in 2020, according to Magnitt. There’s optimism in the air- 90% of Saudis surveyed agreed or strongly agreed it is easy to start a business, placing the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in the top position among GEM economies. Entrepreneurial activity in Saudi increased by 24 % in 2020 over 2019, and despite the challenges of COVID-19, Saudi Arabia’s total rate of startup activity increased from 14 % of the population in 2019 to 17 % in 2020, according to a report for the Prince Mohammed Bin Salman College of Business and Entrepreneurship (MBSC) along with the Babson Global Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership (BGCEL) shared by Arab News.
There’s no set formula for entrepreneurship success, but the following stories prove Saudis are paving the way for tech-preneurship in the region.
According to his LinkedIn Profile, Muhammad Al Dosari, Organization studies at York University and Operations Management at Smith School of Business At Queen's University, equipped him to operate in the ‘sweet spot of human empathy and business feasibility. All of which can be attributed to his role in leading what is heralded by MenaBytes as the best startup for B2B in the region.
Muhammad Al Dosari’s entrepreneurial skills are praised for helping Careem and Circ, which were acquired by Uber and Bird, respectively.His focus is now on Sary, a business that helps empower small businesses with more innovative ways to operate and grow efficiently. As of 2021, Sary had raised $30.5 million Series B for its B2B e-commerce marketplace, and to date, Sary was installed by over 100,000 users.
Al dosari accredits COVID-19 as a catalyst for digital transformation, which meant Sary was strongly position to help wholesalers, manufacturers, and retailers grow in a challenging environment.
Abdulmajeed Alsukhan has an impressive founder’s resume to date. He is listed as a founder of Habli, a co-founder of Nana, which acquired Habili, and he is co-founder and CEO at Tamara, the leading Buy-Now-Pay-Later (BNPL) provider in the MENA region. The payment solution, which allows customers to split their payments in 3 (with no added fees or interest), operates out of a Saudi HQ and has offices in Germany and Vietnam.
Tamara can count itself as Saudi Arabia’s fastest-growing BNPL, with its user base up ~180% month-on-month and transaction volume growing ~170% month-on-month on average over the last six months. Merchants include Ikea, Namshi, Nice One, and Whites, and as customers become accustomed to BNPL systems, Tamara can expect exponential growth with Alsukhan at its helm.
Osama Alraee has a bachelor’s from King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals, an MBA from Duke University. and a venture capital program from Stanford University. He then went on to tackle a variety of roles, including Product Manager at Amazon, an associate role with McKinsey & Co, an executive Manager with the Mohammed bin Salman Foundation “Misk“ before becoming a Co-Founder & Advisor of Salasa. He is currently Co-founder and CEO of Lendo, a FinTech startup based in Saudi Arabia which offers a Peer-to-Peer lending platform with a core focus on SMEs debt finance.
As of March 2021, Lendo had raised $7.2 million in a series around led by Saudi’s Derayah Ventures, according to MENAbytes. Lendo offers loans by connecting SMEs with investors through crowdfunding, and makes money by charging the SMEs with a management fee and taking a 20 % cut from the profit investors make. Before March 2021, Lendo had financed over 100 invoices worth over SAR 60 million according to the report.
Shahad Geoffrey is the founder and CEO of Taffi Inc and an advocate for women in business. Her study credentials include the famed Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Stanford University. She worked as a marketing analyst with Tamgo, a digital Operation Manager with Sharbatly Club, and an investment analyst with Draper Associates.
Geoffrey then progressed to becoming the founder of Taffi, a styling, and shopping platform that offers bespoke expert advice, a service previously only afforded to the mega-wealthy. Taffi is currently operating in Saudi Arabia but looks to expand into neighboring countries in the GCC and MENA region. According to a 2021 report by Wamda, Taffi is planning an investment round soon ‘amid strong support from local customers and VC investors alike. This will help accelerate the startup’s performance as it eyes expansions across the GCC and Egypt, as well as Southeast Asia.’
Reem Garash has extensive experience in the financial and business management industry, enabling her to successfully lead SHADA Hospitality. She has an MBA from Queens University of Charlotte before taking on the role of CEO of SHADA Homes in 2018 and eventually becoming CEO Of Shada Hospitality, the position she holds today.
Shaha Co is a second family generation company, which has two main subsidiaries, Shada Homes & Shada Hospitality. Reem is also a board member with Altanfeethi. This company manages and operates all executive terminals and offices at airports in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which was newly established as part of the privatization program of the aviation sector in Saudi Arabia.
