Kholoud Hussein 

Before long, fitness was viewed primarily as a lifestyle choice across much of the Middle East. Today, it has become a fast-growing economic sector attracting investment, driving entrepreneurship, and reshaping consumer spending habits. Across the GCC, rising health awareness, supportive government policies, and the expansion of modern fitness facilities have transformed wellness from a niche market into a mainstream industry. In Saudi Arabia particularly, Vision 2030 has accelerated this shift, helping create one of the region's fastest-growing fitness markets while encouraging greater participation across all demographics, especially women.

As the sector matures, attention is increasingly turning toward the technology infrastructure that powers gyms, personal trainers, and fitness operators. Beyond opening new fitness centers, the industry is entering a phase where operational efficiency, data analytics, artificial intelligence, and scalable digital platforms are becoming key drivers of growth and profitability. This evolution is creating significant opportunities for companies capable of bridging the gap between fitness services and technology.

Among the companies leading this transformation is Enhance, a Middle East-born fitness platform that has evolved from a regional service provider into a global technology player. Operating across the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, and the United States, the company now supports more than 15,000 personal trainers and facilitates over half a million training sessions every month. Through its Enterprise SaaS and AI-powered platform, Enhance Tech, the company is helping gym operators improve trainer performance, increase profitability, and better manage one of the industry's most valuable yet historically underutilized revenue streams: personal training.

As Enhance expands its footprint beyond the GCC and deepens its presence in the United States, the company is positioning itself at the intersection of fitness, artificial intelligence, and enterprise software. Its journey reflects broader trends reshaping the global wellness economy, where technology is increasingly becoming the foundation for scalable growth and long-term value creation.

In this exclusive interview with Sharikat Mubasher, Tarek Mounir, Founder and CEO of Enhance, discusses the company's evolution from a Dubai-based startup into a global fitness technology platform, the growing demand for personal training across Saudi Arabia and the GCC, the role of AI in transforming gym operations, the company's expansion strategy in the US and beyond, and how Enhance aims to become the global operating standard for personal training in the years ahead.

Enhance has scaled rapidly across the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar, while also expanding into the United States. How would you describe the company's current operating model, and what has been the key driver behind this cross-market growth?

Enhance is the operating system for personal training (PT). We help large gym chains turn PT from an afterthought into a predictable, profitable revenue stream — which in the high-volume, low-price (HVLP) segment is something almost nobody has cracked.

 We started in Dubai in 2018 as a service business. Eight years later, we cover 700+ contracted gym locations globally — UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, and now the US — supporting 15,000 trainers and over 500,000 booked sessions a month. Revenue has compounded at 65% CAGR since 2019.

 The more important shift is the shape of the business. We went from a regional service layer into a SaaS platform that any multi-site gym operator can deploy. That super-sized our addressable market; from Gulf gym chains up into a $1.8 billion global PT management software category; with the US and UK alone worth $800 million. The GCC gave us the operational history and the proven unit economics. The US is where we're deploying them at scale.

With more than 15,000 personal trainers on the platform and over half a million monthly sessions booked, what does this level of activity reveal about demand trends in the fitness economy across the GCC?

The numbers reflect a structural shift in how GCC consumers approach health. A PT client in Dubai, in 2018, typically came in asking for weight loss before a wedding or a summer holiday. The same client today asks about strength, recovery, energy, and long-term healthspan. That vocabulary shift happened in under a decade.

 Saudi Arabia is the most significant data point. Vision 2030 opened the fitness category, and the pace of adoption — particularly among women — has been dramatic. We're seeing more first-time formal fitness participants in KSA right now than in any other market we operate in. Consumer demand there is outpacing the supply of qualified trainers, which tells you the ceiling is still far above where the market is today.

 Session volumes reflect PT’s transition from a premium add-on to a mainstream service. Over 500,000 booked sessions a month is not a niche conversation — it's a category.

Your Enterprise SaaS and AI-powered product, Enhance Tech, is gaining traction in the US market. What gap in the global gym industry are you addressing, and why do you believe this solution has not been built at scale before?

PT is a $42 billion global market, and most gym operators still lose money on it. The industry runs on whiteboards, spreadsheets and gut feel. Trainer churn sits around 70% a year. Fewer than 15% of free trial sessions convert into paying clients. Operators have almost no visibility into what is actually happening on the gym floor.

No one has solved this at scale because it requires two things that are genuinely hard to combine: deep operational experience running PT inside gyms, and the engineering capability to abstract that into software. Most software companies don't understand the gym floor. Most gym operators don't build software. We have spent eight years doing both, simultaneously.

The AI layer works because the dataset works first. We process over 500,000 PT sessions a month across 700+ gyms. Every session is a data point on what makes trainers successful, why members stay or leave, and where revenue leaks out. A new entrant would need almost a decade of operational history to rebuild that. That's not something you shortcut with capital.

The performance metrics you've shared — 20% more sessions per trainer, a 17% increase in operating margins, and over 40% improvement in trainer retention — are significant. From an investor's perspective, how do these metrics translate into long-term value creation for gym operators?

Each metric hits a different line on the P&L, so they compound in a meaningful way for operators and investors.

 The 20% increase in sessions per trainer is a revenue multiplier — the same headcount produces materially more output. The 17-percentage-point improvement in operating margin at mature sites makes PT much more of a profit engine for gyms. The retention number is the one investors tend to underweight the impact of: when trainer churn drops from the 70% industry norm to under 30%, operators are spared having to absorb constant rehiring and retraining costs, and clients stop churning with their trainer.

Put together, the model creates a gym that earns more from PT, spends less running it, and retains the people who deliver it. At mature sites we see PT revenue around $85,000 per club per month. That's the long-term value case — and it's why operators stay on the platform once they're on it.

Can you walk us through Enhance's funding journey to date? What type of investors have backed the company, and how are you positioning the business for future funding rounds or strategic partnerships?

We bootstrapped the early years deliberately. Taking outside capital before the unit economics were proven would have meant scaling the wrong thing faster. Once the model worked, we raised.

We've taken around $21 million to date. Our cap table includes Global Ventures — MENA's leading venture firm — alongside other institutional backers who understand the regional market and the global ambition. 

We are in conversations with investors who recognize now as particularly ideal timing, as we accelerate our US rollout, deepen the product, and move from a proven regional operator into the default PT infrastructure for large gym chains globally. 

The thesis is straightforward — PT is a $42 billion market with no system of record or operating standard. We're building it. The strategic partnerships we're pursuing in the US reflect the same logic: enterprise gym groups looking for an operator they can trust to run PT end-to-end, not just provide software.

Saudi Arabia is undergoing rapid transformation in its fitness and wellness sector under Vision 2030. How central is the Kingdom to your growth strategy, and what specific expansion plans do you have in this market?

Saudi Arabia is our highest-growth market and one of the most important in the world for this category. Vision 2030 did not just open a new segment — it catalysed a generational shift in how Saudi consumers relate to health and fitness. Current participation rates, particularly among women, would have been unimaginable a decade ago.

For Enhance, the KSA opportunity is both a consumer-side and enterprise-side story. For consumers, demand for qualified personal training is expanding faster than supply — the market constraint is the talent gap, not regulation or the willingness to pay. That creates a strong case for a platform that helps gym operators find, train, and retain good trainers at scale.

On the enterprise side, the large gym groups expanding aggressively across the Kingdom need infrastructure to run PT profitably — and the franchise model driving much of that expansion is exactly where our platform performs best. We're working with operators who are building for a ten-year horizon, and so are we.

Beyond the GCC and the US, which markets are you prioritising next, and what factors determine your market-entry strategy — regulation, consumer behaviour, or enterprise demand?

Enterprise demand drives the sequence, and then we assess the other factors. We follow large gym chains — if a group we already work with is expanding into a new market, that's a faster path to traction than building from scratch against an unfamiliar operator landscape.

As for what's next: the UK is a natural priority. It's the largest gym market in Europe, has strong HVLP penetration, and there is a significant shared-language advantage in how we build and sell the product. Beyond that, Southeast Asia and markets like Australia are interesting over a 24–36 month horizon — high gym penetration, growing PT adoption, and early-stage software infrastructure in the gym sector.

Regulation matters less than it might initially appear. Personal training is not a heavily regulated category in most markets. Consumer behaviour matters more — specifically, whether PT has reached the inflection point from premium to mainstream in a given market. Our GCC experience tells us that once that shift starts, it moves quickly.

As you continue to scale both your consumer platform and enterprise SaaS offering, how do you see Enhance evolving over the next three to five years — particularly in terms of AI integration, product development, and global market positioning?

The three-to-five year vision is to be the system of record and operating standard for personal training globally — the platform gym operators default to, the way hotel groups default to property management software or restaurants default to reservation systems. That category doesn't exist yet. We're building it.

On AI specifically: the tools already live include at-risk client detection that flags members before they churn, and a trainer coaching layer benchmarking every trainer, so managers know exactly who to develop. An AI sales agent and a daily AI management brief follow later this year — with ranked morning instructions for each gym manager, rather than a dashboard requiring interpretation.

The advantage is not the models themselves. Every platform will have access to good models. The advantage is the eight years of operational history behind ours — over 500,000 sessions a month across 700+ gyms, compounding daily. That data set gets harder to replicate every quarter.

On global positioning: the US establishes us as a credible global operator, not just a GCC success story. That matters for enterprise deals, for the fundraising narrative, and for the category we're defining. The ambition, simply stated, is to be the company that built the global infrastructure for PT — and to have done it from the UAE.

Ghada Ismail

Not long ago, the relationship between large corporations and startups was relatively straightforward. Established companies invested in promising startups, partnered with them, or acquired them once they had proven their market value. Innovation largely happened outside the walls of major businesses.

Today, that dynamic is changing. Across Saudi Arabia, a growing number of conglomerates and family-owned business groups are taking a more active role in creating innovation by building startups themselves. Rather than waiting for entrepreneurs to identify opportunities, these companies are establishing dedicated teams tasked with spotting market gaps, developing new products, and launching entirely new ventures from within.

The shift reflects broader changes taking place across the Kingdom. As Vision 2030 drives economic diversification and digital transformation reshapes industries, Saudi companies are increasingly looking beyond their traditional business models. For many, the objective is no longer simply to adapt to change but to create the businesses that will drive future growth.

These internal startup units—often operating as venture studios, innovation hubs, or venture-building teams—are becoming an increasingly important part of how some of Saudi Arabia’s largest organizations approach innovation.

Why Conglomerates Are Looking Inward

For decades, diversification often meant expanding into new sectors through acquisitions, partnerships, or geographic growth. While these strategies remain important, they can be expensive, time-consuming, and dependent on opportunities that may not always exist.

At the same time, technological disruption is forcing companies to respond faster to changing markets. New business models can emerge rapidly, and startups have repeatedly demonstrated their ability to challenge established players with innovative products and services.

Many Saudi conglomerates have realized that waiting for the next disruptive company to appear may no longer be enough. Building ventures internally allows them to stay closer to emerging trends while creating businesses that align directly with long-term strategic priorities.

The Kingdom’s rapidly maturing startup ecosystem has also influenced this trend. Over the past decade, Saudi entrepreneurs have built successful companies across fintech, e-commerce, logistics, healthtech, and software. Their success has shown that innovative businesses can be created and scaled locally, encouraging larger corporations to adopt entrepreneurial thinking themselves.

What Is an Internal Startup Unit?

An internal startup unit goes beyond the role of a traditional innovation department.

While innovation teams often focus on improving existing products, services, or processes, startup units are typically tasked with creating entirely new businesses. Their role is to identify opportunities, validate market demand, develop products, and launch ventures that could eventually become standalone companies.

These teams often combine entrepreneurs, product managers, developers, strategists, and industry specialists. Many operate separately from core business units, giving them greater flexibility to experiment and move quickly without becoming trapped in corporate bureaucracy.

The goal is not innovation for its own sake, but the creation of sustainable businesses capable of generating new revenue streams and opening new markets for the parent organization.

The Venture-Building Influence

The rise of internal startup units is closely linked to the growing popularity of venture-building models globally.

Unlike venture capital firms that invest in startups founded by others, venture builders actively participate in creating companies from the ground up. They identify opportunities, assemble teams, develop products, and provide operational support throughout the startup journey.

The model has gained traction in Saudi Arabia through venture studios and startup factories that treat entrepreneurship as a structured, repeatable process rather than a matter of chance.

For conglomerates, the appeal is clear. Instead of investing in multiple external startups and hoping a few succeed, they can build businesses aligned with their own strategic priorities while leveraging assets they already possess.

Different Models Are Emerging

Saudi companies are experimenting with several approaches to venture building.

Some have established dedicated venture studios that operate almost independently, identifying opportunities and creating startups from scratch. Others have launched innovation labs focused on emerging technologies and experimentation, with successful projects sometimes evolving into standalone businesses.

A third approach involves commercializing internal capabilities. Technology solutions originally developed for internal use can become products serving external customers. Some companies are also pursuing joint ventures with entrepreneurs, international technology firms, or specialized operators to combine corporate resources with startup expertise.

Despite these differences, all of these models share the same objective: creating new growth engines beyond traditional business lines.

Saudi Companies Putting the Model into Practice

While Saudi Arabia's corporate venture-building ecosystem is still developing, several organizations have established structures that reflect different approaches to creating and scaling new ventures. Importantly, not all of these initiatives follow the same model. Some focus on building businesses internally, while others support external startups or expand through internal innovation.

One of the strongest examples of venture building in the Kingdom is Saudi Aramco. Through the Saudi Aramco Entrepreneurship Center, known as Wa'ed, the company has spent more than a decade supporting entrepreneurship and business creation. Complementing this effort are Wa'ed Ventures, Aramco's venture capital arm, and LAB7, its venture-building and product development platform. Together, these initiatives form part of a broader ecosystem designed to identify opportunities, develop technologies, support entrepreneurs, and help transform ideas into scalable businesses. While not a traditional startup studio in the Silicon Valley sense, Aramco has built one of the Kingdom's most structured pathways for venture creation and commercialization.

Beyond Aramco, other organizations are helping shape an emerging venture-building ecosystem. Dussur, established by Saudi Aramco, the Public Investment Fund (PIF), and SABIC, was created to develop strategic industrial businesses that advance Saudi Arabia's localization and industrialization ambitions. Unlike traditional investment vehicles, Dussur often works alongside partners to establish and grow new industrial ventures, making it one of the Kingdom's most prominent examples of institution-backed company building.

Another notable example is Sanabil Studio, a venture-building platform launched by Sanabil Investments. The studio works with entrepreneurs to identify market opportunities, validate ideas, assemble teams, and launch startups. Its model reflects the growing popularity of venture building in Saudi Arabia, where startup creation is increasingly being approached through structured processes rather than relying solely on individual founders.

Not all corporate innovation initiatives, however, focus on creating ventures internally. Some organizations have chosen to engage with the startup ecosystem through external support platforms. stc's InspireU program is a leading example. Since its launch, InspireU has provided startups with mentorship, funding, training, and access to industry networks, helping strengthen the Kingdom's entrepreneurial ecosystem while giving stc exposure to emerging technologies and business models.

Other companies demonstrate how internal innovation can create entirely new commercial opportunities without necessarily operating formal venture studios. Elm is one such example. Originally focused on digital government solutions, the company has steadily expanded its portfolio through the development of digital products and platforms serving both public- and private-sector customers. Its evolution illustrates how large organizations can leverage internal expertise, technology capabilities, and market knowledge to create new business lines and revenue streams.

The distinction is important. Building startups internally, supporting external entrepreneurs, and expanding through internal innovation are different approaches, but all reflect a broader shift in how Saudi organizations think about growth and innovation. While the Kingdom still has relatively few publicly documented corporate venture studios compared with more mature markets, an increasing number of organizations are experimenting with new ways to create businesses rather than simply invest in them. As competition intensifies and economic diversification accelerates, these models are likely to play an increasingly important role in shaping the next generation of Saudi companies.

Why the Model Makes Sense

One reason internal startup units are attracting attention is that they address several challenges commonly faced by traditional startups.

Access to funding is perhaps the most obvious advantage. Corporate-backed ventures typically begin with financial resources already in place, allowing teams to focus on product development and market validation rather than fundraising.

These ventures also benefit from established customer networks, supplier relationships, distribution channels, and industry connections that can accelerate growth significantly. Brand recognition provides another advantage. While independent startups often spend years building trust, ventures launched under respected corporate brands may gain credibility much faster.

Perhaps most importantly, they can draw upon decades of industry expertise. Large corporations possess deep knowledge of customer behavior, operational challenges, and market dynamics that can help new ventures avoid costly mistakes and identify opportunities more effectively.

Yet There Are Real Challenges

Despite these advantages, corporate venture building is far from a guaranteed success.

The biggest obstacle is often culture. Startups thrive on experimentation, rapid iteration, and calculated risk-taking, while large corporations are typically structured around governance, efficiency, and risk management. These priorities can sometimes clash.

A startup team may want to launch a product quickly, while corporate procedures require multiple layers of approval. Without the right balance, the speed and agility that make startups effective can easily be lost.

Talent acquisition presents another challenge. Experienced entrepreneurs and startup operators often prefer environments that offer autonomy and flexibility. Attracting and retaining such talent within a corporate structure requires thoughtful leadership, clear incentives, and sufficient independence.

Measuring success can also be difficult. New ventures rarely become profitable immediately, requiring organizations to evaluate progress based on learning, customer adoption, and market validation rather than short-term financial performance alone.

The Future Ahead

As Saudi Arabia continues its economic transformation, internal startup units are likely to play an increasingly prominent role within the private sector.

Sectors such as artificial intelligence, fintech, logistics, healthtech, climate technology, enterprise software, and industrial technology offer significant opportunities for corporate venture building. Future startup units may also collaborate more closely with universities, research institutions, entrepreneurs, and government-backed innovation programs, strengthening links between established corporations and the wider startup ecosystem.

What is clear is that the relationship between corporations and entrepreneurship is changing. Saudi conglomerates are no longer content with supporting innovation from the sidelines. Increasingly, they are becoming builders themselves, creating startups, launching new ventures, and shaping the next generation of businesses that could define the Kingdom’s economic future.

In many ways, this marks a new chapter for Saudi corporate innovation, one in which some of the country’s largest organizations are beginning to think and act more like startups themselves.

Noha Gad

When investors start investing, they often analyze the economy by studying interest rates, inflation, and political events. After forming a view on the broader market, they decide whether to buy stocks or to stay in cash. This way of investing is called top-down investing because it starts from the top, meaning the whole economy, and then moves down to individual companies.

Bottom-up investing inverts this hierarchy, treating the macroeconomic climate as a secondary, almost incidental variable. Instead of looking at the economy first, the bottom-up investor looks at a single company, reviews its annual report, and examines how much it makes and how much it spends. They examine its debts and its cash reserves, then ask simple questions: Does the company have a product that people truly need? Is the management team honest and capable? Does the company have a lasting advantage over its rivals, such as a well-known brand or lower production costs? After answering these questions, the bottom-up investor considers the broader economy, treating it as a secondary factor.

The bottom-up approach dismisses the notion that a great business is merely a beneficiary of favorable cycles. Instead, it posits that superior operational and financial fundamentals can generate alpha irrespective of the prevailing macro wind. It is the intellectual framework of concentrated portfolios, outsized long-term returns, and the kind of analytical patience that ignores headlines to focus on durable competitive advantage.

Understanding Bottom-Up Investing startegy

Bottom-up investing focuses on analyzing individual companies rather than broader economic trends. Investors who use this method look closely at fundamentals, such as revenue and earnings, to find strong companies. Unlike top-down investing, which focuses on the economy or sector trends, bottom-up investing prioritizes the company itself. 

Most of the time, bottom-up investing does not stop at the individual firm level, although that is where analysis begins and the most weight is given. The industry group, economic sector, market, and macroeconomic factors are eventually brought into the overall analysis. However, the investment research process begins at the bottom and works its way up in scale.

Bottom-up investors usually employ long-term, buy-and-hold strategies that rely strongly on fundamental analysis. This approach offers an in-depth look at a company and its stock, revealing its long-term growth potential. Top-down investors may be more opportunistic, entering and exiting positions quickly to profit from short-term market changes.

Key Features

1. Company-first focus: Decisions originate from micro-level insights about specific companies, not from macroeconomic themes.
2. Fundamental analysis: This approach focuses on revenue quality, margins, cash flows, balance-sheet strength, and sustainable profitability.
3. Management and governance: Close evaluation of leadership competence, capital allocation history, incentive alignment, and minority shareholder protections.
4. Active monitoring: Ongoing company-level monitoring for execution, guidance changes, insider activity, and competitive shifts.

These features make the bottom-up investing strategy a perfect choice for active equity managers and stock pickers seeking alpha from idiosyncratic company performance. It also suits value investors who focus on fundamentals and margins of safety, as well as Long-term investors and concentrated-portfolio managers who can tolerate company-specific volatility.

Significant risks

Bottom‑up investing is powerful, but it can easily become undisciplined if investors fall into classic behavioral or analytical traps. Major risks include: 

• Ignoring macro and sector risks: Bottom‑up investors sometimes focus tightly on company fundamentals that they downplay macro headwinds, such as currency depreciation, interest‑rate hikes, or sector‑wide regulation, that can hurt even strong businesses.
• Chasing past performance. Bottom‑up investors can slip into momentum‑style behavior by chasing recently overperforming names that already reflect high expectations, leaving little margin of safety.
• Over‑concentration or poor diversification. As bottom‑up investing emphasizes deep conviction in individual companies, investors sometimes hold too few positions, exposing themselves to single‑stock or single‑sector risk.
• Using incomplete data. Bottom‑up research that relies only on outdated financial reports or limited public disclosures can miss turning points such as margin compression, rising payables, or competitive losses.

Finally, bottom‑up investing offers a disciplined, company‑centered framework that cuts through macro noise and focuses on what ultimately drives returns: strong fundamentals, capable management, and sustainable competitive advantages. By starting with individual companies and only later layering in industry, market, and macro considerations, this strategy enables investors to uncover high‑quality businesses that may be overlooked or mispriced by the broader market.

For active managers, value‑oriented investors, and long‑term stock pickers, bottom‑up investing remains one of the most effective paths to meaningful, risk‑aware alpha, as long as its core principles are applied.

Ghada Ismail

A few years ago, launching a startup in Saudi Arabia usually followed a familiar path. Founders would enter an accelerator, pitch investors, secure early funding, and then try to figure everything else out along the way. Today, a different model is beginning to take shape across the Kingdom, one that is less about simply financing ideas and more about building companies from the ground up.

Welcome to the era of venture studios.

Across Saudi Arabia, a growing number of venture builders are quietly changing how startups are created. Instead of waiting for entrepreneurs to arrive with fully formed businesses, these studios help shape the idea itself, validate the market, recruit talent, build products, and guide operations from day one. In many cases, they act less like investors and more like co-founders.

The rise of players such as VMS, Sanabil Studio, and Lean Node Venture Studios reflects a broader shift happening inside Saudi Arabia’s startup ecosystem. The conversation is no longer just about funding entrepreneurs. It is increasingly about building startups systematically, repeatedly, and at scale.

Moving Beyond the Accelerator Boom

For years, Saudi Arabia has focused heavily on laying the groundwork for entrepreneurship. Government initiatives, accelerator programs, startup competitions, and venture capital funds helped create momentum in the ecosystem. As investment activity accelerated, the Kingdom quickly became one of the Middle East’s largest startup funding markets.

But money alone could not solve every challenge.

Many startups still struggle with execution. Some founders had strong technical skills but limited experience building scalable businesses. Others found it difficult to navigate regulations, recruit the right talent, localize products, or acquire customers efficiently.

That gap created space for venture studios to emerge.

Unlike traditional venture capital firms that invest after a startup already exists, venture studios often start much earlier. They identify opportunities internally, test market demand, help shape business models, and sometimes build entire companies alongside entrepreneurs from the earliest stages.

Globally, the model has already produced major companies within various sectors. Saudi Arabia is now adapting the concept to fit its own market dynamics and economic ambitions.

Why the Model Makes Sense in Saudi Arabia

The venture studio approach fits naturally with where Saudi Arabia’s ecosystem stands today.

Under Vision 2030, the Kingdom is trying to diversify its economy, accelerate innovation, create private-sector jobs, attract global talent, and localize emerging industries, all at the same time.

Venture studios actually offer a structure that supports many of those goals simultaneously.

Unlike short-term accelerator programs, studios stay involved throughout the startup journey. They provide operational support, legal guidance, hiring assistance, technical development, fundraising strategy, and business connections under one roof.

For first-time founders, that reduces risk considerably.

For investors, it creates a more controlled environment where ideas are validated before large amounts of capital are deployed.

And for Saudi Arabia, venture studios provide a way to systematically produce startups in strategic sectors such as fintech, AI, logistics, tourism, enterprise software, and digital commerce.

That is why many Saudi venture studios no longer describe themselves simply as investment firms. They position themselves as company builders.

VMS and Saudi Arabia’s Soft-Landing Opportunity

Among the more visible players in this space is Value Makers Studio (VMS), which positions itself as both a venture studio and a platform helping regional and international startups enter the Saudi market.

Based in Riyadh, VMS provides support that goes beyond capital, including technology development, legal assistance, marketing support, financial guidance, and access to Saudi business networks. The company also operates initiatives such as the ‘VMS Bridge Program,’ which focuses on connecting startups from emerging markets with Saudi Arabia’s innovation ecosystem.

That ‘soft-landing’ approach is becoming increasingly relevant as more foreign founders and international startups look toward Saudi Arabia as a regional expansion market.

VMS also reflects a broader trend emerging across the Kingdom’s startup ecosystem, where venture studios are evolving into ecosystem connectors alongside their company-building role. In practice, this often means helping startups navigate relationships with investors, corporations, regulators, and local business networks, presenting an advantage that can significantly influence how quickly companies scale in Saudi Arabia.

Sanabil Studio and Institutional Startup Creation

A stronger example of institutional venture building can be seen in Sanabil Studio, which was established by Sanabil Investments, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Public Investment Fund. 

The studio focuses on building startups from the earliest stages, working closely with founders across ideation, prototyping, MVP development, product design, engineering, hiring, finance, and growth support. According to the studio’s website, it combines capital, market insight, and hands-on operational support to help founders launch and scale ventures in Saudi Arabia. 

What makes Sanabil Studio particularly notable is its combination of sovereign-backed capital with hands-on company creation. Unlike traditional venture capital firms that typically invest after startups are already established, venture studios such as Sanabil Studio participate much earlier in the company-building process, often helping shape ventures from ideation through early execution. 

Lean Node and the “Startup Factory” Approach

Another important player is Lean Node, which focuses on building ventures internally while supporting entrepreneurs through structured startup-building programs.

According to the company, it has helped launch more than 18 startups since 2017 using a repeatable venture-building framework designed to reduce common startup risks.

Lean Node highlights one of the biggest advantages of the venture studio model: operational centralization.

Instead of every startup building separate HR systems, legal structures, financial operations, and development teams from scratch, studios create shared infrastructure that multiple ventures can use simultaneously.

This lowers costs, speeds up execution, and allows studios to test ideas more rapidly across different sectors.

In many ways, the model resembles a startup factory more than a conventional investment firm.

Lean Node and the “Startup Factory” Approach

Another important player in Saudi Arabia’s venture studio ecosystem is Lean Node, which focuses on building ventures internally while supporting entrepreneurs through structured startup-building programs.

According to the company’s website, Lean Node has helped build more than 18 startups since 2017 through a venture-building model focused on developing scalable businesses across the MENA region. The studio describes itself as “an engine that builds disruptive products” using a “tested and streamlined process” designed to maximize success while lowering risk. 

The company’s structure reflects one of the core characteristics of the venture studio model: centralized operational support. Rather than every startup independently building teams and systems from scratch, venture studios typically provide shared access to areas such as product development, operational guidance, technical expertise, and business support. This approach can reduce early-stage costs and accelerate execution across multiple ventures simultaneously. 

Lean Node has also expanded into specialized venture-building initiatives, including fintech-focused startup creation through partnerships such as Lean Fintech, launched with Mjalis Investment during LEAP 2023. 

In practice, the model operates more like a startup production platform than a conventional investment firm, with venture studios playing an active role in company creation rather than acting solely as financial backers. 

Closing the Founder Experience Gap

One reason venture studios are gaining traction in Saudi Arabia is that they directly address one of the ecosystem’s biggest challenges: experience.

The Kingdom has no shortage of ambitious entrepreneurs or available capital. What remains relatively limited, however, is the number of experienced startup operators who have repeatedly built and scaled companies.

Founders across the ecosystem frequently talk about the difficulties of navigating fundraising, finding product-market fit, hiring effectively, and scaling operations.

Venture studios attempt to shorten that learning curve.

Instead of forcing founders to figure everything out alone, studios embed experienced operators, engineers, marketers, product designers, and venture builders directly into the process from the beginning.

The Challenges Behind the Hype

Still, venture studios are not a perfect solution.

Some entrepreneurs argue that studio models can dilute founder ownership too aggressively. Others question whether startups created inside structured environments develop the same resilience as companies built independently.

There are also operational risks.

Running multiple startups simultaneously requires significant capital, talent, and management discipline. Internationally, several venture studios have struggled to maintain strong long-term performance across large portfolios.

Another open question is whether venture studios can consistently produce truly disruptive innovation rather than safer, optimized versions of existing business models.

Saudi Arabia’s ecosystem is still young enough that many of these questions remain unanswered.

Even so, supporters of the model believe the Kingdom’s current market conditions make venture studios especially relevant. In an ecosystem that is still building institutional startup knowledge, structured company creation may offer advantages that traditional founder-led approaches cannot always provide on their own.

The Future Ahead

The next phase of Saudi Arabia’s venture studio ecosystem will likely become far more specialized.

Future studios may focus entirely on sectors such as AI, cybersecurity, climate tech, gaming, logistics, biotech, fintech, or deep tech. Some early signs of that trend are already emerging through initiatives tied to advanced technologies and national innovation priorities.

AI-native venture studios could also become increasingly common as generative AI dramatically reduces development timelines and startup operating costs.

At the same time, international venture builders are expected to form more partnerships inside the Kingdom as Saudi Arabia continues positioning itself as one of the region’s largest startup markets.

What is already becoming clear, however, is that Saudi Arabia’s ecosystem is entering a new stage of maturity. The early era of startup hype is gradually giving way to something more structured, operational, and institutionalized. And venture studios may end up playing a central role in that transition, not simply by funding the next generation of Saudi startups, but by helping build them from scratch.

Kholoud Hussein 

In the world of venture capital, mergers, and rapid-growth startups, few terms carry as much weight—or anxiety—as due diligence. It is the checkpoint between a startup’s ambition and an investor’s capital, the rigorous validation process that determines whether a business is truly worth the risk. Although often spoken about as a routine step, due diligence has evolved into a sophisticated, multilayered investigation that shapes the fate of fundraising rounds, acquisitions, and even long-term survival.

At its core, due diligence refers to the comprehensive assessment conducted by investors, acquirers, or financial institutions to evaluate a startup’s viability—financially, legally, operationally, and strategically. It is the process through which claims are tested, risks are measured, and assumptions are either validated or exposed. For early-stage founders, this is the moment when the narrative must finally match the numbers.

In practical terms, due diligence begins when an investor shows serious interest in a startup. The glossy pitch deck no longer suffices; instead, founders must provide access to detailed financial reports, customer metrics, intellectual property documentation, legal filings, product performance data, and more. Everything from revenue consistency to founder equity structure is scrutinized. The goal is simple: to ensure that what the startup says it is building aligns with what it actually operates.

This process typically spans several categories—financial, legal, technical, and commercial. Financial due diligence reveals whether revenues are stable or inflated, whether burn rate is manageable, and whether the business’s cost structure is built for scale. Legal due diligence uncovers potential landmines: unregistered trademarks, unsettled disputes, improper employment contracts, or shareholder conflicts that could hinder growth. Technical due diligence has become increasingly essential in a world dominated by AI, cloud software, and cybersecurity threats, as investors assess whether the product is robust, defensible, or even feasible at scale. Commercial due diligence, meanwhile, evaluates market potential—customer retention, competitive positioning, and sector dynamics.

For startups, due diligence functions as a double-edged sword. While it is often stressful and time-consuming, it also acts as a validation milestone. A company that passes rigorous due diligence signals maturity and credibility in the market. Investors tend to view such startups not just as promising, but as stable and trustworthy. In regions such as the GCC, where the venture capital landscape is accelerating rapidly, due diligence has become essential in separating hype from genuine scalability.

Startups are increasingly preparing for due diligence earlier than ever—sometimes before even seeking investment. Many adopt internal “data room” structures, organize compliance documentation, and maintain accurate financial records to avoid last-minute surprises. This preparation reflects a broader maturity in the ecosystem: as competition increases, investors demand cleaner, more transparent operations.

In Saudi Arabia, for example, the surge in venture capital activity under Vision 2030 has brought heightened attention to governance and operational resilience. With record-breaking investments across sectors like fintech, logistics, cloud services, and AI, startups are expected to demonstrate not only innovation but also sustainable growth paths supported by data. Due diligence is the mechanism ensuring that capital is deployed responsibly in this new economy.

Global investors entering the MENA region also rely heavily on robust due diligence to navigate fragmented regulations, young markets, and rapidly growing sectors. For many foreign funds, the depth and transparency of due diligence outcomes often determine whether they will green-light an investment in the region. Consequently, startups that maintain high-quality operational discipline gain a competitive edge—not just locally, but globally.

In essence, due diligence is not a barrier; it is a blueprint. For founders, preparing for it forces clarity of vision, discipline around metrics, and alignment across teams. For investors, it is the safeguard that ensures capital goes to companies with real potential. And for the broader startup ecosystem, it serves as a mechanism of integrity—one that helps shape sustainable growth.

As venture capital deepens its roots in emerging markets and competition for capital intensifies, due diligence will remain the defining test of a startup’s readiness. In the end, the companies that embrace transparency, maintain operational rigor, and deliver measurable results will be the ones that survive the scrutiny—and secure the funding needed to thrive.

Noha Gad

People often think building wealth through property means buying a house, managing tenants, and handling repairs, but there are simpler, more liquid ways to capture real estate returns without becoming a landlord. Investors who want exposure to commercial buildings, warehouses, data centers, or apartment complexes can do so through vehicles that behave more like stocks than physical assets, helping them focus on allocation and income rather than daily property management. A Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) is one of those vehicles.

What are REITs?

REITs are companies that own, operate, or finance income-producing real estate across a wide range of property sectors. These investments can often be purchased through top brokerage and real estate crowdfunding platforms. They allow investors to earn income from real estate without having to buy, manage, or finance properties by themselves.

REITs make institutional-scale real estate accessible to individual investors by packaging property cash flows into tradable shares, offering a combination of regular income, potential capital appreciation, and diversification benefits that differ from both direct property ownership and traditional equities.

They invest in different properties, including apartment complexes, data centers, healthcare facilities, hotels, infrastructure, office buildings, retail centers, self-storage units, timberland, and warehouses. They often specialize in specific real estate sectors, like commercial properties. However, many hold diversified portfolios with different property types.

REITs perform three primary roles: acquire and manage income-producing properties; finance real estate through mortgages or mortgage-backed securities; or combine both activities in a hybrid model. Equity REITs generate cash by leasing space and managing properties; mortgage REITs earn interest on loans and securities; hybrids mix rental income and interest income. 

Criteria for REIT Qualification

A company must meet several requirements to qualify as a REIT, including:

• Must be a taxable corporation.
• Must be managed by a board of directors or trustees.
• Have no more than 50% of its shares held by five or fewer individuals
• Invest at least 75% of total assets in real estate or cash.
• Derive at least 75% of gross income from rent, interest on mortgages that finance real estate, or real estate sales.
• Pay a minimum of 90% of their taxable income to their shareholders through dividends.
• Have a minimum of 100 shareholders.

Key types of REITs

1. Equity REITs. Equity REITs own and manage income-generating real estate. Revenues are generated primarily through rent, not by reselling properties. They offer more stable, operational cash flows tied to occupancy, lease terms, and rent growth. This type is commonly the go-to vehicle for investors seeking dividend income plus potential appreciation from rising property values.
2. Mortgage REITs. Mortgage REITs invest in mortgages, mortgage-backed securities, or other real-estate debt instruments and earn income from the interest spread. Because their returns depend on interest-rate spreads and financing conditions, Mortgage REITs are generally more sensitive to rate volatility and can show higher short-term earnings variability than equity REITs.
3. Hybrid REITs. This type combines strategies from both equity and mortgage REITs, holding both properties and real-estate debt. This structure can offer diversification within a single vehicle but also mixes the operational risks of property ownership with the interest-rate and credit risks of mortgage lending.
4. Private REITs. These REITs are sold to accredited investors or institutions and are not registered with public exchanges; they often pursue niche strategies, bespoke property portfolios, or longer-term value creation. Private REITs can offer access to specialized deals but carry higher minimums, limited transparency, and extended lock-ups.

Why investors use REITs?

REITs help investors access property returns through tradable shares, combining income potential with professional management and easier liquidity. Key reasons why investors include REITs in portfolios are:

• Generating income: REITs pay out most taxable income as dividends, providing regular cash flow and often higher yields than typical stocks.
• Diversification: REITs add real-estate cash flows and property-value returns to a portfolio, lowering concentration risk compared to holding only stocks or bonds.
• Inflation hedge: Property rents and lease escalators can help preserve purchasing power, with faster pass-through in sectors with shorter leases.
• Liquidity and accessibility: REITs let investors buy real-estate exposure easily through a brokerage without large capital or hands-on management.
• Professional management and scale: REITs are run by experienced property and capital-markets teams who can access deals and financing that individual investors usually cannot.

By: Michael Cade, Global Field CTO, Veeam Software 

So far, AI adoption has outpaced regulatory frameworks, leaving organizations largely to make up their own rules. But this lack of clarity hasn’t slowed organizations down. In fact, McKinsey’s latest survey found that 88% of organizations already report using AI in at least one business function. Despite this, innovation has slowed, and it’s become clear that organizations have overlooked a key enabler of safe and secure AI - data sovereignty.

Simultaneously, regulation has begun to catch up, and much of it points to the same principles of data sovereignty and AI visibility. Take the EU AI Act, for example, which sets strict, risk-based rules on both AI development and deployment within the EU to improve AI visibility. 

Rather than blindly charging ahead, organizations need to pause to develop transparent, traceable, and sovereign-by-design data architectures. Otherwise, they won’t just be unable to unlock the true potential of AI for their businesses; they’ll also fall behind on regulatory compliance. 

Not all data is good data.

As you might expect, both digital sovereignty and AI innovation boil down to data. It’s already well documented that AI needs a lot of data, and we’ve got plenty, with the IDC estimating that the global datasphere reached around 181 zettabytes annually in 2025. But, despite having plenty of data, Generative AI (genAI) pilots continue to fail widely. Some research suggests that as many as 95% of enterprise genAI pilots fail to reach production, or even demonstrate measurable ROI. The reason? Long-standing data hygiene issues. 

Thanks in no small part to AI, data growth has become exponential, but organizations have largely failed to keep up. This influx has far outpaced storage processes, and organizations have somewhat taken their eye off the ball, with ‘junk’ data being stored alongside the ‘useful’ data required for AI usage. And ultimately, AI systems inherit not just the bias but also the quality and structure of the data they are trained on. So, if the training sets are poorly structured and include ‘junk’ data, outputs, and usability suffer. 

There’s also a significant knock-on effect with compliance and regulation. While regulatory bodies are yet to agree on a unified approach to AI regulation, it’s already becoming clear that visibility will be central to future requirements. In Europe alone, the EU AI Act and the NIS2 Directive are already signaling a broader push for stronger governance, transparency, and control over operational and training data. And without strong sovereignty, organizations will remain unable to map and understand their data landscape to adhere to existing and future requirements. 

Sorting the wheat from the chaff 

After the last few years of data growth, the sheer scale of the workloads most businesses now hold can seem daunting. Before organizations can improve their data hygiene, they first need to understand and classify their data. Not just for what it contains, but also according to how sensitive it is. A piece of data may be useful for a genAI pilot, but if it’s too sensitive, it cannot be used. This level of understanding not only avoids mistakenly giving genAI programmes sensitive data, but could also be key to creating genAI that delivers on its potential. Instead of training it on a pile of ‘useful’ data peppered with ‘junk’ data, organizations will be able to feed AI only the information it actually needs. 

Once this is all in place and you know what you’re working with, organizations can begin to define the sovereignty requirements for each data bucket, including both regulatory and locality rules. For some, the knee-jerk reaction is to restrict usage to meet the strongest requirements of data localization laws. Still, the EU’s GDPR, for example, doesn’t mandate localization within a specific EU country, just to the European Economic Area (EEA), although it does place strict restrictions on the transfer of personal data outside the EEA – creating a ‘soft localization’ effect in practice. There’s a lot of nuance within this, which is why many organizations are adopting hybrid or multi-cloud architectures to maintain flexibility over where workloads are processed and stored. With these, organizations can restrict data where needed to meet localization requirements, while still maintaining data portability, which will be essential as regulations continue to change. This flexibility and transparency allow organizations not just to monitor where their data resides, but who can access it - essential knowledge not just for compliance, but for security too. 

Not just a tickbox

Up until now, data sovereignty has been relegated to the bottom of the priority list, seen mostly as a compliance exercise. Organizations have ticked it off, but only as part of a longer list of regulatory requirements, rather than considering it as a vital part of their data strategy. But if fully understood and wielded correctly, aligned with the wider business strategy, it can do much more. 

Not only can it feed into the data governance frameworks that underpin operations, but it can also help inform and establish AI governance. With clean, structured, and classified data, organizations can finally unlock the true potential of their genAI pilots. 

So far, data sovereignty has been underestimated, but with genAI innovation stalling and regulation catching up, organizations can’t afford to do so any longer. 

Noha Gad

Saudi Arabia’s logistics ecosystem has been shaped by its strategic location, connecting the three continents with some of the world’s busiest trade routes. Since the launch of Vision 2030, the Kingdom has made broad reforms to improve coordination and performance of the logistics sector. This included restructuring key entities across transport, ports, aviation, and rail, in addition to establishing new institutions and expanding the national carriers and infrastructure projects.  

Guided by the National Transport and Logistics Strategy (NTLS), aiming to transform Saudi Arabia into a logistics hub, the sector has expanded infrastructure, strengthened connectivity, and developed logistics zones across the Kingdom. Since its launch, over $75 billion in investment contracts have been signed across multiple transport modes, according to the Vision 2030 Annual Report 2025. These efforts have improved efficiency and reduced friction across the system, supported by digitalized services, simplified procedures, and stronger integration between entities.

The Kingdom successfully achieved groundbreaking developments to build a robust network of rail, ports, and infrastructure to strengthen the ecosystem. Key milestones included the expansion of King Abdulaziz Port in Dammam, the establishment of a new logistics corridor linking Jeddah Islamic Port to Al-Khumrah, and the launch of the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor. This progress reflects stronger supply chains, expanded logistics capacity, and improved integration across transport systems, alongside greater regional connectivity and streamlined customs procedures, enhancing the flow of regional and international trade.

With these developments, Saudi Arabia has advanced across global logistics indicators, supported by sustained investment in infrastructure and operational performance. The Kingdom ranked second in the G20 group with the highest cargo throughput growth rate at 32%. It was also selected among the top four emerging markets in the Agility Logistics Index in 2025.

The country also saw a notable improvement in 2024 in its global ranking for container handling, climbing to 15th place globally, as reported by Lloyd’s List. Jeddah Islamic Port moved up from 41st to 32nd, King Abdullah Port rose to 70th from 71st, and King Abdulaziz Port in Dammam advanced from 90th to 82nd, marking significant progress in the competitiveness of Saudi ports.

Mawani: A Key Enabler Revolutionizing Logistics

The Saudi Ports Authority (Mawani) is rapidly transforming Saudi Arabia into a logistics hub by launching new shipping lines, specialized logistics parks, and digital services to support Vision 2030. The authority has invested more than SAR 30 billion since the launch of Vision 2030 to develop the Kingdom’s ports, increasing its capacity by more than 50% in recent years.

In 2025, the authority added more than 34 new shipping services to the Saudi ports to reinforce Saudi Arabia’s position as a global logistics hub connecting Asia, Africa, and Europe. Key services included the Himalaya Express Service that connects King Abdulaziz Port with 12 global ports with a capacity of over 14,000 TEUs, and the MEDEX Service, which links Jeddah Islamic Port with 12 global ports, boasting a capacity of over 10,000 TEUs, in addition to RSX1, SJA, and BOS services.

In March, Mawani announced the launch of five new maritime shipping services to enhance the resilience of the logistics sector and ensure the continuity of supply chains and the flow of goods, ultimately reinforcing the Kingdom’s position as a global logistics hub. These services are:

1. Gulf Shuttle. This service was launched to connect King Abdulaziz Port in Dammam with Khalifa Bin Salman Port in Bahrain, with a capacity of up to 3,000 TEUs (Twenty-foot Equivalent Unit). Through this service, Mawani aims to support national exports, improve operational efficiency at the port, and strengthen the Kingdom’s position as a regional and global logistics center.
2. Redex by CMA CGM. With a capacity of 2,594 TEUs, this service enhances maritime connectivity with Arab countries, including Egypt and Jordan, and supports global trade flows.
3. Jade by MSC. This service was added to Jeddah Islamic Port and King Abdullah Port, linking the Kingdom to eight regional and global ports and offering a capacity of 24,000 TEUs. This initiative also strengthens inland logistics connectivity between Jeddah Port and the GCC countries.
4. Maersk’s new AE19 shipping service. This high-capacity service, utilizing vessels capable of carrying up to 17,000 TEUs, links Jeddah to primary Asian hubs including Shanghai, Ningbo, Qingdao, and Xingang in China, Busan in Korea, and Tanjung Pelepas in Malaysia.
5. Hapag-Lloyd’s SE4 Service. This new route links Jeddah to major international hubs in China, Korea, and Malaysia, boasting a capacity of up to 17,000 TEUs.

Logistics Corridors Initiative 

Mawani launched this integrated initiative to enable the transport of containers arriving at the Kingdom’s western coast ports through dedicated land routes to various regions of the Kingdom and GCC countries, contributing to reduced handling time and improved operational efficiency at ports. This initiative was designed to enhance supply chain efficiency and facilitate cargo movement between the Kingdom’s ports.

Port of NEOM

This strategic gateway on the Red Sea connects the three continents while advancing regional integration through multimodal corridors with Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Iraq. It currently provides a comprehensive suite of services designed to meet the demands of modern trade: general and project cargo, containerized shipments, bulk consignments, warehousing, and RoRo (roll on–roll off) ferry operations. 

In April, NEOM announced the launch of a new multimodal land bridge connecting Europe to the GCC through Egypt and northwest Saudi Arabia, in partnership with Pan Marine, with support from DFDS and regional logistics players. This integration allows truck-carried freight to move directly from Europe to Egypt and into the Gulf, via the Port of NEOM, offering an alternative to previous only container flows and enabling the movement of critical goods, including FMCG and other time-sensitive cargo.

The new route is already in active use by importers from several European countries, including Italy, the UK, Germany, and Poland, and provides direct access into the UAE, Kuwait, Oman, the wider GCC, and Iraq, supporting customers seeking predictable and efficient market entry. This corridor helped reduce transit time by more than 50%, featuring over 900 KM covered by shipments.

Private Sector Contribution 

The private sector has played a pivotal role in strengthening Saudi Arabia’s position as a regional and global logistics leader by driving infrastructure improvements and forming partnerships with global firms. According to the Vision 2030 Annual Report 2025, total private sector investment surpassed SAR 30 billion by the end of 2025. 

Additionally, the private sector provided privatization investments worth more than SAR 21 billion through 16 contracts and secured SAR 11 billion contracts with local and international partners to establish 29 logistics centers.

Private-sector companies also enhanced the operational efficiency of logistics services across the Kingdom by adopting advanced technologies like automation and digital supply chain systems, improving speed and reliability for trade routes connecting Asia, Europe, and Africa.

Finally, Saudi Arabia's logistics sector stands at the forefront of Vision 2030, transformed by strategic reforms, massive infrastructure investments, and innovative initiatives driven by the National Transport and Logistics Strategy. The private sector's pivotal contributions in funding, technology adoption, and global partnerships have accelerated this progress, ensuring seamless connectivity across continents and enhanced trade efficiency. As the Kingdom continues to climb global rankings and pioneer multimodal corridors, it solidifies its role as a premier logistics hub, driving economic diversification and sustainable growth for the future.

Kholoud Hussein 

In the world of entrepreneurship, funding is often viewed through the narrow lens of venture capital. High-profile equity deals and large funding rounds tend to dominate headlines, giving the impression that selling shares is the default path to growth. But an equally important and increasingly relevant tool for startups—especially as global markets mature—is debt financing. While long associated with traditional businesses, debt is now becoming a strategic option for growth-stage startups seeking to scale without sacrificing ownership or control.

Debt financing, simply put, is when a company raises capital by borrowing money that must be repaid over time with interest. Unlike equity financing, where investors receive a stake in the business, debt allows founders to retain full ownership while still accessing the capital they need. For startups, particularly those that have predictable revenue or assets to leverage, debt can be a powerful instrument that offers flexibility during critical growth phases.

The renewed attention toward debt financing comes at a time when the global venture capital market has cooled. Valuations have tightened, due diligence has become more rigorous, and investors are focusing more on profitability than on rapid, unchecked growth. In this environment, startups are discovering that debt—once considered off-limits for young companies—can be an attractive complement or alternative to equity. It offers liquidity without dilution, and when structured properly, it can unlock the operational runway needed to achieve key milestones.

In regions such as the GCC, and particularly Saudi Arabia, this trend is becoming more visible. As the Kingdom builds a more diversified and innovation-driven economy under Vision 2030, the financial ecosystem surrounding startups has expanded sharply. New private credit vehicles, venture debt funds, and government-backed financing programs are giving startups a way to access capital without surrendering equity too early. Saudi policymakers have emphasized that broadening the financing landscape is essential to supporting high-growth companies through different stages of their development. Debt fits naturally into that vision.

For startups, the strategic value of debt lies in its structure. It can be used to smooth cash flow, purchase inventory, acquire equipment, or finance expansion without affecting the company’s ownership. Growth-stage companies with consistent revenue streams often turn to debt to accelerate product development or enter new markets. Meanwhile, venture debt—designed specifically for startups—typically works alongside equity rounds, offering additional capital without dramatic dilution. This blend can create a more balanced capital structure and signal to investors that the company has multiple financing channels available.

However, debt financing is not without its challenges. Unlike equity, where investors absorb some of the risk, debt must be repaid regardless of the company’s performance. That reality forces startups to think carefully about their cash flow and financial discipline. Borrowing too early, or without a clear growth strategy, can put pressure on operating margins and restrict flexibility. This is why debt financing tends to work best for startups that already have product-market fit, recurring revenue, or tangible assets.

Yet despite the risks, the rising use of debt financing among startups signals a more mature entrepreneurial environment—one where founders think long-term and weigh the cost of capital carefully. In Saudi Arabia, this maturity is taking root as more founders prioritize financial sustainability. By accessing debt responsibly, startups can maintain control during their early years, invest in strategic growth, and position themselves for stronger negotiating power when raising equity later.

What makes debt particularly relevant today is the changing mindset around growth. The era of “growth at all costs” has given way to a more disciplined model in which profitability, resilience, and capital efficiency matter. Debt financing aligns naturally with this shift. It rewards startups that build solid business fundamentals and operational stability—traits that increasingly define the winners in competitive markets.

For founders, the takeaway is straightforward: debt is no longer a fallback option reserved for established companies. It is becoming part of the modern financing toolkit for startups seeking to expand intelligently. In an evolving economic landscape where capital is more selective and growth strategies must be sharper, debt financing offers startups a way to scale while preserving what they value most—their vision and ownership.

If used wisely, debt can be the catalyst that helps a startup cross from early promise to sustained success.

Kholoud Hussein 

Over the past decade, Saudi Arabia has undergone one of the most ambitious digital transformations in the world. What began as a broad modernization agenda under Vision 2030 has evolved into a comprehensive reengineering of everyday life—changing how citizens work, travel, receive healthcare, interact with government, shop, learn, and make financial decisions. Today, whether a Saudi needs to renew a passport, pay a bill, register a business, book a medical appointment, attend a class, or receive social services, nearly every step happens through a screen.

But this transformation is not merely a story of new apps or automated government systems. It is a story about trust. The rapid digitization of life in Saudi Arabia was only possible because citizens learned to place confidence in digital services—trusting that government portals are secure, digital payments are safe, health data is protected, and online processes are more reliable than traditional paper-based systems.

This shift did not happen overnight. Nor was it guaranteed. It required a coordinated ecosystem—government entities, regulators, startups, fintech innovators, cybersecurity institutions, and private companies—all working to build credibility, transparency, and reliability into the digital infrastructure.

Today, Saudi Arabia ranks among the world’s top countries in government digital services and cybersecurity strength. The UN E-Government Development Index lists the Kingdom among the top achievers globally; the National Cybersecurity Authority is recognized as one of the strongest frameworks in the region; and government platforms such as Absher, Tawakkalna, Najiz, and Sehhaty have become household names, embedded deeply into the daily rhythm of Saudi life.

The result is a transformation that goes beyond convenience. It has reshaped behavior, expectations, and culture—redefining what it means to navigate modern life in the Kingdom.

This is the first installment in a long-form series exploring how digital transformation is reshaping Saudi society. And there is no better starting point than the foundation of it all: digital trust.

A New Digital Rhythm: How Transformation Became a Daily Experience

To understand the depth of the shift, it is important to appreciate how digital services migrated from being an optional convenience to becoming central infrastructure.

A decade ago, a typical Saudi citizen interacting with government services often faced queues, manual paperwork, and multi-day processing times. Government offices were physical spaces; a stamped form was the gold standard of verification. That world now feels distant. Through Absher alone, citizens can complete more than 350 services—from renewing IDs to processing visas—without leaving their homes.

The Ministry of Interior has repeatedly emphasized that this shift is not only about modernization; it is about quality of life. A ministry official noted in 2024 that “citizens today expect public services to operate with the same ease and speed as the best digital companies in the world—and that is the benchmark we have adopted.”

Healthcare has undergone the same transformation. Platforms like Sehhaty and Mawid allow Saudis to book medical appointments instantly, access prescriptions, view test results, and consult doctors remotely. During the pandemic, these services became lifelines—and they remain part of everyday healthcare today.

Education, too, has become deeply digital. Students access materials online; parents monitor progress through apps; universities use AI-based systems for admissions and assessment. E-learning is not an emergency measure—it is part of the educational infrastructure.

Financial behavior has also changed dramatically. Cash usage has fallen below 20%, according to the Saudi Central Bank, and more than 95% of all transactions in retail settings now take place digitally or through contactless systems.

These transformations illustrate a deeper truth: digitization in Saudi Arabia no longer sits at the edge of society—it sits at the center.

The Meaning of Digital Trust—and Why It Matters

Digital trust refers to citizens’ confidence in the safety, transparency, reliability, and fairness of online systems. It is built on four pillars:
security, usability, accountability, and reputation.

If any of these pillars collapse, adoption weakens. But in Saudi Arabia, the opposite happened—adoption accelerated at remarkable speed.

Several factors explain why:

1. Strong national cybersecurity framework

Saudi Arabia has invested heavily in cyber defense, earning top regional rankings. This builds confidence that personal data and transactions are protected.

2. Unified and well-designed government platforms

Citizens do not navigate dozens of inconsistent portals. Instead, major services are consolidated into trusted platforms like Absher, Tawakkalna, Najiz, Sehhaty, and Ehsan.

3. Regulatory reforms that protect users

The National Data Management Office and related authorities introduced strict data governance laws that strengthened confidence in the use of personal information.

4. Visible reliability

When citizens consistently use digital services without errors or delays, confidence naturally grows. Reliability is trust in practice.

A senior official at the Digital Government Authority summarized it clearly during a recent industry conference:
“Trust is the currency of digital life. Once citizens trust a platform, everything else becomes possible.”

Behavioral Change: The Rise of the Digitally Confident Citizen

Once digital trust is established, behavior shifts rapidly. Saudi Arabia today offers several examples of large-scale behavioral changes driven by digitization.

1- A population that prefers online over offline

Surveys from 2023–2024 show that most Saudis now choose digital channels first for administrative, financial, and logistical tasks. Citizens no longer tolerate inefficiency—they expect services to be instant and accessible.

2- New expectations about transparency

Digital receipts, real-time tracking, and clear pricing have changed how Saudis evaluate services. The days of opaque processes are fading.

3- A shift in lifestyle habits

People order groceries online, track fitness digitally, use e-wallets to split bills, and rely on apps for entertainment, navigation, and health. Technology is not an add-on; it is embedded into daily routines.

4- A cultural shift toward self-service

Digital platforms empower users to complete tasks independently. This shift reduces friction and increases satisfaction.

Digital trust did not only make citizens comfortable with technology—it made them expect more from both public and private sectors.

The Role of Startups: Building Confidence Through Innovation

Saudi startups played a crucial role in strengthening digital trust. Their success stories, innovations, and reliability contributed to a broader cultural belief that digital solutions are not merely functional—they are superior to traditional ones.

Fintech startups such as STC Pay, Tweeq, HyperPay, and Tamara reshaped perceptions about digital payments and online financial services. Logistics startups improved trust in deliveries by offering real-time tracking and predictable service. Health-tech platforms democratized access to care and established proof that digital consultations can be high-quality, secure, and convenient.

Startups helped close gaps that large institutions could not fill quickly, especially in sectors where citizen expectations were evolving faster than legacy systems.

A Riyadh-based founder who runs a fast-growing fintech startup noted during a panel discussion:
“The more reliable digital services became, the more citizens trusted them. Startups had a huge role in proving that digital can be faster, safer, smoother—and that encouraged adoption across the country.”

This entrepreneurial ecosystem also reinforced the idea that digital transformation is not a government-driven process alone—it is a partnership between public institutions and private innovators.

The Economics of Trust: How Digital Confidence Generates Growth

Digital trust does not only affects behavior; it affects economic performance. When citizens trust digital systems, they transact more, invest more, consume more, and engage in entrepreneurial activity with less friction.

Saudi Arabia’s e-commerce sector, for example, grew past SAR 50 billion, driven largely by rising consumer confidence in online payments and delivery networks. Fintech adoption reached new highs, with digital wallets becoming the primary payment method for millions.

Government efficiency also surged. Digital transactions dramatically reduced operational costs across ministries, cut processing times, and improved service delivery. This efficiency increases competitiveness and makes the Kingdom a more attractive destination for foreign investment.

In short, digital trust fuels digital growth.

A Foundation for the Future: What Comes Next

Saudi Arabia’s digital transformation is still evolving. The next wave will integrate artificial intelligence more deeply into public services, expand digital health diagnostics, enable fully smart cities, automate mobility networks, and personalize services based on predictive analytics.

These advancements will require even stronger trust. But the foundation is already in place.

The Digital Government Authority has described this phase as “moving from digital services to intelligent services—where platforms anticipate needs before citizens ask.” That future requires citizens who are both digitally confident and digitally empowered. And today, Saudi Arabia has both.

Finally, the story of Saudi Arabia’s digital transformation is not only a story of technology. It is a story of confidence—built step by step, platform by platform, experience by experience. Citizens learned that digital services could be secure, reliable, efficient, and transparent. This trust enabled an ecosystem to flourish, startups to thrive, and daily life to be redefined.

Saudi society is not merely adopting digital tools—it is embracing a digital identity. And as the Kingdom moves toward a fully integrated digital future, digital trust will remain the invisible infrastructure supporting every service, every transaction, and every innovation.

Noha Gad

Investors often face two clear choices for growing what they have earned. The first pushes for fast gains, even if that means taking on high risks, while the second focuses only on keeping funds safer, often at the cost of meaningful growth. A more sensible path exists; one that does not require guessing market moves or avoiding all risk. This path is called a balanced investment strategy. This strategy rests on spreading funds across different types of assets, each of which has a distinct role in the financial plan. 

At its heart, a balanced strategy means acknowledging that markets move in rhythms, focusing on blending different kinds of opportunities. Some are designed to grow over time, while others provide stability when winds shift. Together, they create a portfolio that can weather storms without abandoning hope for sunshine.

What is meant by a balanced investment strategy?

A balanced investment strategy combines asset classes in a portfolio in an attempt to balance risk and return. To create a balanced investment portfolio, investors typically need to combine high-risk, high-return assets like equity stocks with more stable investment avenues, like bonds and other debt instruments. Some balanced investment portfolios may also allocate a small portion of the capital to money market instruments and cash equivalents to ensure liquidity.

The primary goal of this approach is to balance the goals of capital preservation and capital growth. To ensure capital preservation, balanced investments focus on safe and stable assets, such as government bonds, corporate bonds, and other fixed-income securities. Depending on how much risk the investor can afford to take, a balanced investment portfolio may include safer stocks like those of blue-chip companies or riskier small-cap stocks.

Benefits of balanced investment strategies

A balanced investment strategy offers several benefits to investors, including:

• Risk reduction: By spreading capital across different asset classes like stocks and bonds, a balanced investment strategy reduces the risk associated with market fluctuations.
•  Consistent returns: This strategy aims to provide more consistent returns over time. While it may not capture the highest returns in the market, it also avoids the lowest lows.
• Flexibility: A balanced investment portfolio can easily be adjusted according to changing market conditions or evolving life goals. For instance, investors adjust the portfolio to prioritize capital preservation as they approach retirement age.
• Income generation: Bonds and other fixed-income assets in a balanced investment portfolio can offer regular income to the investor. This is particularly beneficial during periods of market downturns.

How to implement a balanced investment strategy?

1. Understand your risk tolerance to get a better idea of how much risk you can tolerate.
2. Assess your financial goals to obtain clarity on the return required.
3. Choose a diverse mix of investments to meet financial goals.
4. For a passive investment approach, include index funds and exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
5. Monitor the balanced portfolio regularly to ensure that it remains aligned with your risk-return preferences.
6. Rebalance the portfolio to maintain your preferred asset allocation.

Finally, a balanced investment strategy offers a practical and disciplined approach for investors seeking to grow their wealth without exposing themselves to unnecessary risk. By combining growth-oriented assets, such as stocks, with stable instruments like bonds and fixed-income securities, this strategy seeks to achieve a reasonable balance between capital appreciation and capital preservation. It does not rely on predicting market movements, nor does it eliminate all risk. Instead, it provides a structured framework that adapts to changing market conditions and individual financial goals. For investors at any stage of life, adopting a balanced strategy can lead to more consistent returns, reduced volatility, and greater long-term financial stability. Therefore, it represents a sound and sustainable choice for those who wish to navigate financial markets with prudence and clarity.

.Kholoud Hussein 

For founders building companies in an increasingly competitive startup landscape, the terms “business model” and “business plan” often appear side by side—sometimes even used interchangeably. But in reality, they serve different purposes, answer different questions, and matter at different stages of the company’s journey. Understanding the distinction is not just a matter of semantics; it can influence investor perception, strategic direction, and the overall survivability of a young company.

In the world of startups, where speed, clarity, and adaptability are everything, knowing when you need a business model and when you need a business plan can determine whether a founder is prepared—or simply optimistic.

What Is a Business Model? The DNA of How a Startup Makes Money

A business model is the fundamental logic of how a company creates value, delivers it to users, and captures revenue. It answers the essential question: “How will this business make money and sustain itself?”

For a startup, this includes:

• Who the customer is
• What value does the product promise
• How the product is delivered
• How much customers are willing to pay
• How the company will earn revenue
• What makes the model scalable

Think of a business model as the blueprint. It is conceptual, strategic, and often simple enough to fit on one page. The lean canvas, or the business model canvas, has become a preferred tool in the startup world because it focuses on clarity rather than depth.

Popular startup business models include:

• Subscription (SaaS companies)
• Marketplace (delivery platforms, ride-hailing apps)
• Freemium (productivity tools)
• Transaction fee (fintech platforms)
• Direct-to-consumer (e-commerce brands)
• On-demand services (home services, fitness apps)

A business model is dynamic. Startups pivot it, test it, iterate on it, and sometimes replace it entirely. Investors often expect the business model to evolve as founders learn more about user behavior and market realities.

In short, a business model is the what and how of generating revenue.

What Is a Business Plan? The Roadmap for Execution

A business plan, on the other hand, is a structured document that describes how the company will operate and grow, including financial projections, team structure, milestones, and market analysis. It is far more detailed and formal than a business model.

A typical business plan includes:

• Executive summary
• Market research and industry analysis
• Detailed product description
• Go-to-market strategy
• Operational plan
• Team profiles
• Financial projections and funding needs
• Risk assessment
• Milestones and timelines

If the business model is the blueprint, the business plan is the construction manual. It outlines the steps needed to turn the model into reality.

While early-stage startups may not always need a long business plan, they eventually require one for:

• fundraising from banks or institutional investors
• government grants
• internal planning
• large partnerships
• long-term strategic execution

A business plan is stable, while a business model is flexible. Yet both support each other: one defines the concept, and the other defines the execution.

Why the Distinction Matters for Startups

In the early days of a startup, speed matters more than structure. Founders are testing assumptions, interviewing customers, building prototypes, and discovering product–market fit. At this stage, investors care more about the business model—what the idea is, how it will make money, and whether it can scale.

But once the company matures, raises capital, or expands markets, it needs the discipline and clarity that a business plan provides. No investor will commit a large check without seeing the numbers, the hiring plan, the competitive analysis, and the roadmap.

The two documents also require different mindsets.
A business model demands creativity and experimentation.
A business plan demands discipline and analysis.

Understanding both—and knowing when to use each—separates prepared founders from unprepared ones.

The Startup Reality: You Need Both, but Not at the Same Time

Successful startups rarely begin with a polished business plan. They start with a sharp, simple business model and a willingness to evolve it. Only after they validate the model do they commit to a formal business plan.

Investors know this. Markets reward this. And founders who grasp the difference build stronger companies with clearer strategies.

In an ecosystem defined by speed, uncertainty, and rapid learning, distinguishing between a business model and a business plan is not academic—it’s a survival skill.