Mohamed Ramzy

Amid the rapid growth of the Egyptian entrepreneurship sector, documented data and verified information emerged as the backbone of this sector, and one of the key drivers supporting both investors and entrepreneurs.

Entlaq is a pivotal player in reshaping Egypt’s entrepreneurship ecosystem, combining consulting, policy-making, and direct support programs for businesses. Its core strength lies in its government relations and ability to produce in-depth research reports, making it a vital bridge between entrepreneurs and policymakers.

In this interview, Sharikat Mubasher speaks with Managing Director Omar Rezk about Entlaq’s journey, programs, and future plans, in addition to his insights on the entrepreneurship sector in Egypt and the promising opportunities ahead for startups.

First, can you tell us more about Entlaq?

Founded in 2022, Entlaq is an entrepreneurial think tank providing specialized studies and consultancies, as well as market, economic, and strategic research for Egyptian and international entities, aiming to support and empower entrepreneurs. Its clientele includes local and global entities, venture capital funds, multinational companies, and startups operating in Egyptian and regional markets.

What inspired you to establish Entlaq?

We established Entlaq to fill the wide gap in accurate data and verified information that faces all stakeholders in the entrepreneurship ecosystem, including the government, active entities, policymakers, the private sector, investors, and startups.

Entlaq plays a pivotal role in empowering entrepreneurs through specialized information and data, especially given the promising opportunities, young talent, creative ideas, and the national capital capable of transforming the sector. 

Entlaq offers various programs to support entrepreneurs. Can you share more about these programs and their impact on Egypt’s entrepreneurship ecosystem?

We provide a wide range of programs for entrepreneurs and startup owners, each has its specific goal and is supported by relevant entities, whether from the government, the private sector, or developmental institutions. This includes:

• Capacity building and upskilling program: aims to equip entrepreneurs and businesses with advanced skills and knowledge to drive innovation, growth, and competitiveness in Egypt's startup ecosystem.
• Accelerators and incubators: tailored programs to support startups at different stages, offering mentorship, resources, and networking opportunities to accelerate growth and foster innovation.
• Corporate innovation and investment readiness programs: empower corporations to drive growth and sustainability by fostering innovation, integrating cutting-edge solutions, and collaborating with startups.
• Ready for Tomorrow program: aims to empower Egyptian youth and enhance their entrepreneurial skills. Nearly 840 entrepreneurs participated in the program through four structured stages, and 120 startups advanced to two pre-incubators, with 18 startups being shortlisted for the final stage.
• Food Security and Sustainable Agriculture Pre-Acceleration program: a 10-day hybrid initiative supporting up to 20 early-stage Agri-Tech startups, focusing on areas like geo-data, organic farming, and efficient irrigation

How many startups have benefited from these programs?

We implemented these programs in 12 governorates, benefitting around 4,000 individuals. They supported and empowered nearly 140 Egyptian startups, 45 of which have benefited from our incubators.

Entlaq also provides a training program, in partnership with the Ministry of Youth and Sports and TikTok, to empower 10,000 male and female entrepreneurs to expand their projects.

What are the key companies that benefited from Entlaq’s programs?

Through our business accelerator, we invested in Tayar, a leading provider of smart transportation and delivery services across Egyptian governorates. We also invested in the health tech company QUBX3D and Bolt Energy, a pioneering company specializing in renewable energy solutions.

Do you plan to inject new investments in other companies in the near future?

Entlaq is not an investment institution, but part of our business model is to manage investments or funding provided by financiers to be injected into startups through our accelerators. Our investments in these companies have been made according to this model.

How does Entalq fund its operations, through venture capital or self-funding? 

We do not rely on venture capital funding; rather, we focus on expanding our income resources by enhancing operations and services.

Speaking about the first annual entrepreneurship report recently released by Entlaq, what are the main points that were highlighted?

In general, the report highlighted the growth of the Egyptian entrepreneurship sector over the past years, underscoring the pivotal role of the government and investment funds in supporting the sector and advancing the VC industry.

It also showcased the massive opportunities in the Egyptian market, evident in its vast pool of talent and skills, with around 700,000 university graduates annually. Additionally, the report discussed the readiness of the Egyptian market in regard to the technological infrastructure and other capabilities that enable the country to compete regionally.

In your opinion, what are the major challenges that currently face the entrepreneurship sector in Egypt?

One of the major challenges that the sector faces is the ability to maintain macroeconomic stability, which is considered a catalyst for entrepreneurship and startups' growth. Between 2018 and 2021, macroeconomic indices enjoyed a state of stability that positively impacted the performance of the Egyptian startups, securing nearly $1.2 billion in investments. Thus, the entrepreneurship sector is anticipated to thrive and grow by preserving the economic stability that Egypt has seen since the second half of 2024.

What are the most promising sectors for startups in Egypt?

Similar to the regional and global markets, fintech and e-commerce are among the most attractive sectors for investments in Egypt. We also see promising opportunities in the agriculture technology sector, given that agriculture accounts for more than 20% of the gross domestic product (GDP), along with other emerging sectors such as education technology, digital health, and property technology.

How do you assess the Egyptian market compared to neighboring markets?

Egypt is one of the region's most active markets for VC investments, and perhaps the most sustainable. Almost 42% of the capital volume in VC funds in Egypt is secured through development funds backed by international entities, while the remaining portion is secured by the private sector, with a very limited percentage of government contributions. This is what distinguishes Egypt from other neighboring markets.

For instance, in Saudi Arabia, government organizations and entities represent the largest source of VC funds. However, this model is not as sustainable in the long term as it is in the Egyptian market.

In your opinion, what is the total investment volume that Egyptian startups are expected to attract this year?

Egyptian startups successfully secured over $300 million across various sectors during the first nine months of 2025. We expect them to maintain the levels of the past two years, which ranged between $400 and $500 million. 

Does Entlaq plan to expand into other markets, or does it focus mainly on the Egyptian market?

We focus on the Egyptian market in the first place, but we also plan to expand into neighboring markets. Entlaq currently studies expanding into promising African markets, thanks to their high competitiveness and the increasing demand for technology and pioneering companies that can change people’s lives positively.

Translation: Noha Gad

Mohamed Ramzy

Amid the rapid digital transformation sweeping across the food and beverage sector (F&B), technology companies play a vital role in supporting entrepreneurs and enhancing operational efficiency.

Among the most prominent of these companies is Foodics, a key player in the markets where it operates. The company maintains direct offices in five main markets—Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt, Kuwait, and Jordan, while its advanced technological solutions reach over 30 countries worldwide.

Through its integrated restaurant and café management systems, Foodics has significantly contributed to improving efficiency, optimizing performance, and enabling restaurant owners to expand and grow their businesses.

In this interview, Bilal Zahran, Regional General Manager of Foodics for Egypt and the UAE, speaks with Sharikat Mubasher about the company’s expansion plans in Egypt and across the region, explaining how Foodics’ mission goes beyond providing digital solutions to focus on empowering entrepreneurs and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to manage their operations more efficiently.

What are the main services and solutions you offer to entrepreneurs and startups in the restaurant sector?

The company provides numerous solutions and products that serve startups in the restaurant and café industry and facilitate their business operations.

We offer an integrated point-of-sale (POS) system specifically designed for restaurants, in addition to accounting applications and solutions tailored to their needs.

Recently, we launched the Foodics BI business intelligence tool, which represents a major leap in this field. It enables restaurant owners to analyze their data with greater insight, understand customer behavior, accurately track daily performance, and predict future trends. This translates into well-informed decisions that enhance operational efficiency and support long-term growth. Simply, this tool turns data into a true source of power for any business.

How do your solutions specifically empower small and medium enterprises?

We focus on simplifying operational processes for SME owners. Our solutions help them manage sales, inventory, and data effectively, reducing administrative burdens and opening doors for expansion.

We also provide customized training programs to ensure our tools are used in the simplest and most efficient way possible.

Today, more than 33,500 active restaurant branches worldwide use Foodics technologies as of the end of the first half of 2025, with the total value of transactions processed through the Foodics platform exceeding $6 billion.

What distinguishes Foodics’ solutions from others available in the market?

What sets us apart is that we do not merely provide technological tools; we deliver comprehensive and user-friendly solutions that address the diverse needs of restaurants and cafés, both large and small.

We focus especially on empowering small and medium enterprises with practical solutions that grant them a sustainable competitive advantage and help them manage their businesses with high efficiency.

You mentioned that technology is no longer an option but a necessity. How does Foodics translate this vision into tangible support for entrepreneurs?

We translate this vision by developing integrated solutions that cover all aspects of operational processes, while offering continuous support channels to help clients keep pace with rapid changes.

We do not merely offer a product, but we offer a strategic partnership that accompanies entrepreneurs on their journey of digital transformation and growth.

To what extent can artificial intelligence enhance the efficiency of entrepreneurs in this sector?

Artificial intelligence has become a fundamental component capable of improving the customer experience through smart recommendations, optimizing costs by managing resources more precisely, and forecasting consumption patterns to meet demand.

These capabilities empower entrepreneurs to make faster decisions and deliver more competitive and sustainable services.

What are Foodics’ expansion plans for the coming phase?

We are working to strengthen our presence in the Egyptian market strategically and thoughtfully, by launching advanced technological solutions that directly address the needs of the fast-growing restaurant and café sector.

Our efforts focus on offering more integrated products that help entrepreneurs manage sales, inventory, and customer experiences, while introducing business intelligence and advanced analytics tools.

For us, Egypt is not merely an important market; it is a central hub within our regional strategy.

How do you assess the Egyptian market’s response to Foodics’ solutions compared to other markets?

The response in Egypt has been exceptionally strong. We have witnessed great enthusiasm from entrepreneurs and restaurant owners to adopt our digital solutions.

The Egyptian market is characterized by digital readiness and high growth rates, along with a growing awareness of the importance of technology as a fundamental tool for continuity and expansion.

Compared with other markets, Egypt is more flexible and adaptive to new solutions, making it a promising and ideal market for expansion.

How do you view Egypt’s future position on the regional and global technology map?

Egypt possesses all the necessary ingredients to become a regional hub for technology and innovation, starting from its infrastructure, through its human capital, to its strategic geographic location.

If these assets are optimally utilized, the country can achieve a prominent global position in the near future.

When expanding regionally, what are the main challenges you face, and how do you overcome them?

The key challenges lie in the differences in digital infrastructure, regulations, and market needs, as what works effectively in one country may not be as suitable in another.

We overcome this by gaining deep local market insight, engaging directly with customers, and developing flexible, adaptable solutions.

We also build strategic partnerships with key stakeholders in each market, which helps us deliver practical, relevant solutions and enhances our ability to succeed and sustain growth.

How does Foodics balance meeting current market needs with shaping the future?

We follow a dual strategy: First, addressing daily market needs through practical and efficient solutions.
Second, continuously investing in innovation, artificial intelligence, and advanced analytics to ensure our clients’ readiness for the future and their ability to compete in a rapidly changing environment.

In conclusion, Foodics believes that innovation and partnerships are the foundation for building a more efficient and sustainable future for the food and beverage sector, an approach that reinforces Egypt’s role as a regional hub for technology and innovation.

Translated by: Ghada Ismail

Noha Gad

The retail sector in Saudi Arabia is undergoing robust growth, driven by a digitally savvy young population, increasing consumer confidence, and shifting spending habits. According to a report published by the IMARC Group, the size of the e-commerce market in Saudi Arabia is projected to grow to $708.7 billion in 2033, showing a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 12.8% from 2025 to 2033. Additionally, experts anticipate that 75% of retail spending will come from Saudi youth by 2035. They also expected the Saudi e-commerce sector to grow significantly, with one in four retail transactions happening online.

The adoption of retail technology (retail tech) stands at the heart of this revolution. Saudi retailers rapidly embrace artificial intelligence (AI) for personalized marketing and demand forecasting, Internet of Things (IoT) solutions for smart inventory management, biometric authentication, mobile wallets, and other seamless payment options.

The retail tech market in Saudi Arabia is expected to achieve revenue of $7.2 billion by 2033, with a CAGR of 32.8% from 2025 to 2033, according to recent figures by the Grand View Horizon.

Digital transformation in the Saudi retail sector

Saudi Arabia is one of the most connected markets in the region, which fuels widespread adoption of digital retail technologies, driven by government initiative under Vision 2030 and evolving consumer expectations. Emerging technologies play a crucial role in revolutionizing the retail industry in Saudi Arabia. Most of the retail tech companies in Saudi Arabia harness AI for predictive analytics, personalized marketing, automated customer service through chatbots, and demand forecasting, ultimately enhancing operational efficiency and creating tailored shopping experiences. Also, IoT technologies are becoming integral, with smart shelves, digital signage, and interactive displays improving real-time inventory management and product visibility. 

Software-as-a-service (SaaS) solutions could support digital sales growth by enabling small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to digitize their operations, manage logistics, and accept online payments. Additionally, the rollout of 5G networks significantly enabled seamless integration of online and offline retail experiences, supporting omnichannel strategies that blend physical and digital interactions for consumers.

Together, these developments are transforming the retail industry in Saudi Arabia into a digitally empowered, consumer-centric ecosystem. 

The rise of B2B marketplaces

Business-to-Business (B2B) marketplaces in Saudi Arabia are rapidly emerging as vital platforms that transform traditional wholesale and procurement ecosystems. This transformation was driven by several factors, notably the integration of credit-scoring and invoice financing modules, the adoption of compliance tools, and the high penetration of mobile wallets.

The Saudi market encompasses key B2B marketplaces, such as Sary, one of the largest online B2B marketplaces for wholesale purchases; Ordo, a pioneering B2B platform focusing on the FMCG market; Lawazem, a one-stop shop for businesses to procure products directly from a network of suppliers; Farmi, a B2B online platform that connects Saudi farmers and SMEs to source and sell local farm products; Retailo, the leading B2B digital distribution company; and BRKZ, the pioneering B2B marketplace for building materials.

The ongoing rise of B2B marketplaces plays a pivotal role in transforming wholesale trade in the Kingdom, fostering increased efficiency, access to broader supplier networks, and enabling a more modern, digitally connected retail supply chain ecosystem.

Successful B2B marketplaces share several features that drive procurement efficiency, enhance buyer-supplier interactions, and support business growth. This includes:

• Leveraging AI and cloud-based technologies to automate sourcing, ordering, invoicing, and fulfillment processes, thereby reducing manual errors and improving order accuracy.
• Integrating with ERP and inventory management systems to enable real-time product availability, dynamic pricing, and personalized catalogues tailored to meet buyers’ needs.
• Embedding credit scoring algorithms to assess buyer creditworthiness instantly.
• Adhering to Saudi data protection and commercial regulations to secure document vaults and digital contract management features.
• Adopting mobile wallets and biometric authentication to enhance payment security and convenience. 

The rise of B2B marketplaces is pivotal to reducing supply chain fragmentation and procurement complexities in the Kingdom, as they streamline fragmented traditional supply chain networks by centralizing their interactions and automating procurement processes.

By enhancing transparency through verified supplier networks, B2B marketplaces mitigate risks associated with dealing with unknown vendors, ensuring product quality and contractual adherence, in addition to boosting confidence among buyers and sellers.

Additionally, B2B platforms incorporate ESG standards by promoting suppliers who follow sustainable practices and prioritize eco-friendly products; meanwhile, digital tools enable assessment of carbon footprints and resource efficiencies within supply chains.

Despite all these benefits, the B2B retail sector in Saudi Arabia still faces fragmented supplier bases characterized by inconsistent service levels and regional disparities. Compliance with evolving regulatory standards, such as data privacy laws and commercial auditing requirements, adds complexity for both platforms and users.

Ongoing investments are essential to sustain growth and scalability. Investments are crucial to upgrading digital infrastructure, including cloud computing, AI, and cybersecurity, ultimately enhancing platform capabilities to support advanced analytics and omnichannel integration. This will improve operational efficiency, reduce downtime, and increase adaptability to future market disruptions.

The future of B2B marketplaces in Saudi Arabia is promising, propelled by accelerating e-commerce growth and supportive government initiatives. This transformation will be triggered by key trends: the continued expansion of B2B marketplaces that convert fragmented wholesale supply chains into streamlined, automated ecosystems; the increasing importance of embedded financial services; enhanced digital payment integration; supply chain and logistics innovations; and the integration of ESG standards and sustainable procurement practices.

Eventually, the Saudi retail sector is at the forefront of a transformative journey fueled by rapid digital adoption and innovative B2B marketplaces. Sophisticated retail tech solutions are reshaping the traditional retail landscape into a dynamic, digitally native ecosystem. By addressing long-standing challenges such as supply chain fragmentation, compliance, and payment inefficiencies, digital transformation and modern B2B platforms are enhancing transparency, trust, and operational agility. 

Kholoud Hussein

As Saudi Arabia’s fintech sector accelerates, the region’s funding scene is changing fast. Founders are increasingly turning to growth debt—minimally dilutive capital that fuels expansion while preserving ownership. 

In this interview, Armineh Baghoomian, Managing Director, Head of EMEA, and Co-Head of Global Fintech at Partners for Growth (PFG), shares her perspective on how growth debt is transforming the GCC’s startup landscape, why Saudi Arabia is emerging as a key market, and how smarter financing models are empowering founders to scale with confidence.

In today’s uncertain macroeconomic and political climate, why are we seeing more GCC founders and investors – particularly in capital-intensive sectors like fintech – turning to growth debt as an alternative to equity? How do you think this trend will reshape the region’s funding landscape?

Founders and investors in the GCC are taking a more strategic view of capital structure. While venture equity continues to mature, there’s growing recognition that growth debt plays a complementary role – especially in capital-intensive sectors like fintech, where businesses need to scale quickly and efficiently.

There is growing recognition that a diversified funding ecosystem – where equity and debt complement each other – creates economic resilience and safeguards the future of innovation, aligning neatly with national diversification agendas. Growth debt plays a critical role in this mix.

Across the region, founders and investors increasingly appreciate that debt, when paired with disciplined governance and strong unit economics, can accelerate a company’s growth journey. Growth debt can be used to finance working capital, customer acquisition, or infrastructure build-out with minimum equity dilution – with benefits for all parties in the deal.

Over time, the rise of growth debt will reshape the regional funding landscape by broadening the capital toolkit available to founders. We’ll see more blended capital stacks, more nuanced conversations around risk allocation, and a more mature ecosystem overall. In many ways, the GCC is well positioned to leapfrog traditional financing trajectories, moving quickly toward a model where equity and growth debt sit side-by-side to fuel innovation and growth.

Saudi Arabia is quickly positioning itself as a leading fintech hub in the Middle East. From your perspective, what opportunities and challenges stand out for credit partners like PFG in supporting transformative companies in the Kingdom?

Saudi Arabia’s fintech evolution is among the most dynamic globally. With the ambitious Vision 2030 strategy creating the regulatory framework for digital transformation, the Kingdom is laying the groundwork for a truly world-class fintech ecosystem. For credit partners, this moment presents compelling opportunities.

In Saudi Arabia, we’re seeing a powerful convergence between a young, digitally native population, a government that is not only supportive but actively accelerating financial innovation, and a resultant flow of capital into sectors that are capital-intensive and highly scalable. This combination creates fertile ground for transformative fintech businesses – whether operating in payments, digital lending, or infrastructure – that can grow rapidly and have meaningful regional impact. For PFG, the ability to deploy growth capital into these businesses means we can help founders scale confidently without compromising long-term ownership or vision.

Fintech is inherently a heavily regulated industry, and in a market that is evolving as quickly as Saudi Arabia’s, these frameworks are still maturing. That means lenders must be thoughtful in underwriting risk, ensuring that business models are both sustainable and aligned with long-term policy goals. Additionally, because many Saudi fintechs are scaling for the first time in a market of this magnitude, there is a heightened need for governance, financial discipline, and strategic capital structuring.

For PFG, the opportunity lies in being more than just a capital provider. Rather, we are a long-term partner to visionary founders – helping them balance growth with sustainability and navigate the complexities of a rapidly changing market.

Growth debt often sparks debate about risk, especially when applied to ambitious startups seeking rapid scale. How does PFG approach balancing its support for founders’ growth ambitions with the need to maintain financial resilience and risk management across your portfolio?

We see growth debt as a strategic partner to equity. Our role is to structure capital in a way that empowers founders to pursue growth without jeopardizing the resilience of their businesses.

We look closely at companies’ fundamentals – strong unit economics, predictable revenue models, and clear visibility on cash flows. We believe in the founders we invest in and work alongside them to structure flexibility into facilities. This is particularly important in the GCC, where markets are evolving rapidly.

Fundamentally, we think about portfolio resilience in terms of partnership. At PFG, growth debt is not transactional; it is relational. By aligning with management teams who share our commitment to discipline and transparency, we’re able to provide capital that supports expansion while safeguarding the interests of both our portfolio companies and our investors.

In the GCC, this balanced approach is especially powerful: it allows founders to scale with confidence – building businesses that are durable as well as ambitious. As the region’s funding landscape continues to mature, founders will increasingly appreciate that growth debt, when structured responsibly, can be a catalyst for sustainable growth.

Given that you co-lead PFG’s global fintech and asset-backed credit strategy across multiple regions, how does the Middle East compare to Europe and Africa in terms of fintech maturity and appetite for non-dilutive financing?

What stands out most is how quickly the region, especially the GCC, is maturing. The combination of ambitious government agendas, a young, tech-savvy population, and evolving regulatory frameworks is accelerating fintech adoption at a pace we don’t see elsewhere.

At the same time, founders and investors in the region are increasingly sophisticated in their approach to capital. There is a healthy appetite for non-dilutive financing to work alongside equity in powering innovative, tech-driven companies.

Founders are eager to embrace global best practices, but they are also charting their own course – building businesses with high growth potential and strong institutional support, making it easier to scale. For PFG, this all means the GCC represents both a fast-growing and increasingly sophisticated market.

We're at an inflection point: the GCC is rapidly moving toward the maturity of Europe, but with the entrepreneurial energy and growth trajectory that, in many ways, resembles Africa’s leapfrogging story. That combination makes it one of the most exciting geographies for us to support with flexible, non-dilutive capital.

Without revealing sensitive details, could you share an example or two where PFG’s structured credit solutions enabled a company to scale effectively while preserving equity? What lessons from those experiences might resonate most with GCC founders?

Perhaps the most well-known example is Tabby, the Middle East’s leading provider of Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) solutions. We were confident from the outset that Tabby would become the regional powerhouse it is today. They had the vision, they had the ambition – but to achieve scale, Tabby needed the right kind of capital. That’s where PFG came in.

Specifically, Tabby needed a bespoke financing structure that would allow the company to scale its business in a complex market. By leveraging Tabby’s high-quality receivables, PFG enabled the company to accelerate its merchant network expansion and introduce new product offerings.

The impact was clear. Tabby experienced 900% quarter-over-quarter growth in FY2022 and raised over US$70 million in funding, boosting its valuation by a meaningful multiple and cementing its status as one of the GCC’s most valuable startups.

For GCC founders, the most relevant lesson from our deals in the region is the value of balance: scaling aggressively while preserving control. Similarly, it reinforces the importance of matching the right kind of capital to the right stage of growth, rather than defaulting to equity. In a region where many businesses are founder-led and highly conscious of dilution, this approach resonates strongly. It’s all about building sustainably, retaining control, and maximizing long-term value creation.

Looking ahead, as Saudi Arabia and the wider GCC pursue diversification under Vision 2030 and other regional strategies, how do you see the role of non-dilutive financing evolving? And what role do you expect PFG to play in shaping that future?

As GCC economies continue to diversify, entire sectors – from fintech and healthtech to logistics and proptech – are scaling at a pace we haven’t seen before. With that scale comes the need for more sophisticated capital solutions. Private debt will play an increasingly central role, not as a substitute for equity but as a strategic complement to it.

What’s unique about the GCC is that this is all happening in real time. Governments are laying down the infrastructure, investors are increasingly sophisticated, and founders are embracing global best practices. Growth debt, as a form of non-dilutive financing, enhances this trajectory by offering flexibility, disciplined growth, and helping to create businesses built for the long-term, not just the next funding round.

PFG’s role is twofold. First, to bring our global experience – having supported high-growth companies across other global regions for over 20 years – and adapt that expertise to the GCC’s unique dynamics. Second, to act as true partners to founders: structuring credit that supports ambition while instilling the financial resilience that will define the region’s most successful companies.

We will continue to support ambitious founders and help to shape a more mature, balanced funding ecosystem that underpins Vision 2030 and wider regional economic diversification goals.

Noha Gad

Emerging technologies, particularly artificial intelligence (AI), significantly transform the healthcare sector globally by improving diagnostics, treatment precision, patient monitoring, and healthcare delivery. Saudi Arabia is one of the leading countries that harnesses these technologies to modernize its healthcare system and increase accessibility. 

The Kingdom invests heavily in digital healthcare to improve efficiency and patient outcomes, potentially unlocking as much as $27 billion by 2030. This includes advancements in telemedicine, electronic health records, and other digital health technologies.

The Saudi Vision 2030 emphasizes the importance of privatization and Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) in driving healthcare transformation. By fostering collaboration, these approaches contribute to achieving the digital health goals outlined in Saudi Arabia's ambitious vision for the future.

The Saudi healthcare sector is witnessing unprecedented privatization, with over 290 hospitals and 2,300 health institutions transitioning into private operations. By 2030, private sector involvement is expected to grow from 25% to 35%, unlocking fresh capital inflows and efficiency improvements, according to recent insights into the Saudi healthcare market by Eurogroup Consulting.

Digital transformation continues to accelerate in Saudi Arabia, with $1.5 billion invested in telemedicine, AI-driven diagnostics, and electronic health records (EHR). These innovations are reshaping healthcare accessibility, allowing remote consultations to flourish and minimizing hospital congestion. AI-powered automation also optimizes treatment plans, improving patient outcomes and reducing administrative burdens. 

Additionally, the mental health market in the Kingdom is undergoing a remarkable transformation, triggered by a mix of government reforms, social awareness, and growing private investment. According to Eurogroup Consulting, the mental health market in Saudi Arabia is projected to reach $8.9 billion by 2033, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.23% from 2025 to 2033. This growth reflects a broader shift in the Kingdom’s healthcare priorities, where mental wellness is increasingly seen as fundamental to social stability and productivity.

Telemedicine innovations in Saudi Arabia

Telemedicine emerged as a vital component in transforming healthcare delivery across Saudi Arabia, enabling patients to access medical care remotely through digital platforms. This technology breaks down geographical barriers, bringing expert consultations and continuous care to rural and underserved regions, which traditionally struggled with limited healthcare infrastructure.

The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated telemedicine adoption by mandating remote care solutions to reduce infection risks while maintaining healthcare access. This surge highlighted telemedicine’s potential to alleviate hospital overcrowding, enhance patient convenience, and reduce healthcare costs.

A recent report released by Ken Research showed that the Saudi telemedicine market is valued at $1.2 billion, driven by the increasing adoption of digital health solutions, rising healthcare costs, and the need for accessible medical services, especially in remote areas. It highlighted that Riyadh, Jeddah, and Dammam dominate the telemedicine market due to their advanced healthcare infrastructure, high population density, and significant investment in health technology. 

Another report by Grand View Horizon anticipated the telemedicine market in the Kingdom to reach a projected revenue of $ 2.3 million by 2030, showing a CAGR of 18.4% between 2025 to 2030.

AI-driven telemedicine platforms in Saudi Arabia integrate AI into telehealth to enable proactive health management, optimize clinical workflows, and support early disease detection. Seha Virtual Hospital, launched by the Ministry of Health (MoH) as part of the Health Sector Transformation Program (HSTP), is a notable example. Being the first virtual hospital in the Middle East, Seha offers a full spectrum of telehealth services, including emergency and critical consultations, specialized clinics, multidisciplinary committees, supportive medical services, and home care services, empowering the best health consultants and practitioners in micro and rare specialties using the latest medical technologies.

Another example is Sanar, an MoH-licensed medical platform that offers comprehensive medical services including telemedicine consultations and home medical services. Other key players in the Saudi telemedicine sector include Cura, Vezeeta, MedIQ, Altibbi, Labayh, and more.

Overall, telemedicine innovations in Saudi Arabia focus on combining AI capabilities with digital platforms to offer accessible, efficient, and patient-centric healthcare, ultimately cementing the Kingdom’s position as a regional leader in AI-powered telemedicine and digital health solutions.

AI-driven diagnostics

In recent years, AI has redefined various sectors, notably healthcare. One of the most promising applications of AI is in diagnostics, where it enhances the accuracy and speed of identifying health conditions. In Saudi Arabia, AI diagnostics contribute to advancing the medical field, becoming a cornerstone of Vision 2030’s goals of diversifying the economy and improving public well-being through high-tech healthcare solutions.

With Saudi Arabia pledging massive investments in AI to improve its healthcare services, the AI diagnostics market in the Kingdom is projected to reach $204.9 million by 2030, marking a CAGR of 36.5%.

A recent study by Research and Markets indicated a favorable view of AI in healthcare among respondents in Saudi Arabia, with many disagreeing that AI diminishes the value of the medical profession. Half of the respondents either agreed or strongly agreed that AI contributes to reducing errors in medical practice.   

AI diagnostics analyze medical data more consistently and accurately to address human errors in diagnosis, which may lead to misdiagnosis, delayed treatment, or even unnecessary procedures. 

AI systems can operate tirelessly and remain unaffected by fatigue or cognitive biases, which can affect even the most skilled healthcare professionals.

AI and robotics are expected to contribute over $135 billion to the national economy by 2030. AI diagnostics are vital to this transformation, aligning with the Kingdom’s strategic goals to diversify away from oil dependence and develop knowledge-based industries. 

Although AI diagnostics offers many advantages, they come with several challenges. One of the major challenges is that implementing these technologies requires substantial investments in infrastructure, including high-performance computing systems and secure data networks.

Specialized training is also required to help health care professionals work effectively alongside AI systems, while patients and providers alike must adapt to this new approach to medical care. 

Key players in the AI diagnostics sector in Saudi Arabia include SDM, a health tech startup specializing in AI-driven diagnostics for various and chronic diseases, and Nuxera AI, a Saudi-headquartered AI company that empowers doctors and healthcare providers by streamlining workflows, reducing administrative burdens, and enhancing patient care.  Another example is the Amplify AI company, which integrates AI into thermal imaging to enable fast, accessible, and objective diabetic foot screening. 

Mental health solutions and digital well-being tools

The Saudi mental health market is witnessing a remarkable transformation, driven by a mix of government reforms, social awareness, and growing private investment. With mental health services being considered as a vital part of national well-being, the market is anticipated to hit $8.9 billion by 2033, showing a CAGR of 5.23% from 2025 to 2033. This growth reflects the shift in the Saudi healthcare priorities, where mental wellness is increasingly seen as fundamental to social stability and productivity.

The Saudi government made significant reforms to drive this transformation and modernize the healthcare sector by integrating mental health into primary care systems, ensuring accessibility and reducing stigma. This approach promoted new regulations, awareness campaigns, and funding programs aimed at promoting mental well-being as part of the country’s holistic health agenda.

The MoH launched the ‘Innovate for your health’ initiative, in partnership with the Digital Government Authority, to raise community awareness about the importance of mental health and to improve the quality of life among youth and society as a whole.

Additionally, digital well-being tools, such as applications and interactive platforms, were designed to monitor and improve mental health by reducing digital addiction and associated risks such as anxiety and loneliness.

O7 Therapy is another notable example of mental health platforms in Saudi Arabia. it offers a network of over 180 qualified Arabic-speaking therapists, benefitting people across 110 countries. Since its inception, the platform has provided more than 60,000 therapy hours. It helps users to find the right therapist whose approach aligns with the user’s needs and preferences.

In conclusion, Saudi Arabia’s healthcare sector is witnessing a significant transformation, backed by emerging technologies and strategic reforms under Vision 2030. The Kingdom’s heavy investments in AI, telemedicine, and digital health platforms are revolutionizing healthcare delivery by enhancing diagnostics, improving treatment precision, enabling remote access, and optimizing patient outcomes. Privatization and PPPs are pivotal in this transformation, attracting fresh capital and fostering innovation that aligns with the Kingdom’s goal of becoming a regional leader in advanced healthcare. 

Ghada Ismail

For many startups, landing a corporate client feels like a milestone. That moment when you go from scrappy beginnings to playing in the big leagues. It’s a sign that your idea works, your team delivers, and your brand is ready to stand alongside the giants.

But selling to corporates isn’t easy. It’s not just about having the best product or a breakthrough solution. It’s about trust, timing, and understanding how big organizations make decisions; slowly, carefully, and through layers of approval.

So, how do you step into this whole new level?

1. Understand the Corporate Mindset

Startups move fast, break things, and learn on the go while corporates don’t. They move through committees, compliance checks, and procurement gates. It’s not resistance to innovation; it’s rather risk management.

If you understand that, you’ll pitch differently. Corporates aren’t just buying creativity; they’re buying reliability. They want to know that working with you won’t introduce risk but instead remove it.

Show them how your solution makes their life easier: maybe it improves efficiency, reduces cost, or helps meet a strategic goal. Speak to what they value most.

2. Build Credibility Before You Pitch

Corporates rarely gamble on unproven startups. Before you knock on their door, make sure your reputation walks in first.

Collect small wins like pilot projects, testimonials, measurable results. Publish case studies that show your solution actually works in the real world. Even a few solid success stories can shift you from “risky startup” to “reliable partner.”

3. Start Small..Think Pilot Projects

When it comes to big clients, it’s often smarter to start small. A well-scoped pilot project is your best entry point.

It lets the corporate test your solution without major commitment and gives you a chance to prove value quickly. More importantly, it helps you find internal champions; people inside the company who’ve seen your results firsthand and can advocate for expanding your partnership.

4. Speak Their Language

Tech founders love talking about innovation, features, and performance. Corporates care about outcomes; efficiency, compliance, and return on investment.

Reframe your pitch around results. Instead of saying, “We use AI to automate processes,” say, “We cut processing time by 40%.”

Numbers and business impact speak louder than buzzwords. Keep it simple, clear, and outcome-driven.

5. Leverage the Right Platforms

You don’t have to break into corporates alone. Many are actively looking for startups to collaborate with — through innovation programs, accelerators, and ecosystem partnerships.

Government initiatives and national programs are designed to connect startups with large organizations. They give you access to mentorship, exposure, and opportunities to co-develop solutions that align with corporate needs.

These platforms not only open doors but also lend credibility proving that your startup is part of an ecosystem corporates already trust.

6. Build Relationships, Not Just Deals

Corporate sales are rarely quick wins. They’re marathons, not sprints. Deals take months, sometimes longer. But the wait pays off when it’s built on genuine relationships.

Don’t disappear between meetings. Keep in touch. Share updates about your growth, your new features, your latest achievements. Stay visible without being pushy.

Over time, these touchpoints build familiarity, and familiarity builds trust. When the timing is right, you won’t be a stranger pitching a product; you’ll be a known, credible partner.

7. Play the Long Game

Selling to corporates takes patience. There will be delays, revisions, and more paperwork than you ever thought possible. But once you’re in, the rewards are worth it: steady revenue, stronger credibility, and access to larger markets.

Every corporate deal you close becomes a signal to others that you can deliver at scale. It’s not just a contract; it’s a stepping stone to the next opportunity.

Wrapping Things Up…

Breaking into the corporate world isn’t about being the loudest startup in the room; it’s about being the most dependable, adaptable, and value-driven.

If you can combine startup agility with corporate reliability, you won’t just sell to big companies; you’ll grow with them. And that’s how small innovators become big players.

Manish Pant, Executive Vice President of International Operations at Schneider Electric

Manish Pant, Executive Vice President of International Operations at Schneider Electric, affirmed in exclusive statements to Sharikat Mubasher that the company’s global presence spans more than 100 countries and includes a workforce of approximately 150,000 employees. He stated that Schneider Electric’s mission is to create a positive impact by empowering individuals and organizations to achieve the optimum use of energy and resources, linking economic growth with sustainability.

Pant revealed that the company’s global revenues reached €19.3 billion during the first half of this year, adding that Schneider Electric allocates around 5% of its annual revenues to research and development to strengthen its innovation capabilities and ensure the sustainability of its solutions.

He emphasized that the Saudi market has been one of the company’s key strategic markets for over 44 years, noting that the Kingdom is taking confident strides toward a more sustainable future through resource diversification, accelerated digital transformation, and adoption of cutting-edge technologies. Pant highlighted that Saudi Arabia aims to generate 50% of its electricity needs from renewable sources by 2030 as part of the Saudi Green Initiative, alongside major investments in carbon emission reduction, energy efficiency, afforestation, and smart cities — all of which are reshaping the Kingdom’s energy landscape to become more flexible and efficient.

Pant remarked that Schneider Electric is proud to be a strategic partner of the Kingdom on this journey, providing advanced digital services, AI-powered data centers, smart building systems, and climate-friendly industrial solutions that reduce emissions and enhance resource efficiency, enabling industries, cities, and households to achieve higher levels of sustainability.

He also revealed ambitious expansion plans for the company in Saudi Arabia, which currently serves more than 8,000 clients through a range of assets and industrial facilities. These include the Dammam factory spanning 15,000 square meters, a preparation facility in Dammam, the Riyadh factory covering 13,450 square meters, and another preparation facility in Riyadh. The company will also open a new factory at King Salman Energy Park (SPARK), covering 20,000 square meters, scheduled for inauguration in the coming period to serve both Saudi Arabia and the wider Gulf region.

Pant noted that the new factory has obtained the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification, achieving a 34% reduction in carbon emissions and energy savings of up to 33%.

He further stated that Schneider Electric operates a 7,000-square-meter distribution center in Riyadh serving more than 200 local partners, as well as a research, development, and innovation center in Dhahran Techno Valley (DTV) in collaboration with Aramco. The company also has four legal entities in the Kingdom, with a localization rate exceeding 40%, and a regional training academy for the Middle East and Africa based in Riyadh.

Pant added that Schneider Electric has invested more than €50 million in its expansion plans in Saudi Arabia over the past five years and currently employs 700 people in the Kingdom. He highlighted that eight new products have recently earned the “Made in Saudi” mark, bringing the total number of locally manufactured products to over 20, with plans to increase production lines to 32 by 2030. The company also aims to export up to 20% of local production to regional markets, reinforcing Saudi Arabia’s position as a central industrial hub.

Regarding the Schneider Electric Innovation Summit, held recently in Riyadh in its second edition, Pant said the event serves as a leading platform to showcase the latest solutions in electric mobility, resilient infrastructure, smart buildings, advanced industries, and water resources management. He noted that hosting the summit again in Riyadh reflects the Kingdom’s leadership in energy transition, digital innovation, and sustainable development.

Pant added that the summit highlights innovation and digitalization as key drivers of Saudi Arabia’s goals for economic diversification, industrial growth, and global competitiveness. He concluded by affirming that technology and innovation are two core pillars of Schneider Electric’s strategy in Saudi Arabia and globally. Integrating AI- and IoT-based digital solutions, he said, enables the Kingdom to build more efficient and sustainable systems across cities, industries, and homes alike. Pant noted that the company’s achievements in Saudi Arabia have strengthened its standing as one of the world’s most globally integrated yet locally rooted companies. Saudi experiences, he added, contribute to developing globally scalable solutions and position the Kingdom as a role model to follow for innovation and sustainability.

Noha Gad

The rapid growth of e-commerce urged retailers to deliver faster, cheaper, and more reliable services to meet customers’ preferences for same-day or even two-hour deliveries. Traditional fulfillment models, relying on large regional warehouses, often struggle to meet urban delivery expectations due to long transit times and high last-mile costs, which can account for up to 53% of total shipping expenses.  

This shift has driven the adoption of localized fulfillment strategies, with Micro-fulfillment centers (MFCs) emerging as a scalable solution to bridge the gap between supply and demand in high-density markets.

MFCs integrate directly with e-commerce platforms, allowing real-time inventory synchronization and seamless order processing. They play a pivotal role in optimizing e-commerce operations by enabling proximity-based fulfillment. By storing high-turnover inventory in urban micro-hubs, retailers can drastically reduce delivery times, often to less than 24 hours, while improving order accuracy through automation.

These compact, automated centers, typically ranging from 3,000 to 10,000 square feet, revolutionize modern logistics as they bring inventory closer to urban consumers and enable faster deliveries and more efficient supply chains. MFCs were developed to meet rising consumer demand for same-day or next-day delivery, utilizing automation and real-time inventory systems to process orders with speed and precision, making them a cornerstone of agile e-commerce fulfillment.

How MFCs work

The primary objective of an MFC is to optimize last-mile delivery, the most expensive and time-sensitive segment of the supply chain, by reducing the distance between inventory and end customers. 

Micro-fulfillment centers integrate three essential components: advanced management software, automated physical infrastructure, and streamlined packing operations. The software layer processes incoming online orders in real time, synchronizing with e-commerce platforms and inventory systems to ensure accuracy and speed. Meanwhile, the physical infrastructure leverages robotics, automated storage and retrieval systems (AS/RS), and conveyor networks to retrieve items with minimal human intervention, significantly reducing labor costs and error rates. Once ready, items are transferred to packing stations where staff or automated systems prepare them for dispatch, often within hours of order placement.

These centers can operate as standalone facilities or be embedded within existing retail stores, enabling omnichannel fulfillment strategies such as ship-from-store, buy-online-pickup-in-store (BOPIS), and curbside pickup.

Types of micro-fulfillment centers 

There are three primary types of MFCs: standalone, store-integrated, and dark stores. Standalone MFCs are independent, compact logistics facilities typically ranging from 3,000 to 10,000 square feet. These centers focus exclusively on processing online orders for rapid last-mile delivery. They are often built in repurposed industrial spaces, basements, or standalone urban lots and can be deployed within months due to minimal construction requirements. They are effective for e-commerce businesses seeking to scale delivery speed without relying on existing retail footprints.

Store-integrated micro-fulfillment centers are embedded within active retail or grocery stores, typically in backrooms, basements, or underutilized floor space, allowing simultaneous in-store shopping and online order fulfillment. This type leverages the store’s proximity to customers to reduce shipping costs and accelerate delivery times, often enabling curbside pickup, BOPIS, and local delivery within hours. This model also improves inventory turnover by dynamically allocating stock between in-store sales and online fulfillment, reducing overstock and shrinkage.

Additionally, dark stores are retail locations that have been converted into fully automated, customer-inaccessible fulfillment centers dedicated exclusively to processing online orders. Unlike store-integrated MFCs, dark stores do not serve walk-in customers; they serve fulfillment staff or robots that pick items from shelves and pack them for home delivery or pickup. 

Dark stores are particularly prevalent in grocery and fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) sectors, where demand for rapid delivery is high.

How MFCs boost the e-commerce industry

Retailers of all sizes leverage micro-fulfillment centers to stay competitive as they offer a wide range of benefits, including: 

-Faster delivery times.

-Improved customer satisfaction.

-Lower delivery and inventory costs.

-Space optimization.

-Omnichannel integration.

The future of MFCs is shaped by rapid urbanization and the growing need for hyper-local fulfilment solutions, fueled by advancements in robotics, AI-driven inventory management, and automation technologies. Thus, these centers are no longer a futuristic concept but a strategic necessity in the evolving landscape of e-commerce and urban logistics. 

MFCs offer a scalable, efficient solution to meet consumers’ demand for same-day and even same-hour delivery by bringing inventory closer to end customers through compact, automated hubs located in or near cities.

Finally, MFCs represent a transformative shift in how goods are stored, picked, and delivered. As technology advances and urban density increases, MFCs will become an operational imperative for businesses aiming to meet rising customer expectations for speed, convenience, and sustainability in the digital age.

Kholoud Hussein

As the HR-tech landscape in the Middle East undergoes rapid transformation, new players are emerging to challenge outdated legacy systems and deliver solutions that match the region’s pace of growth. Among these innovators is Cercli, a platform founded by ex-Careem executives Akeed Azmi and David Reche, and backed by Y Combinator and Afore Capital. In an exclusive interview with Sharikat Mubasher, the founders shared how Cercli is tackling inefficiencies in payroll and workforce management and positioning itself at the forefront of the shift toward agile, AI-driven HR solutions.

Since its September 2024 fundraise, Cercli has recorded impressive growth with revenues climbing 22% month-on-month and payroll distributions expanding 14-fold across 48 countries and 17 currencies. “We set out to build a platform that delivers speed and compliance without the complexity of legacy ERP systems, and the response has exceeded our expectations,” the founders noted. They credit this momentum to a relentless customer-first approach, a globally experienced team drawn from leading technology firms, and an uncompromising pace of execution. 

Artificial intelligence plays a critical role in their product roadmap, powering tools like automated expense reimbursement and onboarding agents that cut implementation times from months to just 48 hours. With Saudi Arabia fast emerging as one of the most dynamic HR-tech markets, Cercli is closely studying the Kingdom’s labor frameworks, aiming to establish a stronger local presence to meet growing demand.

From Careem to Cercli: You both bring strong experience from Careem. How has that shaped Cercli’s vision and its approach to disrupting the HR-tech space in MENA?

Working at the region’s first unicorn shaped the way we think and built our entrepreneurial traits. At Careem we saw first-hand how painful payroll and HR operations were, especially for enterprises with thousands of employees. Payroll was painfully slow, HR tools were scattered, and nothing worked seamlessly.

We looked everywhere for a solution and couldn’t find one to solve these challenges. This is why we started Cercli: to eliminate the wasted hours and days spent on manual payroll and remove the need to juggle four or five disconnected tools. We knew there had to be a better way forward.

Since your fundraise in September 2024, Cercli has seen revenues soar 22% month-on-month and payroll distributions expand 14x across 48 countries. What have been the key drivers of this growth, and how do you plan to sustain this momentum?

The biggest driver has always been working and building alongside our customers first. 

Second, our hiring has been very deliberate. Our team includes incredible talent from companies like Careem, Kitopi, Stripe, Google, and Cloudflare. This talent could be anywhere in the world, but they chose to build Cercli.

And finally, sheer determination and speed. We build fast, we ship fast, and we keep moving with urgency. As any entrepreneur will be familiar - there have been plenty of sleepless nights too - but our shared purpose keeps us grounded and focused no matter how quickly we scale.

You emphasize the role of AI in transforming HR operations. Can you share specific ways Cercli is leveraging AI to replace outdated ERP systems and deliver measurable financial or operational savings for clients?

We see AI as an enabler in solving our customers' existing problems while also solving new ones that weren't previously possible. Adding AI for the sake of adding AI is not our stand in embracing new technology. AI is evolving and so is how we will utilize it. Internally, we already use AI to increase not just operational and engineering efficiency, but the real impact is in how it transforms the customer experience.

On the product side, many features are powered by AI. Take expense reimbursement: employees just upload a receipt in any format or language, and the system instantly extracts the details - amounts, dates, categories - reducing errors and saving finance teams a huge amount of time. Another is our job description creator, which - in mere seconds - helps hiring managers generate role descriptions during onboarding. We also have completely new AI products in development, which we will announce when ready.

Even the process of migrating and onboarding customers from legacy systems - which typically takes months - can now be done by Cercli in as little as 48 hours with the help of our onboarding AI agent. It reduces errors, ensures accuracy, and gets customers up and running much faster.

Across the platform the goal is the same for customers: reduce human error, stay fully compliant with a modern, human touch of running your entire workforce as opposed to outdated ERP systems in grey clunky user interfaces.

With Saudi Arabia emerging as one of the fastest-growing HR-tech markets, how critical is the Kingdom to your expansion strategy, and what are your immediate plans for operations there?

Saudi Arabia is one of the largest and fastest-growing markets in the region — if not globally. Ignoring it would be a mistake. We’re looking very closely at the Kingdom, its regulations, labor laws, and unique processes.

Many of our existing customers in the UAE and elsewhere already have employees in Saudi, and we help them manage payroll there. The next step is building a deeper, more strategic and local presence to support that demand and scale with the market.

You’ve hinted at imminent entry into another major GCC economy. Without revealing sensitive details, what factors guide your decision on new markets — regulatory environment, talent needs, or client demand?

Our analysis of new markets is deep and diverse. We assess levels of digitization; countries moving fast in modernizing their labor and compliance frameworks are natural fits for us. Another important factor is market maturity, meaning the number of rising companies scaling quickly and requiring tools like Cercli to grow without being held back by outdated systems.

We also consider demand from our existing customer base. Many of our clients already operate across multiple GCC countries, so we follow their needs closely to decide where expansion needs prioritizing.

Cercli now processes payroll in 17 currencies across 48 countries. How do you navigate the regulatory complexities of managing cross-border workforces, and what opportunities does this create for regional companies aiming to go global?

Talent is global, and we’re enabling regional companies to think global from day one. We’ve built our platform from the ground up with the regulatory complexity of the MENA region in mind.

Each country and/or zone, has its own rules around payroll, pensions, expat or national social security contributions, statutory body reporting, and even cultural nuances like Ramadan hours, weekends or Eid holidays affecting pay and labor laws.

By solving this fragmentation at the local level, we have created a payroll compliance ‘engine’ that scales.

The HR-tech space in MENA is getting crowded, with both local startups and global players eyeing the market. What differentiates Cercli from others, and how do you plan to defend your leadership position?

You are correct, the market is crowded. We knew that when we started Cercli, but the reality was despite various available options, no one was actually solving the real problem. Customers told us their many frustrations and we just listened. Global players had great functionality, but poor localization for regional compliance and know-how. Local players were decent on some aspects of compliance, but can't match feature depth or lacked a fully-fledged regional offering even after years of being around. Customer NPS for existing solutions were consistently low and incumbents were just too slow to respond.

Cercli is different because we eliminate that complexity. We have one platform for everything, fully localized for the MENA region, and built in close collaboration with our customers. We talk to them across multiple channels, we listen, and we build fast. That closeness and localization sets us apart and keeps us ahead.

Looking ahead, where do you see Cercli in the next three years — both in terms of product innovation and geographic footprint — and how do you see the broader HR-tech industry evolving in the GCC?

At the pace we’re building, our vision for the next three to five years is to completely replace these clunky legacy ERP systems and make running your workforce as intuitive as making a booking on AirBnb. We want to become the platform that every MENA-based company chooses to run their global workforce. More broadly, we see HR tech in the GCC evolving rapidly.

Companies are digitizing faster, governments are modernizing regulations for the new age, and expectations for simple, global-standard tools that justwork - are only going to grow. 

We’re building Cercli to stay ahead of that shift.

Finally, Cercli’s ambition is to fully replace legacy ERP systems and become the platform of choice for companies in MENA seeking to manage global workforces with agility and compliance. As governments modernize and enterprises expand internationally, the demand for intuitive, AI-powered HR tools is only set to rise. For Cercli, the future lies in building technology that not only keeps pace with this transformation but shapes it—bringing simplicity, speed, and scalability to the heart of workforce management.

Noha Gad

The commerce landscape is undergoing a significant transformation in 2025, driven by rapid technological advancements and changing consumer behaviors. Traditional retail and e-commerce are evolving beyond simple online transactions into immersive, engaging, and socially connected experiences. This shift reflects the importance of integrating technology, social media, and sustainability principles into how consumers discover, interact with, and purchase products and services. Thus, new types of commerce have emerged to redefine the relationship between brands and customers, creating innovative avenues for engagement, personalization, and convenience.

One of the most notable trends shaping commerce today is the rise of social commerce that integrates shopping experiences seamlessly into social media platforms. This type of commerce allows brands to engage directly with audiences, showcase products in real time, and drive immediate sales, creating a highly interactive retail experience.

Augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) technologies also revolutionize how consumers shop online by offering immersive and interactive digital experiences. Virtual try-ons, 3D product visualizations, and fully virtual stores enable customers to make informed purchase decisions from the comfort of their homes. 

Additionally, sustainability-driven commerce is another critical and rapidly growing trend that reflects consumers’ increasing preference for eco-friendly, ethical, and transparent shopping practices. Brands that embed sustainability into their business models, from sourcing and packaging to circular economy initiatives, are gaining trust and loyalty in a market where environmental responsibility is no longer optional.

In this blog, we will discover more about key trends that reshape the commerce landscape and how these shifting paradigms highlight a future where commerce is not just transactional, but experiential, interactive, and responsible.

Social commerce 

This term refers to the integration of e-commerce features directly within social media platforms, allowing users to discover, engage with, and purchase products without leaving their favorite applications. This trend gained rapid popularity among consumers who increasingly rely on social networks not only for social interaction but also for product recommendations, reviews, and seamless shopping experiences. 

Social commerce is witnessing significant growth thanks to multiple features, such as shoppable posts, stories, and in-app checkout options that simplify purchasing. These features reduce friction by allowing users to buy products directly through social media feeds, eliminating the need to navigate to external websites. Also, the integration of chatbots and customer service tools within social platforms enhances personalized shopping assistance and builds customer trust.

This type of commerce has a great impact on the way consumers discover brands and makes shopping more interactive and community-driven. For brands, social commerce opens new channels for storytelling, customer feedback, and direct engagement, enabling more personalized marketing strategies that foster loyalty and repeat business.

Live commerce

Live commerce integrates live video streaming with real-time shopping, creating an interactive experience where brands and influencers showcase products directly to an engaged audience. This type leverages the excitement and immediacy of live broadcasts to drive instant purchasing decisions, transforming the traditional sales funnel into a dynamic, entertainment-driven event. 

One of live commerce’s main strengths is the ability to interact with viewers in real time via chat, polls, and question-and-answer sessions. This interaction builds trust, answers consumer questions instantly, and encourages spontaneous purchases by creating a sense of urgency with limited-time offers and exclusive promotions.

This type of commerce enables brands to demonstrate products in action, showcasing features, benefits, and use cases more vividly than traditional online listings. It also features deeper emotional connections with consumers, ultimately reducing product returns and helping consumers make informed decisions.

AR and VR commerce

AR and VR transform online shopping by creating interactive experiences that bridge the gap between physical and digital retail. These technologies enable consumers to visualize products in a realistic context, enhancing confidence in purchase decisions and reducing the sense of uncertainty that often comes with online shopping. One of the biggest challenges in online shopping is the inability to physically experience products before purchase. AR and VR address this by offering personalized shopping experiences tailored to individual preferences and environments.

Sustainability-Driven Commerce

As awareness of climate change and resource depletion grows, shoppers increasingly demand products that minimize harm to the planet and promote fair labor practices. This shift requires businesses to integrate sustainability into every aspect of their operations, from product design and sourcing to packaging and distribution.

Sustainability-driven commerce emphasizes ethical sourcing practices, ensuring fair wages and safe working conditions throughout the supply chain. Brands are adopting blockchain and other technologies to increase transparency and traceability, allowing consumers to verify the origins and lifecycle of products. This transparency fosters trust and accountability, essential for maintaining brand reputation in a socially aware market.

As we navigate the rapidly changing world of commerce in 2025, adaptability and innovation have become essential for businesses aiming to thrive. Today’s consumers expect more than just products; they seek experiences that resonate with their lifestyles, values, and desire for authenticity. This evolution forces brands to reimagine their strategies and focus on creating deeper connections through meaningful engagement, transparency, and responsiveness. As 2025 unfolds, the most successful retailers will be those that master this balance, leveraging technology to connect, entertain, and inspire, while championing sustainability to build lasting trust and loyalty.

Ghada Ismail

When business founders land their first big fundraise, it can feel like unlocking a new level. Suddenly, there’s real capital to hire staff, launch a product, scale marketing, or even set up a new office. But for many, that influx of cash brings its own danger: burn rate anxiety. They spend fast. Too fast. And often, they run out of runway long before meaningful milestones are reached.

This issue isn’t unique to Saudi Arabia; it’s part of the startup playbook globally, but local dynamics, incentives, and pressures make it especially acute in the Kingdom. As Saudi Arabia pushes ahead with its Vision 2030 goals and builds out its tech ecosystem, understanding why many founders accelerate spending too quickly and how this behavior jeopardizes sustainability is vital.

The Investment Landscape

In the early 2020s, Saudi Arabia saw explosive growth in its startup funding ecosystem. According to MAGNiTT, the KSA venture capital landscape posted a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of about 49% between 2020 and 2024. First half of 2025 data shows the momentum continuing: Saudi startups raised about $1.34 billion in H1 2025, contributing some 64% of the total capital flowing into startups across the MENA region

But this surge is not without turbulence. Total Saudi funding dropped sharply in 2024 to around $750 million, a decline of about 44% year-over-year. Investors are more risk-aware, interest rates are up globally, and cheap money is less abundant. Meanwhile, although deal count remains reasonably strong, the size and quality of many early-stage rounds suggest founders are getting just enough fuel but are burning it quickly.

In this setting, founders often feel they must prove growth fast to justify valuations and future rounds. Burn becomes the badge of ambition. But without discipline, ambition can overrun sustainability.

What Drives Impulsive Spending?

Why do many Saudi founders spend fast after their first meaningful raise? Below are several intersecting causes:

1. Pressure to Signal

Securing funding is a public statement. For many founders, especially first-timers, spending on optics—office, branding, public events—becomes a way to validate the raise in the eyes of peers, media, and potential future investors. Luxury offices, PR teams, flashy marketing campaigns: these all send a message that the startup is serious and “playing at a higher level.”

2. Expectations of Growth & Speed

Investors often reward fast growth: user acquisition, market entry, and scaling. Founders internalize that and think in terms of “go big or go home.” Even before product-market fit is fully validated, they chase expansion: hiring aggressively, expanding into new markets, or scaling marketing channels prematurely.

When the macro environment is still rich with investment capital, pressure builds to outpace competition rather than pace builds around fundamentals.

3. Weak Financial Planning & Inexperienced Teams

Many early-stage startups in Saudi Arabia are led by passionate technical or product founders, often with less exposure to finance, unit economics, or cash-flow modelling. Without senior finance leadership or rigorous financial discipline, projections are optimistic and buffers are small.

They may underestimate costs (salaries, infrastructure, marketing), overestimate revenue growth, and mispredict customer acquisition cost (CAC) vs. lifetime value (LTV). This disconnect leads to spending that looks reasonable in plan, but in reality is unsustainable.

4. Easy Access to Capital + Push for Scale

Part of the Vision 2030 strategy has been opening up capital pools; government funds, accelerators, and VC firms are more active, and international investors are watching Saudi startups closely. That access encourages founders to spend, expecting that more capital will always come.

Alongside this, there’s a bias toward scaling up: bigger teams, more features, broader geographic footprint. Sometimes, less attention is given to profitability or even consistency of revenue. The “growth at all costs” mindset kicks in, especially when valuations are rising and comparisons with peers matter.

5. External Economic Pressures

Global economic tailwinds (inflation, supply chain shocks, rising costs) hit startups hard. In Saudi Arabia, rising operational costs—office rent, recruiting expensive talent, marketing—can strain budgets. Also, when interest rates rise and investor risk aversion increases, the pricing of capital and access to follow-on funding become less certain.

Consequences of High Burn: Why the Anxiety is Justified

Why is this urgent? What happens when burn rate exceeds sustainable levels?

1. Runway Depletion & Forced Cost Cuts
   If spending burns through capital too quickly, companies hit a cliff: layoffs, pivoting away from strategic priorities, or scaling back product features. These sudden adjustments damage morale, user trust, and long-term trajectory.
2. Valuation Pressure and Down Rounds
   Over-spending without matched growth can lead to disappointing metrics at the next fundraise. If performance lags expectations (users, revenue, retention), investors may value the startup lower than its previous round, causing down rounds. These dilute founder equity and harm investor confidence.
3. Investor Fatigue & Reputation Risk
   If founders repeatedly overspend or fail to show progress, local investors may begin to demand more oversight, impose stricter terms, or shy away from first-time founders. For the broader ecosystem, bad stories reduce willingness among limited partners (LPs) to invest in early-stage funds or raise their standards, making life harder for all.

Case Study: TradeHub—Choosing Discipline Over Runway

When entrepreneur Ahmed Jaber launched TradeHub in late 2023, investor enthusiasm was immediate. The cross-border B2B marketplace raised $1.4 million in pre-seed funding within just two months in a textbook early-stage win.

But funding didn’t translate into product-market fit. After a pivot to a SaaS sales-automation tool, Jaber and his team still couldn’t lock onto a model that customers truly needed. Despite having capital left in the bank, they made the rare decision to shut down the company and return remaining funds to investors.

Jaber later summed up the move: “Knowing when to stop is as important as knowing when to continue.”

For Saudi founders, the TradeHub story is a sharp counterpoint to the burn-rate spiral. Many startups, flush with first-round cash, rush into heavy hiring, marketing splurges, and premature scaling, only to find that revenue can’t keep pace. Jaber’s choice to preserve capital and reputation, rather than spend in hope of a breakthrough, illustrates that capital is a tool, not a trophy.

How Founders Can Shift to Balance

It’s not that spending is bad; it’s how and when you spend that counts. Here are some strategies Saudi founders can adopt to manage burn more intelligently.

A. Build Financial Discipline Early

• Hire or consult finance leadership early. A CFO or financial controller, even part-time or advisory, helps with realistic budgeting, forecasting, and monitoring cash flow.
• Scenario planning: run models for “best case,” “moderate case,” and “worst case” to see how burn looks under different growth assumptions (sales, retention, cost inflation).
• Focus on unit economics: customer acquisition cost (CAC), lifetime value (LTV), retention rates. If you have to spend $100 acquiring a user who gives $10 over their lifetime, growth through spending doesn’t scale well.

B. Stage Spending According to Milestones

• Prioritize capital allocation to high-leverage activities first: product development, core hiring (engineering, operations), modest marketing to validate channels.
• Delay expensive hires, extravagant offices, or wide regional expansion until product-market fit and stable revenue streams are proven.
• Let metrics (growth, retention, margins) guide the next spending round, not promises or projections alone.

C. Align with Investors on Realistic Metrics

• Be explicit in your pitch and early communications about what growth metrics matter vs which are vanity metrics.
• Set mutually agreed KPIs: monthly recurring revenue, churn, gross margin, profit vs. cost reductions, etc.
• Include milestones for fundraising rounds tied to performance (e.g., reaching X revenue, Y retention, or proof of unit economics), to ensure the next funding is obtained on solid footing.

D. Use Lean and Localized Strategies

• Use digital channels efficiently—invest in data to know which campaigns actually convert, where costs are sustainable.
• Wherever possible, outsource or use contractors/hybrid remote teams to avoid large fixed costs in early stages.
• Leverage local infrastructure and partnerships rather than immediately seeking costly global expansion.

E. Ecosystem Support and Shared Learning

• Founders can benefit from local incubators/accelerators that offer CFO-as-a-service or financial advisory, allowing even early-stage companies to access better financial practices without hiring full senior leadership.
• Build networks of peer founders to share lessons on what worked—and what drained runway.
• Investors can play a role: some are moving towards more hands-on support. If VCs insist on aggressive marketing spend or expansion, they share responsibility for the consequences.

Conclusion: From Burn Rate Anxiety to Sustainable Ambition

Saudi Arabia stands at a crossroads in its startup journey. The Kingdom has done much right: launching public funds, promoting entrepreneurship, building infrastructure, and attracting global capital. The momentum is there. But momentum isn’t everything. Without financial prudence, even well-funded startups risk burning out fast—losing talent, investor trust, and ultimately, potential.

Founders who learn to balance ambition with discipline—who spend with intent rather than spectacle—will likely emerge as the durable success stories. For Saudi Arabia’s tech ecosystem to deliver on its promise under Vision 2030, that shift—from burn to balance—must come sooner rather than later.

Noha Gad

Modern commerce is witnessing a significant transformation triggered by rapid developments in technology. The traditional retail landscape, which was centered on physical stores and direct customer interactions, is evolving into a digitally interconnected ecosystem. This change was driven by emerging technologies that enhance how products are sold and redefine the overall customer experience and operational efficiency. 

Technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), virtual reality (VR), and augmented reality (AR) emerged as key enablers that revolutionize each aspect of modern commerce. Businesses increasingly utilize cutting-edge tools to understand and anticipate customer needs, tailor offerings, and create more engaging shopping environments. AI-driven analytics allow retailers to handle vast amounts of data, providing insights that help optimize product assortments, pricing strategies, and personalized marketing.

On the other side, VR and AR fill the gap between digital and physical worlds, offering immersive and interactive experiences for customers, ultimately enhancing logistical operations by improving warehouse management, staff training, and real-time problem-solving.

As modern commerce continues to evolve, organizations embracing these technologies are well-positioned to meet rising consumer expectations and adapt to the fast-changing market landscape effectively. Thus, understanding the importance of this technological evolution is essential for businesses to remain competitive

How AI transforms modern commerce

AI has become a cornerstone of innovation in modern commerce, driving significant improvements across customer engagement, inventory management, and operational efficiency.

-Personalization and customer insights. AI uses machine learning algorithms to analyze customer data, such as browsing behavior, purchase history, and preferences. This enables businesses to deliver personalized product recommendations and marketing messages in real time, enhancing customer satisfaction and boosting conversion rates.

-Inventory management and forecasting demand. AI models can optimize inventory levels by processing large datasets on sales trends, seasonality, and external market factors. This reduces risks of overstock or stockouts, cutting costs related to excess inventory and lost sales opportunities

-Customer experience enhancement.  AI-powered chatbots and virtual assistants provide 24/7 customer support by handling routine inquiries, guiding shoppers through product selections, and resolving common issues quickly. This ultimately contributes to enhancing customer experience and reducing response time, thereby enabling human agents to focus on more complex problems. 

-Fraud detection. AI models detect unusual patterns and potential fraud in real time by analyzing transaction data and user behavior. This capability enhances the security of digital payments and protects both merchants and customers from cyber threats.   

Using VR and AR to enhance the shopping experience 

VR and AR are transforming the shopping experience as they create immersive environments that engage customers in ways traditional retail cannot. For instance, virtual stores and showrooms allow shoppers to explore products in a fully digital space without leaving their homes. Both innovations enable virtual product try-ons and demonstrations, especially valuable in sectors like fashion, furniture, and automotive.

Additionally, VR and AR are used for remote product training and retail staff education. Retailers can simulate real-world scenarios to train employees on product knowledge, customer interaction, and store layout without disrupting physical store operations. This method improves staff preparedness and service quality, directly benefiting the shopping experience.

These innovative technologies also fill the gap between physical and online retail, making shopping more interactive, engaging, and convenient in the modern commerce landscape. They enable interactive marketing campaigns and promotions that engage customers in innovative ways.

The integration of AI, VR, and AR technologies in modern commerce has a significant impact on supply chains and logistics as they can optimize inventory and deliveries, enhance warehouse and fulfilment efficiency, promote logistics planning, and improve risk management. 

Finally, these emerging technologies are fundamentally reshaping the landscape of modern commerce, creating opportunities for businesses to innovate and deliver exceptional customer experiences. 

Beyond customer interaction, they revolutionize the operational backbone of commerce by optimizing supply chains and logistics. AI-driven analytics improve forecasting and inventory control, AR guides warehouse staff to operate more efficiently, and VR simulations help plan resilient delivery routes and workflows. Together, these innovations not only reduce costs but also enhance speed, accuracy, and flexibility in meeting consumers’ growing demands.

Looking ahead, the continued convergence of AI, VR, and AR is expected to unlock more transformative possibilities that will redefine how people discover, interact with, and purchase products.