Noha Gad

In a world where every purchase, partnership, and policy is increasingly visible, the way investors invest carries more weight than ever. Money is no longer just a tool for growth; it is a statement of what we believe in and the future we want to build. For decades, investing was framed as a simple trade-off: maximize returns, and leave ethics at the door. Today, that narrative is crumbling. Across global markets, investors are asking a different question: How can I grow my wealth without compromising my values?

This shift is not only moral; it is strategic. Companies that ignore environmental risks, social expectations, or governance standards are increasingly exposed to scandals, regulation, and reputational damage. At the same time, businesses leading in sustainability, innovation, and responsible practices are positioning themselves for long-term resilience.

Ethical investing sits at the heart of this transformation. It is the practice of aligning investment decisions with moral, social, and sometimes religious principles, while pursuing sound financial returns. 

What is meant by ethical investing?

Ethical investing is an investment strategy where the investor’s ethical values are the primary objective, along with good returns. With suspicious and illegal investment deals on the rise, many investors are starting to insist that companies they invest in are socially responsible. This means treating their employees with respect, creating healthy products and services, and keeping away from unethical business practices.

Types of ethical investing

Ethical investing is not a single strategy; it is a family of approaches that help investors align their portfolios with their values. Each type uses different tools to direct capital toward what the investor considers “good” and away from what they consider harmful. Key types are:

• Socially Responsible Investing Funds (SRI Funds). This type avoids investing in controversial areas such as gambling, firearms, tobacco, alcohol, and oil. They focus on moral and social values, often with an emphasis on avoiding harm.
• Environmental, Social and Governance Funds (ESG Funds). Unlike SRI funds, ESG funds consider in their decision-making how environmental, social and governance risks and opportunities can cause material impacts on a company’s performance. They typically evaluate carbon emissions, water usage, and climate risk; assess employee treatment, diversity, and community relations; and review board structure, executive pay, and transparency.
• Impact Funds. This type of fund places equal importance on fund performance. Hence, they aggressively focus on creating ethical changes and supporting companies that provide certain products and services. Impact funds are suitable for investors who are socially responsible but also want good returns.
• Faith-based Funds. Faith-based funds only invest in stocks that follow religious values and ideals, and strictly exclude investments that don’t fit the category.

Advantages And Disadvantages

Ethical investing offers meaningful benefits, but it also comes with trade-offs. Understanding both sides helps you decide whether it fits your goals and how to design your portfolio wisely. Major benefits are:

• Alignment with personal values: Ethical investing lets investors direct capital toward companies and projects that reflect their moral and social beliefs.
• Potential for long-term performance: Companies with strong ESG practices are often better managed and less exposed to scandals, which can support stable earnings and competitive returns over time.
• Risk mitigation: Screening out firms with poor environmental, social, or governance practices can reduce exposure to lawsuits, fines, and reputational damage. 
• Positive social and environmental impact: Ethical investing channels money into areas like clean energy, fair labor, healthcare, and education, contributing to broader societal goals.

Disadvantages

• Limited Investments: Excluding certain sectors narrows investors’ options, which can reduce diversification and potentially limit returns. Avoiding entire industries may mean missing out on profitable opportunities in specific market conditions.
• Potential for lower returns: Ethical funds may underperform in periods when excluded sectors outperform, as they prioritize values over maximum profit.
• Higher costs and fees: Specialized research and active management often lead to higher fees compared to standard index funds. These costs can erode net returns, especially in smaller or niche ethical funds. 
• More research and due diligence: Ethical investing demands extra effort to verify that holdings align with your values, requiring time and expertise. This can be a barrier for investors who prefer simpler, passive strategies.

Finally, ethical investing is a fundamental shift in how capital is allocated in a transparent, interconnected world. It offers a powerful way to align your financial goals with your values, support responsible businesses, and potentially reduce long-term risks. By understanding the strategies, benefits, and limitations, investors can build a portfolio that reflects who they are and the future they want to support, without abandoning sound financial principles.

Ghada Ismail

Media buying has come a long way from negotiating television spots, newspaper placements, and billboard locations. Today, it is a data-driven discipline powered by artificial intelligence (AI), automation, audience analytics, and real-time optimization. Brands are no longer simply buying advertising space; instead, they are investing in technologies and strategies that ensure their marketing investment reaches the right audience at the right time.

This transformation is reshaping advertising markets worldwide, and Saudi Arabia is no exception. As businesses accelerate their digital transformation under Vision 2030, advertisers are demanding smarter, faster, and more measurable campaigns. In response, a new generation of Saudi companies is redefining media buying by combining technology, creativity, and data-driven decision-making.

While the term "AdTech" is often associated with software platforms and AI-powered advertising tools, Saudi Arabia's evolving media buying ecosystem extends beyond startups developing proprietary technology. It also includes agencies that integrate digital marketing, analytics, creative strategy, and campaign optimization into comprehensive media buying services. Together, these companies are helping brands navigate an increasingly complex advertising landscape.

Media Buying Has Become a Technology Business

The rise of digital platforms has fundamentally changed the role of media buyers. Instead of manually selecting where advertisements should appear, marketers now rely on sophisticated tools that analyze audience behavior, measure campaign performance, and automate bidding across multiple advertising channels.

Programmatic advertising has become a cornerstone of modern media buying, allowing advertisers to purchase digital inventory in milliseconds using automated auctions. AI algorithms continuously evaluate campaign performance, optimize budgets, and identify high-performing audiences, enabling businesses to maximize return on investment while reducing wasted advertising spend.

This shift has transformed media buying from a transactional activity into a strategic business function. Success is no longer measured solely by how many people see an advertisement, but by how effectively campaigns generate engagement, conversions, and long-term customer value.

Why Saudi Arabia Is Ripe for Innovation

Saudi Arabia's rapidly expanding digital economy has created fertile ground for innovation in advertising and media buying. The Kingdom boasts one of the highest internet and smartphone penetration rates in the region, while social media platforms have become central to consumer engagement and purchasing decisions.

At the same time, the government is encouraging businesses across sectors to embrace digital transformation, increasing demand for sophisticated marketing solutions. As companies compete for consumer attention in an increasingly crowded online environment, they require partners capable of combining media planning, creative storytelling, data analytics, and performance measurement into integrated campaigns.

This growing demand has opened opportunities for Saudi agencies to move beyond traditional advertising and adopt technology-driven approaches that improve campaign efficiency and accountability.

How Saudi Companies Are Reinventing Media Buying

Saudi Arabia's media buying ecosystem is evolving through companies that blend strategic planning with digital innovation, helping brands reach audiences across multiple channels while delivering measurable business outcomes.

Bassmat is among the agencies reflecting this evolution. As an integrated marketing communications company, it offers media planning and buying alongside services such as digital strategy, search engine optimization, social media management, public relations, and campaign analytics. Rather than treating media buying as an isolated service, Bassmat positions it within a broader communications strategy that allows brands to coordinate messaging across digital and traditional platforms.

A similar integrated approach can be seen at True Vision (TrueVS), which focuses on digital marketing and performance-driven campaigns. By combining media buying with branding, creative development, audience targeting, and digital strategy, the agency helps businesses optimize advertising investments based on measurable results instead of impressions alone. This reflects a wider industry shift toward performance marketing, where campaign success is evaluated through conversions, customer acquisition, and return on investment.

Lenzo demonstrates how media buying is expanding beyond digital advertising into experiential marketing. The agency specializes in brand activations, exhibitions, events, and immersive experiences that connect physical engagement with digital promotion. As brands increasingly seek omnichannel marketing strategies, companies like Lenzo illustrate how media buying now extends across multiple consumer touchpoints, creating campaigns that bridge online and offline experiences.

Meanwhile, Tech Wave highlights the growing convergence between technology consulting and marketing services. Known for its expertise in software development and digital transformation, the company also provides digital marketing solutions that leverage technology to improve campaign effectiveness. This reflects a broader trend in which media buying increasingly relies on technological capabilities, including automation, analytics, and digital infrastructure, rather than creative execution alone.

Although these companies operate with different business models, they share a common objective: helping advertisers make smarter decisions using technology, customer insights, and integrated marketing strategies.

AI Is Changing the Rules

Artificial intelligence is becoming one of the most influential forces shaping the future of media buying. AI-powered tools can analyze vast amounts of consumer data, predict purchasing behavior, identify the most valuable audience segments, and continuously optimize campaigns while they are running.

Instead of relying on historical performance alone, advertisers can now adjust budgets in real time, personalize advertising messages, and automate routine campaign management tasks. These capabilities improve efficiency while enabling marketing teams to focus on strategy and creativity.

For agencies, AI is not replacing human expertise but enhancing it. Success increasingly depends on combining technological capabilities with market knowledge, creative thinking, and a deep understanding of consumer behavior.

What Comes Next?

Saudi Arabia's media buying industry is expected to keep evolving as more businesses invest in digital transformation and online advertising. To stay competitive, agencies will continue adopting new technologies such as AI-powered analytics, smarter audience targeting, creator marketing, and integrated campaigns that run across multiple platforms.

The advertising industry is also adapting to growing privacy expectations. As third-party cookies become less common, brands are placing greater value on first-party data collected directly from their own customers. Agencies that can help businesses use this data effectively while still reaching the right audiences are likely to have a competitive advantage.

Generative AI is also set to play a bigger role in media buying. It can help agencies create content faster, identify the best audience segments, and optimize campaigns more efficiently. While AI will automate some routine tasks, it is unlikely to replace marketing professionals. Instead, it will make human creativity and strategic thinking even more valuable, allowing agencies to deliver smarter and more effective campaigns.

Conclusion

Media buying is no longer simply about purchasing advertising space. It has become a multidisciplinary practice where technology, creativity, analytics, and customer experience work together to deliver measurable business outcomes.

Saudi Arabia's media buying industry reflects this transformation. While innovation is often associated with AdTech platforms, the Kingdom's broader ecosystem of marketing agencies is also playing a critical role in modernizing how brands reach consumers. Companies such as Bassmat, TrueVS, Lenzo, and Tech Wave demonstrate that successful media buying increasingly depends on integrating strategic planning, digital expertise, and technology into every stage of the advertising journey.

As Saudi Arabia continues building a digital-first economy, the organizations that combine innovation with measurable performance will help define the next chapter of the Kingdom's advertising industry, one where media buying is not just about visibility, but about delivering meaningful business results.

Kholoud Hussein 

In the world of entrepreneurship, the strength of an economy is not measured solely by the number of companies it creates, but by the number it can help survive when adversity strikes. Financial distress is no longer an exception in today's business landscape; it has become an inevitable phase in the corporate lifecycle, particularly for startups navigating volatile markets, tightening funding conditions, rising operating costs, and rapidly evolving customer demands.

For decades, bankruptcy carried a deeply negative connotation across much of the Middle East. It was widely perceived as the final chapter in a company's journey—an admission of failure that inevitably led to liquidation, reputational damage, and prolonged legal disputes. That perception, however, has begun to change in Saudi Arabia with the introduction of the Kingdom's Bankruptcy Law, legislation that fundamentally redefines bankruptcy not as the end of a business, but as an opportunity to preserve one.

More than a legal reform, the law represents a shift in economic philosophy. It aligns closely with the ambitions of Saudi Vision 2030, which seeks to build a diversified, competitive, and resilient economy capable of encouraging innovation while managing business risks more effectively. Rather than forcing financially distressed companies into immediate liquidation, the framework allows viable businesses to restructure their obligations, reorganize their finances, and continue operating—preserving jobs, protecting creditors' rights, and maintaining economic value.

For startups, this legal framework has become one of the defining characteristics of a mature entrepreneurial ecosystem. Venture capitalists understand that innovation inherently involves uncertainty, and that not every business succeeds on its first attempt. What matters is not eliminating risk altogether, but creating mechanisms that allow promising companies to recover from temporary setbacks. By providing those mechanisms, Saudi Arabia has taken an important step toward strengthening investor confidence and encouraging greater capital deployment across its growing startup ecosystem.

From Punishment to Business Recovery

Saudi Arabia's Bankruptcy Law, enacted under Royal Decree No. M/50 in 2018, marked a turning point in the Kingdom's commercial legal framework. Replacing outdated insolvency provisions that were no longer suited to the needs of a rapidly diversifying economy, the law introduced internationally recognized restructuring principles while adapting them to Saudi Arabia's legal and economic environment.

At its core lies a simple but transformative principle: financial distress does not necessarily mean a business has reached the end of its life cycle. Many companies experience temporary liquidity shortages, operational disruptions, or financing challenges that can be overcome through restructuring rather than liquidation.

To address varying degrees of financial distress, the law establishes several judicial procedures, each designed to preserve economic value whenever possible. These include:

• Preventive Settlement, allowing debtors to negotiate repayment agreements with creditors before insolvency escalates. 
• Financial Restructuring, enabling companies to reorganize their debts while continuing day-to-day operations under court supervision. 
• Liquidation, which remains the final option when a business is no longer economically viable. 

This graduated approach represents a fundamental departure from traditional insolvency regimes. Instead of treating bankruptcy as a legal penalty, the Saudi framework views it as a structured process aimed at business recovery whenever feasible.

Why Startups Stand to Benefit the Most

No segment of the economy illustrates the importance of such legislation better than startups.

Globally, the majority of startups encounter cash flow challenges during their early years—not because their products lack potential, but because they often expand rapidly, depend heavily on external financing, and require years before achieving profitability. Market fluctuations, delayed fundraising rounds, changing investor sentiment, or unexpected economic shocks can quickly place otherwise promising companies under financial pressure.

Saudi Arabia's startup ecosystem has expanded significantly over the past decade. Government-backed initiatives, venture capital funds, accelerators, incubators, and regulatory reforms have fueled rapid growth across sectors such as fintech, e-commerce, digital health, artificial intelligence, logistics, and enterprise software.

As the ecosystem matures, financial distress becomes an inevitable reality for some companies. The critical question is no longer whether businesses will encounter challenges—but whether the legal environment enables them to recover.

Unlike traditional businesses whose value often lies in physical assets, startups derive much of their worth from intangible assets: proprietary technology, software platforms, intellectual property, customer relationships, data, and brand equity. Immediate liquidation frequently destroys much of that value. Restructuring, by contrast, preserves these assets while allowing management to stabilize operations and pursue long-term recovery.

Equally important, the Bankruptcy Law provides distressed businesses with breathing space. Under judicial supervision, companies can negotiate with creditors, suspend certain enforcement actions, and develop restructuring plans without the immediate threat of business closure. This period often proves critical in restoring liquidity and rebuilding operational stability.

Investors Fear Uncertainty More Than Failure

Contrary to popular belief, bankruptcy legislation does not encourage reckless business behavior. In reality, sophisticated investors have never expected every startup to succeed.

The venture capital model itself is built on the assumption that only a small percentage of portfolio companies will generate extraordinary returns, compensating for the inevitable failures elsewhere. Failure, therefore, is already priced into the investment equation.

What investors fear is not failure itself, but uncertainty surrounding failure.

When insolvency procedures are unclear, recovery mechanisms are weak, and creditor rights are poorly defined, investment risk increases substantially. Conversely, transparent bankruptcy frameworks reduce uncertainty by establishing predictable legal pathways for debt restructuring, creditor negotiations, and business continuation.

This is precisely why insolvency reform has become an important indicator of a country's investment climate. International institutions and legal experts consistently regard efficient restructuring frameworks as essential components of business-friendly economies because they improve legal certainty, facilitate capital allocation, and reduce systemic financial risk.

Saudi Arabia's Bankruptcy Law forms part of a broader package of economic reforms designed to improve the Kingdom's ease of doing business, strengthen investor protection, and position Saudi Arabia as one of the region's leading destinations for entrepreneurship and foreign investment.

When Financial Distress Becomes Part of the Growth Story

Some of the world's most recognizable companies demonstrate why restructuring laws matter.

During the 2008 global financial crisis, General Motors underwent one of the largest corporate restructurings in history. Rather than disappearing, the company successfully reorganized its operations, emerged from bankruptcy protection, and returned to profitability.

More recently, WeWork, once considered one of the world's fastest-growing startups, entered restructuring proceedings after facing mounting debt and declining valuations. Instead of immediately ceasing operations, the company used the legal framework to renegotiate obligations, reduce costs, and reposition its business model.

Similarly, LATAM Airlines, severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, utilized restructuring procedures to reorganize billions of dollars in liabilities while maintaining operations across Latin America before ultimately emerging with a stronger financial foundation.

These cases do not suggest that every financially distressed company can—or should—be saved. Rather, they demonstrate that modern bankruptcy laws seek to distinguish between businesses that have become fundamentally unviable and those suffering from temporary financial challenges. For the latter, restructuring protects enterprise value, preserves employment, and often delivers better outcomes for creditors than immediate liquidation.

Saudi Arabia's Bankruptcy Law embraces this same philosophy by recognizing that preserving a viable business frequently creates greater economic value than dismantling it.

Changing the Culture Around Failure

Perhaps the greatest impact of Saudi Arabia's Bankruptcy Law extends beyond the courtroom.

Its true significance lies in reshaping how entrepreneurs, investors, lenders, and society perceive business failure.

In the world's most innovative economies, failed entrepreneurs are rarely viewed as permanent failures. Instead, they are often regarded as individuals who have accumulated valuable experience that increases their chances of succeeding in future ventures.

By contrast, where bankruptcy carries social stigma or severe legal consequences, entrepreneurs may delay seeking help until recovery becomes impossible.

Saudi Arabia's framework encourages earlier intervention. Rather than waiting until a company has exhausted every option, the law incentivizes businesses to pursue preventive settlements and financial restructuring before financial distress becomes irreversible.

As Saudi Arabia continues to accelerate its transition toward a knowledge-based economy, this cultural transformation may prove just as important as the legal reform itself. A thriving startup ecosystem is not one in which companies never fail; it is one in which innovative businesses are given every reasonable opportunity to recover, adapt, and create value once again.

Building Confidence Through a Culture of Business Recovery

The true success of a bankruptcy framework is rarely measured by the number of companies that enter its procedures. Instead, it is measured by whether entrepreneurs, investors, lenders, and the wider business community develop sufficient confidence to use it before financial distress becomes irreversible. In Saudi Arabia, that confidence has been steadily building since the Bankruptcy Law came into force, reflecting a broader transformation in how financial distress is perceived within one of the Middle East's fastest-growing entrepreneurial ecosystems.

For decades, insolvency was often associated with corporate failure, reputational damage, and the inevitable dissolution of a business. Companies experiencing liquidity shortages frequently delayed seeking legal protection, hoping that market conditions would improve or additional financing would materialize. By the time many businesses acknowledged the severity of their financial challenges, recovery had become significantly more difficult, leaving liquidation as the only viable option.

Saudi Arabia's Bankruptcy Law seeks to reverse that pattern. Rather than encouraging companies to wait until collapse is unavoidable, the legislation promotes early intervention, allowing businesses to negotiate with creditors while they remain operational and economically viable. This subtle shift in timing has profound implications. A company that enters restructuring before exhausting its resources stands a far greater chance of preserving jobs, protecting supplier relationships, safeguarding intellectual property, and ultimately returning to sustainable growth.

The growing acceptance of this philosophy is becoming increasingly evident. According to data released by the Saudi Bankruptcy Commission, bankruptcy applications have continued to rise over recent years—not because more businesses are necessarily failing, but because awareness of the legal framework has expanded among companies, financial advisers, and creditors. More importantly, a growing proportion of these filings involve Preventive Settlement and Financial Restructuring procedures rather than liquidation, suggesting that businesses are increasingly viewing the law as a mechanism for recovery instead of a final exit from the market.

This distinction is particularly important for startups. Young, high-growth companies operate under financial dynamics that differ significantly from those of traditional businesses. Rapid expansion often requires substantial upfront investment, while revenues may take years to reach levels capable of supporting profitability. During this period, startups remain highly sensitive to changes in funding conditions, shifts in investor sentiment, supply chain disruptions, or unexpected economic shocks. Financial distress, therefore, is not always a reflection of poor management or a flawed business model; it is often a consequence of the inherently uncertain nature of innovation.

The venture capital industry has long understood this reality. Professional investors rarely expect every company within their portfolios to succeed. In fact, the venture capital model is built upon the assumption that only a relatively small number of investments will generate exceptional returns capable of offsetting losses elsewhere. Failure, therefore, is not an anomaly—it is embedded within the economics of innovation itself.

What concerns investors is not the possibility that a startup may struggle, but the absence of predictable legal mechanisms to manage those struggles. Every investment decision incorporates an assessment of institutional risk alongside commercial potential. Investors want to know how creditor claims will be handled, whether management can continue operating during restructuring, how quickly courts can resolve disputes, and whether enterprise value can be preserved while financial obligations are reorganized.

In this context, Saudi Arabia's Bankruptcy Law performs an important function beyond corporate recovery. It reduces uncertainty.

Legal certainty has become one of the defining characteristics separating mature investment destinations from emerging markets. Countries capable of providing transparent restructuring procedures, efficient judicial oversight, and balanced protection for both debtors and creditors generally attract greater volumes of long-term investment because they offer investors confidence that business risks can be managed within a predictable legal environment.

This institutional maturity has become increasingly important as Saudi Arabia's venture capital market continues its rapid expansion. Over the past several years, the Kingdom has consistently ranked among the largest recipients of venture capital investment in the Middle East and North Africa, supported by government initiatives, sovereign-backed investment vehicles, corporate venture funds, and an increasingly active private investment community. The growing number of technology startups operating across fintech, artificial intelligence, logistics, digital health, retail technology, and enterprise software demonstrates the remarkable pace at which the entrepreneurial landscape is evolving.

Yet every mature startup ecosystem eventually reaches a point where supporting successful companies alone is no longer sufficient. It must also develop sophisticated mechanisms for managing unsuccessful ones.

This is where bankruptcy legislation assumes strategic importance.

Modern innovation economies recognize that preserving viable businesses often creates significantly greater economic value than liquidating them. Startups rarely derive their worth from factories, machinery, or real estate. Their greatest assets are typically intangible: proprietary software, patented technologies, customer databases, algorithms, digital platforms, data assets, intellectual property, and highly specialized human capital. These assets frequently lose much of their value when companies are dismantled through liquidation.

Restructuring offers an alternative. By allowing companies to continue operating while negotiating revised financial obligations, bankruptcy procedures preserve the knowledge, innovation, and commercial relationships that have often taken years to build. Employees remain productive, customers continue receiving services, suppliers retain business relationships, and investors maintain the possibility of recovering value from their investments.

The international experience provides compelling evidence of this approach. Some of today's most recognizable companies owe their continued existence not to uninterrupted commercial success, but to legal systems capable of facilitating corporate recovery.

The restructuring of General Motors during the global financial crisis remains one of the most widely studied examples of modern corporate rehabilitation. Faced with unprecedented financial losses, the automotive giant reorganized its operations through court-supervised restructuring rather than outright liquidation, enabling the company to preserve industrial capacity, protect thousands of jobs, and eventually regain profitability.

More recently, WeWork's highly publicized restructuring demonstrated that even companies once celebrated as symbols of innovation can experience severe financial distress. Rather than disappearing entirely, the company utilized bankruptcy procedures to renegotiate leases, reduce debt, streamline operations, and reposition itself within a changing commercial environment. Likewise, LATAM Airlines emerged from one of the aviation industry's largest restructurings after reorganizing billions of dollars in liabilities while maintaining operations during the COVID-19 pandemic.

These examples should not be interpreted as evidence that every struggling business deserves rescue. Bankruptcy laws are not designed to preserve companies that lack viable business models or sustainable market demand. Instead, they are intended to distinguish between temporary financial distress and permanent commercial failure—a distinction that is essential in economies driven by innovation, where early-stage companies often require time to transform promising ideas into profitable enterprises.

Perhaps the most significant impact of Saudi Arabia's Bankruptcy Law, however, extends beyond legal procedure and financial restructuring. It is gradually reshaping the culture surrounding entrepreneurship itself.

In many established innovation hubs, including Silicon Valley, entrepreneurial failure is often regarded as an educational experience rather than a permanent stigma. Investors frequently back founders who have previously experienced unsuccessful ventures, recognizing that practical experience acquired through failure can improve leadership, operational discipline, and strategic decision-making in future businesses.

Historically, many entrepreneurs across emerging markets have operated under very different assumptions. The social and legal consequences traditionally associated with insolvency often encouraged founders to conceal financial problems rather than address them openly. This reluctance frequently delayed restructuring efforts until recovery was no longer possible.

Saudi Arabia's evolving legal framework encourages precisely the opposite behavior. By providing structured pathways for preventive settlement and financial restructuring, it incentivizes earlier dialogue between businesses and creditors, increasing the likelihood that viable companies can recover before financial deterioration becomes irreversible.

This cultural evolution aligns closely with the broader objectives of Vision 2030. Economic diversification depends not only on encouraging entrepreneurs to establish companies but also on creating institutions capable of supporting businesses throughout every stage of their development—from incorporation and fundraising to expansion, restructuring, acquisition, and, where necessary, an orderly exit from the market. In that sense, the Bankruptcy Law complements a much wider program of commercial reforms designed to strengthen investor confidence, modernize the judicial system, improve the business environment, and position Saudi Arabia as one of the region's leading destinations for entrepreneurship and innovation.

Ultimately, the Bankruptcy Law is not simply legislation governing financial distress. It is an institutional signal that Saudi Arabia has embraced a more sophisticated understanding of how modern economies grow. Innovation requires ambition, ambition inevitably involves risk, and risk occasionally leads to failure. Sustainable entrepreneurial ecosystems are therefore built not on the unrealistic expectation that companies will never fail, but on the confidence that when viable businesses encounter temporary setbacks, the legal system provides them with a genuine opportunity to recover.

That may prove to be one of the Kingdom's most important competitive advantages in the years ahead. As Saudi Arabia continues to attract entrepreneurs, venture capital, and technology investment from around the world, its Bankruptcy Law serves as a reminder that resilient economies are not defined by the absence of failure—they are defined by their ability to transform failure into a foundation for future growth.

Ghada Ismail

Imagine a startup that has been around for six years; it has an office, a team of employees, and a product with a loyal customer base. Every few months, it announces a new feature. Every year, it raises just enough funding to keep operating.

At first glance, everything seems fine, but behind the scenes, revenue hasn't grown in years. Investors have stopped asking about the next funding round. The founders spend more time extending the company's runway than planning its future. The dream of becoming the next unicorn has quietly been replaced by a much simpler goal: surviving another quarter.

The startup isn't thriving, but it isn't dead either; this is what economists call a Zombie Startup.

What Is a Zombie Startup?

A zombie startup is a company that continues operating despite losing its growth trajectory. It generates enough revenue—or raises just enough funding—to cover expenses, but not enough to scale, attract major investors, or become a market leader.

Think of it as a car with the engine running but stuck in traffic. It's still moving, but it's not getting any closer to its destination.

Unlike a failed startup, a zombie startup hasn't shut down. Customers still use its product, employees still come to work, and the founders haven't given up. The problem is that the business has become trapped in survival mode. Growth has stalled, innovation has slowed, and every decision is focused on staying alive rather than moving forward.

How Does a Startup Become a Zombie?

Zombie startups rarely appear overnight. Instead, they gradually lose momentum.

One common reason is weak product-market fit. The product solves a problem, but not one that enough customers are willing to pay for. As demand slows, so does growth.

Scaling too early is another frequent mistake. Hiring aggressively, expanding into new markets, or overspending on marketing before validating the business model can quickly drain cash.

Competition can also take its toll. Larger rivals often have stronger brands, deeper pockets, and more resources to improve their products, making it difficult for smaller startups to keep pace.

Sometimes, however, the biggest obstacle is emotional. Founders become deeply attached to the company they've built. Rather than making difficult decisions—such as pivoting, downsizing, or even shutting down—they continue operating in the hope that things will eventually improve.

Warning Signs You Shouldn't Ignore

Zombie startups don't suddenly stop growing. Their decline is usually slow, making it easy to mistake stagnation for stability.

Some of the most common warning signs include:

• Revenue has remained flat for an extended period.
• Customer acquisition has slowed significantly.
• The company relies on small funding rounds just to survive.
• Product innovation has stalled.
• Talented employees begin leaving.
• There is no clear path to profitability or long-term growth.

Not every startup experiencing these challenges is a zombie. Markets fluctuate, fundraising becomes difficult, and even successful companies go through slow periods. The difference is persistence. If these issues continue year after year without meaningful progress, the startup may have entered survival mode.

Can a Zombie Startup Recover?

The answer is yes, but only if founders are willing to make difficult decisions.

Some startups regain momentum by pivoting to a different market or narrowing their focus to a customer segment where they have a stronger competitive advantage. Others recover by cutting unnecessary costs, simplifying their products, or building a more sustainable business instead of chasing rapid growth.

Of course, not every company can be saved. Sometimes the smartest decision is to close the business and apply the lessons learned to the next venture. Many successful entrepreneurs have built their greatest companies only after walking away from one that wasn't working.

Ultimately, entrepreneurship isn't about keeping a startup alive at all costs. It's about building a company that creates value and continues to grow. Recognizing the signs of a zombie startup early gives founders the best chance of changing course before survival becomes the company's only achievement.

Because in the startup world, staying alive isn't the same as moving forward.

Noha Gad

Investors and advisors often evaluate opportunities through multiple aspects: capital appreciation, total return, tax effects, and, crucially, cash flow. Cash-on-cash return (CoC) isolates the cash dimension of an investment by measuring the annual pre-tax cash income relative to the actual cash outlay required to acquire and prepare the asset. This focus on realized cash yield makes CoC an essential metric for income-oriented strategies, portfolio liquidity planning, and financing comparisons.

Unlike valuation-based metrics that ignore financing, CoC reflects the combined effect of operating performance and debt service, revealing how leverage and funding costs alter an investor’s immediate cash experience. It is simple enough for quick screening yet informative when paired with deeper analysis, helping to identify properties that deliver steady distributable income versus those that rely primarily on future price appreciation.

What is cash-on-cash return (CoC) and how does it impact real estate investments?

The cash-on-cash return is a straightforward metric that measures the annual return on cash invested in real estate, particularly commercial properties. Unlike standard return on investment (ROI), it focuses solely on the cash invested, offering clearer insight into an investment's performance, especially for properties with long-term debt. This calculation is pivotal in assessing potential cash distributions and understanding the effectiveness of a property investment strategy.

Calculations based on standard ROI take into account the total return on an investment. Meanwhile, Cash-on-cash return only measures the return on the actual cash invested, providing a more accurate analysis of the investment's performance.

CoC is calculated using an investment property's pre-tax cash inflows received by the investor and the pre-tax outflows paid by the investor. Essentially, it divides the net cash flow by the total cash invested.

By capturing the cash-generating performance of an investment in a single, easy-to-understand ratio, CoC has significant importance in:

• Reflecting financing effects. By using pre-tax cash flow after debt service, CoC reveals how leverage, interest rates, and loan terms change an investor’s cash position. Two properties with similar operating income can produce very different CoC outcomes depending on financing structure.
• Comparing multiple deals. CoC is quick to compute and useful for comparing multiple deals on a cash-yield basis during early-stage screening. It helps prioritize opportunities for deeper due diligence.
• Supporting liquidity and cash planning. For income-focused strategies and investors with near-term cash requirements, CoC helps forecast actual cash available for reinvestment or distribution.
• Early expectations. This metric provided an intuitive number for presenting expected annual cash returns to partners, lenders, or investors, aiding transparency in deal memos and investor presentations.

CoC is useful as a quick cash-flow snapshot, but it can easily mislead investors if they treat it as a complete measure of performance, as it has many pain points:

• Ignoring taxes. CoC return is calculated before tax, so it does not show the investor’s true net outcome. This can make an investment look stronger than it really is, especially in markets where taxes materially affect returns. 
• Missing long-term value growth. The metric focuses only on annual cash flow and does not account for property appreciation, principal paydown, or exit profits. Thus, it can undervalue investments that build wealth over time rather than producing immediate cash.
• Excluding time value of money. CoC treats all cash as equal, whether it is received now or later. This makes it less suitable for comparing investments with different holding periods or delayed payback profiles.
• High sensitivity to assumptions. Small changes in rent, vacancy, operating expenses, or financing terms can change the result significantly. If the inputs are overly optimistic, the return figure can give a false sense of confidence.

Finally, cash-on-cash return is a valuable metric because it shows how much actual cash an investment generates relative to the cash an investor puts in. It is especially useful for evaluating leveraged real estate deals, comparing opportunities quickly, and understanding how financing affects short-term performance. However, it must be treated as one part of a broader investment analysis, not the final answer, as it excludes taxes, long-term appreciation, time value of money, and many risk factors.

For this reason, the most effective approach is to use CoC alongside other measures such as cap rate, IRR, and stress-tested cash flow assumptions. This gives investors a clearer view of both immediate income potential and long-term investment quality.

Kholoud Hussein 

The Kingdom is no longer simply digitizing public services or investing in technology. It is attempting something far more ambitious: rebuilding its economic architecture around data, artificial intelligence, entrepreneurship, and digital infrastructure. The question is no longer whether Saudi Arabia can diversify beyond oil, but whether it can redefine what a modern digital economy looks like in the Middle East.

The Economy Saudi Arabia Is Really Building

For more than eight decades, Saudi Arabia's economic story has been inseparable from oil. Hydrocarbons transformed the Kingdom from a largely desert economy into one of the world's most influential energy producers, financing decades of infrastructure, industrialization, education, and social development. Oil was not merely a source of government revenue; it became the foundation upon which the modern Saudi state was built.

Today, however, Saudi Arabia is pursuing a transformation that is arguably even more profound than the discovery of oil itself. While much of the global conversation continues to focus on the Kingdom's diversification efforts under Vision 2030, a quieter yet far more consequential shift is unfolding beneath the surface. Saudi Arabia is no longer asking how to reduce its dependence on oil. Instead, it is asking what the country's next economic operating system should look like.

Economic diversification has traditionally meant expanding into new industries, whether tourism, manufacturing, logistics, mining, or entertainment. A digital economy, however, represents something fundamentally different. Rather than creating another sector alongside existing ones, it reshapes every sector simultaneously. It changes how governments deliver services, how companies produce goods, how entrepreneurs build businesses, how consumers spend money, and ultimately how economic value itself is created.

In this new model, data becomes a productive asset. Algorithms become economic infrastructure. Cloud computing replaces physical limitations. Artificial intelligence evolves from a technological tool into a driver of productivity, competitiveness, and innovation. The economy becomes less dependent on physical resources and increasingly powered by digital capabilities that transcend geography.

Saudi Arabia's ambitions therefore extend well beyond becoming a technology hub or attracting multinational technology companies. The Kingdom is attempting to redesign the foundations of its economy so that digital technologies become embedded across government, finance, healthcare, education, manufacturing, logistics, energy, and commerce. Success will not be measured by the number of technology companies operating in Riyadh or the volume of venture capital invested in startups alone. It will be determined by whether digital technologies become the default mechanism through which economic activity is created, exchanged, and scaled.

This is precisely why Saudi Arabia's digital transformation deserves to be viewed through an economic rather than a technological lens. Around the world, many countries have successfully digitized government services or expanded internet connectivity. Far fewer have attempted to rebuild their entire economic model around digital capabilities.

The Kingdom believes it can become one of them.

Yet ambition alone has never transformed economies. History offers countless examples of countries that invested billions in technology parks, innovation districts, and digital infrastructure without fundamentally changing how their economies functioned. Building a digital economy requires far more than laying fiber-optic cables or launching government applications. It requires rethinking regulation, attracting capital, cultivating entrepreneurial talent, building trust in digital services, encouraging private-sector innovation, and ensuring that digital technologies generate productivity rather than merely convenience.

Saudi Arabia's challenge, therefore, is not simply technological. It is structural.

The Kingdom must prove that digital transformation can become an engine of sustainable economic growth capable of generating new industries, creating high-value employment, increasing productivity, and positioning Saudi Arabia as a global exporter of digital innovation rather than a consumer of imported technologies.

It is an ambition that reaches beyond Vision 2030 itself. It is about defining what the Saudi economy looks like long after oil ceases to dominate global growth.

More Than Diversification: Redefining Economic Value

When policymakers first began speaking about economic diversification in Saudi Arabia, the objective appeared relatively straightforward: reduce dependence on oil revenues by expanding sectors such as tourism, mining, manufacturing, entertainment, logistics, and financial services. These industries would create new jobs, attract foreign investment, and generate alternative sources of national income.

A decade later, that conversation has evolved significantly. Today, diversification is increasingly viewed not as an end goal but as one component of a much larger economic transformation. The emergence of artificial intelligence, cloud computing, advanced analytics, and digital platforms has fundamentally altered how wealth is created in the global economy. Competitive advantage is no longer determined solely by natural resources or industrial capacity. It is increasingly shaped by a country's ability to generate, process, and commercialize data.

This shift helps explain why Saudi Arabia's investments in digital infrastructure have accelerated alongside investments in traditional economic sectors. The Kingdom is not merely building new industries; it is building the digital foundations upon which those industries will operate. The distinction is subtle but profound.

A tourism strategy can increase visitor numbers. A digital economy transforms the entire tourism value chain, from digital visas and intelligent transportation systems to AI-powered hospitality services, cashless payments, predictive demand forecasting, and personalized travel experiences. Manufacturing no longer depends exclusively on factories but on connected supply chains, industrial automation, predictive maintenance, and real-time analytics. Financial services become embedded into digital platforms rather than confined to bank branches.

In this sense, digital transformation ceases to be an ICT initiative and becomes national economic policy.

This is one of the defining characteristics of Saudi Arabia's approach. Rather than treating technology as a standalone industry, policymakers increasingly present digital capabilities as horizontal enablers capable of increasing productivity across virtually every sector identified in Vision 2030.

The result is a new understanding of economic value. Instead of asking how many barrels of oil the Kingdom exports, policymakers are beginning to ask how many digital transactions are processed daily, how much private capital flows into technology ventures, how many startups commercialize locally developed innovations, and how effectively data can be transformed into economic output.

Such questions would have seemed peripheral to Saudi Arabia's economic strategy only a decade ago. Today, they sit much closer to its center.

And perhaps that is the clearest indication that Saudi Arabia is pursuing something more ambitious than diversification. It is attempting to redefine the very mechanisms through which economic growth is generated.

Building the Digital Backbone: Why Infrastructure Became Saudi Arabia's New Strategic Resource

Every industrial revolution has depended on infrastructure. The railways powered the first age of industrialization. Electricity transformed manufacturing in the twentieth century. Highways connected national markets and accelerated trade. Today, the infrastructure that determines economic competitiveness is far less visible. It consists of fiber-optic cables buried beneath cities, hyperscale data centers, cloud computing platforms, artificial intelligence clusters, and billions of digital transactions flowing silently through secure networks every day.

Saudi Arabia recognized early that becoming a digital economy would require far more than launching government applications or encouraging online commerce. Digital services can only flourish when supported by an infrastructure capable of processing vast amounts of data securely, reliably, and at scale. In other words, before building digital businesses, the Kingdom first had to build a digital backbone.

That realization has fundamentally shaped Saudi Arabia's digital strategy over the past decade.

Unlike many countries where digital infrastructure evolved gradually through private-sector investments, Saudi Arabia adopted a coordinated national approach. Government entities, regulators, sovereign wealth funds, and global technology companies have worked simultaneously to establish the physical and regulatory foundations of the digital economy. The objective has never been limited to improving internet speeds or expanding telecommunications coverage. Instead, the Kingdom has sought to create an environment where digital businesses can emerge, scale, and compete internationally.

This explains why investments in telecommunications infrastructure have been accompanied by equally significant reforms in digital governance, cybersecurity, cloud regulation, spectrum allocation, and data management. Digital infrastructure, in the Saudi context, is viewed not as a utility but as a productive economic asset capable of attracting investment, reducing transaction costs, and increasing national competitiveness.

The impact of this strategy becomes particularly evident when examining how businesses now operate. A startup launching today in Riyadh enters a fundamentally different environment than one established only ten years ago. Cloud services can be deployed almost instantly. Payment systems are increasingly integrated. Government licensing has become significantly faster. Digital identity solutions simplify customer onboarding, while advanced logistics and communications networks enable companies to reach customers across the Kingdom with unprecedented efficiency.

For entrepreneurs, this infrastructure removes many of the barriers that once slowed business creation. For investors, it reduces operational risk. For multinational corporations, it provides the confidence to establish regional operations capable of serving broader Middle Eastern markets.

In many respects, infrastructure has become Saudi Arabia's most important competitive advantage.

This advantage extends well beyond connectivity. The Kingdom has increasingly positioned itself as a regional destination for cloud computing, recognizing that data storage and processing capacity will become as strategically important in the twenty-first century as ports, highways, and industrial zones were in previous decades.

The arrival of global technology companies reflects this shift. International cloud providers have announced significant investments in Saudi Arabia, encouraged by regulatory reforms, expanding demand, and the government's commitment to developing local digital capabilities. Rather than exporting data abroad, Saudi Arabia is gradually building the capacity to process, store, and analyze information domestically, strengthening both economic resilience and digital sovereignty.

The importance of cloud infrastructure cannot be overstated. Artificial intelligence applications require enormous computing power. Digital banking depends on secure cloud environments. Smart factories generate millions of data points daily. Autonomous transport systems rely on real-time information processing. None of these innovations can scale without robust digital infrastructure operating continuously behind the scenes.

As digital technologies become embedded across every industry, infrastructure itself begins to influence productivity. Faster networks reduce business costs. Secure cloud environments accelerate innovation. Reliable digital identity systems simplify financial transactions. Integrated government platforms reduce administrative burdens. Each improvement may appear incremental, yet together they reshape how economic activity occurs.

This transformation has also altered the relationship between the public and private sectors.

Historically, governments built roads, airports, and power stations while businesses invested in commercial opportunities. In the digital economy, these roles increasingly overlap. Governments establish digital platforms and regulatory frameworks, while private companies build products and services on top of them. The result is a more collaborative model in which public infrastructure creates opportunities for private innovation rather than replacing it.

Saudi Arabia's digital government initiatives illustrate this evolution particularly well. Instead of merely digitizing paperwork, government agencies have developed interoperable digital platforms that businesses can integrate directly into their operations. Entrepreneurs no longer spend weeks navigating administrative procedures that once required multiple physical visits to government offices. Licensing, taxation, customs, and regulatory compliance are increasingly handled through integrated digital systems, allowing companies to devote more resources to growth and innovation.

This seemingly administrative transformation carries profound economic implications. Time, after all, is one of the most valuable resources for any entrepreneur. Reducing bureaucratic friction does more than improve convenience; it lowers the cost of doing business. For startups operating with limited capital and tight timelines, these efficiencies can determine whether a company succeeds or fails.

Infrastructure has therefore become an invisible form of venture capital. Instead of financing individual companies, the government finances the environment in which thousands of companies can emerge.

Perhaps the most striking aspect of Saudi Arabia's digital infrastructure strategy is that it has been designed with future technologies in mind rather than current demand alone. Investments in artificial intelligence, edge computing, high-performance cloud services, cybersecurity, and advanced connectivity anticipate an economy that does not yet fully exist but is expected to emerge over the coming decades.

This long-term perspective distinguishes infrastructure planning from many earlier digital initiatives around the world, which often focused on solving immediate administrative problems. Saudi Arabia is instead attempting to create digital capacity before demand reaches its peak, positioning itself to capture future industries rather than reacting to them after they mature elsewhere.

Yet infrastructure alone cannot produce innovation.

Fiber-optic networks do not create startups. Data centers do not invent new business models. Artificial intelligence platforms do not automatically generate globally competitive companies. They provide the conditions under which innovation becomes possible, but they cannot substitute for entrepreneurship itself.

That is where the private sector enters the story.

As Saudi Arabia's digital foundations have matured, a new generation of startups has begun transforming public investment into commercial opportunity. They are not merely benefiting from the Kingdom's digital transformation; increasingly, they are becoming the mechanism through which that transformation reaches consumers, businesses, and global markets.

The digital backbone may have been built by national strategy, but its true economic value will ultimately be measured by the companies that grow upon it.

The Startup Layer: Where National Strategy Meets Entrepreneurial Innovation

Governments can build infrastructure. They can modernize regulations, invest in artificial intelligence, establish cloud regions, and digitize public services. Yet history has consistently shown that governments rarely create the innovations that transform everyday economic life. Those breakthroughs almost always emerge from entrepreneurs who recognize market inefficiencies long before policymakers do.

Saudi Arabia appears to understand this distinction. While much international attention has focused on the Kingdom's multi-billion-dollar investments in digital infrastructure and flagship projects such as NEOM, an equally significant transformation has been unfolding within its entrepreneurial ecosystem. Over the past decade, startups have evolved from peripheral players into one of the principal instruments through which the Kingdom's digital ambitions are being translated into commercial reality.

This shift represents a fundamental change in how economic development is being pursued.

For decades, economic growth in Saudi Arabia was largely driven by public expenditure. Government investments created industries, generated employment, and stimulated private activity. Today's digital economy, however, operates according to different rules. Innovation moves too quickly to be directed exclusively through public institutions. Consumer preferences evolve faster than regulation. Technologies become obsolete within years rather than decades. Under these conditions, entrepreneurship becomes not merely desirable but indispensable.

The Kingdom's role, therefore, has gradually evolved from being the primary driver of economic activity to becoming an enabler of entrepreneurial innovation.

This philosophy is increasingly visible across the Saudi startup landscape.

Rather than attempting to build digital services directly, public institutions have concentrated on creating the conditions in which private companies can solve market problems more efficiently. The result is an ecosystem where government provides the infrastructure, regulatory certainty, and access to capital, while entrepreneurs compete to create scalable solutions for consumers and businesses alike.

It is a relationship that has become one of the defining characteristics of Saudi Arabia's digital transformation.

Perhaps nowhere is this more evident than in electronic commerce.

Only a decade ago, launching an online retail business in Saudi Arabia presented significant logistical and operational challenges. Payment systems remained fragmented. Small businesses struggled to establish digital storefronts. Inventory management, shipping integration, customer analytics, and marketing tools were often inaccessible or prohibitively expensive for entrepreneurs.

Today, much of that complexity has disappeared.

Companies such as Salla and Zid have fundamentally changed how commerce operates across the Kingdom. Rather than simply providing website-building software, these platforms have developed integrated ecosystems that allow thousands of small and medium-sized enterprises to establish digital businesses with unprecedented speed. Payments, logistics, inventory management, marketing automation, customer engagement, and analytics are increasingly delivered through unified digital platforms, lowering the barriers to entrepreneurship for an entirely new generation of business owners.

In doing so, these companies have accomplished something larger than technological innovation. They have democratized access to entrepreneurship itself.

A similar transformation has occurred within financial technology.

Traditional banking systems often struggle to serve rapidly evolving digital businesses whose operational models differ significantly from conventional enterprises. Fintech startups have emerged precisely because they can respond more quickly to changing customer expectations.

Companies such as Tamara, which pioneered the rapid adoption of Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) services across the Gulf, have redefined consumer finance for younger generations accustomed to seamless digital experiences. Rather than viewing finance as a standalone banking product, these companies have embedded financial services directly into digital commerce, shortening purchasing journeys and expanding access to credit.

The significance of this innovation extends beyond consumer convenience.

Embedded finance fundamentally changes how money circulates within the economy. Transactions become faster, merchants experience improved cash flow, consumers gain greater purchasing flexibility, and digital commerce accelerates. What appears to be a simple payment option ultimately increases economic activity across multiple sectors simultaneously.

Equally transformative has been the emergence of Saudi startups specializing in artificial intelligence.

While much global discussion surrounding AI continues to revolve around large language models and consumer-facing applications, several Saudi companies have chosen a different path, focusing on enterprise solutions tailored to regional markets.

Companies such as Mozn have demonstrated how artificial intelligence can address highly specialized challenges in financial crime detection, compliance, fraud prevention, and risk management. Their success illustrates an important evolution within Saudi entrepreneurship. Rather than replicating Silicon Valley consumer applications, an increasing number of Saudi startups are developing technologies designed to solve complex business and institutional problems.

This transition from consumer applications to enterprise technology represents a critical milestone in any innovation ecosystem.

It indicates that entrepreneurship is beginning to create intellectual property rather than simply adapting existing business models.

A similar trend can be observed in companies like Lucidya, whose artificial intelligence platform enables organizations to analyze Arabic-language digital conversations across social media and online channels. By developing technologies specifically optimized for Arabic, Lucidya addresses a challenge largely overlooked by many global software providers.

Its competitive advantage lies not merely in technology, but in contextual understanding.

This highlights another defining characteristic of Saudi Arabia's startup ecosystem. Increasingly, local companies are identifying opportunities that international competitors cannot easily replicate because they require deep familiarity with regional languages, consumer behavior, regulatory frameworks, and business culture.

In many ways, localization itself has become a strategic advantage.

The construction and industrial sectors offer another compelling example.

Saudi Arabia's unprecedented investment in megaprojects has created demand for digital solutions capable of improving safety, productivity, and operational efficiency. Companies such as WakeCap have responded by integrating wearable technologies and real-time analytics into construction sites, enabling project managers to monitor workforce movements, improve safety standards, and optimize project execution through data-driven insights.

These innovations may appear highly specialized, yet their cumulative economic impact is substantial.

Construction productivity influences infrastructure delivery. Infrastructure affects logistics. Logistics shapes manufacturing competitiveness. The ripple effects extend throughout the broader economy.

The same pattern is emerging across healthcare, education, logistics, cybersecurity, climate technology, and industrial automation.

They identify inefficiencies invisible to large institutions and transform them into scalable business opportunities.

That capacity for experimentation may ultimately become one of Saudi Arabia's greatest competitive advantages.

Unlike traditional economic development strategies, which often depend upon large industrial investments with long implementation cycles, startups compress innovation into months rather than years. New products are tested rapidly, customer feedback is incorporated continuously, and successful models scale across markets with remarkable speed.

This entrepreneurial agility has become increasingly important as digital technologies evolve faster than regulatory frameworks can adapt.

Recognizing this reality, Saudi Arabia has invested heavily not only in startups themselves but in the ecosystem surrounding them.

Events such as LEAP have evolved into global platforms connecting founders with venture capitalists, multinational technology companies, policymakers, and institutional investors. Initiatives led by Monsha'at, the National Technology Development Program (NTDP), and innovation hubs such as The Garage have sought to reduce many of the structural obstacles traditionally associated with entrepreneurship, including access to funding, mentorship, technical expertise, and international networks.

The Public Investment Fund has further reinforced this momentum by channeling significant capital into technology-focused initiatives and attracting global venture investors to the Kingdom.

The cumulative effect is becoming increasingly visible. Saudi Arabia is no longer merely producing successful startups. It is beginning to produce an innovation economy. A startup ecosystem measures the number of companies created.

An innovation economy measures how effectively those companies reshape productivity, generate intellectual property, attract global capital, and create entirely new industries.

Saudi Arabia appears increasingly focused on the latter.

Yet becoming the Middle East's first truly digital economy will require more than a vibrant startup ecosystem. It will require demonstrating that digital technologies can transform not only new companies, but also traditional industries that continue to account for the overwhelming majority of national output.

The next phase of Saudi Arabia's transformation, therefore, may prove to be its most difficult: extending digital innovation beyond startups and embedding it into the wider economy, from manufacturing and logistics to healthcare, tourism, mining, and energy itself.

Mohamed Ramzy

Egypt's fintech sector is undergoing a period of rapid transformation, driven by the expansion of digital transformation, growing adoption of non-banking financial services, and continuous improvements to the regulatory landscape. These developments have enabled startups to introduce increasingly innovative solutions that address the evolving needs of both consumers and businesses.

Amid these changes, competition among fintech companies is no longer limited to offering payment or financing services. It has expanded to include the use of artificial intelligence and data analytics to build integrated financial platforms that deliver more seamless and personalized user experiences.

Klivvr is one of the companies embracing this shift. In a relatively short period, it has evolved from a digital financial services platform into a comprehensive financial ecosystem that combines payments, consumer finance, cards, and intelligent financial services, with technology serving as the primary driver of its growth.

In this interview, Sharikat Mubasher spoke to Omar Sherif, Co-founder and Chief Technology Officer of Klivvr, who discussed the company's growth trajectory, the role of artificial intelligence in shaping its products, the impact of support from Orascom Financial Holding, as well as his outlook on the future of fintech and Klivvr's expansion plans.

Klivvr has grown rapidly in a short period. How would you assess the company's performance today?

Since launching Klivvr, our objective has been to build a customer base driven by genuine engagement rather than simply increasing the number of registered users. We have focused on developing services that make the app an essential part of customers' everyday financial lives, and that strategy has clearly translated into strong usage metrics.

Today, the platform serves more than 700,000 users, including approximately 250,000 monthly active users, while around 25,000 customers use the app every day. We consider these figures far more meaningful than the total number of registered users because they reflect the extent to which customers rely on the platform for their daily financial transactions.

Going forward, we will continue expanding our user base while enhancing our services, all while maintaining the high-quality user experience that defines Klivvr.

Klivvr is backed by Orascom Financial Holding. How has this support accelerated the company's growth?

Being part of Orascom Financial Holding, together with the involvement of Onsi Sawiris as a co-founder, has added tremendous value to Klivvr since its inception. This goes beyond strengthening customer confidence; it has also provided us with invaluable strategic business expertise.

His continued participation in discussing the company's strategy, combined with his extensive network, has helped accelerate our growth and opened up new opportunities for Klivvr.

We see this relationship as much more than a financial investment. It is a genuine strategic partnership that actively contributes to building and developing the company.

Klivvr aims to build a fully integrated financial platform. How have the company's services evolved?

From the outset, our vision was never to offer a single service, whether in payments or financing. Instead, we set out to build a comprehensive financial ecosystem that addresses customers' diverse financial needs through one application.

The launch of our payment cards marked an important milestone in driving daily engagement with the platform. The cards now serve as a payment tool alongside our consumer finance services, enabling users to manage a significant portion of their financial activities within a single platform.

We are also preparing to launch a new feature that will allow customers to access their approved consumer finance credit limit directly through their cards, once we receive the necessary regulatory approvals.

Artificial intelligence has become a major focus across the fintech industry. How is Klivvr leveraging AI?

Artificial intelligence is now one of our top investment priorities because it has become a fundamental component of financial services improvement and customer experience enhancement.

We use AI technologies to deliver a more personalized experience for every user by analyzing financial behavior and recommending products and offers that best match individual needs.

AI also plays a key role in assessing creditworthiness and managing risk, helping us make better financing decisions while reducing default rates. In addition, these technologies support our internal teams by improving operational efficiency and accelerating product development.

From our perspective, artificial intelligence will become the cornerstone of the fintech industry over the coming years because of its ability to enhance efficiency while delivering faster, smarter, and more accurate financial services.

How do you view the growth opportunities in the Egyptian market?

The Egyptian market remains our largest growth opportunity. We believe the fintech sector is still in its early stages, and there are broad customer segments that have yet to benefit fully from digital financial services.

That is why we have invested heavily in building a robust technology infrastructure that enables us to scale quickly and efficiently within Egypt, while continuously developing products and services that meet customers' evolving needs.

What about Klivvr's plans to expand beyond Egypt?

Regional expansion is certainly part of our long-term strategy, but it is not our immediate priority. For now, our focus remains on achieving our objectives within the Egyptian market.

When we decide to enter new markets, expansion will not be pursued for its own sake. Instead, we will adopt the model that creates the greatest value, whether through organic growth, strategic partnerships, or acquisitions, depending on the characteristics of each market and the opportunities it presents.

How do you see Klivvr's future as the fintech industry continues to evolve rapidly?

Over the coming period, we will continue investing in technology and product innovation while expanding our customer base and strengthening our position in the Egyptian market.

We firmly believe that the future of financial services will be increasingly driven by data and artificial intelligence. That is why we continue investing in these technologies to deliver smarter, more efficient, and more user-friendly solutions that enhance the customer experience and support Klivvr's long-term growth.

Translation by: Ghada Ismail

Ghada Ismail

Imagine you're building a skyscraper. Every floor relies on the strength of the one beneath it. Startup financing works pretty much the same way. A business isn't funded by one cheque or one investor; it is built layer by layer using different types of capital, each with its own level of risk, reward, and priority.

That layered structure is known as the capital stack, and it's one of the most important concepts every founder should understand before raising money.

Think of a capital stack like a layered cake

Let’s say you're building a company worth SAR 10 million. The money that financed that company didn't necessarily come from one source.

Instead, it may have been assembled from different layers:

• Founders' own money 
• Friends and family 
• Bank loans 
• Venture capital 
• Government financing 
• Revenue generated by the business 

Together, these funding sources form the company's capital stack.

In short, a capital stack is the combination of all the money a business uses to finance its operations and growth.

The order of these layers also determines who gets paid first if the company is sold or liquidated.

Why does the order matter?

Because not every investor takes the same level of risk, those who take less risk usually receive lower returns but get paid first. While those who take the biggest risk expect higher returns but are paid last.

A simplified capital stack looks like this:

1. Senior Debt 
2. Junior or Mezzanine Debt 
3. Preferred Equity 
4. Common Equity (Founders and shareholders) 

The higher you are in the stack, the safer your investment.

The lower you are, the greater the risk, but also the potential reward.

Breaking down each layer

Senior Debt

This is usually the safest form of financing. Think of bank loans or financing from traditional lenders. Because these lenders expect repayment regardless of how well the business performs, they often require collateral and receive priority if anything goes wrong. The trade-off? Interest rates are generally lower because the risk is lower.

Mezzanine Debt

This sits between debt and equity. Mezzanine financing is riskier than bank debt but safer than equity. It often comes with higher interest rates and sometimes gives lenders the option to convert part of the loan into company shares later. Growing companies sometimes use mezzanine financing when they need more capital but don't want to dilute ownership too much.

Preferred Equity

Preferred shareholders own part of the company but receive special rights. For example, they may get paid before ordinary shareholders when dividends are distributed or if the company is acquired. Many venture capital firms invest through preferred shares because they offer additional protections while still allowing investors to benefit from future growth.

Common Equity

This is where founders, employees with stock options, and ordinary shareholders sit. They own what's left after everyone above them has been paid. That sounds risky, but if the company becomes highly successful, common shareholders often enjoy the largest financial upside.

That's why startup founders are willing to take this position.

A startup example

Imagine a Saudi startup raises SAR 12 million to expand.

The funding might look like this:

• Founders invest SAR 2 million 
• A bank provides SAR 3 million 
• A venture capital fund invests SAR 7 million 

The capital stack now contains both debt and equity.

If the startup eventually succeeds and is sold for SAR 100 million, everyone gets paid according to their position in the stack. If the company struggles, the bank is usually repaid first, while founders are last in line.

Why founders should care

Many entrepreneurs focus only on how much money they can raise, while experienced founders think about where that money comes from. It’s also important to know that every financing option changes the capital stack. Too much debt may increase repayment pressure. Meanwhile, giving away too much equity reduces ownership and future upside. So, the best capital stack is the one that balances growth with financial flexibility.

As startups mature, their capital stacks often become more sophisticated, combining venture capital, venture debt, revenue-based financing, government programs, and traditional lending.

Choosing the right mix can lower financing costs while preserving founder control.

To Wrap Things Up…

A capital stack isn't just a finance term; it's rather a roadmap showing who has invested in your company, how much risk each party has taken, and who gets paid first when value is created.

For founders, understanding the capital stack means making better fundraising decisions instead of simply accepting the first available source of capital.

After all, raising money isn't just about getting funded. It's about building the right financial foundation for long-term growth.

Noha Gad

Artificial intelligence is making business faster, smarter, and more efficient, paving the way for groundbreaking developments in recent years. Though most innovations have been positive, the rise of AI has also led to the emergence of deepfakes that are used for more harmful purposes, including fraud and deception.

Deepfake attacks can target executives, finance teams, employees, and even customers, leading to financial losses, reputational damage, and security breaches, representing a business risk that can manipulate decisions. That is why it is becoming increasingly important for businesses to understand how these attacks work and how to protect themselves from them.

What are deepfake attacks?

A deepfake attack is a cyber-enabled deception where AI creates or alters audio, video, or images to convincingly impersonate a real person. Creating a deepfake is a complex process requiring vast amounts of data and computing power to help AI learn how to replicate the person's voice, appearance, and mannerisms. These digitally altered likenesses have the potential to reshape public opinion, damage reputations, and even sway political landscapes.

Generative adversarial networks (GANs) are clear examples of deepfakes. A GAN can be thought of as two AI systems in a digital tug-of-war. One AI, the generator, tries to generate fake content that looks real. The other, the discriminator, judges whether the content is real or fake. As the process iterates countlessly, each round makes the fake content more and more difficult to distinguish.

Deepfakes are at a crossroads between being a remarkable technological breakthrough and acting as a tool for deception. On one side, they offer exciting possibilities for the creative industries, such as filmmaking, gaming, and virtual reality. On the other side, their potential for abuse in spreading misinformation or malicious content cannot be ignored.

Why are startups especially exposed to deepfake attacks?

Startups need to treat deepfake attacks as a real business issue from the beginning, not something to address only after an incident happens. Unlike larger companies, startups usually have fewer layers of review. A fake message, voice note, or video from a founder, investor, or senior leader can be enough to trigger an urgent transfer, share sensitive data, or approve an action without enough checks.

Founders and executives usually share a lot of content across social media, interviews, webinars, and podcasts, which gives attackers material to imitate their voice, face, or style of speaking. At the same time, many startups do not yet have strong security policies or dedicated training, making them easier targets.

How can startups prepare for a deepfake attack?

The best defense against deepfake attacks is a mix of people, process, and technology. Companies should require multi-factor authentication, use callback verification for sensitive requests, and set clear approval rules for payments, data access, and executive instructions. Auditing the AI tool stack is a primary step to get ready and prevent deepfake attacks. Startups must find out the tools that teams actually use, as every voice note or video uploaded to these apps can be at risk of becoming training data for someone’s future scam. 

Startups should also require multi-factor authentication, use callback verification for sensitive requests, and set clear approval rules for payments, data access, and executive instructions. Employee training is also essential, as teams need to know how to spot warning signs, such as urgent messages, unusual tone or phrasing, and requests that bypass normal procedures. 

Building a response plan is another key step to prevent deepfake attacks. The plan should define who handles the issue, how it gets escalated, and how the company communicates internally and externally if a fake message or video spreads. It also helps to prepare templates in advance for internal alerts and public clarification.

Founders and early employees should be extra cautious about messages that claim to come from investors, partners, or executives. A small startup can lower its risk significantly by creating a culture where verification is normal, and no one feels pressured to act quickly without checking first.

Deepfake attacks are no longer a distant threat or a problem reserved for large corporations. As AI becomes more accessible, startups and businesses of all sizes must assume that fake audio, video, and images can be used to impersonate trusted people and manipulate critical decisions. By combining employee awareness, clear verification procedures, strong authentication, and a prepared response plan, startups can build a much stronger defense against deepfake attacks.

Ghada Ismail

A decade ago, artificial intelligence was largely viewed as a futuristic technology discussed in research laboratories and Silicon Valley boardrooms. Today, it writes code, detects diseases, powers government services, personalizes shopping experiences, and helps businesses make decisions in seconds. AI has rapidly evolved from a niche innovation into a transformative force that is reshaping industries and economies across the globe.

Every year on 16 July, Artificial Intelligence Appreciation Day celebrates these technological advances and the people driving them forward. Yet for Saudi Arabia, the occasion represents something even more significant. It is an opportunity to reflect on how artificial intelligence has become a central pillar of the Kingdom's economic transformation, driving innovation, attracting global investment, and creating entirely new industries under Vision 2030.

Rather than simply adopting AI technologies developed elsewhere, Saudi Arabia has pursued a far more ambitious goal: building an ecosystem where artificial intelligence can be developed, governed and commercialized at scale. In just a few years, the Kingdom has laid the foundations for an AI-powered economy through national strategies, digital infrastructure, talent development and partnerships with some of the world's leading technology companies.

From Vision 2030 to an AI Economy

Saudi Arabia's AI ambitions are rooted in Vision 2030, the national blueprint launched to diversify the economy beyond oil and position innovation at the heart of future growth. While digital transformation has long been a priority, artificial intelligence has evolved into one of the Kingdom's most strategic investments, underpinning everything from government services and healthcare to finance, manufacturing, and education.

A defining milestone came in 2019 with the establishment of the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA), which was tasked with leading the Kingdom's AI and data agenda. The following year, the launch of the National Strategy for Data and AI (NSDAI) provided a comprehensive roadmap for developing AI capabilities, attracting investment, fostering innovation and creating a globally competitive digital economy.

Since then, Saudi Arabia has consistently demonstrated that AI is not merely a technology initiative but a national development strategy. The Kingdom has introduced policies to encourage innovation, developed governance frameworks for the responsible use of AI and invested heavily in the digital infrastructure needed to support increasingly sophisticated technologies.

This long-term commitment has translated into measurable international recognition. Saudi Arabia ranked first globally in the Government Strategy pillar of Tortoise Media's Global AI Index, an assessment that measures the strength of national AI policies, governance structures, public investment, and implementation. The ranking reflects more than ambitious targets. It recognizes the Kingdom's establishment of SDAIA, the rollout of the National Strategy for Data and AI, dedicated AI governance frameworks, sustained investment in digital infrastructure, and coordinated efforts to embed AI across government and industry. Together, these initiatives have positioned Saudi Arabia among the world's most proactive governments in developing a national AI ecosystem.

Saudi Arabia's AI by the Numbers

The scale of Saudi Arabia's ambitions is reflected in both its investments and expected economic impact. According to PwC, artificial intelligence is projected to contribute US$135.2 billion to the Kingdom's economy by 2030, equivalent to approximately 12.4% of GDP, making it the highest projected AI-driven economic contribution among Middle Eastern economies and one of the highest globally. Since establishing the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA) in 2019, the Kingdom has launched the National Strategy for Data and AI (NSDAI), introduced the Arabic large language model ALLAM, established HUMAIN to accelerate AI infrastructure and innovation, and expanded AI applications across healthcare, finance, education, logistics, manufacturing, and government services. Alongside these initiatives, Saudi Arabia has introduced AI ethics principles and governance frameworks, demonstrating that its AI agenda extends well beyond technology adoption to encompass policy, talent development, infrastructure, and long-term economic transformation.

Saudi Startups Are Driving the Next Wave

Government initiatives may have laid the foundation, but Saudi Arabia's startup ecosystem is increasingly becoming one of the strongest drivers of AI innovation.

A growing number of startups are demonstrating that the Kingdom is moving beyond AI adoption to AI creation. Rather than simply integrating off-the-shelf technologies, these companies are developing solutions tailored to regional markets and real business challenges.

Mozn has emerged as one of Saudi Arabia's leading AI companies, using machine learning to combat financial crime, strengthen compliance and support smarter risk management for financial institutions. Lucidya has built one of the region's most advanced AI-powered customer intelligence platforms, helping businesses analyze Arabic-language conversations across social media and digital channels to better understand consumer behavior.

Meanwhile, Intelmatix is applying artificial intelligence to enterprise decision-making, enabling organizations to optimize operations and improve strategic planning through predictive analytics. Companies such as Salla and Zid are also embedding AI into e-commerce platforms, while startups across healthcare, logistics, cybersecurity and retail continue introducing AI-powered products designed specifically for regional markets.

The Next Frontier Is Trust

As artificial intelligence becomes increasingly sophisticated, experts believe the next stage of AI adoption will depend less on algorithms themselves and more on the quality, security, and resilience of the data that powers them.

According to Tim Pfaelzer, Senior Vice President and General Manager for EMEA at Veeam, organizations are entering what he describes as the "agentic era," where AI systems are evolving beyond simple assistants into autonomous digital workers capable of making decisions and performing tasks with minimal human intervention.

"AI is revolutionizing how organizations unlock value from their data, providing instantaneous insights and uncovering opportunities that were previously out of reach," Pfaelzer says.

He believes this shift is fundamentally changing how businesses operate.

"These agents are becoming autonomous, 24/7 digital workforces, scaling productivity and accelerating decision-making."

The scale of investment reflects this growing confidence. According to Pfaelzer, hyperscale technology companies have collectively invested more than US$650 billion to build the infrastructure supporting the next generation of AI innovation. At the enterprise level, adoption is accelerating rapidly, with 88% of organizations already piloting AI agents across their technology environments.

Yet despite this enthusiasm, readiness remains a significant challenge.

According to Veeam's research, only around 7% of organizations currently possess the foundational capabilities required to be genuinely AI-ready.

For Pfaelzer, the problem is not artificial intelligence itself—it is the quality of the data feeding these systems.

"The lack of visibility into data can cause AI models and agents to act on incomplete, outdated or inaccurate information, leading to unreliable outcomes at machine speed."

To address this challenge, Pfaelzer argues that organizations must establish what he describes as a "trust layer" built on complete data visibility, governance and resilience.

"By ensuring AI agents are powered by secure, accurate and readily recoverable data, businesses can unlock AI's full potential without allowing it to become their Achilles' heel."

For Saudi Arabia, this approach aligns closely with its broader AI strategy, which emphasizes responsible innovation alongside rapid technological advancement. As the Kingdom continues expanding AI adoption, building trustworthy and resilient data ecosystems may prove just as important as developing increasingly powerful AI models.

Celebrating Progress While Preparing for the Future

Artificial Intelligence Appreciation Day is often viewed as a celebration of technological breakthroughs. Saudi Arabia's story offers a broader and more compelling perspective.

The Kingdom's AI journey demonstrates that meaningful progress requires far more than sophisticated algorithms or headline-grabbing investments. It depends on long-term national planning, modern digital infrastructure, responsible governance, strategic partnerships and, above all, people capable of transforming innovation into real economic and social value.

Over the past several years, Saudi Arabia has methodically laid these foundations. Through Vision 2030, it has established national AI strategies, built world-class infrastructure, nurtured a vibrant startup ecosystem, attracted global technology leaders and accelerated AI adoption across sectors that directly affect the lives of millions of people.

The next phase of this journey will likely be defined not by the size of AI models or the speed of technological breakthroughs, but by how effectively artificial intelligence improves productivity, enhances public services, empowers businesses, and creates sustainable economic growth.

As the world marks Artificial Intelligence Appreciation Day, Saudi Arabia is celebrating more than the rise of a transformative technology. It is celebrating the emergence of an AI ecosystem built with a long-term vision; one that is positioning the Kingdom not simply to participate in the global AI revolution, but to help shape its future.

Mohamed Ramzy

Since its launch in the Egyptian market a few years ago, Klivvr has focused on building an integrated financial platform that combines payments, consumer financing, and rewards within a single application. Having surpassed EGP 1.2 billion in shareholder investments, the company is now gearing up for a new growth phase centered on investing more in technology and AI and expanding its innovative financing solutions.

In a short period, Klivvr has successfully built a financing portfolio worth EGP 1.5 billion, while expanding its network to include more than 700,000 users and over 1,000 partners and merchants. The company plans to invest an additional $10 million over the next two years to expand its customer base, financing portfolio, and partner network.

In an exclusive interview with Sharikat Mubasher, Nils Bachtler, Co-Founder and CEO of Klivvr, discussed the company’s strategy for the upcoming period, its investment plans, and its vision for the future of AI in the financial sector, as well as its growth and expansion targets within and beyond Egypt.

Klivvr was launched with a capital of EGP 100 million, with plans to reach EGP 500 million. Where does the company currently stand on these targets? And do you plan to increase capital over the next period to support growth and expansion plans?

We already achieved this target, as total shareholder investments in Klivvr have surpassed EGP 1.2 billion ($25 million), a milestone that reflects investors’ confidence in our business model and growth plans.

We plan to invest an additional $10 million over the next two years to continue developing the platform, enhancing the technological infrastructure, and launching new services.

How will Klivvr secure these new investments and how will it deploy them?

We will secure these investments from existing shareholders, not through new funding rounds or from additional investors.

From day one, Klivvr has bet on technology as the primary engine of its growth, and we still believe that investing in technology is the fastest way to build a more intelligent financial platform. Therefore, we will dedicate the largest share of the investment to developing digital infrastructure and AI, alongside launching more advanced products that enhance user experience.

Klivvr obtained final approvals to launch consumer financing activity in the Egyptian market. How do you assess the performance of this activity since its launch, and what level of demand have you witnessed so far?

We obtained the consumer financing license in April 2025 and officially launched the service in June 2025. Within a short period, the financing portfolio reached nearly EGP 1.5 billion, reflecting growing demand for our services.

Our focus is not limited to increasing financing volume alone; we are also working on diversifying financing products to meet the needs of different customer segments. Among the products we are currently developing are automotive financing solutions, as well as high-value financing programs that meet customers’ significant needs through flexible, convenient plans.

Today, Klivvr’s network includes more than 1,000 partners and merchants, spanning payment networks, financing partners, and merchants. This offers customers broader options to benefit from Klivvr’s services across the Egyptian market.

Klivvr launched ‘K·ai’ as the first AI-powered assistant in fintech applications in Egypt. How do you expect this product to transform customer experience?

From the outset, we noticed that a large segment of customers faces difficulty in understanding financial products or comparing different offers, which can lead to making decisions that do not align with their needs or capabilities. Hence, we designed ‘K.ai’ to be a personal AI-powered financial assistant that responds to users’ inquiries, explains financial products in a simple way, compares different financing options, and clarifies fees and requirements, thereby helping them make more informed financial decisions.

Within a short period of launching the service, we noticed a clear reduction in the pressure on customer service centers, as customers are now able to access all information they need directly through the application.

We also believe that AI will completely transform the future of financial services; thus, we will continue to invest in developing this technology and adding more features that make the user experience more intelligent and personalized.

With over 700,000 users and a remarkable growth in financing portfolio and activity since launch, what are Klivvr’s targets for the next two years? 

We do not measure growth solely by the number of customers, but rather by our ability to build an integrated financial ecosystem that delivers real value to the user. Accordingly, over the next two years, we aim to double our customer base, expand the financing portfolio and partner network, and launch new services.

Achieving these targets will depend on continuing to invest in technology and AI, strengthening the digital infrastructure, developing new financing solutions, and expanding the partner network. This will enable us to reach larger customer segments and enhance the daily usage of Klivvr’s platform.

What are Klivvr’s regional expansion plans for the upcoming years, notably in key markets, such as Saudi Arabia and the UAE?

With regard to geographic expansion, the Egyptian market remains our top priority, given the significant growth opportunities it offers; however, we expect regional expansion to begin after 2028.

We have not yet decided on a model for entering foreign markets. This can be through strategic partnerships, acquisitions, or launching new operations. The most suitable model will be decided based on the nature of each market and the opportunities available at the time of implementation.

Translated by: Noha Gad

Ghada Ismail

In the first part of this series, we explored why media buying matters for startups and how a well-planned advertising strategy can help young businesses reach the right audience. We also discussed the role of a media buyer in managing campaigns, optimizing budgets, and improving return on investment.

In Part Two, we will build on that foundation by examining the different types of media buying available to startups. Understanding these options can help founders choose the channels and buying methods that best align with their goals, target audience, and stage of growth.

Traditional Media Buying

Traditional media buying refers to purchasing advertising space through offline channels. Although digital advertising has become dominant, traditional media can still be valuable for startups seeking broad brand awareness.

• Television advertising: Suitable for startups targeting a large audience, though it often requires a significant budget.
• Radio advertising: Effective for local businesses and startups aiming to reach commuters or regional audiences.
• Print advertising: Useful for reaching niche audiences through newspapers, magazines, and industry publications.
• Outdoor advertising: Includes billboards, transit ads, and posters, which can help increase local visibility.

Traditional media buying can enhance credibility and brand recognition, but it may offer less precise targeting compared to digital channels.

Digital Media Buying

Digital media buying involves purchasing advertising space on online platforms. This is often the most practical option for startups because it offers detailed targeting, measurable results, and flexible budgeting.

• Search engine advertising: Ads appear on search engine results pages when users search for relevant keywords.
• Social media advertising: Platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, and X allow startups to target users based on demographics, interests, and behavior.
• Display advertising: Banner and visual ads appear on websites, apps, and online publications.
• Video advertising: Ads are shown before, during, or after online video content on platforms such as YouTube.

Digital media buying is particularly attractive for startups because campaigns can be adjusted quickly based on performance data.

Programmatic Media Buying

Programmatic media buying uses automated technology to purchase digital advertising space in real time. Instead of negotiating directly with publishers, advertisers use software platforms to bid for ad placements based on audience data.

• Real-time bidding (RTB): Advertisers bid for ad impressions as they become available.
• Private marketplace (PMP): Premium publishers offer ad inventory to selected advertisers through invitation-only auctions.
• Programmatic direct: Advertisers purchase ad inventory directly from publishers at a fixed price.

Programmatic buying allows startups to target specific audiences efficiently and optimize campaigns automatically.

Performance-Based Media Buying

Performance-based media buying focuses on paying for measurable results rather than simply paying for ad placement. This model is especially valuable for startups because it aligns advertising costs with business outcomes.

• Cost per click (CPC): Payment occurs when a user clicks on the ad.
• Cost per acquisition (CPA): Payment occurs when a user completes a desired action, such as making a purchase or signing up.
• Cost per lead (CPL): The startup pays for each qualified lead generated through the campaign.
• Cost per thousand impressions (Cost Per Mille or CPM): Payment is based on the number of times the ad is displayed.

Performance-based buying helps startups track ROI more accurately and allocate budgets to the channels that generate the best results.

Influencer and Native Media Buying

Influencer marketing and native advertising are increasingly popular media buying strategies for startups seeking authentic audience engagement.

• Influencer marketing: Startups partner with influencers to promote products or services to their followers.
• Native advertising: Ads are designed to match the format and style of the platform where they appear, making them less disruptive to users. For example: A fintech startup might sponsor an article on a business website titled “How Small Businesses Can Improve Cash Flow Management.” The article provides useful information while also mentioning the startup’s payment solution. Because it resembles regular editorial content and provides value to readers, it is considered native advertising.

These approaches can help startups build trust and reach targeted audiences in a more organic way.

Choosing the Right Media Buying Type

The best media buying strategy depends on a startup’s goals, target audience, budget, and growth stage.

• For brand awareness: Digital display ads, social media ads, and outdoor advertising can be effective.
• For lead generation: Search engine advertising and performance-based campaigns are often the best options.
• For niche targeting: Direct media buying, influencer marketing, and native advertising can deliver strong results.
• For scalable growth: Programmatic media buying allows startups to optimize campaigns efficiently as they expand.

To Wrap Things Up…

As we continue this media buying series, it becomes clear that there is no one-size-fits-all approach for startups. Each type of media buying offers unique advantages, and the right choice depends on the startup’s objectives, audience, and available resources.

For many early-stage startups, digital and performance-based media buying provide the most accessible and measurable starting points. As the business grows, programmatic, direct, and traditional media buying can become valuable additions to a broader marketing strategy.

Ghada Ismail

People are increasingly choosing where to receive medical care based on more than just the treatment itself. Faster access to specialists, advanced technology, personalized support, and a smooth patient journey are all shaping decisions about seeking care abroad.

As demand for cross-border healthcare grows, countries around the world are investing heavily to position themselves as trusted medical tourism destinations.

Saudi Arabia is among the countries working to seize this opportunity. Supported by Vision 2030 and major investments in healthcare infrastructure, the Kingdom is steadily building the foundations of a medical tourism ecosystem. With internationally accredited hospitals and specialized treatment centers, digital health services, and dedicated programs for international patients, Saudi Arabia is aiming to offer not only high-quality care but also a seamless experience tailored to visitors from abroad.

While the Kingdom is still developing its presence in a competitive global market, its expanding healthcare capabilities, growing private-sector participation, and business-friendly reforms are creating new opportunities for hospitals, healthcare companies, and investors.

A Growing Opportunity in Medical Tourism

Medical tourism has become one of the fastest-growing segments of the global healthcare industry. Patients are increasingly willing to travel abroad in search of better healthcare experiences, whether that means faster access to specialists, advanced technologies, personalized care, or internationally recognized hospitals.

Saudi Arabia sees this trend as an opportunity to diversify its economy while strengthening its healthcare sector. According to Research and Markets, the Kingdom’s medical tourism market was valued at approximately US$200 million in 2024 and is projected to reach US$680 million by 2030, reflecting a 22.5% compound annual growth rate as investments in healthcare infrastructure, private hospitals, and specialized services continue to expand.

Unlike some established destinations that compete primarily on affordability, Saudi Arabia is developing a different value proposition. The Kingdom is leveraging modern healthcare facilities, internationally accredited providers, highly qualified medical professionals, and integrated patient services to attract visitors from the GCC, the wider Middle East, Africa, and other international markets.

The sector also aligns closely with Vision 2030’s broader objectives of increasing private-sector participation, attracting foreign investment, and positioning healthcare as an important contributor to economic diversification.

Private Healthcare Providers Are Leading the Way

Much of Saudi Arabia’s progress in medical tourism is being driven by the private healthcare sector.

Over the past decade, private hospital groups in Saudi Arabia have expanded their facilities, introduced advanced medical technologies, and pursued international accreditations that help strengthen confidence among overseas patients. Many providers have also broadened their focus beyond clinical care, recognizing that international patients expect a comprehensive experience that begins before they arrive at the hospital. Among the leading players is Dr. Sulaiman Al Habib Medical Group, which describes itself as one of the Middle East’s largest private healthcare providers. The group has developed a network of hospitals equipped with advanced medical technologies and internationally accredited facilities, supporting its ability to serve patients from across Saudi Arabia and the wider Gulf region.

Saudi German Health has strengthened its international patient offering through dedicated services that support appointment coordination, patient assistance, and other services designed to facilitate treatment for overseas visitors in the Kingdom.

Similarly, Dallah Health offers international patient services that support patients throughout their treatment journey, including coordination of care and related patient services. The company’s internationally accredited hospitals also reinforce its reputation for quality among both local and international patients.

Another example is the International Medical Center (IMC) in Jeddah, which has developed services for international patients through personalized care coordination and partnerships with insurance providers.

Collectively, these organizations demonstrate that Saudi healthcare providers are increasingly competing not only through clinical excellence but also through convenience, hospitality, and patient-centered services.

Creating a Seamless Journey for International Patients

Medical tourism is no longer defined solely by hospitals. Around the world, successful destinations rely on a broader ecosystem of businesses that simplify the patient journey from the moment treatment is considered until long after recovery.

Saudi Arabia is gradually developing this ecosystem.

One example is SAGE, a healthcare consultancy and medical travel facilitator that works with hospitals, governments, and healthcare organizations to improve international patient services, headquartered in Saudi Arabia. Rather than providing treatment directly, the company helps connect patients with healthcare providers while coordinating referrals, treatment planning, travel logistics, accommodation, and recovery support.

This concierge-style model is becoming increasingly important as international patients seek simplicity and reassurance throughout the treatment process. By reducing administrative complexity, facilitators such as SAGE help create a smoother healthcare experience while allowing hospitals to focus on clinical care.

The sector is also benefiting from broader coordination efforts. The Medical Tourism Cooperative Society is working to strengthen collaboration between healthcare providers, tourism companies, investors, and other stakeholders with the aim of developing a more integrated medical tourism industry. Such initiatives reflect a growing recognition that attracting international patients requires cooperation across multiple sectors rather than individual hospital efforts alone.

Digital Tools Are Making Care Easier to Access

Technology is becoming another important factor in Saudi Arabia’s medical tourism ambitions.

For international patients, convenience often begins long before boarding a flight. Many Saudi healthcare providers now offer virtual consultations, online appointment scheduling, digital access to medical records, and remote follow-up services that allow patients to communicate with specialists before and after their visit.

These digital services help patients better understand their treatment options, prepare for their journey, and remain connected with healthcare providers once they return home. They also reduce uncertainty, one of the biggest concerns for people considering medical treatment abroad.

Saudi Arabia’s growing digital health ecosystem is therefore complementing investments in physical healthcare infrastructure, creating a more seamless patient experience that aligns with global expectations.

Challenges Still Need to Be Addressed

Despite the progress, Saudi Arabia still faces several challenges before it can establish itself as a leading medical tourism destination.

International recognition remains one of the biggest hurdles. Countries such as Thailand, Türkiye, India, and Singapore have spent decades building strong global reputations for medical tourism, supported by extensive marketing campaigns and well-established international referral networks.

Pricing transparency is another important consideration. International patients increasingly compare destinations based on the overall value they receive, making clear pricing structures and predictable costs essential for building trust.

Expanding partnerships with international insurers, strengthening referral networks, and increasing awareness among overseas patients will also be crucial if Saudi Arabia hopes to compete more effectively in the global marketplace.

What the Future Holds for Saudi Medical Tourism

Medical tourism represents far more than an opportunity for hospitals to attract additional patients. It has the potential to generate demand across a wide range of industries, including hospitality, aviation, transportation, insurance, digital health, and professional services. Every international patient contributes to an economic value chain that extends well beyond the healthcare sector.

For Saudi Arabia, this aligns closely with Vision 2030’s ambition to diversify the economy by creating new industries driven by innovation and private investment. As hospitals continue expanding their international patient programs and supporting businesses develop more integrated services, medical tourism could emerge as an increasingly important contributor to the Kingdom’s visitor economy.

Saudi Arabia may still be building its reputation as a medical tourism destination, but its strategy is becoming increasingly clear. By combining modern healthcare infrastructure, internationally accredited providers, digital patient services, and a growing network of supporting businesses, the Kingdom is laying the foundations for a competitive regional industry. The next phase will depend not only on attracting more international patients but also on delivering an experience that encourages them to choose Saudi Arabia with confidence.

Noha Gad

Email has become one of the most familiar tools in everyday life, used for work, communication, and now even financial transactions. As digital banking continues to evolve, it has created faster and easier ways to send money without relying on traditional methods, such as cash, checks, or in-person transfers.

One of the most practical examples of this shift is email money transfer (EMT), a payment method that allows people to send funds using only an email address. It offers a simple alternative for personal payments, shared expenses, and small business transactions, especially when speed and convenience matter.

What is an email money transfer and how does it work?

An EMT is a retail banking service that allows users to transfer funds between personal accounts using email and their online banking service. Commonly used in Canada, EMTs are provided by the largest banking institutions and are considered a secure way to transfer money.

An EMT works through a simple online banking process. The sender logs in to their bank account, chooses the option to send money, and enters the recipient’s email address along with the amount to be transferred. In many cases, the sender sets up a security question or verification step so that only the intended recipient can claim the money. Once the transfer is sent, the recipient gets a notification by email with instructions on how to accept the payment.

EMTs offer several practical benefits that make people use them in everyday payments. This includes:

• Convenience: EMTs make sending money much easier, as they can be done online in a few steps. Users do not need to visit a bank branch or handle cash, which saves time and effort.
• Swift transfers: In many cases, the recipient is notified almost immediately after the transfer is sent. This makes EMTs a useful option when users need to transfer money quickly.
• Simplicity: The process is usually straightforward and does not require complicated banking details. Most people only need an email address and access to online banking.
• Privacy and security: Since the transfer is handled through secure banking channels, users do not have to share sensitive account information directly. This adds an extra layer of protection in everyday transactions.

Although EMTs are convenient, they are not always the best option in every situation. Like any payment method, it has a few limitations that users should understand before relying on it:

• Availability: An EMT is not offered by every bank or financial institution. In some cases, both the sender and recipient must have accounts with participating institutions for the transfer to work.
• Transfer limits: Many providers place limits on how much money can be sent in a single transaction or within a certain period. This can make it less suitable for larger payments.
• Security questions: Some transfers rely on security questions or passwords to release the funds. If these are forgotten, shared incorrectly, or guessed by someone else, it can create problems.
• Fees and charges: Some banks and service providers apply fees to send or receive money. These charges make the method less attractive for some users.

EMTs can be a useful payment option for small businesses, freelancers, and service providers who want a simple way to receive funds. It is often used for invoice payments, deposits, and smaller transactions where speed and convenience matter. It is especially practical for businesses that handle lower-value payments, such as consultants, tutors, local service providers, or small online sellers. 

Finally, EMTs have become a practical part of modern digital banking thanks to their speed, convenience, and simplicity. They are useful for everyday personal transfers and small business payments, where moving money quickly and securely is often the top priority. However, users should keep in mind possible limits, fees, and availability issues before choosing this option, especially for larger or more complex transactions. 

Roudny Nahed, Partnership Manager at MusicGrid

Not long ago, branding was largely a visual exercise. Companies competed through logos, typography, colors,and carefully designedvisual identities. Today, however, brandsinteract with people through far more touchpoints than ever before. Mobile apps, digital banking, podcasts, connected cars, retail environments, customer service, and voice assistants have transformed how consumers experience brands. In this new landscape, sound has becomean essential part of brand identity.

The question is no longer whethersound matters. The question is whether brandsare using it intentionally.

For many businesses across the Middle East, sonic branding is still viewed as something reserved for advertising campaignsor television commercials. In reality, it is much more than a memorable melody. A sonic identity is a strategic system that gives a brand a consistent voice across every customer interaction, reinforcing recognition, trust, and emotional connection.

The region is entering a period where this distinction will become increasingly important.

Across Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait, Qatar, and the wider GCC, businesses are investing heavily in digital transformation and customer experience. Governments are encouraging innovation, while private organizations compete to differentiate themselves in increasingly crowded markets. Visual branding alone is no longer enoughto create memorable experiences. Brands now need identities that can be heard as clearly as they can be seen.

What makes this particularly interesting is that the MiddleEast possesses one of the richest cultural soundscapes in the world.

Every city has its own rhythm. Every region carries distinct musical traditions, instruments, dialects, and emotional cues that instantly create a senseof place. The challenge is not a lack of cultural identity, it is translating that identity into modern brand experiences.

Too often, organizations adopt generic music that could belong to any company in any market. While visuallythey present themselves as local, authentic, and culturally connected, their audio tells a completely different story. The result is a disconnect between what customers see and what they hear.

The brands that will lead tomorroware those that bridgethis gap.

Creating a regional sonic identity does not simply mean adding traditional instruments to a composition. It requires understanding how culture influences emotion, how audiencesinterpret musical elements, and how audio can evolve across different channels while remaining unmistakably recognizable. The goal is not to sound traditional. The goal is to sound authentic.

This approach becomes increasingly valuable as organizations expand their customer touchpoints. A customer might first hear a brand while using a banking application, later encounter it inside a branch, then hear it again duringan event, on social media, orwhile waiting on a customer service line. Every interaction contributes to memory. Consistency across these moments creates familiarity, and familiarity builds trust.

Research consistently shows that people process sound faster than many visual cues, making audio one of the quickest ways to triggerrecognition and emotion.When used strategically, a sonic identity becomesmore than background music—it becomes an extension of the brand's personality.

For the MiddleEast, this represents a significant opportunity.

As the region continuesto invest in tourism, entertainment, financial services, hospitality, and smart cities, brands are competing on experience rather than products alone. Experience is inherently multisensory, and sound is one of its most powerful yet underutilized dimensions.

The conversation around branding in the region is evolving. We are moving beyond asking how a brandlooks and beginning to ask how it feels,how it behaves, and increasingly, how it sounds.

The organizations that embrace this shift today will not simply create stronger campaigns. They will build stronger memories. In a marketplace where attention is increasingly difficult to earn and even harderto retain, a distinctive sonicidentity can becomeone of the most valuableassets a brand owns.

The Middle East has always had a powerful voice. The next step is ensuring its brands do too.

Ghada Ismail

Every startup dreams of growing fast, but growth doesn't happen just because you launch a great product. No matter how innovative your app, e-commerce store, or SaaS platform is, people need to know it exists.

Today, it's easier than ever to launch digital ads on platforms like Google, Meta, TikTok, and LinkedIn let anyone create a campaign in just a few minutes, in addition to traditional channels, like TV, Radio, and Email Campaigns. But running ads is one thing, while running ads that consistently bring in customers is another.

Many startups learn this the hard way. They spend thousands on campaigns that reach the wrong audience, use messaging that doesn't resonate, or fail to generate meaningful results. That's why hiring a media buyer isn't simply another marketing expense. It can be one of the smartest investments an early-stage business makes.

A Media Buyer Is More Than Someone Who Buys Ads

Despite the name, media buyers do much more than purchase advertising space.

They build advertising strategies that match your business goals, choose the right platforms, manage budgets, test different creative materials, monitor campaign performance, and make ongoing improvements based on real data.

Their job is to make sure your marketing budget delivers the best possible return. Instead of chasing clicks, they focus on attracting the people who are most likely to become customers.

They Help You Avoid Costly Mistakes

For most startups, marketing budgets are tight, so every riyal needs to count.

Without experience, it's easy to overspend on the wrong audience, overlook important performance metrics, or keep investing in campaigns that simply aren't working. These mistakes can quickly eat into valuable capital.

A skilled media buyer knows what to look for and can spot problems before they become expensive. Often, the money they save through better campaign management outweighs the cost of hiring them.

They Reach the Right People

Modern advertising platforms offer powerful targeting tools, but knowing how to use them effectively takes experience. A media buyer understands how to reach the people who are most likely to be interested in your product based on their interests, online behavior, demographics, or purchasing intent.

The result is usually better-quality leads, higher conversion rates, and a lower cost to acquire each customer.

They Let Data Guide Every Decision

Every campaign generates valuable insights, from conversion rates and customer acquisition costs to return on ad spend. A media buyer knows how to interpret this data and turn it into smarter decisions.

Instead of asking whether people clicked on an ad, they're asking bigger questions: Which audience is converting best? Which message is driving sales? Which platform deserves a larger share of the budget?

By constantly testing and refining campaigns, they help improve results over time.

They Give Founders More Time

Startup founders already have enough on their plates. Between building products, managing teams, talking to investors, and serving customers, there's little time left to master digital advertising.

Hiring a media buyer means founders can focus on growing the business while someone with the right expertise handles campaign performance and optimization.

Growth Becomes Easier to Scale

As your startup grows, your advertising needs become more complex.

An experienced media buyer knows how to increase budgets strategically, test new audiences, and expand into new markets without letting customer acquisition costs spiral out of control. That makes growth more predictable and sustainable.

Choosing the Right Media Buyer

Not every media buyer is the right fit for every startup. Look for someone who understands your industry, has experience working with businesses at a similar stage, and is transparent about how they measure success.

The best media buyers don't just share reports filled with numbers; they should be willing to explain what those numbers mean and how they're helping your business grow.

To Wrap Things Up…

Advertising is one of the fastest ways for startups to reach new customers, but it can also become one of the fastest ways to waste money if it's not managed properly.

A good media buyer helps you make smarter decisions, spend your budget more effectively, and attract customers who are genuinely interested in your product. In a crowded digital marketplace, that expertise can make the difference between campaigns that simply generate clicks and campaigns that drive real business growth.