Noha Gad

High Net Worth Individuals (HNWIs) occupy a unique space in the financial ecosystem, sitting at the intersection of private wealth and public consequence. Yet, for all their visibility in luxury markets and investment circles, their decision-making processes remain widely misunderstood. Today's HNWIs are navigating a world of increased regulatory scrutiny, shifting family dynamics, and a growing expectation to use their resources deliberately.

For many high-net-worth individuals, the central question changes once wealth has been created. Instead of focusing only on earning more, they must decide how to protect capital, diversify investments, manage risk, maintain liquidity, and pass wealth on responsibly. For example, a successful entrepreneur who has sold a business may suddenly move from having most of their wealth tied to one company to managing a large pool of investable assets. That transition requires a very different mindset, one centered on long-term planning rather than short-term growth alone.

Who is a high-net-worth individual?

A high-net-worth individual is someone with liquid assets of at least $1 million in investable or liquid assets, excluding their primary residence. Liquid assets held by HNWIs include cash and investments that can be easily liquidated or converted to cash, including stocks. These individuals need and receive tailored financial and money management services due to their net worth.

HNWI individuals may demand and can justify personalized investment management, estate planning, and tax planning services. They generally qualify for separately managed investment accounts rather than mutual funds.

These individuals may get various benefits from financial institutions. For instance, they may qualify for banking, investment, and other financial services with reduced fees, discounts, and special rates, in addition to access to special events and perks.

How do HNWIs invest?

High-net-worth individuals do not necessarily invest according to an entirely different set of financial principles. Diversification, risk management, liquidity, and long-term discipline remain important for every investor; however, the size and structure of their wealth often give HNWIs access to a broader range of opportunities.

HNWIs’ portfolios may need to support a business, preserve family wealth, generate recurring income, fund philanthropic goals, and prepare for the transfer of assets to future generations. Accordingly, investment strategy becomes less about selecting a single high-performing asset and more about building a resilient system of assets that work together.

Many HNWIs hold a core portfolio of traditional investments, including public equities, bonds, cash, and real estate. However, wealthy investors may also allocate part of their capital to private-market opportunities that are less accessible to the average investor. This includes private equity investments in established, non-listed companies; venture capital investments in startups and high-growth businesses; commercial real estate and development projects; hedge funds; and more.

Types of High-Net-Worth Individuals 

HNWIs can be divided into several different categories. Where they fall depends on how much they are worth:

• Sub-HNWI: An individual with more than $100,000 but less than $1 million
• Very-HNWI: An individual whose net worth is at least $1 million
• Mid-Tier HNWI or Mid-Tier Millionaire: An individual whose net worth is between $5 million and $30 million in investable assets.
• Ultra-HNWI: An individual who holds $30 million or more in investable assets and sits at the highest end of the standard HNWI classification framework.

Finally, the wealth of high-net-worth individuals can provide access to specialized investment opportunities, private-banking services, and sophisticated financial structures; however, it brings greater responsibility. Managing substantial wealth requires more than identifying attractive investments; it demands a clear strategy for preserving capital, maintaining liquidity, reducing concentration risk, and preparing for uncertainty.

For HNWIs, the financial journey often changes after wealth has been created. Over time, protecting that wealth becomes just as important as growing it. This often involves diversifying across asset classes and geographies, balancing liquid and long-term investments, and seeking professional support in areas such as estate planning, tax coordination, and family governance.

Ghada Ismail

Saudi Arabia’s long-established relationship with precious metals is entering a new digital phase. As financial technology reshapes the way consumers save, invest, and manage wealth, gold is increasingly moving beyond traditional jewelry markets and physical bullion transactions into digital platforms and banking channels.

The emergence of digital gold services is creating a new intersection between fintech, wealth management, and precious-metals markets. Consumers can increasingly purchase gold digitally, track their holdings, automate savings, and, in some cases, convert digital ownership into physical metal. At the same time, the expansion of these services from fintech startups to major Saudi banks suggests that digital precious-metals investing is evolving from a niche proposition into a broader financial-services category.

The concept behind digital gold is relatively straightforward. Instead of requiring consumers to purchase and physically store a gold bar, digital platforms allow them to acquire ownership of gold while managing their holdings through a mobile application or digital banking platform.

This can lower the traditional barriers associated with precious-metals investment, particularly for consumers who may want to build their holdings gradually rather than make a large one-time purchase.

Startups adopting digital gold trading

GrowK is one example of this model in Saudi Arabia. The platform allows users to save in 24-karat digital gold, with automated savings options that can be structured on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis. It also allows users to buy, sell, and monitor their gold holdings digitally.

The significance of such a model goes beyond convenience. By introducing automated and recurring purchases, platforms can transform gold from an asset typically purchased periodically into a digital savings product.

This is where the model begins to resemble fintech.

Rather than simply digitizing the traditional gold-buying process, digital platforms can introduce features that are familiar from modern financial applications, including automated saving, portfolio monitoring, real-time pricing, and fractional ownership.

Banks are validating the model

The development is not limited to startups.

Saudi Arabia’s established banking sector is also incorporating precious metals into its digital financial services, potentially giving the category a much broader consumer reach.

SNB’s Gold Account enables customers to buy and sell investment-grade gold through the bank’s digital channels, including SNB Mobile and AlAhliOnline. The bank states that its gold is 999.9 purity and provides customers with the option of requesting physical gold bars through selected branches.

The model effectively combines digital access with physical ownership. Customers can manage their gold electronically while retaining a pathway to physical bullion.

Al Rajhi Bank’s Gold Wallet follows a similar approach, allowing customers to buy, sell, and store gold digitally while monitoring gold prices and managing their holdings through the bank’s digital ecosystem.

The involvement of major banks is significant because it moves digital gold beyond the realm of specialist investment applications.

When precious metals become integrated into mainstream digital banking, consumers can potentially view gold alongside their other financial products rather than as a separate physical asset requiring a visit to a jeweler or bullion dealer.

The infrastructure opportunity

While consumer-facing applications are attracting attention, another part of the market is developing behind the scenes.

Nexus Global’s Mithqal is designed as infrastructure for banks, fintech companies, wealth managers, and other institutions seeking to offer digital precious-metals products.

The platform provides capabilities related to digital gold accounts, metal wallets, pricing, trading, physical allocation, custody, settlement, and reporting. Its offering also extends beyond gold to other precious metals, including silver and platinum.

This infrastructure layer could become particularly important as demand grows.

Rather than every financial institution building its own technology and operational infrastructure for precious-metals products, platforms such as Mithqal can potentially provide the underlying technology needed to bring these services to market.

This mirrors developments elsewhere in fintech.

Payments infrastructure enabled companies to build digital wallets and payment applications without developing payment rails from scratch. Banking infrastructure has similarly allowed fintech companies to launch financial products without building a complete banking system.

Precious-metals infrastructure could play a comparable role, creating the technological rails for a broader digital bullion ecosystem.

Why gold, and why now?

Saudi Arabia has a particularly strong foundation for this market because gold already occupies an important position in the country’s consumer and investment culture.

The World Gold Council reported that Saudi Arabia’s bar and coin investment demand increased from 15.5 tons in 2024 to 17.5 tons in 2025, representing a 13% increase. Saudi Arabia was also the largest bar and coin investment market in the GCC during 2025.

At the same time, jewelry demand declined. Saudi jewelry consumption fell 10% to 44 tons in 2025, while its value declined 28% to $8.9 billion, according to the World Gold Council.

The shift is important because it suggests that high gold prices may be changing how consumers approach the metal.

Rather than purchasing gold primarily as jewelry, some consumers may increasingly view it through an investment lens.

Digital platforms are well positioned to serve this behavior because they can make smaller purchases more accessible.

The same consumer who may find a large physical gold purchase expensive can potentially accumulate smaller quantities over time.

Silver could expand the opportunity

Gold is likely to remain the primary asset in the digital precious-metals market, but silver could provide the next stage of growth.

Silver has a different investment profile from gold. Alongside its role as a precious metal, it has significant industrial applications, including electronics, solar technology, and manufacturing.

That gives digital platforms an opportunity to move beyond single-asset products toward multi-metal investment portfolios.

A consumer could eventually use one application to allocate a monthly amount between gold and silver, monitor the performance of both assets, and potentially redeem holdings physically.

This would represent a significant evolution from the concept of a digital gold wallet.

It would become a digital precious-metals portfolio, combining the accessibility of fintech with the characteristics of physical commodities.

Trust will determine the winners

Despite the opportunity, digital precious-metals platforms face a fundamental challenge, which is trust.

When a customer sees one gram of gold displayed in an application, they need to know exactly what that balance represents.

Is the gold physically allocated? Where is it stored? Who is responsible for custody? Is the inventory independently verified? Can the customer redeem the gold? What are the transaction spreads, storage fees, and withdrawal costs?

These questions become particularly important as the market expands beyond established banks and into startups and specialist platforms.

Regulatory clarity will also matter.

The distinction between a platform facilitating the purchase and custody of physical precious metals and one offering investment products or regulated capital-market activities can be significant.

For companies operating in this space, regulatory compliance could therefore become a competitive advantage rather than simply a legal requirement.

The strongest platforms will likely be those that combine technology with transparent ownership structures, credible custody arrangements, clear pricing, robust compliance, and reliable physical redemption mechanisms.

Is digital gold the new fintech?

The answer depends on how “new fintech” is defined.

Digital precious metals are unlikely to replace the established pillars of Saudi fintech, such as payments, lending, insurance, and financial infrastructure.

But they could represent something equally important: the next stage of Saudi wealthtech.

The Kingdom’s fintech market is gradually moving beyond simply making financial transactions digital toward helping consumers save, invest, and manage their wealth through technology.

Gold provides an unusual advantage in this transition.

Unlike many emerging financial products, it does not require consumers to understand an entirely new asset. Gold is already familiar. The innovation lies in changing how consumers access, accumulate, manage, and potentially redeem it.

The four Saudi examples illustrate the different layers of this emerging ecosystem. Together, they suggest that digital precious metals are developing into something broader than a collection of investment apps.

The next opportunity could be the creation of a fully integrated digital commodities ecosystem in which consumers can save in gold, diversify into silver, automate purchases, monitor portfolios, and access physical assets through a single digital experience.

For Saudi Arabia, the opportunity is particularly compelling because the digital future is being built around an asset with a very long history.

Gold may be one of the oldest stores of wealth, but the way Saudi consumers own it could be entering a distinctly digital era.

Ghada Ismail

Saudi Arabia's rise as a hub for institutional capital has become hard to ignore, and few are better placed to explain why than the people structuring the deals themselves. Behind the headlines about giga-projects and sovereign wealth lies a quieter shift in how founders raise money, how investors assess risk, and which sectors are actually ready for capital. We spoke with Sayed A., Chief Business Officer of Graystone Capital's Dubai office, who walked us through what's genuinely changed for founders and investors in the Kingdom, the missteps that still catch fundraisers off guard, the financing routes too often overlooked in favor of venture capital, and where the smart money is heading as the market matures toward 2030.

 1. Graystone Capital has identified Saudi Arabia as one of its strategic markets. What makes the Kingdom particularly attractive for institutional investors today? 

A few numbers tell the story better than any pitch deck could. According to UNCTAD's World Investment Report 2026, Saudi Arabia climbed to 13th place globally for FDI inflows in 2025, up from 17th the year before, with net inflows of $32.6 billion, a jump of roughly 53% year-on-year. That is not a one-off spike; it is the compounding effect of reforms that have been building for several years now. 

The most consequential of these, in our view, is the new Investment Law that came into force in February 2025, replacing legislation that had governed foreign investment since 2000. It puts local and foreign investors on genuinely equal footing, extends protections against expropriation, and has accelerated the shift toward 100% foreign ownership across a widening list of sectors. Combine that with a sovereign credit profile now rated in the A-category across Moody's, Fitch and S&P, a public investment pipeline north of $1 trillion tied to the giga-projects, and a domestic consumer market of over 36 million people with strong disposable income, and you have a market that offers both scale and increasingly predictable rules of engagement. For institutional capital, that combination of scale, reform, and macro stability is rare, and it's precisely why we've prioritized the Kingdom. 

2. What differentiates Saudi founders from entrepreneurs in other GCC markets when raising capital? 

Saudi founders today are raising in a market that has genuinely pulled ahead of its neighbors. MAGNiTT's FY2025 data shows Saudi Arabia captured $1.72 billion in venture funding across 257 deals, the highest figure and deal count ever recorded by a single country in the MENA region, and enough to make the Kingdom the top-ranked VC market regionally for the third consecutive year. That changes founder behavior. Where entrepreneurs elsewhere in the Gulf often have to court capital from Dubai, London or Riyadh simultaneously, Saudi founders increasingly have deep local pools to draw from first, sovereign-backed vehicles like SVC and Sanabil, family offices such as Olayan and Alturki, and homegrown institutional funds like STV and Raed. 

The other distinguishing factor is proximity to government-anchored demand. A Saudi founder building in logistics, healthtech, or industrial software isn't just pitching an addressable market; they are often pitching direct alignment with a named Vision 2030 program, a giga-project procurement pipeline, or a PIF portfolio company that could become a first customer. That gives Saudi founders a credibility shortcut in the room that founders in more mature, less state-directed ecosystems don't always have, though it also means investors here scrutinize a founder's actual government and enterprise relationships more closely than they might elsewhere. 

3. Many founders believe securing funding is simply about having a great idea. From your experience, what are the biggest reasons startups fail to raise capital? 

The idea is rarely the problem. In our experience arranging financing across the region, the founders who struggle almost always stumble on three things: unclear capital structure, weak financial discipline, and a mismatch between what they're asking for and what stage they're actually at. 

On capital structure, we regularly see founders who haven't thought through their cap table until an investor asks about it in the room, prior friends-and-family rounds with vague terms, undocumented related-party loans, or founder equity splits that don't survive due diligence. On financial discipline, even at seed and Series A stage, investors now expect management accounts that reconcile, not back-of-envelope spreadsheets; the bar has risen noticeably as the Saudi market has matured and institutional money has entered. And on stage mismatch, we still see founders pitching growth-stage valuations off pre-revenue traction, which immediately signals to a sophisticated investor that the founder doesn't yet understand how their own business will be underwritten. None of these are about the idea; they're about whether the business is investment-ready, which is a very different, and fixable, problem. 

4. What common valuation mistakes do founders make during fundraising? 

The most common mistake is anchoring a valuation to a regional headline round rather than to the founder's own unit economics. Saudi Arabia's 2025 VC market saw funding rise 145% year-on-year, and mega deals like Tabby and Ninja understandably get attention, but those are outliers, not benchmarks, and founders who price their own seed or Series A round off a mega-deal multiple usually find the market pushes back hard, or worse, get a term sheet loaded with structure (liquidation preferences, ratchets) that quietly claws back the headline number. 

The second mistake is treating valuation as a single negotiation rather than a signal that carries into the next round. We've seen founders take an aggressive valuation from a less discerning investor, only to face a painful down-round eighteen months later because growth couldn't catch up to the number. And the third, more technical mistake, is founders not distinguishing between pre-money and post-money terms clearly enough in the term sheet, which sounds basic, but in a market where deal velocity has increased sharply, we still see it trip up first-time founders regularly. 

5. Venture capital often dominates the startup scene, but your business covers a much broader range of financing solutions. What funding options are Saudi founders overlooking? 

Venture capital gets the headlines, but it's genuinely the wrong tool for a large share of the businesses we speak with. A founder running an asset-light logistics or fulfilment operation, for instance, is often better served by working capital or trade finance than by giving up equity to fund inventory or fleet expansion, particularly now that Saudi ports are handling record throughput and warehousing demand is outpacing supply. Similarly, businesses generating predictable card or POS receivables can access overdraft or receivables-based financing well before they'd qualify for a meaningful equity round, and without diluting the cap table for what is fundamentally working capital, not growth capital. 

At the other end of the spectrum, founders scaling into capital-intensive infrastructure, a data center build, a healthcare facility, an industrial plant tied to one of the localization programs should be thinking about project finance and structured debt long before they think about a growth equity round, because the risk-return profile of that kind of asset is genuinely better suited to debt investors than to venture funds. The Saudi fintech sector alone has grown from roughly 82 companies in 2020 toward a 2030 target of 525, and financing companies licensed by SAMA have expanded accordingly, which tells you the debt and structured finance infrastructure to support this kind of financing now actually exists locally. Founders who only ever speak to VCs are leaving a lot of that infrastructure unused. 

6. How important are cross-border partnerships in today's fundraising environment? 

Increasingly central, and for a very practical reason: Saudi Arabia's own capital base, while deep, is still building the full stack of expertise in some specialized verticals, deep tech, advanced manufacturing finance, certain climate technologies, where regional and international partners bring both capital and domain experience. We've also seen this play out at the sovereign level: HUMAIN, the PIF-backed AI company, has structured its own scale-up through partnerships with Nvidia, AMD, AWS and others rather than trying to build every layer domestically, and that same logic increasingly applies to how founders should think about their own cap tables. 

There's also a market-access dimension. A Saudi startup with a UAE, Egyptian, or Gulf-wide co-investor on its cap table typically finds it easier to expand into those markets, because that investor brings relationships and regulatory familiarity the founder doesn't have to build from scratch. For international investors, meanwhile, a credible local partner, someone who understands the specific licensing environment, the difference between operating from Riyadh versus a special economic zone, or how a giga-project tender actually works, meaningfully de-risks their entry. We see this constantly in our own work: cross-border deals close faster and on better terms when there's a trusted party on the ground on both sides of the table. 

7. What opportunities do you see in sectors such as AI, fintech, logistics, climate tech, healthcare, and industrial technology? 

Each of these is moving at a genuinely different pace, so it's worth taking them individually. AI is the most capital-intensive story in the Kingdom right now; HUMAIN alone has committed to a $100 billion technology investment program and is targeting up to 6.6 gigawatts of AI data center capacity by 2034, with partnerships already signed with Nvidia, AMD, AWS, Qualcomm and Cisco. That creates a large downstream opportunity for firms in power infrastructure, cooling technology, and enterprise AI applications layered on top of that compute base. 

Fintech remains the most mature vertical for founders and investors alike; SAMA-licensed finance companies have grown into the sixties, electronic payments now account for roughly 85% of retail transactions, and the central bank issued its first live open banking licenses in March 2026, which genuinely opens a new product category. Logistics is being reshaped by necessity as much as ambition: the $7 billion Landbridge rail project and continued Red Sea port investment are direct responses to regional shipping disruption, and cold chain and warehousing remain visibly underserved relative to demand. Healthcare is one of the largest reform stories in the Kingdom; the government is targeting private-sector contribution of up to 65% by 2030, with 290 hospitals and 2,300 primary care centers earmarked for privatization, which is a multi-decade PPP and asset-transfer opportunity. Climate tech and industrial technology are earlier-stage but tied directly to giga-project execution; NEOM, green hydrogen, and the localization of industrial manufacturing under the National Industrial Strategy all need capital and technology partners now, not in five years. 

8. What's one misconception international investors still have about Saudi Arabia? 

That it's a single, government-directed market where private capital plays a supporting role to sovereign wealth. That was arguably a fairer characterization five years ago; it isn't today. MAGNiTT's data on the 2025 Saudi VC market shows the investor base reaching its broadest and most international composition to date, and non-mega deals, the smaller, more genuinely private-market transactions, grew meaningfully alongside the headline rounds, which tells you liquidity is deepening across the stack, not just concentrating at the top. 

The other version of this misconception is timing risk, the assumption that Vision 2030 is a long-dated bet that won't pay off for years. In practice, we're already past the point where this is purely aspirational: fintech alone has gone from fewer than thirty licensed companies before 2020 to over sixty finance companies today, non-cash transactions hit their 70% target ahead of schedule, and the Kingdom posted a record year for both FDI and venture funding in the same twelve-month period. Investors who are still waiting for a clearer signal to enter are, in our assessment, already behind the founders and funds who moved two or three years ago. 

9. How do you see Saudi Arabia's investment ecosystem evolving by 2030? 

Three shifts stand out to us. First, we expect the venture and private capital base to keep localizing; Saudi-headquartered funds, family offices and sovereign vehicles already anchor most early and growth-stage rounds, and as more Saudi fund managers get their CMA licenses, that trend should deepen further rather than reverse. Second, we expect financing to diversify well beyond equity: the government's own $100 billion annual FDI target for 2030, alongside a healthcare PPP pipeline that includes a further $16.5 billion in targeted public-private partnerships and the Landbridge and port investments in logistics, all point toward debt, project finance and structured capital playing a much larger role in the ecosystem than they do today, which is exactly the space we operate in. 

Third, and most structurally significant, is that Saudi Arabia is positioning itself for reclassification onto deeper global capital pools, from MSCI frontier status toward more emerging and eventually developed-market benchmarks, mirroring the trajectory the broader GCC has been on. If the current pace of reform, privatization and sector diversification holds, by 2030 the more interesting question won't be whether international investors are looking at Saudi Arabia, but whether they got in early enough. 

Kholoud Hussein

For decades, the Saudi economy was defined by scale. Large oil companies, government spending and mega-projects shaped the Kingdom’s economic landscape, while small and medium-sized enterprises remained an important but comparatively secondary component of the private sector.

That equation is changing.

Across Riyadh, Jeddah, Dammam and the Kingdom’s emerging economic centers, a new generation of entrepreneurs is building businesses that are increasingly embedded in the infrastructure of the Saudi economy. They are developing payment systems, digitizing commerce, creating logistics networks, transforming healthcare delivery, developing artificial-intelligence applications, supporting tourism and entertainment, and providing technology to businesses that previously had limited access to sophisticated digital services.

The significance of this transformation goes well beyond the number of startups being created. Saudi Arabia is gradually building an entrepreneurial economy in which SMEs are becoming employers, technology providers, suppliers, exporters and, increasingly, investment assets in their own right.

By the end of the third quarter of 2025, the Kingdom had 1.7 million commercial registrations, while SMEs employed more than 8.4 million people, according to Monsha’at. The scale of the business base is particularly notable when compared with the roughly 429,000 SMEs recorded in 2016, according to data cited in a 2026 Saudi British Bank analysis of the National Transformation Program.

At the same time, Saudi Arabia has emerged as the Middle East and North Africa’s leading venture-capital market. Saudi startups attracted a record $1.72 billion across 257 transactions in 2025, marking a 145% increase in funding from the previous year and the highest level ever recorded for a single MENA market, according to MAGNiTT data sponsored by Saudi Venture Capital Company (SVC).

Those numbers point to a profound shift: the Kingdom is no longer simply trying to encourage people to establish businesses. It is attempting to create companies capable of scaling, attracting institutional capital, generating employment, solving structural economic gaps and eventually becoming major economic actors.

From Vision 2030 beneficiaries to economic contributors

The transformation of the SME sector has been embedded in Saudi Arabia’s economic strategy from the beginning of Vision 2030.

Monsha’at, established in 2016 to regulate, support and develop the SME sector, has been tasked with helping raise SMEs’ contribution to GDP from around 20% to 35% by 2030. The authority identifies three structural challenges—human capabilities, government bureaucracy and access to financing—as central issues that need to be addressed if smaller businesses are to become a larger force in the economy.

The target is important because it changes the definition of economic diversification.

Diversification is not simply about replacing one large source of national income with another. A genuinely diversified economy requires thousands of businesses operating across different industries, sizes and geographies. It requires suppliers supporting larger companies, technology businesses serving traditional industries, consumer companies creating new demand, and entrepreneurs transforming previously fragmented markets.

That is where SMEs become particularly important.

Large companies can invest billions of riyals in a new industrial facility or infrastructure project, but SMEs create the ecosystem around those investments. They supply services, develop specialized technologies, provide logistics, recruit talent, build software and create new business models.

In other words, the economic value of SMEs is not limited to what they produce themselves; it also lies in what they enable other companies to produce.

This multiplier effect is becoming increasingly visible in Saudi Arabia.

Building an ecosystem around entrepreneurs

Saudi Arabia's rise as a startup hub has not been driven by venture capital alone. The Kingdom has spent years building a support architecture designed to address the practical barriers that can prevent startups from reaching scale.

Monsha’at’s Business Accelerators program provides startups with workspaces, consultancy, training, financial grants and access to investor networks, with programs designed to accelerate business development over periods of three to six months.

That support has also expanded beyond technology.

Monsha’at’s Dates Business Accelerator, for example, targets the entire dates value chain—from cultivation and harvesting to processing, packaging, marketing and sales. The program has recruited more than 175 startups, delivered more than 30 workshops and programs, facilitated more than 115 deals and partnerships, and provided more than 1,000 consulting hours.

The message is significant: Saudi Arabia is not attempting to build a startup ecosystem limited to fintech and mobile applications. It is increasingly trying to use entrepreneurship to modernize traditional sectors as well.

That approach is visible in tourism, healthcare, logistics, education, entertainment, agriculture and pilgrimage services.

In October 2025, Monsha’at launched a dedicated Hajj and Umrah entrepreneurship track designed to help entrepreneurs identify opportunities in pilgrim services and develop innovative solutions to improve the visitor experience.

The approach effectively turns some of the Kingdom’s largest economic transformation programs into markets for entrepreneurs.

A new tourism destination creates demand for booking platforms, hospitality technology, transportation solutions, event companies, food businesses and digital services. Expanding healthcare infrastructure creates demand for healthtech companies and specialized service providers. Growing logistics activity creates opportunities for supply-chain technology, last-mile delivery and warehouse solutions.

The result is a powerful relationship between mega-project investment and SME formation.

Financing is becoming less of a bottleneck

For many years, financing was one of the biggest constraints facing Saudi SMEs. The problem was not necessarily a shortage of business ideas; it was the difficulty of converting those ideas into companies capable of surviving and scaling.

The financial ecosystem has changed substantially.

SVC, established in 2018, was created specifically to stimulate financing for startups and SMEs from the pre-seed stage through pre-IPO. Its investment model includes venture-capital funds, private equity, venture debt and private credit, alongside direct investments.

By the first half of 2025, SVC had backed 59 private-capital funds that supported more than 900 startups and SMEs.

The effect is broader than the capital committed by SVC itself. The organization’s role is increasingly that of a catalyst, helping attract private and institutional investors into the market and reducing some of the risk associated with investing in younger businesses.

The acceleration became particularly visible in 2025.

Saudi Arabia deployed $860 million in venture capital during the first six months of 2025, more than the entire amount invested during 2024. The number of transactions reached 114, up 31% year-on-year. E-commerce accounted for 36% of capital deployed, while fintech led by number of deals with 30 transactions.

By the end of the year, the market had reached the $1.72 billion record.

That trajectory suggests that the Kingdom's challenge is gradually changing. The question is no longer simply whether entrepreneurs can find capital. It is whether the ecosystem can produce enough investment-ready companies with sustainable revenues and regional or global growth potential to absorb the increasing pool of capital.

The startups filling the gaps

The strongest argument for the economic importance of Saudi startups comes from the problems they are solving.

Fintech is perhaps the clearest example.

Companies such as Tamara emerged from a gap between rapidly changing consumer behavior and the traditional financial system. What began as a buy-now-pay-later platform evolved into a broader financial-services business serving consumers and merchants.

In February 2025, Tamara raised $160 million in Series E financing at a valuation of $3.3 billion, demonstrating the scale of value that Saudi-born financial technology companies can create.

The company's growth is important not simply because of its valuation. It demonstrates how a startup can develop from solving a relatively narrow consumer problem into building financial infrastructure around a much larger ecosystem of merchants and customers.

The same logic applies to Lean Technologies, which has focused on financial infrastructure rather than consumer lending.

Lean provides open-banking and financial-data infrastructure that enables fintech companies and businesses to connect with bank accounts and build financial services more efficiently. Its development reflects a broader trend: Saudi startups are increasingly building the plumbing underneath the digital economy, rather than simply creating consumer-facing applications.

That distinction matters.

An application may have thousands or millions of users. Infrastructure companies can potentially enable thousands of other businesses to serve millions of users.

The economic multiplier can therefore be much larger.

The rise of B2B startups

Another major opportunity is emerging in business-to-business commerce.

Saudi Arabia's SME economy is large and increasingly sophisticated, but smaller businesses have historically faced challenges in procurement, inventory management, working capital, logistics and access to large suppliers.

This has created opportunities for B2B platforms.

Saudi startup Sary, for example, built its business around digitizing procurement and connecting businesses with suppliers. Its subsequent combination with ShopUp created SILQ Group, with the combined business raising $110 million from investors including Valar Ventures and Sanabil Investments.

The importance of companies such as Sary is not simply their own growth. B2B platforms can make thousands of smaller companies more efficient by lowering procurement costs, improving access to suppliers and bringing previously fragmented transactions onto digital platforms.

That creates another multiplier effect.

The startup becomes an economic intermediary, while its customers become more productive.

This is precisely the type of entrepreneurship that can accelerate SME productivity and help the wider private sector become more competitive.

Saudi Arabia becomes a magnet for international capital

Perhaps the most important signal that Saudi Arabia has become a genuine startup hub is the behavior of foreign investors.

International capital is increasingly entering the Kingdom not simply because of government incentives, but because investors see a combination of market size, high digital adoption, strong consumer spending, government-backed transformation programs and a growing pipeline of scalable companies.

In 2025, Saudi Arabia accounted for the largest share of venture capital investment in MENA, with international investors becoming an increasingly important part of the funding landscape. MAGNiTT data showed that the Kingdom attracted $1.72 billion across 257 deals, reinforcing its position as the region’s largest VC market for the third consecutive year.

The significance of this capital extends beyond individual funding rounds.

International investors bring networks, technology, management expertise and access to overseas markets. Their involvement can help Saudi startups move from being domestic businesses to regional companies.

That transition could become one of the defining features of the next stage of the ecosystem.

Saudi Arabia is a large market on its own, but the real opportunity for many startups lies in using the Kingdom as a launchpad into the broader GCC, MENA and, for selected technology businesses, global markets.

The government is actively encouraging this direction. In late 2025, Monsha’at took Saudi startups to international technology events including Slush in Helsinki and Web Summit Lisbon, connecting entrepreneurs with international investors, partners and innovation ecosystems.

This represents a shift in policy ambition—from bringing capital to Saudi Arabia to helping Saudi companies reach capital and customers abroad.

Artificial intelligence could redefine the next generation

If fintech and e-commerce dominated much of the Kingdom’s early startup-growth story, artificial intelligence could define its next phase.

Saudi Arabia is increasingly trying to establish itself as an AI market, infrastructure hub and development center simultaneously.

The country's startup-support infrastructure is adapting accordingly. In June 2026, Monsha’at announced the graduation of 33 AI startups from the first cohort of its AI incubator program, developed in partnership with the National Technology Development Program.

The startups operated across eight areas, including enterprise solutions, healthcare, tourism and culture, fintech, infrastructure and logistics, e-commerce and education.

This is important because AI is not being treated as an isolated technology sector. Instead, it is being positioned as a horizontal technology capable of transforming almost every part of the SME economy.

A logistics startup can use AI to optimize routes. A healthtech company can use it for diagnostics or administrative automation. A financial company can use it for fraud detection and credit assessment. A tourism business can use it for personalization and demand forecasting.

That creates the possibility of a second-order effect: AI startups do not simply become companies themselves; they can increase the productivity of thousands of other companies.

The challenge now is scaling, not starting

Saudi Arabia has made remarkable progress in creating businesses and attracting capital. But the next stage will be more difficult.

Creating a startup is relatively straightforward compared with turning it into a company capable of generating sustainable profits, employing hundreds or thousands of people, expanding internationally and returning capital to investors.

This is where the Kingdom's ecosystem will be tested.

The record $1.72 billion in venture capital investment in 2025 is impressive, but funding is not an end in itself. Capital must eventually translate into revenue, productivity, employment, exports and returns.

There are encouraging signs.

A joint 2026 report by Endeavor Saudi Arabia and SVC found that 77% of surveyed founders are considering an IPO, while 91% of those considering an IPO prefer to list on the Saudi Exchange, Tadawul. The report points to an emerging pipeline of venture-backed companies moving toward public markets.

That could prove transformative.

A mature startup ecosystem requires exits. Successful IPOs and acquisitions return money to investors, create experienced entrepreneurs and executives, generate new pools of capital, and demonstrate to the next generation of founders that building a high-growth company can produce significant economic value.

Endeavor's analysis estimates a potential pipeline of four to 12 additional venture-backed IPOs in Saudi Arabia under different scenarios. If only half of the potential listings materialize, the market capitalization represented by venture-backed public companies could increase significantly.

This could mark the beginning of a new cycle in which Saudi capital markets increasingly become part of the startup ecosystem rather than remaining a destination only for mature corporations.

Where will the next investment wave go?

The investment opportunity is also becoming broader. While fintech remains one of the strongest sectors, Saudi venture investment is increasingly flowing toward e-commerce, AI, logistics, healthcare, education, tourism and other sectors aligned with the Kingdom's diversification strategy.

In the first half of 2025, e-commerce attracted the largest share of venture capital by value, while fintech recorded the highest number of transactions.

Future capital is likely to become increasingly concentrated around businesses capable of demonstrating three characteristics: real demand, scalable economics and strategic relevance.

Artificial intelligence and deep technology are particularly well positioned. Healthcare and healthtech are likely to benefit from demographic and infrastructure changes. Tourism and entertainment will continue to create new markets as visitor numbers and domestic consumption expand. Logistics and industrial technology will benefit from the Kingdom's ambition to become a global trade and supply-chain hub.

Meanwhile, growth-stage companies are likely to attract more private equity and structured capital as they move beyond the startup phase.

The direction is already visible. SVC has expanded beyond traditional venture capital into private equity, venture debt and private credit, reflecting the growing need for financing options across different stages of company development.

This diversification of financing is critical.

A company should not have to rely on equity funding at every stage of its life. As Saudi businesses mature, debt, growth equity, private equity and eventually public markets can provide alternative sources of capital.

The next economic engine will be measured by productivity

Saudi Arabia's SME revolution should therefore not be measured only by the number of startups established or billions of dollars raised. The more important question is what these companies are doing to the structure of the economy. Are they making businesses more productive? Are they reducing transaction costs? Are they creating skilled jobs? Are they bringing women and young people into entrepreneurship? Are they developing intellectual property? Are they creating companies capable of exporting Saudi technology and services? And, ultimately, are they producing sustainable financial returns?

There are already signs of progress.

The Kingdom's entrepreneurial activity rate rose from 12.1% in 2018 to 28.9% in 2025, while entrepreneurial intentions increased from 26.8% to 48.5%, according to the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor 2025–2026 report. Saudi Arabia ranked third globally in the National Entrepreneurship Context Index and led high-income economies in entrepreneurial finance.

Those figures reveal something deeper than a rise in company registrations. They indicate a change in economic culture.

Entrepreneurship is becoming a mainstream economic pathway rather than a niche activity. Young Saudis are increasingly seeing company-building as a career, while international founders and investors are viewing the Kingdom as a market in which companies can be built at scale.

That cultural shift may ultimately prove as important as the financial incentives.

From ecosystem to economic force

Saudi Arabia's SME sector has reached an inflection point. The Kingdom now has the scale of businesses, capital, institutional infrastructure and market demand required to create a self-reinforcing entrepreneurial ecosystem. The challenge is to convert that scale into durable companies.

The government has built much of the foundation: Monsha’at has expanded support programs; SVC has helped develop private-capital markets; regulatory reforms have made it easier to establish and operate businesses; accelerators and incubators are helping companies develop; and Vision 2030 projects are creating new markets.

Private investors are now adding another layer. The record $1.72 billion in venture capital investment in 2025 shows that the market has moved beyond experimentation. International investors are entering, Saudi funds are becoming more sophisticated, and founders are beginning to think about IPOs rather than only their next funding round.

But the real measure of success will come over the next decade.

If today's startups can evolve into tomorrow's major employers, technology providers, exporters and listed companies, SMEs could become one of the most important mechanisms through which Saudi Arabia converts Vision 2030's investment cycle into a sustainable private-sector economy.

The Kingdom's transformation, in that sense, is moving from a story about building projects to building companies.

And that may be the most important economic shift of all.

The future Saudi economy will still contain major corporations and large-scale investments. But around them will increasingly sit a dense network of entrepreneurs—fintech companies supporting financial inclusion, logistics startups connecting businesses, AI companies raising productivity, healthtech ventures improving services, tourism startups creating experiences, and B2B platforms making SMEs more competitive.

Kholoud Hussein 

A company can have a compelling business model, strong revenue growth, and an ambitious founder—and still struggle to scale if it chooses the wrong investor. In today’s competitive funding environment, finding capital is no longer the only challenge for startups and growing companies. Finding the right investor may be just as important as securing the investment itself.

The Right Investor for Your Company: Beyond the Size of the Check

For entrepreneurs, the temptation is often straightforward: choose the investor offering the largest valuation or the biggest cheque. But capital comes with more than a financial value. It can bring strategic guidance, industry connections, governance requirements, operational expertise and, in some cases, significant pressure to deliver rapid returns.

The most suitable investor, therefore, is not necessarily the one willing to invest the most money. It is the investor whose capital, experience, network and expectations match the company's stage and ambitions.

This distinction is becoming increasingly important as startups move from an era of abundant funding toward a more selective investment environment. Investors are paying greater attention to business fundamentals, revenue quality, scalability and the path to profitability. At the same time, founders are becoming more careful about who they bring onto their cap tables.

Strategic investors: Capital with industry knowledge

For companies operating in specialized sectors, a strategic or corporate investor can offer advantages that go well beyond funding.

A strategic investor may bring access to distribution channels, customers, technology, suppliers or regulatory expertise. For a fintech startup, for example, an investment from a financial institution could potentially open doors to banking partnerships and a wider customer base.

The trade-off is that strategic investors may have objectives that differ from those of purely financial investors. Their priorities could include market access, technology integration or strengthening their own competitive position.

For a founder, the question should therefore be simple: What can this investor unlock that money alone cannot?

Venture capital: The growth partner

Venture capital investors are typically suited to businesses with the potential to scale rapidly across large markets.

Beyond funding, experienced VC firms can provide support in areas such as hiring senior executives, entering new markets, refining business models, and preparing for subsequent funding rounds. Their networks can also help startups connect with future investors and strategic partners.

However, venture capital is not suitable for every company.

VC funds generally seek significant growth and returns within a defined investment horizon. That can create pressure for a startup to expand quickly, raise additional rounds, and ultimately pursue an exit.

A profitable company that prefers steady expansion and greater founder control may therefore find that traditional venture capital is not the ideal match.

Private equity: For companies entering a new phase

As companies mature, their financing requirements often change. Private equity investors can become more relevant for businesses with established revenues, stronger operating structures and opportunities for expansion, consolidation or restructuring.

Unlike early-stage venture capital, private equity typically focuses more heavily on operational performance, cash flows and the potential to create value over a defined investment period.

For a growing company, the attraction may be the investor's ability to finance acquisitions, expand geographically or professionalize management. But founders should also be prepared for a more structured governance environment and potentially greater investor involvement in strategic decisions.

Family offices: Patient capital and relationships

Family offices have become increasingly relevant to entrepreneurs seeking investors with longer-term perspectives.

Their investment strategies vary considerably, but some family offices can offer more patient capital than traditional funds, particularly when they have a strong interest in a particular industry, geography or long-term business opportunity.

For founders, however, understanding the investment philosophy of the specific family office is crucial. Two family offices can have completely different approaches to risk, control, investment horizons and portfolio involvement.

The investor-founder relationship matters

Perhaps the most overlooked factor is chemistry.

An investment can last for years, meaning that the relationship between founders and investors can become one of the company's most important strategic partnerships. Disagreements over growth rates, hiring, acquisitions, fundraising or the timing of an exit can become costly if expectations were not aligned from the beginning.

Founders should therefore examine an investor's track record, including how they behaved when portfolio companies faced difficulties—not only how they supported companies during successful periods.

It is also worth speaking with founders of existing and former portfolio companies. Their experiences can reveal how an investor communicates, handles disagreements and supports management during challenging periods.

The right capital depends on the company's stage

There is no universal definition of the "best" investor.

An early-stage startup may need an investor who understands product development and customer acquisition. A scale-up entering new markets may prioritize international networks and operational expertise. A mature company may need growth capital, acquisition financing or support for a potential listing.

The company's funding requirements should therefore come before the investor search.

Founders should ask several fundamental questions: How much capital is actually needed? What will it finance? How quickly must the company grow? How much ownership is the founder prepared to give up? What level of investor involvement is acceptable? And what should the company look like after the investment?

The cost of choosing the wrong investor

The consequences of a poor investor match can extend well beyond dilution.

A misaligned investor can create conflicts over strategy, push for growth before the business is ready, restrict management flexibility or make future fundraising more complicated. In extreme cases, disagreements between shareholders can consume management time and distract the company from its core business.

That is why due diligence should work both ways.

Just as investors assess founders, founders should assess investors. The size of the fund, previous investments, sector expertise, portfolio conflicts, follow-on funding capacity and reputation should all form part of the evaluation.

Capital should accelerate the company's strategy—not replace it

Ultimately, the right investor is the one who understands where the company is today and where the founders want it to go tomorrow.

A strong investor-company relationship should create more than financial value. It should help the business access new markets, strengthen its management, improve its capabilities and build a more resilient organization.

For entrepreneurs, the lesson is increasingly clear: fundraising should not be treated as a race to find the biggest cheque. It should be treated as a strategic exercise to find the right partner.

The best investor is rarely the one who simply offers the most money. It is the one whose capital and capabilities can help the company achieve its next stage of growth—while allowing founders and investors to remain aligned on the road ahead.

Noha Gad

Hostile takeovers are one of the most dramatic forms of corporate conflict in the high-stakes world of mergers and acquisitions (M&A). It occurs when an acquirer attempts to gain control of a target company without the approval of its board of directors, often by making a direct offer to shareholders or launching a proxy fight to replace management. 

To face this pressure, target companies deploy a range of defensive tactics designed to raise the cost of acquisition, reduce the attractiveness of the bid, or find a more favorable alternative. White knight defense is one of the most constructive tactics that allows the target to accept the reality of a change in control while steering the outcome toward a more acceptable buyer, better terms, and greater continuity for management and operations.

How does a white knight defense strategy work?

A white knight defense is a takeover defense strategy in which a target company, facing a hostile bid, seeks out a friendly third-party acquirer and invites or encourages it to make a competing offer, thereby providing an alternative to the hostile bidder. This friendly buyer, or the white knight, is invited or encouraged by the target’s board to acquire the company on more favorable terms than the hostile bidder, often referred to as the “black knight.”

This strategy protects the target's management and often provides better compensation for shareholders, preventing control from passing to an unfriendly bidder.

How does it work?

1. The target company seeks another acquirer to stave off the unfriendly acquirer, who is typically called the black knight.
2. The white knight makes an offer to purchase the target, usually at a premium to the hostile acquirer's bid or with more favorable terms amenable to the target's shareholders, management, and/or board of directors.
3. Once the acquisition is complete, the white knight may choose to keep the target's management and/or board rather than replace one or both. The white knight may also choose to keep the target's business operations as is after the deal goes through.

Black, gray, and yellow knights

Along with the white knight, there are different types of so-called knights in the business world. The most common ones are: 

• Black knight. This type makes an unsolicited, hostile bid for its target. This entity does whatever it can to complete the transaction, even going over the target's board of directors. The target company does not want to be taken over by the black knights because of their selfish motivations.
• Gray knight. A gray knight is not as desirable as a white knight, but it is more desirable than a black knight. The gray knight is the third potential bidder in a hostile takeover who outbids the white knight. Although friendlier than a black knight, the gray knight still seeks to serve its interests.
• Yellow knight. A yellow knight is a company that planned a hostile takeover attempt, but backs out of it and instead proposes a merger of equals with the target company.

Advantages of a white knight defense strategy

The white knight defense offers several strategic benefits for target companies, their boards, and shareholders when facing hostile takeover pressure. This includes:

• Higher shareholder value. White knights typically offer better terms than hostile bidders, including higher premiums per share, more favorable payment structures, or clearer timelines for closing the deal. 
•  Preservation of management and strategic direction. Unlike hostile takeovers, which often lead to immediate leadership changes and strategic overhauls, white knight acquisitions usually retain existing management teams. The friendly acquirer typically shares the target's vision for the company's future, allowing for continuity in strategic plans and reducing uncertainty among employees and stakeholders. 
• Deal certainty and reduced transaction risk. White knight transactions are negotiated with the target's board and typically come with secured financing, transparent timelines, and clear post-merger agreements. This reduces uncertainty for all stakeholders compared to the protracted legal battles and defensive maneuvers that hostile takeovers often entail.

Despite these advantages, the white knight defense is not without significant risks and limitations, such as:

• Loss of independence. While a white knight takeover is preferable to a hostile one, it still results in the abrupt transfer of ownership to a third party. The target company becomes part of a larger entity, and its autonomy in decision-making is inevitably reduced.
• Overpayment and financial leverage risks. To outbid the hostile acquirer, white knights may overpay for the target company, leading to inflated acquisition premiums. This can result in excessive leverage for the acquiring company, which may create financial strain down the line and potentially undermine the long-term value of the combined entity. 
• Limited negotiation options and time constraints. Once a white knight is engaged, the target company may have limited options to negotiate with other potential buyers. The urgency of responding to a hostile bid often means there is insufficient time for thorough due diligence or comprehensive negotiation of terms. 

Finally, the white knight defense is less about avoiding a takeover and more about controlling its terms. By inviting a friendly acquirer, the target company can secure a higher price for shareholders, preserve management and strategic direction, and reduce the uncertainty that comes with hostile bids. However, this comes at the cost of independence and may involve rushed decisions, overpayment, and limited negotiation room. 

Ghada Ismail

Before a single road is built, a tower rises, or a railway is laid, another kind of construction is already underway high above the ground. Helicopters equipped with advanced laser scanners survey vast desert landscapes, drones capture thousands of high-resolution images over construction sites, and satellites continuously monitor coastlines, mountains, and cities. Together, these technologies create a digital blueprint of Saudi Arabia long before physical development begins. 

This is the world of geospatial intelligence, an industry that combines aerial surveying, remote sensing, geographic information systems (GIS), artificial intelligence, and digital modeling to transform location data into actionable insights. While largely invisible to the public, these technologies have become essential to Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030, supporting giga-projects, energy infrastructure, environmental conservation, and smart city development. Behind every landmark project lies an equally ambitious effort to map, analyze, and monitor the Kingdom with unprecedented precision. 

More Than Mapping

Modern geospatial services extend far beyond aerial photography. Aircraft and drones equipped with LiDAR sensors, thermal cameras, and multispectral imaging systems capture millions of measurements every second, producing highly accurate three-dimensional models and engineering-grade imagery. Once processed through GIS platforms and AI-powered software, this data becomes a digital representation of the physical world that supports planning, construction, maintenance, and operational decision-making. 

Demand for these capabilities has surged under Vision 2030. Mega-projects such as NEOM, The Red Sea, Diriyah, Qiddiya, renewable energy developments, logistics hubs, mining operations, and transportation corridors all require continuous surveying throughout their lifecycle. Rather than relying solely on traditional ground surveys, project teams now use helicopters, drones, and satellites to collect accurate spatial data in hours instead of weeks while improving safety by reducing the need for personnel to inspect hazardous locations. 

Helicopters and Drones: Complementary Technologies

Although drones dominate today's headlines, helicopters remain indispensable for large-scale aerial surveying. While drones excel at collecting highly detailed data over localized areas, helicopters are better suited for inspecting long infrastructure corridors, oil and gas pipelines, transmission lines, coastlines, and other remote areas where endurance and payload capacity are essential.

Among the companies supporting this capability is The Helicopter Company (THC), whose expanding operations across Saudi Arabia increasingly support infrastructure inspection, environmental monitoring, emergency response, and specialized aerial surveying. 

Drones, meanwhile, have transformed data collection by making aerial surveys faster, safer, and more affordable. Construction firms monitor project progress, mining operators calculate excavation volumes, utility companies inspect transmission lines, and environmental agencies assess vegetation and coastal erosion. Increasingly, the industry's focus has shifted from the aircraft themselves to the intelligence they generate, giving rise to Saudi companies that combine aerial operations with artificial intelligence, engineering expertise, and advanced analytics. 

Turning Data into Intelligence

Collecting aerial data is only the first step. The real value lies in transforming millions of images, laser measurements, and GPS coordinates into insights that engineers and decision-makers can use.

This is where Saudi Arabia's geospatial ecosystem is rapidly evolving. Companies increasingly provide end-to-end solutions that integrate aerial surveys, AI, GIS, cloud computing, and digital engineering rather than simply delivering imagery.

One example is Terra Drone Arabia, which provides aerial surveying, LiDAR mapping, photogrammetry, industrial inspections, and digital twin services across sectors including construction, oil and gas, utilities, and mining. By combining these capabilities with AI-powered analytics, the company helps organizations move beyond visual inspections toward predictive asset management and data-driven decision-making. The broader trend is clear: geospatial companies are no longer selling images; they are delivering intelligence. 

Beyond Construction

While mega-projects often dominate discussions about geospatial technology, its applications extend across virtually every major industry. Energy companies use drones and helicopters to inspect pipelines, offshore facilities, and power transmission networks. Mining operators monitor excavation progress and environmental compliance, while agricultural businesses rely on multispectral imaging to assess crop health, irrigation efficiency, and soil conditions. Environmental agencies track desertification, biodiversity, and flood risks, telecommunications providers optimize network coverage, and insurers increasingly use aerial imagery to assess property damage and streamline claims.

These diverse applications demonstrate that geospatial intelligence is no longer a niche engineering discipline. It has become a foundational digital capability supporting industries ranging from energy and logistics to agriculture, telecommunications, public safety, and environmental management. 

Building Talent for a Growing Industry

Technology alone cannot build a geospatial economy. Every successful mission depends on pilots, engineers, GIS specialists, software developers, AI experts, and data analysts capable of transforming raw data into meaningful insights. Recognizing this need, Saudi Arabia is investing heavily in workforce development.

DroneX Academy prepares professionals for commercial drone operations through practical training and certification programs, while the Drones Academy at the College of Computer Science and Engineering, University of Jeddah integrates education, research, AI, robotics, and industry collaboration to prepare students for next-generation geospatial technologies. Meanwhile, the Drones Club at Tuwaiq Academy introduces younger innovators to drone technologies through workshops, technical challenges, and hands-on learning. Together, these initiatives reflect a shift from training drone pilots to building a complete talent pipeline for the Kingdom's expanding geospatial sector. 

The Next Frontier

Despite its rapid growth, the industry faces important challenges. Expanding commercial drone operations will require continued progress in regulation, airspace integration, and Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) operations. At the same time, protecting sensitive geospatial data from cyber threats and integrating information from drones, satellites, IoT sensors, and engineering systems into unified platforms will remain key priorities. Meeting growing demand for AI specialists, GIS analysts, remote sensing experts, and digital twin developers will be equally critical. 

Looking ahead, artificial intelligence is expected to accelerate the industry's evolution by automating image analysis, identifying infrastructure defects, monitoring construction progress, and detecting environmental changes.

A Digital Foundation for Vision 2030

Saudi Arabia's transformation is often measured through its skyline, mega-projects, and landmark developments. Yet much of that transformation begins long before construction starts. It starts with helicopters surveying remote terrain, drones capturing millions of data points, satellites monitoring environmental change, and engineers transforming spatial information into digital models that guide billion-riyal investments.

Companies including The Helicopter Company and Terra Drone Arabia contribute to this evolving ecosystem, while institutions such as DroneX Academy, the University of Jeddah's Drones Academy, and the Drones Club at Tuwaiq Academy are developing the talent needed to sustain it. Together, they illustrate that geospatial intelligence has evolved from a technical support function into a strategic capability underpinning infrastructure planning, industrial productivity, environmental stewardship, and digital transformation.

As Vision 2030 advances, Saudi Arabia is not only building new cities and industries; it is creating a detailed digital representation of the Kingdom itself. In many ways, the nation's next great transformation is taking shape first in the virtual world, where every road, pipeline, coastline, and building is mapped, analyzed, and understood before it is built on the ground. 

Noha Gad

The e-commerce landscape in Saudi Arabia is experiencing unprecedented growth, solidifying the Kingdom's position as the largest and most dynamic digital marketplace in the region. According to a recent report from BMI, a FitchSolutions company, household spending in the Kingdom will grow by a real 3.3% year-on-year (YoY) in 2026, a slight decline from 3.4% in 2025. The report anticipated household spending growth to accelerate slightly to 3.7% YoY in 2027, taking real spending to 39.4% above pre-COVID-19 pandemic levels. This growth is driven by digital acceleration that reshapes consumer expectations, shifting the focus from mere access to products towards a demand for efficiency, transparency, reliability, and a superior overall user experience.

Within this dynamic and competitive landscape, Kanaa, a Saudi-born digital e-commerce platform, officially launched in the Kingdom in April 2026, introducing a curated commerce model designed to simplify product discovery while maintaining high standards of quality and trust. 

Sharikat Mubasher held an exclusive interview with Kartik Bhatt, CEO of Kanaa, to dive deep into the company’s business model, strategy, and technology, as well as its ambitions to expand and strengthen its presence across the Kingdom.

Kanaa officially launched in Saudi Arabia in April, introducing a curated commerce model to simplify product discovery while maintaining quality and trust. Can you tell us more about this model and what sets Kanaa apart from established marketplaces and specialty omni-retailers?

Saudi Arabia's e-commerce market has matured significantly over the past few years. Customers already have access to millions of products, fast delivery, and seamless payment options. However, all of that came with a lot of noise from endless choices, inconsistent content, bad reviews, and unpredictable service. This has made most customers insecure about whether they are making the right purchasing decision or not. They may feel that they are not getting the best deal, service, or product.

That is the thinking behind Kanaa's curated commerce model. We focus on offering the right products, presented with reliable information and backed by a consistent customer experience. Every product is carefully selected, supported with quality content and held to the same standards for pricing, fulfilment, and service.

Our model combines our own retail assortment, direct partnerships with leading brands, exclusive product collections, and a carefully managed marketplace. Each plays a specific role, but together they create a shopping experience customers can trust.

Today, our focus is on families, children, youth, and modern Saudi consumers across toys, books, gaming, hobbies, and lifestyle categories, with additional categories planned as we continue to grow.

Since launching in November 2025, we have achieved 44-fold growth in sales and a 30-fold increase in order volume. Those results confirm that we are solving a real customer need. Customers are not just looking for more products. They also need real confidence in what they are buying and where they are buying it from.

How does Kanaa plan to implement its strategy that is centered on curated selection, operational efficiency, and customer trust?

As I mentioned earlier, curation is only one part of the equation. Delivering a great customer experience depends just as much on how consistently you execute behind the scenes.

We start with the assortment itself, making sure every category has a clear purpose: everyday essentials, seasonal collections, exclusive partnerships, or marketplace offerings. Every category earns its place, and we are careful not to let the catalogue grow just for the sake of it.

Operational excellence is equally important. Customers remember whether an item was in stock, whether it arrived on time, and how quickly an issue was resolved. That is why we have invested heavily in inventory accuracy, delivery performance, returns management, and customer support. Today, we provide same-day delivery in Jeddah, are expanding that capability in Riyadh, and consistently deliver more than 98% of orders on time.

Technology underpins every stage of that experience, from search and stock visibility to personalized recommendations and a seamless checkout process. At the same time, we continue to build customer trust through transparent product information, clear policies, and responsive service.

Sales growth and traffic matter, but repeat purchases, customer loyalty, and our ability to build lasting relationships are what tell us this is actually working.

Does Kanaa integrate AI and machine learning into its business model — for search and discovery, fraud detection, pricing optimization, or logistics planning?

Absolutely. AI is already an important part of how we operate, especially in helping customers discover the right products more conveniently.

For example, a parent looking for a suitable gift or a teenager searching for gaming accessories rarely use precise search keywords. It is mostly broad categories, brand variations, use case-related keywords, etc. AI allows us to better understand customer intent and provide recommendations that feel more relevant and personalized, much like the guidance customers receive from an experienced sales advisor in a physical store.

Behind the scenes, we are also applying AI across demand forecasting, fraud detection, catalogue quality management and returns analysis. As the business grows, we will continue expanding its use across pricing optimization and logistics planning.

The real opportunity is the insights that come with connecting such capabilities. When demand shifts around a product, season, or occasion, AI can help us respond more quickly by improving inventory planning, product content, and stock allocation. That is what supports our next phase of growth, including marketplace expansion, new strategic partnerships, and our planned entry into the UAE.

A recent study conducted by Visa showed that 91% of consumers in Saudi Arabia embrace AI as part of their shopping journey. In your opinion, how do AI technologies revolutionise the shopping experience in the Kingdom?

These findings mirror current market behavior. Saudi Arabia is home to some of the most tech-forward shoppers globally, and they have already outgrown traditional e-commerce. They expect platforms to understand context and intent, bringing a level of personalization that standard catalog search simply cannot deliver 
AI helps deliver that in a few ways. It simplifies product discovery by understanding what customers are actually looking for rather than relying only on keywords. It also personalizes the experience, recognizing that someone shopping for children's toys has very different needs from someone looking for gaming products or gifts. Just as importantly, AI strengthens the experience in ways customers may not always notice directly. It improves product information, helps detect fraud more effectively, and enables faster customer service, all of which contribute to a smoother, more reliable shopping journey.

For years, online shopping missed something obvious: that helpful salesperson in the store who actually gets what you are looking for. AI finally lets us bring that human touch online, in both Arabic and English, at scale. We are not interested in AI hype for the sake of it; for us at Kanaa, it is just about making shopping easier, faster, and genuinely helpful.

What strategic partnerships are you pursuing to accelerate growth and enhance customer experience?

No platform succeeds in isolation. Our model is built entirely on smart partnerships. We deliberately chose not to build a bloated, open marketplace with lots of unverified sellers. We curate our brand and retail partners strictly because customers deserve reliable quality and pricing, not endless scrolling through questionable listings.

We take the same approach across the board. We are partnering with AI leaders to strengthen discovery, personalization, and fraud prevention capabilities that would take years to build in-house at the same quality. Logistics and last-mile partners are just as critical as merchandising ones. A platform can win a customer through marketing, but it keeps them through delivery and service.

We are also building relationships beyond conventional commerce, with schools, malls, creators and family-focused communities, because category education and gifting inspiration matter almost as much as the transaction itself. 

What are Kanaa's plans to expand its footprint within and beyond Saudi Arabia, driven by its mission to shape the next phase of e-commerce growth? What regional or international markets do you target next?

Our priority right now is the Kingdom. We want real depth here before we look anywhere else, which means strengthening our category leadership and continuing to invest in technology, fulfillment, and data. 

We still see significant demand across Saudi families, youth, and digitally native consumers who want a platform that understands their language, occasions, and service expectations.

Looking beyond the Kingdom, the GCC is the natural next step. UAE, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, and Oman all share the digital adoption and purchasing power that fit our model, and our current plan is to enter the UAE in 2026.

We would rather take a Saudi-born platform to the region once we have proven it here than expand early and lose what makes Kanaa trusted in the first place.

As a seasoned leader with more than 20 years of experience scaling large-format retail and e-commerce businesses, how do you assess Saudi Arabia's e-commerce sector? What does the sector need over the coming years to continue growing?

Saudi Arabia's e-commerce sector has made remarkable progress over the past decade. The industry successfully addressed the fundamentals by expanding product availability, strengthening logistics, and giving consumers the confidence to shop online. That created strong and sustained growth across the market. I have watched a few markets go through this same shift, and Saudi Arabia is moving through it faster than most.

The next phase is really about the quality of the customer experience. Promotions and discounts can generate short-term sales, but long-term success depends on service reliability, customer retention, strong category expertise, and sustainable growth.

I also believe the industry has an opportunity to invest more in merchandise planning and product content, so customers get relevant assortments, accurate information, and a better overall shopping experience.

Finally, the sector needs to become even more locally relevant. That means reflecting Saudi shopping habits, family occasions, gifting traditions, and Arabic-first customer experiences in a more meaningful way. That is the shift I would tell any new entrant to prepare for.

Ultimately, I believe the companies that succeed over the coming years will be those that consistently earn customer trust through every interaction rather than those that offer the largest catalogue.

Ghada Ismail

Behind every successful startup lies an unspoken goal. It's not simply raising another funding round or achieving unicorn status; it's creating an opportunity for founders and investors to realize the value they've spent years building. In the startup world, that milestone is called a liquidity event. Whether through an acquisition, an IPO, or a secondary share sale, a liquidity event turns paper wealth into real financial returns. Understanding how it works helps founders make smarter decisions long before an exit is on the horizon.

What Is a Liquidity Event?

A liquidity event is any transaction that allows founders, investors, or employees to convert their ownership in a startup into cash or other liquid assets.

Private startup shares are typically illiquid, meaning they cannot be easily sold because they are not traded on a public market. A liquidity event unlocks that value, allowing shareholders to monetize their equity.

Why It Matters

Liquidity events reward the people who helped build the company. Founders receive compensation for years of risk-taking, employees can benefit from stock options, and investors generate returns that can be reinvested into new ventures.

They also fuel the broader startup ecosystem by encouraging venture capital, creating successful entrepreneurs, and attracting fresh investment.

Common Types of Liquidity Events

Acquisition

The most common startup liquidity event is an acquisition, where another company buys the business for cash, shares, or both. Many successful startups—including Instagram, WhatsApp, and YouTube—reached liquidity through acquisitions rather than public listings.

Initial Public Offering (IPO)

An IPO occurs when a private company lists on a stock exchange. Existing shareholders can eventually sell their shares, while the company gains access to public capital. However, IPOs also bring stricter regulations and greater scrutiny.

Secondary Share Sale

Founders or early investors may sell part of their shares to new investors during later funding rounds without selling the entire company. These transactions provide partial liquidity while allowing the startup to continue growing independently.

Management Buyout or Private Equity Sale

Although less common for startups, a liquidity event can also happen when the company's management team or a private equity (PE) firm buys the business from its existing shareholders.

In a management buyout (MBO), the people already running the company—such as its executives or senior managers—purchase the business and become its new owners. In a private equity sale, an investment firm acquires the company with the goal of growing its value before eventually selling it or taking it public.

In both cases, founders and early investors can sell their shares and receive cash, while the company continues to operate as a privately owned business. This type of liquidity event is more common among mature, profitable companies than early-stage startups.

Liquidity Event vs. Exit

Although often used interchangeably, the two terms are different.

An exit usually means founders or investors leave the business through a sale or IPO. A liquidity event simply means converting equity into cash. A founder who sells only part of their stake experiences liquidity without making a full exit.

Preparing for a Liquidity Event

Successful liquidity events are built years in advance. Startups should maintain clean financial records, strengthen corporate governance, protect intellectual property, and build scalable, predictable businesses. Strong preparation makes due diligence easier and often leads to higher valuations.

To Wrap Things Up…

A liquidity event is more than a payday; we can safely say it's the moment when years of building a startup translate into real financial value. Whether through an acquisition, an IPO, or a secondary share sale, it marks a major milestone for founders, investors, and employees alike. Understanding liquidity events early can help entrepreneurs make better decisions about fundraising, equity, and long-term growth.

Kholoud Hussein 

Entrepreneurship is often portrayed as a one-size-fits-all journey—an ambitious founder develops an idea, secures funding, launches a startup, and scales it into a successful business. In reality, however, entrepreneurs come in many forms, each driven by different motivations, risk appetites, and long-term ambitions. While some are determined to build the next billion-dollar company, others are passionate about solving local challenges, creating social impact, or simply achieving financial independence.

Understanding your entrepreneurial personality is more than an exercise in self-awareness. It can help you choose the right business model, attract suitable investors, build an effective team, and make strategic decisions that align with your vision. As global startup ecosystems continue to mature—particularly across the Middle East, where entrepreneurship is becoming a cornerstone of economic diversification—recognizing your entrepreneurial type has never been more important.

1. The Innovator

Innovators are the entrepreneurs who redefine industries. They introduce groundbreaking products, disruptive technologies, or entirely new business models that challenge the status quo. Rather than improving existing solutions, they focus on creating something the market has never seen before.

These entrepreneurs are naturally curious, highly creative, and willing to take calculated risks. They often invest significant time and resources in research and development before bringing their ideas to market.

Strengths:

• Visionary thinking
• High growth potential
• Ability to create new markets

Challenges:

• Long development cycles
• High capital requirements
• Greater market uncertainty

Think of founders behind revolutionary technologies such as artificial intelligence platforms, biotech companies, or next-generation fintech solutions.

2. The Scalable Startup Founder

This is the entrepreneur most associated with the startup ecosystem. Their goal is rapid growth, often backed by venture capital, with ambitions to expand across regions—or even globally.

Scalable founders prioritize technology, automation, and repeatable business models. They continuously measure growth metrics, customer acquisition costs, and revenue scalability.

These entrepreneurs thrive in sectors such as SaaS, fintech, healthtech, logistics, and e-commerce.

Success is measured by:

• Market expansion
• Investment rounds
• Revenue growth
• Exit opportunities through acquisitions or IPOs

3. The Lifestyle Entrepreneur

Not every entrepreneur dreams of becoming the next unicorn founder. Lifestyle entrepreneurs build businesses that support the life they want rather than allowing the business to define their lives.

Many freelancers, consultants, digital creators, coaches, and boutique agency owners fall into this category. Their priorities often include flexibility, autonomy, and sustainable income instead of aggressive expansion.

While these businesses may never seek institutional investment, they can generate consistent profitability and long-term stability.

4. The Social Entrepreneur

For social entrepreneurs, profit is only part of the equation. Their primary mission is solving societal or environmental challenges while maintaining a financially sustainable organization.

Whether addressing education gaps, healthcare accessibility, food security, renewable energy, or financial inclusion, these founders measure success by both financial performance and social impact.

With governments increasingly supporting ESG initiatives and sustainable development, social entrepreneurship is becoming a major contributor to modern economies.

5. The Small Business Entrepreneur

Small business entrepreneurs represent the backbone of every economy. They establish businesses that primarily serve local communities, including restaurants, retail stores, manufacturing firms, professional services, and family-owned enterprises.

Unlike venture-backed startups, these businesses generally rely on personal savings, bank financing, or traditional lending rather than external equity investment.

Although they may not dominate headlines, small businesses collectively generate millions of jobs and contribute significantly to GDP across developed and emerging markets alike.

6. The Corporate Entrepreneur (Intrapreneur)

Entrepreneurship does not always require starting a company from scratch. Corporate entrepreneurs—or intrapreneurs—drive innovation from within established organizations.

They develop new products, launch business units, improve operational processes, and identify growth opportunities while leveraging the company's existing resources.

Many successful innovations have originated from employees who were encouraged to think and act like entrepreneurs inside large corporations.

7. The Acquisition Entrepreneur

Rather than creating a business from zero, acquisition entrepreneurs purchase existing businesses and improve their operations.

Their expertise lies in identifying undervalued companies, streamlining operations, expanding customer bases, and increasing profitability before holding or selling the business.

This model has gained popularity among experienced investors and entrepreneurs looking for lower startup risk compared to launching a new venture.

8. The Serial Entrepreneur

Some entrepreneurs simply love building companies. Once they achieve success—or even after experiencing failure—they move on to launch another venture.

Serial entrepreneurs accumulate valuable experience, extensive networks, and operational expertise across multiple industries. Their previous successes often make it easier to attract investors, recruit talent, and enter new markets.

Many of today's most influential founders have built several companies throughout their careers rather than dedicating themselves to a single business.

Which Entrepreneur Are You?

Most founders don't fit neatly into one category. A startup founder may begin as an innovator, evolve into a scalable entrepreneur after attracting investors, and eventually become a serial entrepreneur following a successful exit. Likewise, a lifestyle entrepreneur may discover an opportunity that transforms a small business into a high-growth company.

Your entrepreneurial identity also changes as markets evolve. Economic shifts, technological advances, access to funding, and customer demand can all influence how you build and grow your business.

The key is understanding your priorities. Are you motivated by rapid expansion or long-term independence? Do you seek financial returns, social impact, or industry disruption? Your answers will shape everything from your funding strategy to your hiring decisions.

Finally, there is no universally "best" type of entrepreneur. Every entrepreneurial path contributes differently to economic growth, innovation, and job creation. While venture-backed startups often attract the spotlight, local businesses, social enterprises, corporate innovators, and lifestyle entrepreneurs all play essential roles in building resilient economies.

Ultimately, successful entrepreneurship is not about following someone else's blueprint—it's about understanding your own strengths, ambitions, and definition of success. The entrepreneurs who thrive are those who build businesses that align with their vision, adapt to changing markets, and create lasting value for customers, investors, employees, and society.

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.