Noha Gad

Emerging technologies are reshaping the future of agriculture and farming in the Middle East. Advanced technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI), computer vision, and IoT-powered sensors, are pivotal in transforming crop scanning speeds and harvest precision, addressing challenges including water scarcity, labor shortages, and arid conditions. In Saudi Arabia, autonomous farming robots are used to sow, fertilize, and apply pesticides in a single pass, enabling round-the-clock operations while cutting labor costs, aligning with Vision 2030's push for innovation.

Farming in the Kingdom is becoming more efficient and sustainable than ever before, thanks to AI-powered technologies. For instance, predictive systems could help farmers avert up to 30% of crop losses due to pests and disease before an outbreak goes out of control, according to a report released by Tanmeya Capital. In high-tech farms, AI-powered robots have increased harvesting efficiency by 50% and broader AI-driven automation has reduced labor costs by up to 35%, addressing the Kingdom’s labor shortages and rising operational expenses.

The agricultural autonomous robots market in Saudi Arabia is seeing significant growth, triggered by the urgent need for enhancing agricultural productivity and sustainability. According to recent estimates released by Mobility Foresight, one of the global market research firms specializing in mobility and tech domains, the market size is valued at nearly $100 million and is expected to expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of nearly 20% over the next five years. In 2028, the Saudi market is anticipated to hit $250 million, driven by the integration of AI and machine learning into agricultural robots, which will ultimately enhance their capabilities, making them indispensable for modern farming operations. 

This growth will be fueled by increasing investments in agricultural technology (agri-tech), and the adoption of innovative farming practices will play a vital role in ensuring food security and economic diversification.

The increasing amount of data generated by autonomous systems paves the way for developing analytics platforms that help farmers make informed decisions based on real-time data. Additionally, supporting startups and companies that focus on innovative solutions in the agri-tech space can yield high returns, especially those that integrate robotics and automation into farming practices.

How autonomous robots revolutionize agriculture and farming in Saudi Arabia

Various types of autonomous robots transform agriculture and farming in Saudi Arabia. For example, drones are used for aerial monitoring, crop spraying, and data collection, while harvesting robots can identify ripe crops and harvest them with precision. IoT-powered sensors can also monitor soil health and nutrient levels, providing valuable data for farmers. Additionally, automated tractors can carry out planting, tilling, and other field operations without human intervention. The use of autonomous robots in agriculture is expected to revolutionize traditional farming methods, leading to sustainable practices, improved crop management, and higher productivity. 

One of the key benefits of integrating smart robotics in agriculture is that it targets labor-intensive tasks, like planting, harvesting, and monitoring, using AI, sensors, and drones to enhance precision in arid conditions. For planting automation, autonomous robots plant seeds at optimal depth and spacing, applying fertilizers and pesticides precisely during sowing, which reduces waste and frees farmers for strategic tasks. They operate 24/7 and adapt to soil data for uniform crop establishment, especially vital in Saudi Arabia's vast farmlands. Robotic harvesters use high-precision visual sensors to identify ripe fruit, navigate trees, and pick without damage, operating continuously to increase output. 

Earlier this year, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) developed a new robotic system designed to automate date palm harvesting, aiming to disrupt the agriculture industry and position Saudi Arabia as a leader in agriculture innovation.  The project, headed by KAUST Assistant Prof. Shinkyu Park, focused on automating critical tasks in date palm cultivation, including harvesting, pollination, and tree maintenance. By integrating robotics with AI, the project is expected to improve efficiency and deliver higher yields of more nutritious dates, fulfilling the need to modernize and automate traditional practices in the date palm industry in the Kingdom.

Crop monitoring drones with cameras and sensors fly over fields to detect pests, diseases, and health issues early, enabling rapid interventions and minimizing losses. Meanwhile, autonomous ground robots are used to analyze soil for nutrients, pH, and moisture, recommending precise fertilizer applications to maximize yields without excess. This data-driven approach enhances soil health in the long term, reducing costs and promoting efficient resource use in Saudi farms.

For Saudi farmers, agricultural robotics can deliver substantial benefits by tackling core challenges, such as water scarcity, labor shortages, and low productivity in arid environments, ultimately advancing food security under Vision 2030. This includes:

• Reducing costs and labor expenses by automating repetitive tasks.
• Conserving water by utilizing precision irrigation systems from robots to deliver water where needed.
• Improving yields through AI-powered monitoring and harvesting.
• Reducing chemical runoff through targeted spraying, which contributes to protecting soil and biodiversity while complying with the Saudi's green initiatives. 

Humans and agricultural robotics

The transition from traditional farming to smart agriculture demands a fundamental shift in the skills base, creating both a challenge of displacement and an unprecedented opportunity for new, high-value employment. 

The automation of repetitive, labor-intensive tasks will inevitably reduce demand for low-skilled seasonal labor. While addressing labor shortages, this shift creates a pressing social and economic imperative: the need for large-scale reskilling and upskilling of the existing agricultural workforce. Government, tech providers, and institutions could offer certified, hands-on training modules, ensuring the current farming community has the required digital literacy to deal with innovations such as tablet-based control systems, dashboards, and software platforms. Therefore, new high-tech agri-tech professions will emerge, redefining what it means to work in agriculture. The sector will no longer employ farmers, but a suite of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) professionals, data analysts, drone operators, agronomy pilots, agricultural robot fleet managers, and agri-tech support technicians.

Finally, the landscape of agricultural autonomous robots in Saudi Arabia is highly competitive and rapidly evolving, driven by a combination of local startups and established global players who develop innovative solutions tailored to the Kingdom’s unique agricultural challenges. By focusing on advanced technologies, like AI, machine learning, and robotics, these companies play a crucial role in creating efficient systems for harvesting, monitoring, and managing crops.

The successful integration of autonomous farming in Saudi Arabia will be measured not only in yield increases and water savings but also in its transition for the workforce. By investing heavily in reskilling programs for today's farmers, the Kingdom can ensure its agricultural revolution builds human capital alongside technological capital. 

Noha Gad

Traditional top-down models often struggle to scale amid economic uncertainties in today’s fast-evolving startup landscape; hence, the shift towards community-driven startups gained significant momentum. This transformative model redefines success by democratizing the creation process, empowering users not just as buyers but as active participants to co-shape products, amplify voices, and propel growth through authentic connections and collective energy.

While traditional startups often launch polished products into a silent vacuum, community-driven ventures build their roadmap out in the open, alongside their first users.

Community-driven startups heavily rely on their user base who actively participate in shaping the product, culture, and growth trajectory, rather than serving as mere end-users. These startups build platforms or services centered on fostering closed networks of enthusiasts who contribute ideas, content, feedback, and even governance. Unlike passive consumer applications, community-driven startups prioritize ongoing collaboration, including think forums for feature requests, user-generated templates, or member-led events that evolve the offering organically. 

Community-driven vs. Traditional startups

Traditional startups follow a top-down blueprint where founders design a product in isolation, launch via paid ads or influencers, and iterate based on metrics such as acquisition cost. Unlike traditional models, where users act as passive consumers reliant on marketing budgets and virality hacks for growth, community-driven approaches make users co-creators and advocates through real-time forums, beta testing, and organic referrals. This model can increase the community engagement rate fivefold as users feel ownership, eventually reducing churn and boosting lifetime value.

How to build a strategy as a community-driven startup

Community-driven startups employ strategic steps to cultivate engaged user bases that propel product evolution and sustainable growth. 

• Clarify the community’s purpose. Identify ideal members through persona research via surveys or outreach on platforms, then choose accessible channels and launch with a small group of 50-100 founding members recruited personally. Hosting weekly events like AMAs (Ask Me Anything), polls, or feedback sessions will help ignite participation and build trust through visible responsiveness.
• Encourage contributions early with low-friction tools, such as dedicated forums for feature ideas, user-generated content templates, or beta testing invites. Recognizing active members via shoutouts, badges, exclusive access, or revenue-sharing perks will foster a sense of ownership and culture.
• Expand tactics via referrals and incentives. Introduce scalable events such as mentorship circles, expert webinars, or hackathons to deepen connections without diluting intimacy. Integrate feedback loops continuously to ensure that growth aligns with community needs rather than vanity metrics.
• Achieve long-term sustainability. Survey members regularly, refine based on data, and foster network effects through peer connections and ambassador programs. This would help startups adapt to changing dynamics and cultivate sub-communities for specialized interests to prevent stagnation.

Key benefits

Community-driven startups deliver remarkable advantages by embedding users as core stakeholders, transforming potential costs into self-reinforcing growth engines. Engaged communities foster deep ownership, yielding up to 5x higher retention rates compared to traditional models. Additionally, crowdsourced feedback loops accelerate innovation and help startups minimize product development cycles, while ensuring relevance and delighting early adopters with tailored features.

Loyal members promote the startup through personal referrals and recommendations, which greatly reduce the cost of gaining new customers. Thus, startups will no longer need to launch expensive advertising campaigns, relying on members who naturally increase reach and create network effects that add value with each new member.

Community-based startups are more likely to handle economic challenges among passionate communities that offer stability through ongoing participation. This promotes users’ loyalty and makes them a strong defense against competitors who rely on short-lived trends.

While traditional models focus on isolated polish and paid reach, community-driven startups unlock a more resilient path: turning users into passionate partners who co-build products and fuel growth. This shift significantly redefines how startups grow by prioritizing purpose over polish and collaboration over campaigns, ultimately enabling founders to cultivate not only a wide user base but also a vested community that innovates, retains, and defends together.

Ghada Ismail

For years, the startup world celebrated unicorns—private companies valued at more than $1 billion—as the ultimate success story. Over time, valuations grew, capital became more available, and expectations shifted. This gave rise to decacorns, companies worth over $10 billion.

Now, a much rarer group sits at the very top: hectocorns.

A hectocorn is a company valued at $100 billion or more. The word comes from “hecto,” meaning one hundred, and it describes businesses that have reached an extraordinary level of size and influence. These companies are not just growing fast; they are powerful enough to shape markets and industries.

How rare are hectocorns?

Hectocorns are extremely rare. While there are hundreds of unicorns around the world, only a small number of companies ever reach a $100 billion valuation.

Most hectocorns are global giants that dominate their sectors. Examples often include Apple, Microsoft, Saudi Aramco, Amazon, and Nvidia. Their valuations are so large that they are sometimes compared to the economies of entire countries.

What makes a hectocorn different?

The difference between a $10 billion company and a $100 billion company is not just an extra zero. Hectocorns usually share a few clear characteristics.

They tend to:

• Operate at a global scale, not just in one market
• Serve hundreds of millions, or even billions, of users
• Offer products or services that people and businesses rely on every day

At this level, competition is no longer only about building a better product. It becomes about managing scale, regulations, supply chains, and long-term strategy.

Are there private hectocorns?

Most hectocorns are public companies, meaning they are listed on stock exchanges. Staying private while reaching a $100 billion valuation is very rare.

To do this, a company would need to:

• Dominate a very large global market
• Earn exceptional trust from investors
• Maintain strong growth without public market support

Companies like ByteDance are often mentioned as rare private firms that come close, depending on market conditions. Still, private hectocorns are the exception, not the rule.

Will we see more hectocorns?

As technology, artificial intelligence, and emerging markets continue to grow, more hectocorns will likely appear, but slowly, as reaching a $100 billion valuation requires:

• Long-term resilience
• Global relevance
• The ability to survive multiple economic cycles

Wrapping Things Up…

In simple terms, hectocorns represent the very top of the global business pyramid. They are not defined by rapid growth alone, but by long-term scale, resilience, and influence. While unicorns capture attention and decacorns signal ambition, hectocorns show what happens when a company becomes deeply embedded in the global economy. For most founders, reaching this level is not the goal, but understanding how hectocorns are built helps clarify where real power, value, and impact ultimately concentrate.

Ghada Ismail

Saudi Arabia’s venture capital market is no longer finding its footing. It has found its pace. What began as an ecosystem driven by experimentation and policy-led pilots has evolved into a more mature, institutionalized market that now attracts regional and international attention. According to data compiled by MAGNiTT and the Saudi Venture Capital Company (SVC), Saudi Arabia has ranked among the most active venture capital markets in the MENA region over the past three years, both in terms of capital deployed and the number of deals completed.

This momentum is often cited as proof that the Kingdom’s startup ecosystem is working. Funding volumes are rising. New funds are being launched. More founders are building locally. Yet as the market grows, a more serious discussion has started to surface. Scale alone is no longer enough. Increasingly, investors, founders, and policymakers are asking how capital is being distributed across sectors, and whether that distribution reflects the broader economic ambitions Saudi Arabia has set for itself.

At the center of this conversation sits fintech.

According to MAGNiTT’s Saudi Arabia Venture Capital Reports, fintech startups consistently attract one of the largest shares of venture investment activity in the Kingdom, particularly when measured by deal count rather than absolute capital raised. Payments platforms, digital lenders, BNPL providers, wallets, and financial infrastructure startups appear again and again in funding announcements, accelerator cohorts, and portfolio disclosures.

This raises a structural question rather than a critical one. Has Saudi venture capital become overly concentrated around fintech, and if so, what does that mean for the long-term health and resilience of the startup ecosystem.

Fintech by the Numbers: A Clear Leader in Deal Activity

Look across multiple datasets, and the pattern is hard to miss. Fintech dominates venture deal flow in Saudi Arabia.

According to MAGNiTT’s 2024 Saudi Arabia Venture Capital Report, fintech ranked among the top sectors by number of transactions completed during the year. In several quarters, it led outright. While total capital raised shifted depending on the presence of large late-stage rounds in other sectors, fintech maintained steady activity across seed, Series A, and growth stages.

SVC’s FY2024 venture capital analysis reinforces this conclusion. The report showed that fintech accounted for a significant portion of all VC deals closed in the Kingdom, even during periods when sectors such as e-commerce surpassed fintech in total disclosed funding value due to one or two large transactions.

This distinction matters.

• Fintech frequently leads in deal volume, reflecting repeated investor willingness to back early- and mid-stage startups
• Capital rankings can be distorted by isolated mega-rounds in other sectors
• Fintech activity remains consistent across market cycles

According to Fintech Saudi’s 2024 Annual Report, more than 260 fintech companies were operating in the Kingdom by the end of the reporting period. The report also noted that cumulative investment into Saudi fintechs had reached several billion riyals, surpassing earlier ecosystem targets set under the national fintech strategy.

Together, these figures position fintech not just as a successful sector, but as a defining pillar of Saudi Arabia’s venture story.

Why Fintech Attracts Venture Capital So Readily

Investor appetite for fintech is not driven by hype. It is driven by structure.

According to Fintech Saudi and regional banking studies, Saudi Arabia has one of the highest digital payments adoption rates in the Middle East. Consumers are comfortable transacting digitally. Merchants are rapidly onboarding payment solutions. Banks are increasingly open to collaboration rather than competition. Regulators have moved early to create sandboxes, licensing pathways, and open banking frameworks.

This combination has created fertile ground for fintech startups to test, launch, and scale.

MAGNiTT’s sector analyses consistently highlight fintech as a category that offers:

• Clear monetization models
• Faster visibility into revenue generation
• Defined regulatory pathways
• More predictable exit scenarios

From a venture capital perspective, this reduces uncertainty. Payment platforms can scale merchant adoption quickly. Consumer finance products grow through mobile-first distribution. Enterprise fintech solutions integrate directly with banks and large corporates, embedding themselves into core systems.

Fintech also aligns closely with national policy priorities. According to official government strategies and Fintech Saudi publications, financial inclusion, SME financing, and payment digitization remain key economic objectives. Venture capital flowing into fintech, therefore, delivers both commercial returns and measurable policy outcomes.

That dual alignment helps explain why fintech consistently outperforms other sectors when it comes to deal activity.

The Cost of Concentration

Concentration, however, is not without consequences.

According to ecosystem observers and VC market analyses, when one sector absorbs a disproportionate share of capital, talent tends to follow. Engineers, compliance specialists, data scientists, and senior product leaders are naturally drawn to startups with clearer funding pipelines and higher valuation benchmarks. In Saudi Arabia, that often means fintech.

This dynamic creates several knock-on effects.

First, talent clustering. Founders building outside fintech face a tougher challenge when assembling experienced teams, particularly in technically demanding sectors such as healthtech, climate technology, or industrial software.

Second, idea shaping. Market analysts note that founders increasingly design startups around perceived investor appetite. When fintech appears more fundable, entrepreneurs may reshape ideas toward financial use cases, even when the underlying problem sits more naturally in healthcare, sustainability, or logistics.

Third, portfolio exposure. When most venture capital goes to just a few sectors, the whole ecosystem becomes more vulnerable to changes in rules or the economy. For example, if consumer credit, payment margins, or financial regulations take a hit, it wouldn’t just affect one company; it could impact many startups at once. These are risks for the system as a whole, not failures of individual businesses.

Sector Concentration and Portfolio Exposure

Saudi Arabia’s VC ecosystem demonstrates capital clustering, which carries both advantages and risks. In 2024, e-commerce and retail startups led total disclosed funding, largely due to a few mega rounds, while logistics, mobility, and enterprise software received steady but smaller investments. Meanwhile, healthtech, climate and sustainability solutions, advanced manufacturing, and deep technology (including applied AI) captured only a minor share of VC funding, despite their strategic importance. 

Fintech fits into this concentration pattern differently. While not always the top sector in total capital, it leads in deal count, with repeated investor backing in early- and mid-stage startups. Its dominance demonstrates the ecosystem’s strength but also its vulnerability: heavy focus on one or a few sectors means that regulatory shifts, macroeconomic downturns, or changes in financial policy could ripple across the startup ecosystem, affecting many companies simultaneously. These are systemic risks, not failures of individual startups.

A Market in Transition

Early-stage concentration is not unique to Saudi Arabia. According to global venture capital studies, emerging ecosystems often gather around one or two scalable sectors before diversifying more broadly.

Saudi Arabia appears to be following a similar trajectory.

Recent signals suggest growing awareness of the need to broaden sector exposure. According to public announcements and fund mandates, several Saudi-backed investment vehicles and accelerators have launched programs specifically targeting health innovation, climate solutions, and industrial technology.

Corporate venture arms are also beginning to look beyond fintech. Increasingly, they are seeking strategic technologies that align with operational needs, supply chains, and productivity gains rather than purely financial returns.

These shifts suggest fintech dominance may represent a phase rather than a permanent imbalance.

Investors and the Role of Incentives

Venture capital firms shape the startup ecosystem by deciding where to put their money. Many investment funds in Saudi Arabia were created when financial technology was growing quickly. Their teams, networks, and investment strategies were built around that sector.

Industry observers say that moving into new areas of investment requires important changes:

• Spending more time and effort understanding the technology behind startups
• Being willing to invest for a longer period before seeing returns
• Adjusting expectations about when and how investments will succeed

Investors who provide the capital for these funds, such as large institutions and government-backed organizations, play a key role. They can support longer-term projects that may take years to pay off but can have a lasting impact on the economy.

What the Data Means for Founders

For founders operating outside fintech, the fundraising environment is more selective, but it is not closed. Non-fintech startups are expected to demonstrate credibility earlier in the fundraising process. That often includes:

• Clear regulatory progress
• Pilot deployments with credible partners
• Revenue-linked traction
• Well-defined scalability pathways

Saudi Arabia offers structural advantages here. Government procurement programs, large corporate buyers, and centralized decision-making can dramatically shorten adoption cycles if accessed effectively.

In this environment, execution matters more than narrative. Strong fundamentals can still unlock capital, even in less appealing sectors.

Conclusion: Fintech as a Foundation, Not a Ceiling

According to every major dataset tracking Saudi Arabia’s venture capital market, fintech has earned its place as a leading sector. Regulatory reform, market readiness, and investor confidence have aligned to create one of the region’s most active fintech ecosystems.

At the same time, the same data highlights concentration. Deal flow, talent, and capital remain heavily going after fintech, while other strategically important sectors continue to lag behind.

The challenge ahead is one of balance. Not replacing fintech, but building alongside it.

Noha Gad

The global financial ecosystem is undergoing a quiet yet profound transformation, driven by the rise of digital assets. At the forefront of this shift are stablecoins, digital currencies designed to maintain a stable value by being pegged to a reserve asset such as the US dollar, gold, or another fiat currency. Unlike other cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin or Ethereum, whose prices fluctuate sharply, stablecoins aim to combine the speed and efficiency of digital assets with the reliability of traditional money. 

Stablecoins promise the transparency and borderless nature of blockchain technology while mitigating the wild price swings that have hindered the everyday use of digital currencies. They are becoming a critical infrastructure layer for the new economy, enabling instant settlements, powering decentralized finance applications, and offering a digital haven of stability. Thanks to their potential to streamline payments, reduce transaction costs, and enhance financial inclusion, stablecoins are increasingly used for faster payments, remittances, and cross-border transactions.

Regulated rollout in Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia is taking steady moves toward launching stablecoins under national regulation, signaling a new phase in the Kingdom's digital asset strategy. Recently, Saudi Minister of Municipal, Rural Affairs, and Housing Majed Al-Hogail announced that the government plans to launch stablecoins soon in partnership with the Capital Market (CMA) and the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA), affirming that digital currencies could create a faster financial system if they were developed within Saudi values and regulations.

With 79% of retail transactions already cashless, Saudi Arabia is uniquely positioned to utilize stablecoins as part of its vision to become a global logistics and financial hub. 

Experts believe that the Kingdom’s exploration for regulated, utility-based stablecoins marks a turning point for the region’s digital asset landscape and reflects Saudi Arabia’s commitment to modernization, consumer protection, and financial stability. They emphasized that stablecoins could advance the Saudi financial ecosystem when embedded in rigorous regulatory frameworks and governed transparently, ultimately enhancing payments, trade, and innovation.

Impacts on key sectors

Utilizing regulated stablecoins could have transformative impacts across key sectors in the Kingdom, thanks to their stability, speed, and blockchain efficiency. They could revolutionize the fintech and payments landscape through a foundational shift towards a real-time, programmable, and seamlessly integrated financial infrastructure. The inherent transparency of blockchain transactions, when designed with privacy safeguards, can automate regulatory reporting and anti-money laundering checks, creating a more secure and efficient financial system. Additionally, stablecoins could enable instant, low-cost remittances vital for the Kingdom's large expatriate population, outpacing traditional systems by reducing fees and settlement times.

In logistics and e-commerce, stablecoins will play a pivotal role in streamlining cross-border settlements, cutting friction in supply chains, and reinforcing the Kingdom’s position as a global logistics hub. By eliminating the settlement delays and interbank fees inherent in current card and transfer systems, consumers will enjoy near-instant checkout, both online and in physical stores, using QR codes or device-to-device transfers. This will eventually create a more dynamic, cash-lite economy where small merchants benefit from immediate settlement, reducing their working capital burdens.

Integrating stablecoins into the real estate sector will also facilitate fractional ownership of tokenized assets and attract global capital inflows. In his speech at the World PropTech Summit 2025, Al-Hogail highlighted that stablecoins could expand the SAR 300 billion real estate funds market by enabling transparent, real-time investor access to commercial, residential, and land properties. Additionally, a regulated, Riyal-pegged stablecoin would enable atomic settlements, where payment and asset title transfer occur simultaneously in a single, irreversible transaction. This eliminates the need for lengthy escrow processes, reduces counterparty risk, and significantly cuts the administrative and legal fees associated with property transactions.

Furthermore, High-value properties can be divided into digital tokens representing shares, traded on regulated platforms, thereby unlocking immense liquidity in a traditionally illiquid market and opening the sector to a broader base of investors.

Launching and integrating regulated stablecoins into major sectors in Saudi Arabia will not merely digitize cash but also deploy a programmable monetary platform that reshapes economic interactions. The transformation across retail, real estate, and finance sectors will be characterized by the near-elimination of settlement risk, a substantial reduction in transaction costs and time, the unlocking of new asset classes and liquidity, and the creation of a more inclusive, transparent, and globally competitive digital economy for the Kingdom.

Major challenges 

Regulating stablecoins in Saudi Arabia presents different challenges that entwine technological innovation with core financial and national priorities. These challenges include:

• Regulatory classification and legal clarity. Determining whether a stablecoin is a payment instrument, a security, a commodity, or a new, unique asset class is pivotal to deciding which regulatory authority, either SAMA, the CMA, or both, has oversight. Creating a seamless, non-overlapping regulatory border for potentially hybrid instruments that blend payment and investment features requires unprecedented inter-agency coordination and potentially new legislative frameworks.
• Implementing rigorous Shariah-compliance frameworks. Stablecoins must comply with Shariah principles to gain mass acceptance in the Kingdom. Thus, regulators will need to establish clear and standardized guidelines, which may lead to a preference for asset-backed or gold-backed stablecoin models over algorithmic ones.
•  Operational and technological hurdles. Regulators may face the operational and tech hurdles of cross-border coordination and effective supervision. Domestically, Saudi regulators might need to build new supervisory capacities to monitor 24/7 blockchain-based systems, conduct real-time audits of reserve holdings, and oversee smart contract security to protect consumers from technical failures or hacks.

Finally, the emergence of stablecoins represents a pivotal evolution in the architecture of global finance, offering a fusion of blockchain innovation and monetary stability. In Saudi Arabia, the deliberate and regulated integration of this technology is a modern means to advance the strategic ambitions of Vision 2030, ultimately enhancing payments efficiency, revolutionizing capital markets through tokenization, and fortifying the Kingdom’s position as a cross-border trade connection.

The successful navigation of regulatory and technological challenges will eventually determine whether the Kingdom can transform these digital instruments into robust pillars of its future economy.

Ghada Ismail

In the first article, we explored the API Economy as a global shift, but understanding the concept is only the beginning. The real story emerges when we look at how the API Economy takes shape on the ground, inside actual markets.

When a user taps “pay,” links a bank account, or signs into a digital wallet, the experience looks simple. But behind every smooth tap lies a hidden world: API gateways, microservices, integration layers, open-banking rails, and banking-as-a-service components working in perfect coordination. While global conversations highlight Stripe, PayPal, and social media APIs, Saudi Arabia’s reality is driven by a growing network of local firms quietly building the financial infrastructure of the future.

This article maps the local ecosystem, the players powering it, how the architecture works, and why Saudi Arabia’s API economy is becoming a strategic backbone for the region.

Why the API Economy Is Accelerating in Saudi Arabia

The foundations of Saudi Arabia’s API ecosystem are being shaped by three intersecting forces:

1. Regulatory clarity and open banking readiness.
Saudi regulators and banks have laid down frameworks that encourage standardized APIs, account-data access, and safe third-party integrations. This clarity reduces friction for both fintechs and API providers.

2. Rapid consumer adoption of digital payments.
With mobile wallets, tap-to-pay, and online banking becoming mainstream, demand for stable, scalable backend infrastructure has never been higher.

3. The need for speed, cost efficiency, and modular development.
Instead of reinventing infrastructure, fintechs can now assemble it — using APIs for payments, identity, compliance, or card issuance. This modularity is what allows Saudi fintechs to launch fast and scale without massive upfront investment.

Together, these factors have created the conditions for a strong local market of API builders, integrators, and specialized fintech-infrastructure companies.

Who Is Building Saudi Arabia’s API Infrastructure?

Saudi’s API ecosystem isn’t driven by one type of company — it’s a layered network of infrastructure specialists. Below are the key categories and the local firms shaping each layer.

1. Microservices, Cloud & Integration Firms: SkyTech Digital, AusafTech, Tech Polaris

These companies form the technical backbone that many fintechs rely on:

SkyTech Digital

• Designs microservices architectures and cloud-native applications.
• Helps businesses migrate from legacy or monolithic systems to modular, API-driven backends.
• For fintechs, this means faster performance, better scalability, and easier maintenance.

AusafTech

• Specializes in full-stack API integration — from advisory to testing to long-term maintenance.
• Connects systems to payment gateways, CRMs, cloud platforms, and messaging services.
• Plays a crucial role when fintechs need multiple integrations handled reliably.

Tech Polaris

• Offers API development and integration support for businesses building modular services.
• Represents the growing demand for API-first engineering firms in the Kingdom.

These firms make fintech architecture possible: without microservices, cloud-native environments, or integration scaffolding, fintech products simply wouldn’t scale.

2. Fintech-Facing API Platforms: Open Banking, Payments, Cards & Payouts

Beyond general integration, Saudi fintechs rely on API-first firms that offer ready-made financial infrastructure.

Open banking aggregators (e.g., Lean Technologies, SingleView)

• Provide account-data APIs, payment initiation, and bank connectivity.
• Let fintechs fetch transaction data, verify accounts, or build budgeting tools without separate bank integrations.

Banking-as-a-Service & card-issuing platforms (e.g., NymCard)

• Enable virtual cards, user payouts, financing modules, and program management — all via APIs.
• Allow fintechs to launch financial services without building rails from scratch.

Payment service providers and merchant platforms (e.g., Geidea)

• Offer robust payment APIs, checkout solutions, and payment links.
• Let marketplaces, apps, and online merchants embed payments instantly.

When assembled together, these API components create a “plug-and-play fintech stack” — one that allows startups to focus on the product rather than the plumbing.

How These Layers Work Together: A Realistic Saudi Fintech Stack

To understand how this ecosystem behaves in practice, imagine a Saudi fintech launching a digital wallet, BNPL service, or SME-payments tool:

• Backend architecture: A firm like SkyTech builds the cloud-native, microservices-based foundation.
• Payment processing: The fintech integrates Geidea’s payment APIs.
• Cards and payouts: They plug into NymCard’s card-issuing or payout APIs.
• Bank-account connectivity: Lean Technologies or SingleView enables account linking and open-banking flows.
• Additional integrations: AusafTech manages CRM, SMS, cloud services, and other connections.

The result?
A fully operational fintech product built in months — not years — thanks to a layered ecosystem of specialized API providers.

This is the API Economy made real.

Why Local Firms Matter More Than Ever

While global API giants dominate headlines, Saudi fintechs increasingly depend on regional infrastructure firms — for reasons that are both practical and strategic:

• Regulatory alignment: Local providers are built for SAMA compliance and Saudi banking rules.
• Localization: They understand cultural norms, payment behaviors, and Arabic-language user journeys.
• Speed of integration: Proximity enables faster iteration and customization.
• Resilience: Relying only on global providers increases risk; a diverse regional stack is more stable.

These companies are not outsourced vendors; they are ecosystem enablers building national infrastructure.

Implications for Founders, Investors, and Policymakers

For startups and founders:

• APIs significantly reduce time-to-market.
• Modular infrastructure lets teams focus on UX and differentiation.
• Choosing the right integration partners becomes a strategic decision.

For investors:

• API providers are long-term infrastructure bets.
• Their value compounds as the fintech market expands.

For regulators:

• Clear API standards and sandboxes accelerate innovation.
• Supporting local API firms strengthens national digital sovereignty.

Conclusion: Saudi Arabia’s API Economy Has Entered Its Infrastructure Phase

If the first article explained what the API Economy is, this article explains how it is being built in Saudi Arabia — and by whom.

The Kingdom’s fintech growth is not powered solely by consumer-facing apps, but by the invisible architecture behind them: APIs, microservices, integration frameworks, open-banking rails, card-issuing platforms, and PSP gateways. Companies like SkyTech Digital, AusafTech, Tech Polaris, Geidea, NymCard, Lean Technologies, and SingleView are quietly building the rails that make everything possible.

The real story of Saudi fintech is not just about innovation on the surface.
It’s about the infrastructure underneath — reliable, compliant, modular, and fast-evolving.

And as Saudi Arabia accelerates toward a fully digital economy, those who understand and invest in this infrastructure will be shaping not just apps, but the future of finance across the region.

Noha Gad

In today’s fast-growing startup landscape, founders face several challenges, most notably securing capital to fuel growth without sacrificing equity or facing rigid repayment schedules. Traditional options like venture capital dilute ownership, while bank loans demand collateral that many early-stage businesses lack. Hence, revenue-based financing (RBF) emerged as a flexible, performance-aligned model that reshapes the way entrepreneurs fund their ventures. 

What is revenue-based financing (RBF)?

Revenue-based financing, or royalty-based financing, allows businesses to raise capital by giving investors a share of their ongoing gross revenues. This model provides founders with fast, non-dilutive capital that aligns with their actual revenue, offering valuable insights beyond just funding to fuel their sustainable growth.

Unlike debt and equity financing, RBF enables investors to receive a regular share of the business's income until a certain amount is paid. This amount is typically three to five times the original investment.

RBF is particularly popular in small to mid-sized companies or Software-as-a-Service (Saas) sectors as it provides an alternative for companies that are unable to secure traditional financing. It is an ideal option for growing online businesses, especially those with predictable, recurring revenue, that need capital for inventory, marketing, or other operational expenses.

How does RBF work?

A company that raises capital through revenue-based financing will be required to make regular payments to pay down an investor's principal. It is distinct from debt financing for several reasons: interest is not paid on an outstanding balance, and there are no fixed payments.

Payments to investors depend on the company’s performance because they vary based on the level of the business's income. For instance, if sales fall off in one month, investors will see their royalty payment reduced. Likewise, if sales in the following month increase, payments to the investors for that month will also increase.  

RBF also differs from equity financing because investors do not have ownership in the business. This is why revenue-based financing is often considered a hybrid between debt financing and equity financing.

Benefits and drawbacks

When considering revenue-based financing as a funding option, it is important to weigh its advantages alongside its limitations. This approach offers a set of benefits that appeal to many growing businesses, but it also has potential drawbacks that may impact suitability depending on the company’s specific circumstances. 

Benefits

• Non-dilutive capital: It allows entrepreneurs to raise funds without giving up ownership or control, which is crucial for founders keen to retain strategic decision-making power.
• Flexible repayments: Payments fluctuate with revenue, reducing financial pressure during slow periods. This eventually helps maintain healthier cash flow compared to fixed loan installments.
• Fast and accessible: Approval processes emphasize actual revenue performance rather than projections or credit scores.

 Drawbacks

• Higher Cost: RBF can be costlier than traditional debt, with repayment caps often ranging from 1.3x to 2.5x the initial amount.
• Revenue dependence: Companies with fluctuating or unpredictable revenue may face extended repayment terms, which can strain long-term financial planning.​
• Not for early-stage startups: RBF generally requires a reliable revenue stream. This makes it less suitable for pre-revenue or high-risk ventures.​

RBF vs. traditional funding options

Revenue-based financing stands out in a crowded funding landscape by offering a middle path between equity-heavy venture capital and rigid traditional debt. Evaluating it against alternatives like VC, bank loans, and venture debt reveals key trade-offs in ownership, repayment flexibility, and accessibility. RBF preserves full ownership without equity dilution, unlike VC, which requires giving up shares and often board seats. Additionally, RBF does not require collateral or personal guarantees, compared to bank loans, which have fixed payments and asset requirements.

RBF avoids interest rates and equity warrants typical in venture debt, offering purely revenue-based terms without fixed schedules, though both target growth-stage firms.

Finally, Revenue-based financing offers a compelling alternative for founders seeking flexible, non-dilutive capital aligned with their business performance. Although it may carry higher costs than traditional debt and requires steady revenue, its scalable repayment and quick access make it an attractive option for growing companies. As startups navigate funding choices, understanding RBF's unique workings can empower smarter decisions for sustainable growth. 

Ghada Ismail

When an ecosystem grows fast enough, its consumers often become its creators.. and potentially its funders. Over the past few years, Saudi Arabia’s gaming and esports sector has transformed from a niche leisure activity into a central plank of the Kingdom’s economic‑diversification strategy. This shift is creating a new dynamic: engaged, affluent gamers who understand games, audiences and monetization, and who may soon act like investors. 

The resulting feedback loop seems promising: state‑backed capital and high-profile events generate interest; local entrepreneurs launch studios, platforms and tools; and successful players, creators and founders begin to emerge as potential angel investors — accelerating the cycle.

The scale of the opportunity helps explain the momentum. According to according to Savvy Games’ 2024 report, Saudi Arabia’s gaming market generated about US$1.19 billion in revenue in 2024, making it the largest gaming market in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). 

Projections in that report estimate the market could reach US$1.64 billion by 2028, assuming steady growth across platforms (console, mobile, PC). 

Moreover, the overall appetite for gaming in the Kingdom appears substantial. According to one 2025 analysis by Antom.com, Saudi Arabia outpaces the MENA average in per‑capita gaming spending (almost three times higher) and counts about 23.5 million players, with a reported penetration of about 63%. 

Thanks to these numbers, as Saudi gamers participate in tournaments, build communities, create content, and use local or regional platforms, they are gaining a kind of product and market literacy, the kind of instinctive sense for audience behavior, monetization and content dynamics that investors typically rely on. With the gaming sector expected to expand steadily through at least the latter half of the decade, the Kingdom may be approaching a novel phenomenon: where players and creators don’t just consume the ecosystem — they fund it.

Why Gamers Could Make Effective Investors

The idea of a gamer acting like an angel investor may sound bold, but in Saudi Arabia’s current context, it is increasingly plausible. Gamers tend to develop deep product intuition: after thousands of hours engaging with games, they learn to spot good user experience, balance design, monetization potential, and retention dynamics. They understand what players want, a useful skill when evaluating new gaming or esports startups.

Content-creating gamers — whether they stream, compete, commentate, or run communities — usually build strong followings. That audience gives them real influence. A single post, stream, or tournament partnership can draw attention to a startup, bring in early users, or even attract investors. Because they have this direct reach and credibility, creators can be powerful early supporters or even valuable co-founders.

Some gamers have moved beyond playing or content creation into informal micro‑businesses: coaching, streaming monetization, community tournaments, and even indie game development. These ventures mirror early-stage startup experience, giving gamer‑entrepreneurs a head start.

Because many of these initiatives build on local tastes, culture, language, and regional understanding, there is strategic alignment: Saudi gamer‑investors may be especially motivated to support platforms and titles that resonate regionally.

Institutional Support: Savvy Games Group

At the top of the new gaming ecosystem sits Savvy Games Group, created under the Kingdom’s sovereign wealth fund to lead the charge. According to its 2023 annual report, it was set up to align with Saudi Vision 2030 goals: leveraging a young, affluent, tech-savvy population to build a national games industry. 

Savvy’s backing gives legitimacy and resources to the sector — from infrastructure and studio development to global publishing and esports investments. This sovereign‑scale commitment signals strongly to local entrepreneurs and prospective gamer‑investors that gaming is not a passing trend, but a long-term strategic industry for the Kingdom. 

Emerging Domestic Platforms and Startups

As institutional capital flows, local startups and regional platforms are shaping the ecosystem from the grassroots upward. Their existence expands the possible entry points for gamer‑investors. These are the most prominent players in the local market:

• Grintafy — A Saudi sports-tech platform (founded in 2018 / 2019, based in Jeddah) that connects amateur and semi-pro footballers to clubs, matches, and talent scouts. Grintafy allows users to build a “football CV,” organize or join games, rate players, track performance, and get visibility among clubs and academies — effectively democratizing access to football opportunities across the Middle East. Grintafy has raised external investment: a 2022 convertible note from Wa’ed Ventures, and more recently a strategic investment from Chiliz (a global sports-blockchain company) to accelerate its transition toward Web3 and scale its talent-discovery ambitions. 

• Spoilz  — A Saudi game-development studio (founded 2020) focused on mobile games and live-ops services for the MENA region. Spoilz recently secured investment from investors including Merak Capital and Impact46, with plans to build globally competitive games and expand beyond mobile to PC/console/smart-TV platforms. 
• Fahy Studios — A Riyadh-based game studio that in 2025 closed a US$1.75 million funding round to develop hybrid-casual games globally. The studio graduated from the educational accelerator program at NEOM Media Industries’ Level-Up accelerator and signed a publishing deal with international publisher Kwalee. 
• Starvania Studios — A newer Saudi indie studio (founded 2022) that secured US$1.1 million in funding from Merak Capital and Impact46, aiming to expand into PC and console game development. Its first released game (on Steam) draws on Arabian mythology themes, showing local creative ambition and regional cultural resonance. 
• Rize.gg  — A newer, pre-seed startup (headquartered in Riyadh) building a platform for competitive gamers to team up, stream gameplay, and organize tournaments, representing early-stage, community-driven startup activity in Saudi Arabia’s esports ecosystem. 

What These Real Examples Tell Us

• The ecosystem is diverse; not just big capital-heavy firms, but indie studios (Spoilz, Starvania, Fahy), and platform/community-builders (Rize.gg). There is active investor interest and early-stage funding: studios like Fahy and Starvania have secured external investment; Spoilz is scaling. This shows that Saudi Arabia’s gaming scene is beginning to attract real capital beyond state-backed conglomerates.
• These companies emphasise regional relevance and global ambition — games drawing on local cultural references, but aiming for international distribution; venues and platforms designed for local communities but part of broader esports networks.
• For “gamer-investors,” this variety offers multiple entry points: investing in indie studios, backing platforms, co-owning venues or clubs, or even participating directly in community-driven content/competition.

Government and Regulatory Support: Clearing the Path for Gaming Investment

Saudi Arabia’s gaming ecosystem is buoyed by proactive government policies. The Saudi Esports Federation (SEF) and the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT) have implemented frameworks to support esports tournaments, professional leagues, and content creation. Initiatives like SEF Arena in Riyadh, which hosts competitive gaming events, serve not only as a physical hub for players but also as a proving ground for potential investor-gamers to assess market dynamics firsthand. 

Additionally, regulatory clarity around digital assets, in-game monetization, and content licensing is improving, lowering barriers for both startups and investor-gamers. Policies encouraging local IP development and regional content distribution provide incentives for Saudi gamers to participate in funding domestic projects rather than relying solely on foreign titles. These regulatory advances reinforce the sustainability of a gamer-investor ecosystem.

The Role of Education and Skills Development in Gaming Investment

Another emerging trend is the overlap between gaming literacy and professional skills. Many Saudi gamers are students or professionals in computer science, design, data analytics, or digital media. Their gaming experience equips them with deep insights into user behavior, digital monetization, and community management, skills that are directly transferable to evaluating startups or running small gaming-focused ventures.

Local educational initiatives, including partnerships with universities and coding academies, are increasingly incorporating esports management, game design, and content production into their curricula. Programs like these provide structured pathways for aspiring investor-gamers to transition from hobbyist participation to professional involvement in the gaming economy, further reinforcing the pipeline from player to investor. 

Conclusion

Saudi Arabia’s gaming push is no longer just about big tournaments or major acquisitions. Thanks to strong government support, a young population, and growing local spending, the Kingdom now has the foundations of a gaming sector that can sustain itself.

These foundations could also create a new kind of investor- gamers who understand products, digital culture, and community needs better than traditional investors. As the market grows and more Saudi studios, tools, and platforms appear, these gamers may increasingly step into roles as founders, early backers, or active stakeholders.

In short, Saudi Arabia might be on its way to creating one of the world’s most unique groups of digital-native, gaming-driven investors. This future now feels realistic, it’s just not fully here yet.

Ghada Ismail

Some startups seem to explode overnight, appearing in feeds, conversations, and headlines almost magically. But virality is rarely accidental. Behind every breakout success is a careful mix of human psychology, clever product design, perfect timing, and engineered growth mechanics. Virality is not luck then; it’s strategy. Understanding why certain products spread like wildfire can reveal patterns that founders, marketers, and product teams can intentionally leverage. In other words, going viral is less about chance and more about creating the conditions that make sharing irresistible, adoption effortless, and growth self-propagating.

1. Psychology: Why People Share

Viral products succeed because they tap directly into human behavior. People don’t just share products; they share experiences that make them feel seen, valued, or emotionally engaged.

• Identity expression: Users share things that reinforce how they see themselves or how they want to be perceived.
• Emotional impact: Strong emotions—whether delight, surprise, or even frustration—motivate people to talk about a product. The more emotionally charged an experience, the more likely it spreads.
• Social currency: Sharing gives users a sense of contribution or status. By showing others something new, useful, or exclusive, they feel like they are providing value to their network.

Pro Tip: Emotional engagement often drives more shares than functional usefulness. Products that trigger strong, shareable emotions scale faster.

2. Product Loops: Growth Built Into the Product

The most viral startups design mechanisms that naturally pull in more users. This is called a “growth loop.”

• Network effects: Messaging apps or collaborative tools become more valuable as more people join.
• Referral loops: Incentivized invitations, like Dropbox’s early free-storage strategy.
• Content loops: Platforms like Instagram or TikTok grow because user-generated content spreads organically.

Pro Tip: Products that embed sharing into their core functionality can sustain long-term viral growth without heavy marketing spend.

3. Onboarding: Instant Value Matters

A viral product must deliver value immediately. Users ask:

• “Can I understand this in seconds?”
• “Is it easy to start using without instructions?”
• “Can I quickly experience the benefit?”

Pro Tip: Frictionless onboarding directly correlates with higher share rates. The simpler the first experience, the more likely users are to invite others.

4. Timing: Hitting the Cultural Sweet Spot

Even the best product may fail if the market isn’t ready. Virality often depends on alignment with cultural or technological trends.

• Zoom’s rise coincided with remote work adoption.
• Fitness apps surged during global lockdowns.
• New social media tools often succeed when network behaviors are shifting.

Pro Tip: Timing amplifies the effectiveness of psychological triggers and product loops. A perfectly engineered product launched too early or too late may never go viral.

5. Social Proof and FOMO: Accelerating Momentum

Virality grows faster when users see others using or endorsing the product. Techniques include:

• Invite-only launches and waitlists to create scarcity.
• Influencer endorsements for credibility.
• Shareable content (screenshots, posts) that spreads awareness.

Pro Tip: Social proof multiplies momentum by increasing the probability that users will share or invite others.

6. Speed and Experimentation Create “Luck”

While luck plays a role, successful startups usually create conditions for it. They:

• Launch quickly and expand based on feedback.
• Test bold ideas and pivot fast.
• Observe trends and react before competitors.

Pro Tip: Virality rarely happens without a culture of rapid experimentation. Startups that move fast can capitalize on windows of opportunity that others miss.

Conclusion: Virality Can Be Engineered

Virality is often treated as a mysterious, almost magical phenomenon, but the truth is more tangible. Successful startups achieve virality by understanding human behavior, embedding sharing mechanisms into their products, launching at the right moment, leveraging social proof, and moving faster than anyone else. The brands that truly explode don’t wait for luck; they create it. By studying these patterns, founders can shift their mindset from hoping for virality to designing it into their products, making growth predictable, measurable, and sustainable. 

Noha Gad

The entrepreneurship ecosystem is undergoing a profound transformation today, driven by the fast-evolving technological landscape. Traditionally, startups have been launched by visionary individuals or teams sharing complementary skills and a common goal. However, the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) is revolutionizing the future of business, introducing a new paradigm where AI can serve as a full-fledged co-founder alongside human entrepreneurs.

In 2025, several startups are naming AI tools, like GPT-4, Claude, and open-source large language models (LLMs), as co-founders, not just assistants. In many cases, these AI systems ideate, write code, draft pitch decks, analyze markets, and even engage with customers.

The integration of AI as a co-founder democratizes entrepreneurship by leveling the playing field, especially for solo founders or resource-constrained teams. It empowers innovators to accelerate product development, optimize business strategies, and reduce time-to-market, all while fostering smarter, data-driven growth. 

What is an AI co-founder?

An AI co-founder is not a robot CEO. It is typically an advanced AI system, often based on LLMs or custom-trained agents, that supports or drives major startup functions from day one. Unlike human co-founders, AI systems operate tirelessly without requiring salaries, breaks, or rest. They harness vast data, predictive analytics, and machine learning to offer real-time insights, automate complex tasks, and support critical decision-making. This transformative concept is quickly moving from futuristic speculation to practical reality, fundamentally redefining how startups are conceived, launched, and scaled.

What makes AI co-founders different from traditional AI tools is their ability to handle up to 80% of early-stage R&D work that usually takes a lot of time and resources from founders. They keep learning and adapting to a startup's specific needs, becoming more efficient and customized over time. Several factors set AI co-founders apart from regular AI assistants. These include:

• Strategic input: AI co-founders are not just implementing tasks; they propose product directions or market pivots.
• Continuous learning: they adapt to the startup’s data, goals, and team behavior.
• High Autonomy: AI co-founders operate without constant human oversight, having access to APIs, CRMs, design suites, code repositories, and more.

The impact of AI co-founders on the entrepreneurship ecosystem

AI co-founders play a pivotal role in transforming the startup landscape into a more inclusive, efficient environment where human creativity pairs with relentless computational power to drive sustainable growth and broader economic innovation. They significantly contribute to:

     -Democratizing access to entrepreneurship. They lower barriers for solo founders and underrepresented groups, providing expert-level support without the need for large teams or significant funding.

     -Accelerating innovation cycles. AI co-founders enable rapid execution of market research, product roadmaps, and strategy development, reducing weeks of work into minutes and accelerating innovation cycles across industries.

     -Enhancing cost efficiency. These founders foster cost efficiency and lean operations, as they automate repetitive tasks, allowing startups to iterate faster, manage risks through data-driven insights, and achieve quicker time-to-market.

Will AI replace human founders?

AI co-founders do not replace human creativity and leadership; instead, they complement them by automating repetitive and resource-intensive tasks. This partnership enables founders to focus on innovation, strategy, and cultivating the company’s culture. Additionally, AI co-founders complement human strengths through:

    -Automating administrative tasks, data analysis, and routine operations, allowing human founders to prioritize high-level strategy, creativity, and vision.

    -Handling operations without burnout, enabling humans to provide empathy, relationship-building, and ethical judgment, ultimately creating a symbiotic dynamic that enhances innovation and decision-making.

    -Enabling solo founders to achieve what once required full teams, but leadership and cultural nuance remain distinctly human.

    -Shifting hiring toward specialized roles by filling skill gaps, with human-AI collaboration yielding higher-quality solutions.

Finally, blending human ingenuity with machine intelligence can create more accessible, efficient, and innovative ecosystems. From democratizing startup formation and accelerating market entry to fostering symbiotic human-AI teams, these virtual partners empower founders to compete globally without traditional barriers. Entrepreneurs who embrace this collaboration will lead sustainable growth, navigating challenges like regulation and ethics to unlock unprecedented economic value.

 Shaimaa Ibrahim

The education ecosystem in the Arab world is witnessing rapid transformations that are pushing EdTech startups to play a central role in creating solutions capable of bridging skills gaps and improving learning opportunities. At the same time, governments are increasingly adopting broad digital strategies, creating a rising need for entities capable of aligning these ambitions with modern market demands. Within this context, specialized investment firms have become essential contributors to reshaping the learning landscape and supporting the region’s innovation ecosystem.

EdVentures, the investment arm of Nahdet Misr Group, is among the most prominent entities that, since its establishment in 2017, has pursued a clear vision to empower EdTech startups. Its efforts have gone beyond supporting digital solutions—it has worked to build an integrated ecosystem encompassing incubation, investment, and mentorship, with the aim of achieving sustainable social impact in the sector.

Sharikat Mubasher conducted an interview with Amr El Abassy, General Manager of EdVentures, on the sidelines of his participation in the fourth edition of the HERizon 2025 Summit, organized by Carerha, a leading platform for empowering women and preparing them for the job market in Egypt and the Middle East. The conversation covered EdVentures’ vision, its support programs, its criteria for selecting startups, as well as its strategic outlook on expansion into the Saudi market and the role of technology and artificial intelligence in shaping the future of education in the Gulf and the wider Middle East.

To begin, what is the vision on which EdVentures was founded? How do you view your mission in developing the EdTech sector in Egypt and the region?

EdVentures was launched as the investment arm of Nahdet Misr Group—the largest publishing house and educational content provider in the Arab world and Africa—driven by a clear understanding of the absence of startups that could position themselves as meaningful players in the EdTech sector, at a time when fintech solutions dominated the scene.

The company’s vision is centered on empowering startups in the education sector and creating real social impact through knowledge. This is achieved by incubating entrepreneurs, educating them on the nature of the sector, raising awareness about investment opportunities, and helping them build strong, scalable, and sustainable business models.

The journey began with the launch of a business incubator aimed at encouraging new ideas and raising awareness of the importance of investing in educational technology. Later, EdVentures moved toward direct investment in startups to demonstrate the presence of promising opportunities in this sector and to pave the way for further innovation and growth.

What is the total number of startups you have supported and invested in? And what is the current combined valuation of these companies?

EdVentures was among the earliest investors supporting a number of EdTech startups in Egypt and the region. It has invested in companies such as ‘eYouth’, which offers mentoring and guidance services in entrepreneurship and has offices in Saudi Arabia and the UAE; ‘Entreprenelle’, which focuses on empowering women in entrepreneurship; ‘OTO’, which specializes in English-language courses and other training; and ‘iSchool’, which provides programming and artificial intelligence education for children aged 6 to 17.

This early investment gave these companies strong credibility in the market and directly helped them attract further funding. It also enabled them to expand into new regional and international markets, strengthening their position and accelerating their growth significantly.

Today, the EdVentures portfolio comprises around 28 startups, with a combined valuation exceeding $200 million. Many of these companies now operate in more than 20 countries, including eYouth, iSchool, and Sprints.

EdVentures has also played an active role in redefining traditional education by offering a comprehensive educational ecosystem that includes professional skills training, employment programs, programming education, artificial intelligence technologies, and specialized medical education.

How do you select the startups you support and invest in? What are the main criteria you look for when evaluating a project idea? And do you offer programs specifically supporting women entrepreneurs?

EdVentures focuses solely on a single sector: education. For that reason, we carefully seek out companies capable of understanding real market problems and presenting practical solutions that address the needs of all stakeholders, while also aligning with governmental policies and national education strategies.

Among the most important criteria for founders is having a clear vision for the future of the company and the ability to create both direct and indirect impact through their projects. We also evaluate whether the business idea has the potential to scale, expand, and remain sustainable. We target companies capable of building strategic partnerships with various stakeholders, particularly in B2B and B2G business models.

Regarding women entrepreneurs, about 45% of the companies in the EdVentures portfolio are led by women. Additionally, the company has supported more than 150 startups in the education sector, benefiting more than 6 million learners, nearly half of whom are women—reflecting the company’s strong commitment to empowering women and educational communities across the region.

What are EdVentures’ key programs and initiatives for supporting EdTech startups?

The company has launched an integrated suite of programs and initiatives designed to support entrepreneurs and startups in the education sector, in collaboration with local and global partners. EdVentures began with a series of incubation programs in Egypt, most notably a business incubator in partnership with the Academy of Scientific Research, which provides training, mentorship, and expertise to help startups build sustainable business models.

In terms of accelerators, EdVentures offers a program in collaboration with the Mastercard Foundation, launched last year and renewed annually. Each cycle hosts 12 startups at various stages, with special focus on Seed and Pre-Seed companies. The initiative provides a comprehensive six-month support program, during which each startup receives up to $60,000 in funding. The program allows companies to exchange expertise, enhancing their ability to grow and prepare for future investment rounds.

The initiatives also include a joint program with the Challenge Fund for Youth Employment, combining elements of a venture studio and a venture builder to create job opportunities and support startup expansion in Egypt and regional markets.

Finally, EdVentures plans to launch its own ‘Venture Studio’ in 2026 to offer educational content production and podcast services, providing innovative tools to help startups grow and expand their educational and commercial impact across the region.

What are EdVentures’ plans for expanding into the Saudi market? What makes the Kingdom a strategic opportunity, and how do you envision your role in supporting its entrepreneurship ecosystem?

The Saudi market is one of the most promising in the region, thanks to its size and the abundance of opportunities that align with Saudi Vision 2030, which focuses primarily on developing student and graduate skills and directly linking them to labor-market needs.

Saudi Arabia is characterized by a strong readiness among institutions and stakeholders to build strategic partnerships with startups, an important incentive that supports the companies in EdVentures’ portfolio and enables them to expand in this dynamic market.

EdVentures’ approach goes beyond offering venture investments; it also provides integrated operational and strategic support to help startups enter new markets and expand their businesses effectively. This combination of funding and strategic guidance—one of EdVentures’ core strengths—enhances its ability to create tangible and sustainable impact for startups in the Saudi market.

How does technology contribute to enhancing the growth of startups, and what are your expectations for the future of EdTech in the Gulf and the Middle East?

Technology plays an essential role in enabling startups to scale more efficiently than traditional models, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic, which accelerated the acceptance of digital learning and the adoption of tech-enabled solutions across all learning stages. This shift created major opportunities for startups to offer innovative educational products and reach broader audiences more quickly and effectively.

Rapid advancements in artificial intelligence have also created powerful tools that help startups build stronger, more sustainable business models through performance analytics, personalized content, digital curriculum design, and intelligent assessment tools that accurately measure student progress and provide tailored learning recommendations.

The success of any startup depends on the entrepreneur’s understanding of how to employ technology correctly, ensuring that digital tools and AI are not merely supplementary but strategic assets that support the company’s goals, drive sustainable growth, and create real impact on education quality and learner experience.

What are the most effective ways to enhance cooperation among governments, startups, and the private sector to support the EdTech industry in the region?

In recent years, governments have clearly shifted toward integrating entrepreneurship into educational systems, adopting national strategies that increasingly focus on leveraging technology to enhance educational outcomes and align learning with labor-market needs.

Saudi Arabia stands as a prime example of this direction through Vision 2030, which aims to develop youth skills and expand employment opportunities, offering startups the chance to introduce innovative EdTech solutions that directly support these goals.

In addition, ministries of education and communication across the region have launched a continuous stream of initiatives, creating fertile ground for collaboration among different stakeholders. However, the success of these initiatives depends on the ability of startups and the private sector to take the initiative and provide practical, implementable solutions.

Governments possess the necessary resources and infrastructure, while the private sector contributes innovation and execution speed. When these strengths are combined, the EdTech industry can achieve genuine, sustainable growth that serves future generations and amplifies the impact of education across the region.

Translated by: Ghada Ismail

Ghada Ismail

Few dilemmas shape an entrepreneur’s journey; one of them is deciding whether to build what they love or what the market demands. The truth is: Passion pushes founders to begin, while markets determine whether they survive. And survival is not guaranteed, as global analyses of startup failures consistently show “no market need” as the leading cause, while multi-year business survival data reveals that nearly 20% of companies close within their first year.

These numbers accentuate again this truth that passion is necessary, but insufficient. To build a durable business, founders must understand how passion influences decision-making, why markets punish unvalidated ideas, and where both forces can work together rather than against each other.

Why Passion Alone Isn’t Enough..But Still Matters

Passion is a cognitive and emotional resource. Research shows that passionate founders communicate more persuasively, attract stronger early teams, and demonstrate resilience during unpredictable phases of growth. It also fuels creativity, an asset in industries where differentiation is limited.

But passion has blind spots:

• It distorts risk perception, making founders underestimate threats or overestimate early traction.
• It can lead to confirmation bias, where only data that supports a founder’s beliefs is acknowledged.
• It encourages identity attachment for the idea becomes part of the founder’s self-image, making pivots emotionally painful.

Still, passion has a strategic role: it motivates founders to explore ideas others would ignore. Many breakthrough businesses began as passionate obsessions that were later shaped by market reality. 

Why Markets Matter More Than Most Founders Think

Markets do not respond to excitement. They respond to value and relevance.

A business survives only if it consistently creates value for a segment willing to pay for it. That is where evidence becomes vital. Market validation is not about killing creativity; it is about reducing uncertainty around three core risks:

1. Problem–Solution Fit:
   Does the problem exist at scale, and is the solution meaningfully better than alternatives?
2. Willingness to Pay:
   Do customers value the solution enough to convert it into revenue?
3. Repeatability:
   Can the solution be delivered consistently, profitably, and without constant reinvention?

Data helps founders understand not just if demand exists, but why, when, and in what form demand becomes monetizable. This fine line separates market-driven businesses from passion-led projects.

Where Founders Miscalculate

Early-stage founders often fall into predictable analytical traps:

• Mistaking enthusiasm from early adopters as proof of broad-market demand
• Building complex features before validating core value
• Relying on primal insights rather than behavioral data
• Misreading small sample sizes
• Assuming the market will “catch up” to their vision

These misjudgments aren’t failures of intelligence; they are failures of method. Founders are often told to “trust their gut” without being taught how to integrate intuition with empirical validation.

The Hybrid Model: Passion Informed by Evidence

The most successful founders treat passion as a hypothesis engine and market data as the filtering mechanism.

1. Start with Passion to Generate Hypotheses

Your passion tells you which problems feel worth solving. Let it direct your curiosity, not your product.

2. Stress-Test Your Idea Through Market Experiments

Use structured methods such as:

• Problem interviews
• Pre-order experiments
• Targeted micro-campaigns
• Pricing sensitivity tests

These reveal the magnitude of demand and the shape of the opportunity.

3. Apply Analytical Discipline

Evaluate experiments using metrics that matter:

• Retention curves
• Churn reasons
• Willingness-to-pay thresholds
• Customer acquisition costs versus lifetime value

These metrics force clarity; they reveal whether the business can scale or whether the idea must evolve.

4. Pivot Without Ego

When data conflicts with passion, revisit the problem rather than abandoning the mission. Founders seeking impact often discover that their “why” can be served through a different product with stronger commercial viability.

Wrapping Things Up…

The startup world often frames passion and market data as opposing forces. In reality, they form a dynamic partnership. Passion gives founders the courage to explore ideas without guaranteed outcomes. Data ensures they pursue those ideas with discipline, adaptability, and strategic realism.

The formula is simple but demanding:
Use passion to begin. Use evidence to continue. Use both to build something that lasts.