Arab News, Wednesday, Feb 08, 2023 | Rajab 17, 1444
LEAP announces 8 investment funds worth $646m
Saudi Arabia: Investment funds are
set to plough $646 million into Saudi Arabia’s digital sector to
boost innovation and entrepreneurship.
The eight projects will target the growth of
start-ups and medium-sized companies as they ignite competition in the fields of
research, development and innovation.
The Ministry of Communications and Information
Technology announced the new funds at the LEAP 23 conference being held in
Riyadh.
The leading fund stands at $150 million, and
intends to provide alternative financing that is compatible with Islamic law,
which will be used for developing technology companies.
The Saudi investment company Impact 46 also
launched a $133 million fund targeting emerging tech companies in the Middle
East and North Africa region.
Merak Capital announced a $53 million pot to
develop the Kingdom’s tech companies, and the Saudi Investment Bank has created
a $40 million fund to launch an innovation incubator for financial tech.
Rakeza also launched a daring investment fund
worth $25 million, supported by a global business accelerator in Riyadh.
BIM Ventures Co. has set aside $100 million for
business development, and will work with Al-Sulaiman Group to use its
corporate-building studio to create emerging tech companies that are both
innovative and financially stable.
A leading tech investor in the region, Shorooq,
also opened its second investment fund with a value of $115 million. It was
launched to develop companies in the Kingdom, as well as to create another
financial fund to accelerate electronic games.
To conclude the round of investment fund
announcements was Planetary Capital’s launch of the first Saudi-Canadian fund.
It intends to invest in emerging space tech
companies, both local and global, with a value of $30 million.