SAUDI START-UPS SHINE ON THE GLOBAL STAGE

In a promising development, six Saudi start-ups qualified for the Entrepreneurship World Cup (EWC).

The EWC is hosted by the Misk Global Forum, Global Entrepreneurship Network and The Global Education & Leadership Foundation, and backed by a number of global partners including GSVlabs, Entrepreneurs’ Organization, TechCrunch, the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), WebCongress and Endeavor.

Overall, 100 companies from around the world were selected to compete in the EWC Global Finals that are taking place at the Misk Global Forum. As many as 35 finalists are from Asia, 17 from Europe, 15 from South America, 13 from North America, 10 from Africa, eight from the Middle East and two from Oceania. The event received 175,000 entrants from 200 countries.

The Saudi leg of the EWC saw Talon Dust Control, a KAUST-based company that provides dust control and soil stabilisation solutions to customers in the GCC and MENA, taking the top prize.

Edama Organic Solutions, which develops organic waste recycling solutions designed specifically for desert climate conditions, secured the second place.

BrightSign, a developer of a smart glove that can translate any form of sign language to any language, to help people with hearing and speech disabilities, won third place.

Upskillable, a people analytics company that helps employers make smart recruitment and people development decisions, was fourth.

PereGrine Genomics, a company that leverages big data and advanced analytics, such as artificial intelligence, to deliver accurate and effective healthcare to society on a personalised basis, was ranked fifth.

Miqyas, a start-up that maximises efficiency for fashion e-commerce companies by giving customers confidence in the accuracy of online sizes, was sixth.

The winning Saudi start-ups received a cash prize of USD 50,000 each. More than 15,000 Saudi start-ups applied to take part in the national finals, and all of them were provided free online services through the EWC platform.

The EWC offers a total of USD 1 million in cash prizes to the global winners, plus a combined USD 85 million worth of in-kind support for the top 100 global finalists, apart from investment opportunities and services from leading partners.

“Due to challenges brought by COVID-19, we had to find creative ways to overcome challenges,” said Dr Badr AlBadr, CEO of Misk Foundation. “We’ve pushed harder to deliver digitally an even better experience than last year. Thanks to the virtual format, we have around 75% more people engaged and connected.”

Fintech Saudi, launched by the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority (SAMA) in collaboration with the Capital Market Authority in 2018, also introduced a new initiative to boost start-ups in the fintech space.

Powered by start-up platform Flat6Labs, the intensive three-month programme will provide up to 10 fintech firms with the best practices, resources, and tools they need to develop and scale their solution-driven businesses.

"The Fintech Accelerator is an important milestone for Fintech Saudi. Over the last year, we have seen a threefold increase in the number of fintech companies operating in Saudi Arabia and we want this trend to continue and contribute to the goals of Saudi Vision 2030,” said Nejoud Al Mulaik, director of Fintech Saudi.

“We are therefore delighted to collaborate with Flat6Labs to launch the Fintech Accelerator programme that will provide entrepreneurs with the key skills, support, and access they need to grow their fintech business in the kingdom.”

Fintech Saudi expects the kingdom’s fintech market to reach transaction values of more than USD 33 billion by 2023.

The pandemic has accelerated demand for fintech services, with the number of smart phone payment transactions in the country surging 352% to 19.7 million in April 2020, compared to 4.4 million during the same period last year, SAMA said.

Meanwhile, AstroLabs, one of the first international business incubators licensed in the kingdom, is also nurturing the growth of SMEs. In October, the incubator launched setupinsaudi.com, a centralised online source of curated, up-to-date information on setting up a 100% foreign-owned entity in the country.

“Setupinsaudi.com lists a 16-step setup process, detailed information on requirements, and offers a dedicated specialised operations team in Riyadh to manage end-to-end processes for businesses, making their expansion journey seamless and hassle-free,” the company said.

AstroLabs has partnered with Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Investment and has helped more than 60 companies with a combined value of more than USD 5 billion to enter the Saudi market.