During the second and third weeks of March, Saudi Arabia saw a strong presence in the injection of venture capital and funds, as evidenced by forming a venture capital fund to invest in fintech and completing three funding deals totalling $ 237 million.
First Deal
Regarding fund investments, the Saudi Venture Capital Company (SVC) announced financing the “Investment in FinTech VC Funds” product in collaboration with the Capital Market Authority and the Financial Sector Development Program. SVC committed $ 80 million from its investment portfolio for this product.
This funding is part of SVC’s plan to invest in funds aimed at stimulating venture investment in the Fintech sector per the Capital Market Authority’s requirements, as the industry has seen steady growth in recent years, propelling it to the forefront of the venture investment scene in Saudi Arabia in terms of the number of deals and their values, which amounted to $ 238.5 million and constituted 24% of total venture investment in 2022.
Second Deal
Tamara, the leading shopping and payments platform in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Cooperation Council, has announced that it has obtained $150 million in debt financing from Goldman Sachs, bringing Tamara’s total funding to almost $366 million since September 2020 launch. The transaction will help fund Tamara’s Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) service and support its expansion into new services and segments.
Tamara has helped over 15,000 merchants in the service and retail industries attract new customers and increase sales, whether through e-commerce or traditional commerce. Tamara works with many local and international brands, including (SHEIN), (H&M), (Noon), (IKEA), and (Jarir), as well as local SMEs.
Third Deal
Aumet, a Saudi healthcare tech startup, raised $7 million in a Pre-Series A funding round from global venture capital and private equity firms. Aumet plans to use the proceeds to develop its AI capabilities further, expand its reach to more pharmacies, and provide consumers with greater access to affordable healthcare products, to secure the lives of one billion people by digitising purchases and access to medicines and medical services.
Aumet is an artificial intelligence (AI) healthcare platform that provides customised solutions for healthcare providers. The platform uses predictive analytics to predict purchasing products sold in pharmacies, reducing costs and increasing efficiency in the pharmacy supply chain. The company facilitates data exchange between healthcare providers, manufacturers, and distributors to enable them to make the best decision. Customers have grown to over 10,000 pharmacies across three markets: Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Egypt.
Fourth Deal
Nuqtah, a Saudi NFT marketplace, has closed an undisclosed seed round headed by Animoca Brands, Polygon, and some regional investors.
Nuqtah, founded in 2021, is one of the first Web3 platforms in Saudi Arabia to offer an online marketplace for individuals and businesses to promote and sell their work as non-fungible tokens (NFTs) without requiring a comprehensive understanding of blockchain technologies.
Nuqtah previously announced the completion of a Pre-Seed round in November 2021, and the current stage, according to Animoca Brands, is intended to support the company’s operations in the future year.
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