Endeavor Saudi Research Reports
Riyadh is rapidly emerging as a key player in the global startup ecosystem, attracting founders, investors, and innovators at an unprecedented pace. According to a newly released report, “Riyadh: An Emerging Platform for Entrepreneurs,” the city has witnessed remarkable entrepreneurial activity, with startups founded in the past five years now making up 62% of Riyadh’s tech ecosystem. The study, developed by Endeavor Saudi Arabia and sponsored by The Garage, provides deep insights into the trends shaping the Kingdom’s entrepreneurial landscape. It highlights Riyadh’s growing role as a regional hub for high-growth startups, backed by strong government support, a dynamic investor landscape, and an expanding talent pool.
FinTech is growing globally and the opportunity for digital financial services in MENA is particularly strong. As such, economies that are able to capture information regarding their FinTech sectors, as well as analyze and diagnose their challenges, will be able to capitalize on new opportunities for FinTech innovation. The Endeavor Intelligence Unit, together with Endeavor Saudi and with the support of Impact46, conducted an entrepreneurial ecosystem analysis, complete with a full mapping of the sector, industry highlights, investment trends, and analyses of the entrepreneurs driving FinTech growth. This study allows all players and stakeholders to understand the growth and evolution of the Saudi Arabian FinTech sector.
The purpose of the study is to provide insights on the sector’s current state, evaluate its strengths and weaknesses, and enable decision makers to better understand and support local tech entrepreneurship. This report focuses on the entrepreneurship community in the city of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, but takes into account select companies from throughout the region that contribute toward the local ecosystem.The findings are based on more than 70 interviews with tech entrepreneurs conducted from September to November 2021, and data on more than 340 companies and their founders. In addition, data was collected on more than 250 support organizations and investment firms that support the local tech community.
