Saudi Telecom Company (STC) announced on Wednesday that, in addition to an initial $500 million investment, it had made a second $300 million commitment to Saudi venture capital firm STV. STC, which is 64% owned by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign Public Investment Fund, stated that the new financing will be used “to further fuel STV’s purpose of backing and developing the region’s digital champions.”
STV’s founder and chief executive Abdulrahman Tarabzouni, a Google executive for seven years until 2016, said the firm was “proud of stc’s vote of confidence by doubling down on STV.”
“We believe the region has reached an upward tipping point and has emerged as one of the most attractive regions globally for venture investments,” he said.
STV was set up in 2018 and STC provided its entire $500 million capital. The telecom company said “STV drove almost 60% of VC deployment in Saudi Arabia” this year and created thousands of jobs and “millions of gig jobs”.
The Middle East and North Africa had $2.6 billion in venture capital funding last year, according to MAGNiTT, which captures data on startups and fundraising in the region.
STC said the venture capital market in Saudi Arabia grew 244 per cent to $584 million in the first half of 2022, compared to the same period in 2021.
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