Saudi venture capital company Falak Investment Hub is seeking to grow its start-up funding base in line with the kingdom's ambitions to position itself as a hub for emerging technology companies, its chief executive has said.
The Riyadh-based company has helped businesses to raise more than 400 million Saudi riyals ($107 million), largely through a network of angel investors, Adwa Al Dakheel told The National in an interview.
This is on top of the 20 million riyals that Falak has invested to help accelerate the development of start-ups, which it also plans to boost by seeking the right partnerships, she said.
Falak, which has introduced more than 100 start-ups into the Saudi ecosystem since it started in 2018, is implementing a core strategy of increasing the know-how of angel investors so they can add more value when they invest in a company, Ms Al Dakheel said.
"To get investors, you need investible companies. And to be an investible company, you need smart investors. So the No 1 challenge is finding the equilibrium between both of these variables," she said.
"It's not just about putting liquidity – it's more about providing connections, being an advisor and providing further more than what money can provide."
Saudi Arabia is aggressively promoting and developing its technology ecosystem, which is a key pillar of its Vision 2030 economic programme to diversify away from its reliance on oil.
The kingdom was one of the emerging markets that recorded year-on-year growth in start-up venture capital during 2022. Its ecosystem netted $987 million in funding across 144 deals, surpassing 2021’s figures by 72 per cent, according to start-up data platform Magnitt.
The Arab world's biggest economy also logged in the most mega rounds – those that are valued at $100 million and above – in one year in the Middle East and North Africa region, the report said.
While Falak has remained largely sector agnostic, the hub has set its sights on climate technology, tapping its potential and furthering Saudi Arabia's programmes to advance the sector amid conscious global efforts to promote sustainability, according to Ms Al Dakheel.
The kingdom has made several moves to push forward with its climate agenda. It has committed to contribute $2.5 billion to a green initiative in the Middle East over the next 10 years, launched two high-profile green forums and will host this year's Mena Climate Week in October.
"Climate technology has several verticals underneath it and, basically, it is one of the leading industries that creates unicorns and enables start-ups," Ms Al Dakheel said.
Unicorns are start-ups with a valuation of more than $1 billion. More than 45 unicorns are expected to emerge from Mena by 2030, led by Saudi Arabia, venture capital fund STV has said.
At February's Leap technology conference in Riyadh, Jeddah-based Blossom Accelerator launched the Saudi Unicorns Programme, part of several funding initiatives worth billions of dollars launched by Saudi entities at the event.
Ms Al Dakheel also cited the projects at Neom, the kingdom's $500 billion futuristic mega-city that plans to implement climate-friendly initiatives, which include sustainable transport and clean energy.
Global technology majors are also taking notice of opportunities in the kingdom. Earlier this month, Google announced a start-up accelerator for climate change companies in the Mena region.
Apple, Amazon and Facebook parent Meta have also opened up academies in Saudi Arabia, focusing on app development, human capital and the metaverse, respectively. These moves are aimed at supporting the kingdom's technology push.
"We're seeing inflows of international companies coming into Saudi Arabia", Ms Al Dakheel said, adding that "the government knows the importance of enabling start-ups".
To get investors, you need investible companies. And to be an investible company, you need smart investors. So the No 1 challenge is finding the equilibrium between both of these variables
Adwa Al Dakheel,
chief executive of Falak Investment Hub
Two other sectors that Falak will be focusing on are logistics, to boost the kingdom's last-mile deliveries and supply chains, and software as a service, to help build solutions for enterprises.
In the future, the hub will eye the financial, property, construction and smart building sectors, as "they fall in line with our climate technology mandates", Ms Al Dakheel said.
"Going forward, we realised the core maturity of markets and that meant we needed to start focusing on certain industries that are future industries of our region and of the world as well."
Saudi Arabia's young demographic that is increasingly leaning towards entrepreneurship is also a boon for the start-up ecosystem, inspired by the Riyadh's business-friendly regulations, Ms Al Dakheel said.
Female entrepreneur numbers are also rising, with Falak having received hundreds of applications from women, she said.
"We truly believe in the future of what the kingdom has to offer, and that what we are seeing now are just the very early days of what is yet to come."
Company Profile:
Name: The Protein Bakeshop
Date of start: 2013
Founders: Rashi Chowdhary and Saad Umerani
Based: Dubai
Size, number of employees: 12
Funding/investors: $400,000 (2018)
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CREW
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WOMAN AND CHILD
Director: Saeed Roustaee
Starring: Parinaz Izadyar, Payman Maadi
Rating: 4/5
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Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
PROFILE OF INVYGO
Started: 2018
Founders: Eslam Hussein and Pulkit Ganjoo
Based: Dubai
Sector: Transport
Size: 9 employees
Investment: $1,275,000
Investors: Class 5 Global, Equitrust, Gulf Islamic Investments, Kairos K50 and William Zeqiri
Coming soon
Torno Subito by Massimo Bottura
When the W Dubai – The Palm hotel opens at the end of this year, one of the highlights will be Massimo Bottura’s new restaurant, Torno Subito, which promises “to take guests on a journey back to 1960s Italy”. It is the three Michelinstarred chef’s first venture in Dubai and should be every bit as ambitious as you would expect from the man whose restaurant in Italy, Osteria Francescana, was crowned number one in this year’s list of the World’s 50 Best Restaurants.
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Another exciting opening at the W Dubai – The Palm hotel is South Korean chef Akira Back’s new restaurant, which will continue to showcase some of the finest Asian food in the world. Back, whose Seoul restaurant, Dosa, won a Michelin star last year, describes his menu as, “an innovative Japanese cuisine prepared with a Korean accent”.
Dinner by Heston Blumenthal
The highly experimental chef, whose dishes are as much about spectacle as taste, opens his first restaurant in Dubai next year. Housed at The Royal Atlantis Resort & Residences, Dinner by Heston Blumenthal will feature contemporary twists on recipes that date back to the 1300s, including goats’ milk cheesecake. Always remember with a Blumenthal dish: nothing is quite as it seems.
BIG SPENDERS
Premier League clubs spent £230 million (Dh1.15 billion) on January transfers, the second-highest total for the mid-season window, the Sports Business Group at Deloitte said in a report.
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COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EAlmouneer%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202017%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dr%20Noha%20Khater%20and%20Rania%20Kadry%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EEgypt%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20staff%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E120%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EBootstrapped%2C%20with%20support%20from%20Insead%20and%20Egyptian%20government%2C%20seed%20round%20of%20%3Cbr%3E%243.6%20million%20led%20by%20Global%20Ventures%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The specs
Engine: four-litre V6 and 3.5-litre V6 twin-turbo
Transmission: six-speed and 10-speed
Power: 271 and 409 horsepower
Torque: 385 and 650Nm
Price: from Dh229,900 to Dh355,000
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Dos
- Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
- Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
- Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
- Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester
Don’ts
- Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal
- Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
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How to apply for a drone permit
- Individuals must register on UAE Drone app or website using their UAE Pass
- Add all their personal details, including name, nationality, passport number, Emiratis ID, email and phone number
- Upload the training certificate from a centre accredited by the GCAA
- Submit their request
What are the regulations?
- Fly it within visual line of sight
- Never over populated areas
- Ensure maximum flying height of 400 feet (122 metres) above ground level is not crossed
- Users must avoid flying over restricted areas listed on the UAE Drone app
- Only fly the drone during the day, and never at night
- Should have a live feed of the drone flight
- Drones must weigh 5 kg or less
Racecard
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Company name: baraka
Started: July 2020
Founders: Feras Jalbout and Kunal Taneja
Based: Dubai and Bahrain
Sector: FinTech
Initial investment: $150,000
Current staff: 12
Stage: Pre-seed capital raising of $1 million
Investors: Class 5 Global, FJ Labs, IMO Ventures, The Community Fund, VentureSouq, Fox Ventures, Dr Abdulla Elyas (private investment)
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Name: Fareed Lafta
Age: 40
From: Baghdad, Iraq
Mission: Promote world peace
Favourite poet: Al Mutanabbi
Role models: His parents
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Zakat definitions
Zakat: an Arabic word meaning ‘to cleanse’ or ‘purification’.
Nisab: the minimum amount that a Muslim must have before being obliged to pay zakat. Traditionally, the nisab threshold was 87.48 grams of gold, or 612.36 grams of silver. The monetary value of the nisab therefore varies by current prices and currencies.
Zakat Al Mal: the ‘cleansing’ of wealth, as one of the five pillars of Islam; a spiritual duty for all Muslims meeting the ‘nisab’ wealth criteria in a lunar year, to pay 2.5 per cent of their wealth in alms to the deserving and needy.
Zakat Al Fitr: a donation to charity given during Ramadan, before Eid Al Fitr, in the form of food. Every adult Muslim who possesses food in excess of the needs of themselves and their family must pay two qadahs (an old measure just over 2 kilograms) of flour, wheat, barley or rice from each person in a household, as a minimum.
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The biog
Name: Marie Byrne
Nationality: Irish
Favourite film: The Shawshank Redemption
Book: Seagull by Jonathan Livingston
Life lesson: A person is not old until regret takes the place of their dreams
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UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
