Saudi Arabia’s capital Riyadh has emerged among the top five startup ecosystems in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, ranking 4th. Saudi Arabia’s presence in the region’s startup scene is also evident with the listing of Jeddah and Alkhobar-Dammam among the top startup ecosystems in the MENA region.
Top emerging startup ecosystems
The latest Global Startup Ecosystem Report 2024 by Startup Genome also reveals that Riyadh is among the top emerging ecosystems globally, home to four unicorns in the last 10 years. The capital also ranks among the top 51-60 startup ecosystems globally.
Notably, the report reveals that the top 100 emerging ecosystems collectively have a value of over $1.6 trillion. Europe is the most represented region in the emerging ecosystems ranking, with a 42 percent share in the top 100 emerging ecosystems, followed by North America with a 27 percent share.
Among the other notable emerging startup ecosystems in the MENA region is Dubai, which ranked 18th globally on the report’s top 100 emerging ecosystems ranking, and Abu Dhabi which ranked among the top 61-70 ecosystems.
In the MENA region, Dubai ranked second, Cairo ranked 3rd, and Abu Dhabi ranked 5th.
Read: Saudi Arabia’s international reserves reach $467.5 billion in May, highest in 18 months
Region’s emerging ecosystems
Saudi Arabia was one of the countries globally that adopted a proactive AI development strategy. The country recently pledged $40 billion for investments in AI technology and startups. The Kingdom’s strategy includes incentives to attract AI startups to relocate to Saudi Arabia. Notably, the country’s startup ecosystem value reached over $11 billion by 2023.
Abu Dhabi, the region’s fastest-growing startup ecosystem, also recently pledged $100 billion in technology and startup investments. The emirate’s ecosystem value reached $4.2 billion and was home to one unicorn by 2023.
In Bahrain, the startup ecosystem value reached $1.2 billion in 2023 while Muscat, Oman’s ecosystem value amounted to $343 million.
Notably, MENA startups raised over $429 million in Q1 of 2024 with Saudi Arabia emerging as the hot spot of fundraising activities, with total investments soaring to $198 million in 25 transactions during March alone.
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