• UAE-based VentureSouq has raised $5 million from Saudi Venture Capital (SVC).
• The investment will go towards VentureSouq’s recently launched fintech fund, and is part of SVC's Investment in Funds Programme to support the development of the VC ecosystem in Saudi Arabia for all sectors and stages.
• Founded in 2013, VentureSouq is a Mena-based venture capital fund manager with a global portfolio. Meanwhile, SVC is a government investment company established in 2018, with investments in SMEs amounting to $2 billion from pre-Seed to pre-IPO.

Press release:

Saudi Venture Capital (SVC) announced its investment of $5 million in a fintech fund managed by VentureSouq (VSQ). The fund will mainly back early-stage fintech startups. 

The subscription agreement was signed by Dr. Nabeel Koshak, CEO and Board Member at SVC, and Maan Eshgi, General Partner at VSQ. The signing ceremony was also attended by Nora Alsarhan, Chief Investment Officer, and Haifa Bahaian, Chief Legal Officer at SVC; as well as Musaab Hakami, Fintech General Partner at VSQ.

Dr. Koshak commented: "The investment in the fintech fund by VSQ is part of SVC's Investment in Funds Program to support the development of the VC ecosystem in Saudi Arabia for all sectors and stages. This investment also comes to foster the growth witnessed recently by the fintech sector, which made it at the forefront of the venture capital scene in Saudi Arabia in 2022 in terms of the number of deals and value of investment. 

Koshak further added: "This growth is driven by the launch of many governmental initiatives that stimulate the fintech sector, such as the "Saudi Fintech" initiative launched by the Saudi Central Bank in partnership with the Capital Market Authority. As well as the launch of the Kingdom's fintech strategy as a new pillar within the Saudi Vision 2030 Financial Sector Development Program (FSDP), which aims to support the Kingdom to be among the leading countries in the field of Fintech."

Maan Eshgi commented: "Fintech continues to be one of the largest, most dynamic and most consequential spheres of innovation in the world. It serves the application of new technologies, including web3, AI, and quantum computing. From a magnitude of impact standpoint, we see Saudi Arabia leading the MENA region in Fintech. We are honoured and thrilled with the continued trust of SVC, who has been a partner with VSQ for many years."

SVC is a government investment company established in 2018 and is a subsidiary of the SME Bank, one of the developmental banks affiliated with the National Development Fund. SVC aims to stimulate and sustain financing for startups and SMEs from pre-Seed to pre-IPO by investing $2 billion through investment in funds and co-investment in startups. SVC invested in 43 funds that have invested in 700+ companies.