Entrepreneur Middle East Staff

An ultimate guide to fintech in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Articles

Saudi Arabia

Aramco's Wa’ed Ventures: Boost to $500m and Zoom Partnership

Aramco Boosts Wa’ed Ventures to $500m, Partners with Zoom for Global Data Center

Fintech

Staff Writer

IMPACT46 launches $133M fund for tech startups in Saudi Arabia & MENA region

IMPACT46 Launches $133M Fund for Tech Startups in KSA and the MENA Region

LEAP 2023 In Riyadh Sees US$9 Billion Worth Of Investments Made In Saudi Arabia's Tech Sector

Anamika  is a change maker with 15+ years of management consulting, project management, event management and research experience. Having worked for Accenture for over a decade, she began her career overseeing change management and digital learning and development programs across Fortune 500 clients globally. 
Today, Anamika works with select clients on large-scale change programs, and writes whenever she can. As a life-long learner, and lover of writing, she found herself becoming an excellent interviewer, story-teller and speaker. She is passionate about giving voice to startups, projects and new technologies that are nearing break-through. She is curious about the intersection between technology, human behaviour and wellness, and is often most intrigued by startups that help people live better and happier lives.  
Anamika received her BA in Economics and Chinese Studies from the University of Nottingham. She is London born and bred, and splits her time between London and Dubai. She is a certified HIIT instructor, NLP coach and world traveler with a love of experimental cooking.

Researcher

Anamika Patel

The Market Challenges for Fintech in Saudi

Crypto, Blockchain & Web3

Erika is Co-Founder and Chief Content Officer at Lucidity Insights. Having  spent 15 years advising Fortune 500 companies  and multinational conglomerates  from around the world on how to grow businesses in emerging markets, Erika found that data and knowledge underpinned and empowered strategic decision-making. The creation of Lucidity Insights was inspired by the idea that strategic C-suite level data and insights could empower startups and Venture Capitalists in the MENAPT region, elevating the entire regional entrepreneurial ecosystem. 

Data is not just for the Chief Executive, or the data analyst after-all. Democratizing access to quality data across the tech ecosystem will elevate every startup and every investors’ decision-making, and thus, benefit the economy, overall.

Erika has worked with data to develop comprehensive business success stories and strategies for her entire professional career. She is a thought leader in growth strategies in fast-moving emerging markets, with a focus on Middle Eastern and Asian Markets. She is an expert on the startup ecosystems in the Middle East, and a thought leader on entrepreneurship, disruptive technologies and sustainability. She has worked with both government and corporates clients, across over 30 different industry verticals and in over 40 countries. She is best described as a data-curious strategic thinker and advisor, who also happens to be an  enthusiastic storyteller and writer.

Erika graduated from Stanford’s Graduate School of Business with an Executive MBA (MSx), and also holds degrees from McGill University (B.Sc Neuroscience) and the University of Cambridge (Sustainability in Business). She speaks English and Japanese, is conversational in French, and speaks survival Arabic. In her spare time, she is an avid globe trotter, having travelled to over 70 countries, and counts scuba-diving, free-diving and yoga among her favourite activities. She is a self-described wellness-junkie and adventure enthusiast. She is also a dog mum.

Co-Founder & Chief Content Officer

Erika Masako Welch

Uncover the Potential of Fintech in Saudi Arabia Today

Fintech in Saudi Arabia Today

Fintech Infrastructure in KSA: Key Players and Roles

Fintech Supporting Infrastructure in KSA

The Strategic Drivers for fintech in KSA

Discover the Data Behind Saudi's Booming Fintech Industry

Compelling Data for Fintech in Saudi

We are a team of passionate Researchers, Data Junkies, and Story-Tellers that believe there is not enough quality business insights and compelling data analysis available in the marketplace, told in the formats users want. We want to give an insider's look into the industries, businesses and economies that are changing the world today, so our users can become inspired, empowered and equipped to run their businesses as best they can.

Lucidity Insights Research Team

Infobytes

Apple pay enters the Saudi market in 2019

Social media users

Rate of global consumer adoption of fintech

Top 10 countries in fintech adoption (2019)

Top 25 Wealthiest Economies in 2020: GDP PPP (USD ‘000s)

Economic Wealth (GDP PPP) and Size + Median Age of Population

Countries Populations Under 40 years old

Saudi Arabia’s Youth Bulge:  2009 vs 2020

Saudi arabia population 35 million

Saudi Arabia population 35 million

Internet Penetration Growth Benchmark (%, 2012-2019)

KSA Internet Penetration by Region (2018)

Top social network platformS in saudi arabia

Saudi: Average daily usage per user

Bank Account Penetration Rate (2017)

Credit Card Penetration Rate (2017)

e-commerce Penetration

Total POS payments vs ATM cash withdrawals by volume %

Saudi Female Workforce Participation

Saudi Unemployment Rate (2014-2020)

POS Penetration Growth Forecast  (2016-2023f)

Vision 2030’s Financial Sector Development Program Objectives & 2025 Targets

Moving Toward A Cashless Economy:

Ease of Doing Business Index 2020

Understanding Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 Strategic Objectives

Vision 2030 Overarching Strategic Objectives

What’s Driving Fintech in Saudi?

Compelling macroeconomics

e-commerce users by age

e-Commerce Revenue Growth by Sector ($M)

Aby Sam Thomas

Ashok is a storyteller who uses numbers as his medium. He loves to crunch data, analyze it, and investigate deeper questions until the stories begin to emerge on their own. Ashok comes from a finance and consulting background, having worked in the strategy consulting and private equity fields across the Middle East and Emerging Asia for over 15 years, prior to becoming a business writer. When it comes to tech stories, Ashok has a penchant for startups in the fintech, B2B SaaS, AI and ML spaces. He loves writing about Venture Capital, M&A and the general investor landscape of startup ecosystems.
Ashok holds a Bachelor’s of Science in Electrical Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology, as well as a diploma in Finance. He speaks English and Hindi fluently.

Ashok Raman

Special Reports

United States

The Business of Impact Investing in 2023 - Test

India

Special Report: "The Growing Business of Foodtech"

The Growing Business of Foodtech

Food Tech

Special Report: "Sustainable International Trade for a Resilient Future"

Sustainable International Trade for a Resilient Future

Sustainability

Special Report: "Opportunities in Web3"

Opportunities in Web3

Dubai's Venture Capital Ecosystem

Entrepreneurship

The Future of Fintech in Africa

Diriyah and the Giga Projects: Defining the New Saudi Arabia

Tourism

Saudi Arabia's Startup Ecosystem Evolution 2010-2022

The Evolution of Saudi Arabia's Startup Ecosystem 2010-2022

Dubai's Digital Economy and Its Growing Startup Ecosystem

Dubai’s Digital Economy and Its Expanding Startup Ecosystem

MENA's M&A Landscape 2017-2022: A Comprehensive Review

The Middle East & North Africa’s M&A Landscape 2017-2022

Economies

Sustainable Innovations and Startups in the MENA Region

Innovations In International Trade

Egypt's Burgeoning Start-Up Ecosystem

Dubai’s Roadmap to Becoming the Digital Economy Capital of the World

The Electric Vehicle Revolution: Growth & Challenges Ahead

The Electric Vehicle Revolution Has Arrived

Bringing The World to Saudi

Shaping the Future of Fintech in MENA

Shaping The Future of Fintech

The Crypto Universe: Insights into Blockchain & DeFi

The Crypto Universe

Primed for Growth Cloud Kitchens in the GCC

Primed for Growth: Cloud Kitchens in the GCC

Spotlights

Helping to Solve the Cash-on-Delivery Challenge for Saudi eCommerce Merchants

Tamara is Helping to Solve the Cash-on-Delivery Challenge for Saudi eCommerce Merchants

Saudi’s first Unicorn

STCpay | Saudi’s first Unicorn

A Saudi-born Fintech Player Blazing Trails

GEIDEA | A Saudi-born Fintech Player Blazing Trails

Videos

Over 66% of the 463 million inhabitants in the Middle East and North Africa region live in the top 5 most populous countries

Why are Israel and the UAE leading MENA startup ecosystem Hubs?

Digital Payments, as usual, has been the driving force in fintech fundraising in 2021

Fintech adoption  around the world has been consistently doubling every two years since 2015

Fintech adoption  around the world has been consistently doubling every two years since 2015, with emerging markets leading the way

Emerging Markets have been dominating in terms of global fintech adoption, whereas only 3 developed markets are in the top 10

At the end of 2020, there were a total of 87 fintech unicorns globally

2021 was a record-breaking year for the world of Fintech

Fintech funding increased sharply in 2021

The largest segment of fundraising deal sizes in Saudi's fintech market is $1 million to $10 million USD

Digital Payments and Currency Exchanges fundraised the most in Saudi Arabia

The two largest fundraising segments in Saudi Arabia by funding stage was Sale/Exit

The Top 10 Fintechs Operating in Saudi Arabia by Amount Fundraised

What are some of the biggest challenges facing Fintech Startups in Saudi Arabia?

Fintech adoption around the world has been consistently doubling every two years since 2015

MENA Countries' performance on the World Bank's Ease of Doing Business Index

The Fintech Universe has grown at a 102% CAGR from 2018 to 2021 H1

The tech-savvy youthful population is driving e-commerce growth  in the Kingdom

The Kingdom aims to have 70% of all transactions conducted digitally by 2030

Saudi Arabia mandated  POS systems to be implemented across the Kingdom

Saudi Arabia achieved its’ 2030 target of 30% Female Workforce Participation  10 years ahead of schedule

Saudi Arabia’s Cashless Ambitions have been bearing fruit

3 ways in which Fintechs can officially operate in Saudi Arabia

The Saudi Fintech industry’s market size was valued at $20 billion USD in 2019

Digital Payments and Exchanges is the largest segment of Fintechs operating in the Kingdom

Saudi Arabia achieved 11.3% unemployment rate in Q2 2021

Fintechs Operating in Saudi Arabia have raised more than $1 Billion USD since 2009

73% of startups that successfully fundraised in Saudi Arabia fully or partially disclosed their fundraising activity

72% of Saudis had bank accounts  in 2017, while only 33% held credit cards in 2017.

72% of Saudis had bank accounts  in 2017

The race to become the most digitally connected, internet enabled countries in the world

Saudi’s drive to increase internet penetration across the Kingdom

Saudi Arabia's young and tech-savvy population are some of the most active social media users in the world

Saudi's youthful population is a tech savvy one