Opportunities galore for Saudi business innovators
Helping young entrepreneurs launch into global marketplace
As Saudi Arabia steps up reforms of its oil-based, corporation-driven economy, Startup Hub Riyadh has become a focal point for the emergence of a more sustainable and entrepreneurial culture.
It is run by the General Authority for Small and Medium Enterprises (Monshaat). Arriving at their offices in Riyadh Front, not far from King Khaled International Airport, I am met by Sara Almangour, Monshaat’s Director of Entrepreneurship Hubs.
“We have two sections,” Almangour tells me. “The Entrepreneurship Hub on the ground floor and the Innovation Center upstairs. They work in tandem, along with Monshaat’s SME Support Center in the building opposite. This provides a supportive environment for anybody running a business or planning to start one up.”
Clustered around the spacious premises, dozens of young women and men are hunched over their laptops or engaged in discussion. Many are here for the Acceleration Program, an intensive monthslong training and mentoring exercise that gives startup entrepreneurs the knowledge and tools needed to achieve rapid growth, reach a bigger market and become a genuine investment proposition.
Experts from fintech, healthcare and educational technology, for example, provide advice on niche areas, and there is a network of mentors from every sector. Potential investors visit to explain what they are looking for, and at the end of the program a demo day is held for participating entrepreneurs to make their five-minute “elevator pitch” to an assembled group of angels and private equity investors. During the pandemic this gathering is virtual rather than live.
In the shared office area, which has options including hot-desks and dedicated private offices, I am
introduced to a few of the startup teams. Upstairs, I meet Mohammed Almamar, tech innovation specialist. “The Innovation Centers are all about digital transformation,” he tells me.
“The Riyadh center specializes in the Internet of Things (IoT) and cybersecurity, and the Khobar center focuses on artificial intelligence and data analytics.”
A friendly speaking robot guides us into the futuristic Innovation Space where, with the aid of “digital fabrication machines” such as laser-cutters and 3D printers, physical product concepts are developed from mere ideas to working prototypes.
Mohammed Al-Hassan, a young entrepreneur, explains his product: “This is called Shuttle. It’s a smart locker that is linked with e-commerce operators and their customers. The package is delivered to this locker, and you can pick it up whenever you like. You open your locker with your smartphone, from wherever you are in the world — so someone else can collect the package for you. It makes delivery cheaper and more efficient, and gives an enhanced customer experience, so it’s a win-win for everybody and all done with IoT technology.”