STARTUP 

RIYADH AMONG WORLD’S LEADING START-UP HUBS

Saudi’s capital city has advanced 60 places over the past three years to rank 23rd among the top 100 emerging start-up ecosystems globally. The Global Startup Ecosystem Report 2025 by Startup Genome, in collaboration with the Global Entrepreneurship Network, lauded the city for its progress on entrepreneurship environment. 

The emerging ecosystems ranking focuses on start-up communities at earlier stages of growth. The methodology for ranking the Top 100 Emerging Ecosystems is designed to reflect this, showcasing the ecosystems that display high potential to become major global performers in the coming years. Wuxi in China topped the ranking, followed by Jakarta in Indonesia, and Istanbul in Turkey. Within the Arab Gulf region, only Dubai was ranked higher than Riyadh, at 20th. 

INNOVATION HUB

Riyadh had the most significant growth of any MENA ecosystem in the Top 100 Emerging ranking, moving up from the 51-60 range in 2024 to the 21-30 range this year, thanks to major growth in exits over USD 50 million, including rasan.co’s USD 1.1 billion exit, the report noted.

“Riyadh is rapidly positioning itself as a globally competitive innovation hub, built on a foundation of bold economic transformation and strategicpublic-private alignment,” according to the report. “With the backing of Vision 2030, the city is scaling a new generation of high-growth start-ups and inviting global companies to co-create in one of the fastest-growing economies in the world.” 

The kingdom’s large domestic market of USD 1.1 trillion GDP, and a young and aspirational population of over 36 million has transformed it into the Middle East’s biggest B2B purchasing base, making it a unique testbed for start-ups. Demand encompasses sectors including fintech, cybersecurity, energy, logistics, edtech, and digital health. 

Enterprise buyers across government, healthcare, and infrastructure are accelerating their technology adoption, creating powerful early customer pipelines for founders, the report noted.

“At the forefront of ecosystem development are this year’s Global Startup Ecosystem Support sponsors: the National Entrepreneurship Committee, championing entrepreneurship policy across the kingdom, and the Saudi Venture Capital & Private Equity Association (SVCPEA), which convenes investors to fuel start-up growth. Together, these institutions represent Saudi Arabia’s commitment to building a vibrant, founder-first economy.”

Riyadh city has seen USD 2.6 billion in venture capital funding since 2018, supported by government-backed funds.

“As global corporates establish regional headquarters in Riyadh, and local success stories begin to scale globally, Saudi Arabia is no longer viewed as an emerging innovation player. It is defining what the next frontier of innovation leadership looks like – one that is state-enabled, capital-backed, and commercially grounded.” 

There are more than 200 financial technology (fintech) companies operating in Saudi Arabia, enabled by regulatory sandboxes and govern ment efforts to bulid the markest, the report notes. It also highlighted the successes of start-ups like Lean Technologies, Rasan, and Tamara, which are attracting regional and international capital, with major financial institutions serving as early adopters and anchor clients.

FINTECH HIVE

As digital infrastructure scales, cybersecurity has become a national priority for Saudi Arabia. Riyadh-based companies like Mozn and Sirar by STC are pioneering AI-powered solutions across identity, fraud, and compliance. Government procurement and critical infrastructure mandates have catalysed start-up growth, with sector-specific accelerators and partnerships now in place to attract international players with cutting-edge capabilities.  

The Startup Genome report also outlines key reasons for start-ups to set up their base in Riyadh. 

The capital city gives start-ups a front-row seat to the region’s largest enterprise customers – from sovereign wealth funds and government ministries to corporate giants. Major blue-chip players in the country are not only tech adopters but active investors and partners, opening doors to early-stage pilots and real revenue.

This is reinforced by the government reengineering its regulatory landscape to create a fertile ecosystem for founders and entrepreneurs. Start-ups benefit from 100% foreign ownership, fast-track licensing, and founder-first policies led by the Ministries of Investment and Communications and Telecom. Vision 2030’s focus on digital transformation has also sparked targeted programmes like CODE and the Digital Government Authority’s sandbox, helping new technologies hit the ground running.

Finally, Riyadh can also be the gateway to the GCC market, worth more - than USD 2 trillion, The city offers a potent mix of world-class infrastruc- ture, global headquarter incentives, and rising multilingual talent. Global tech players like Google Cloud, Amazon, and SAP have set up regional bases here, joining a wave of high-growth firms from Asia, Europe, and North America.