Wa’ed concludes six-city roadshow in Makkah, announcing new seed grants and VC funds to four Saudi-based startups

• Saudi Aramco’s entrepreneurship arm has announced up to SAR 7.65 million to four entrepreneurs during the final stop of the nation-wide Wa’ed 2021 Entrepreneurship Roadshow
• With the final stop concluded, Wa’ed has now dedicated over SAR 43.6 million in financial aid to 28 Saudi entrepreneurs throughout the entire Roadshow campaign

December 8, 2021 – Wa’ed, the entrepreneurship arm of Saudi Aramco, has announced up to SAR 7.65million in new seed grants and venture funds to four Saudi-based start-ups during its final Wa’ed 2021 Entrepreneurship Roadshow stop in Makkah, which was held on December 6.

Organized in partnership with Wadi Makkah Ventures, the investment joint stock company fully owned by Umm Al Qura University, the sixth and final stop in Wa’ed’s nationwide roadshow welcomed tech-focused start-ups from across various industry sectors.

“By supporting the most disruptive and tech-focused Saudi-based startups and opening applications to all qualified entrepreneurs, Wa’ed’s Entrepreneurship roadshow represented the ideal platform to showcase emerging innovations led by younger entrepreneurs, and the perfect opportunity for Wa’ed to provide them with the needed financial and entrepreneurial support to grow” said Fahad Alidi, Managing Director at Wa’ed. 

During the event, Wa’ed made seed grant recommendations for SAR 75,000 to the first place winner Slates, a web browser extension which allows people to save, curate, and share their internet discoveries in organized collections with notes in a single URL, a SAR 50,000 to CensorIT, a Saudi platform IoT solutions and applications to increase efficiency and scalability, and a final SAR 25,000 grant to Naseej Market, a creative online marketplace connecting local buyers to local artists, designers, and independent shops making unique, customized, handmade products. 

Wa’ed also disclosed its SAR 7.5 million VC investment in Lamaa, the Saudi-based fintech start-up providing financing solutions for small and medium enterprises (SMEs), including Supply Chain Finance.

The venture investment was part of a SAR 19 million Pre-Series A round co-led with Raed Ventures, as announced earlier by Wa’ed on December 2nd. The raised funds will support the start-up  address available funding gaps for SMEs whose size presents a challenge in obtaining credit risk ratings, directly impacting their cash flow.

This raises the total financial support that Wa’ed had dedicated to local entrepreneurs throughout the entire roadshow campaign, to over SAR 43.65 million, divided between 28 Saudi entrepreneurs whose start-ups had qualified them to receive Wa’ed’s seed grants, loans, or venture capital deals after completing the final onboarding processes. 

Established in 2011 to become the leading entrepreneurship arm of Aramco, Wa’ed has deployed over SAR 400 million in venture capital deals, incubation programs, and loan agreements to empower Saudi entrepreneurs and help them lead innovative initiatives that could further the kingdom’s economic diversification plan.