Arab News, Wednesday, Sep 8, 2021 | Muharram 30, 1443
Aramco’s arm, Wa’ed, gives $2.71m to startups in 1st stop of Saudi roadshow
Saudi Arabia:
A total of SR10.2 million
($2.71 million) has been given in grants and loans to six local startups in the
first of Wa’ed’s six stops on its nationwide roadshow. The first group of
winners include a maker of radioisotopes, used in medical imaging technology,
and a company that converts used cooking oil into biofuels for use in diesel
cars.
Wa’ed, the entrepreneurship arm of Aramco, began a
six-city national roadshow in Jubail on Monday to fund the Kingdom’s best new
startups. The roadshows bring an element of Shark’s Tank TV show to Saudi Arabia
with a top local TV personality bringing an air of excitement and competition to
the selection of winning entrepreneurs.
Wa’ed roadshows will also be held this year in
Yanbu, Jeddah, Riyadh, Madinah and Makkah. Wa’ed is selecting Saudi-based
entrepreneurs for loans, incubation services and venture capital investment. The
roadshows are being hosted by Mohammed Almousa, a Saudi entrepreneur and
broadcast presenter for MBC television.
“The startups we recognize tonight in Jubail are
part of a new wave of Saudi-based entrepreneurs who are driving economic growth
and diversification in the Kingdom,” said Fahad Alidi, Wa’ed managing director.
Created as a wholly owned venture of Aramco in
2011, Wa’ed has helped drive growth of the Kingdom’s entrepreneurial ecosystem
by deploying more than SR 400 million in venture capital investment, loans and
incubation services into more than 100 Saudi-based startups.
The Jubail roadshow highlighted industrial
manufacturing and services and drew entrepreneurs from a range of fields. The
event was sponsored by The Royal Commission for Jubail & Yanbu, which oversees
the Kingdom’s largest industrial zone.
Future roadshows will focus on drones, security
technology, reverse engineering, petrochemicals, environmental tech, fintech,
supply chains, tourism and hospitality, among other sectors.
Entrepreneurs recommended for loans and incubation
support must pass Wa’ed background checks. The next Wa’ed Entrepreneurship
Roadshow will be on Sept. 21 in Yanbu.
Wa’ed Entrepreneurship Roadshow recommended
loans be issued to:
Ahmad Alkhowaiter, the first Saudi producer of
a ubiquitous oil and gas drilling compound;
Motlaq Almotairy, founder of Saudi’s first
radioisotopes firm;
Abdullah Al Otaibi, the founder of a company
that converts used cooking oils into biofuels.
Wa’ed also recommended incubation seed
funding grants to:
Nawaf Alabra, founder of a new-generation B2B
platform;
Ahmed Abdulmohsen, founder of a business
software maker that manages infrastructure, buildings and lighting;
Muhannad Alhamed, founder of a smart home
automation solutions maker based on IoT.