Wa’ed, the entrepreneurship arm of Aramco, has pledged $1.8 million (SR6.9 million) in seed grants and venture capital funds to three Saudi startups during its fourth roadshow stop in Riyadh.
The investment was divided between two seed-stage grants to be paid out after completing a final onboarding process, and a single venture capital investment in a Saudi-based company.
The agreements follow the Aramco unit’s stops in Jubail, Yanbu, Jeddah over the last two months, as part of its aim to support the local startup scene in the Kingdom.
Recent investments were made to three startups in the fields of e-commerce, cyber security, and health technology.
“We’ve seen how the COVID-19 pandemic pushed all three sectors — e-commerce, health-tech, and cyber security — to the forefront of every startup ecosystem both regionally and globally,” Wa’ed Managing Director Fahad Alidi, said.
The event was held in collaboration with the Saudi Small and Medium Enterprises General Authority (Monsha’at), which is also a key player in the Kingdom’s entrepreneurship agenda.
Wa’ed will make its last stops in Madinah on November 11, and Makkah on December 6.
