RIYADH: Wa’ed, the entrepreneurship arm of Aramco, has allocated up to SR8.1 million ($2.15 million) in new seed grants, loans, and VC investments for six Saudi startups during its fifth roadshow stop in Madinah.
The amount includes Wa’ed’s SR1.9 million venture capital fund in Qreeb, a Saudi-based and ISO-certified e-procurement startup.
The fifth stop was organized in partnership with Namaa Almunawara, the executive arm of the non-profit Waqf Almunawara. Saudi startups from two emerging sectors — supply chain, hospitality and tourism — participated in the event.
“As we approach our final stop of the roadshow, we are reminded of the incredible innovations that the Saudi entrepreneurs continue to present forward. Our role at Wa’ed is to build the needed support system for those entrepreneurs as they lead a wave of change to reshape our national economy,” said Fahad Alidi, managing director at Wa’ed.
During the event, Wa’ed announced its SR1.9 million VC investment in Qreeb, a digital facility management and e-procurement startup that offers a unified traceable communication platform that connects service providers with registered clients.
Wa’ed also selected two Saudi-based companies to receive loan agreements including TAP, the telemedicine logistics company providing at-home healthcare and medicine delivery services, who will receive a SR3.5 million loan from Wa’ed, and Storage Station, an e-commerce fulfillment services platform serving online stores, who was qualified for a SR2.5 million loan.
For seed grants, Wa’ed recommended SR75,000 to the first-place winner Taawoni, a platform connecting fresh graduates with training centers to help provide coop training opportunities, SR50,000 to Ajwatech, a digital marketing and shipping platform to ship local dates within the kingdom and abroad, and SR25,000 grant to Wassan, the local maker of modern enclosed sleeping capsules that counts universities and corporates among its clients.
This raises the total financial support that Wa’ed had dedicated to local entrepreneurs so far throughout the entire roadshow campaign, from September to November, to over SR36 million, divided between 24 Saudi entrepreneurs whose startups had qualified them to receive Wa’ed’s seed grants, loans, or venture capital deals after completing the final onboarding processes. The center will conclude its Entrepreneurship Roadshow campaign with a final stop planned for Makkah on Dec. 6, during which the center will reviewe a wide range of tech-focused startup participations.
Applications for the final stop will remain open to all qualified entrepreneurs until Nov. 18. Interested candidates can visit https://waed.net/roadshow
