Saudi women forge tech collaborations at G20 young entrepreneurs meeting

NEW DELHI: The G20 Young Entrepreneurs Alliance Summit, which ended on Saturday, has sparked new collaborations between Saudi Arabia and other G20 countries — many involving Saudi female investors in technology and innovation.
The three-day summit, held in New Delhi under India’s presidency of the G20, attracted hundreds of participants with the aim of promoting young entrepreneurs as a driver of economic renewal and social change.
The Saudi delegation, led by Prince Fahad bin Mansour, consisted of more than 40 leaders from both the public and private sectors, of whom around a third were women involved in startups based on high-tech innovation in engineering and science.
“In Saudi Arabia, we have equal opportunities,” said Meshael Al-Assaf, director of human capital development at the National Industrial Development and Logistics Program, who was part of the delegation. “If you have a good idea, regardless of whether you’re male or female, we have a lot of programs that help entrepreneurs to scale up in the Kingdom.”
One such women with a plan is Dr. Huda Al-Fardus, CEO of HealthGena — a Riyadh-based “digital health innovation service provider,” for whom participating in the G20 meet was an opportunity to “experience the entrepreneurship ecosystem in another country” and set up international partnerships.
“We have been lucky to establish collaborations between ourselves, as a private company in Saudi, and private companies here in India,” she told Arab News. “Hopefully, you will hear more about it.”
Others, like Tuba Terekli, a Jeddah-based investor and international business consultant, joined the Saudi delegation to scout for solutions they could bring home.
“My expectations were all about meeting brilliant young entrepreneurs and those that are into deep tech and high-tech solutions that we can take back home as investors,” she said. “And it was beyond my expectations. So much positive energy, such brilliant minds. We have, here in the exhibition hall, brilliant startups — everything from satellites to drones, underwater and health-care robots. It’s incredible.”
She added that she was holding talks with three companies from the event, facilitated by the Kingdom’s programs for entrepreneurs.
“We are very blessed to have with us, as our key supporter, the Ministry of Investment. They have a program for entrepreneurship licensing that helps us — Saudi investors and businesspeople — to find companies anywhere around the world and ensure that, whether it’s a joint venture or distributorship or a production facility in Saudi Arabia, we have all means of support,” she said.
The significant participation of women in the Saudi delegation was no surprise to Terekli. Efforts to promote female leadership and entrepreneurship in Saudi Arabia are at the core of Saudi Vision 2030, launched by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in 2016.
“We didn’t bring a large delegation of women to prove anything to anybody,” Terekli said. “It’s natural.”
For Noura Al-Otaibi — another Saudi delegate who has been training female entrepreneurs and helping them establish their businesses — the Kingdom has already become a “role model” for other countries. When she began, less than a decade ago, she had 60 Saudi businesswomen on board. That number has already grown eightfold and Al-Otaibi suggests she may expand internationally.
“We need to speak about common challenges for women in the startup sector globally. We need to support females across all countries and find common solutions for everyone,” she said. “I’m sure that Saudi Arabia is a benchmark for everyone, of any country, who is seeking positive transformation.”