Noha Gad

The global digital payments landscape is witnessing a remarkable transformation in recent years, revolutionizing the way consumers and businesses transact. Recent reports by Statista anticipated the total transaction value in the digital payments market to hit $38.07 trillion by 2030, with a CAGR of 13.6% between 2025 and 2030. Mobile Point-of-Sale (PoS) payments, which represent the largest share in the digital payments market, are projected to achieve a total transaction value of $12.56 trillion in 2025.

The transformation in the digital payment market mirrors the growing preference for faster, frictionless payment methods, supported by innovations in AI for fraud detection and the integration of payment technologies into everyday life. 

Within this transformative digital payment environment, invisible payments emerged as the next significant leap, allowing purchases to be billed automatically based on user behavior or context. 

What are invisible payments?

Invisible payments refer to transactions that happen seamlessly in the background, without requiring consumers to physically interact with a payment terminal or even consciously initiate the payment. They are designed to eliminate the traditional manual steps involved in making payments, such as clicking, entering card details, or scanning QR codes, leveraging emerging technologies, such as the Internet of Things (IoT) sensors, AI, biometrics, and pre-registered payment accounts.

These payments offer consumers a frictionless experience, enabling them to enjoy services or purchase products without explicit payment actions at the point of sale (PoS).

How do invisible payments work?

Invisible payments are enabled through cutting-edge technology that links the user's payment method with specific triggers, such as location, biometric authentication, or device sensors. This swift process includes: 

• Setup and registration. Consumers register their payment details once, often during account creation on the service platform or application.
• Contextual triggers. Once set up, the system activates based on contextual cues such as entering a store, picking items, or starting a ride. Then, sensors, cameras, and IoT devices detect user actions or presence, while AI algorithms analyze this data in real time.
• Authentication methods. Biometric authentication or device-based authentication is often used to confirm the user’s identity with high confidence.
• Automatic billing. The system automatically processes the payment in the background, charging the user's pre-registered account without any further manual input.​
• Confirmation and sending receipts. A digital receipt is sent post-transaction, providing transparency while maintaining the seamless experience

Benefits of invisible payments

Invisible payments offer several benefits for both consumers and businesses, ultimately enhancing the payment experience through seamless technology integration. For consumers, invisible payments offer:

-Convenience and speed. By eliminating manual entry of payment details and physical actions, invisible payments allow consumers to pay effortlessly, speeding up checkouts in retail, ride-sharing, and online shopping environments.

-Enhanced customer experience. This type of payment enables customers to enjoy a hassle-free shopping experience.

-Improved security. Invisible payments safeguard transactions and minimize errors and fraud risks by leveraging biometrics, encryption, tokenization, and automated fraud detection.

For businesses, invisible payments offer:

-Faster payments and improved cash flow. These payments enable businesses to receive funds quickly and manage cash flow more effectively.

-Enhanced operational efficiency. Automation reduces the manual workload around payment processing and invoicing, saving time and resources.​

-Robust relationships with suppliers. Faster and accurate payments strengthen trust and partnerships with suppliers.

By integrating with IoT devices, mobile applications, and wearables, invisible payments are expected to expand their reach, enabling innovations beyond subscriptions or retail checkout. This transformation will significantly redefine the way consumers interact with commerce in everyday life, making payments a fully automated and invisible part of the experience.

Technological advancements will play a crucial role in shaping the future of invisible payments. For instance, AI-powered payment orchestration will optimize authorization in real-time, enhancing approval rates and reducing friction during checkout, while biometric authentication, such as facial recognition and fingerprints, will replace passwords and PINs, offering faster, safer payments.

Finally, invisible payments are anticipated to support a borderless financial ecosystem, making cross-border transactions as seamless as domestic ones, backed by the rise of Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) and regulatory advancements.

Manish Pant, Executive Vice President of International Operations at Schneider Electric

Manish Pant, Executive Vice President of International Operations at Schneider Electric, affirmed in exclusive statements to Sharikat Mubasher that the company’s global presence spans more than 100 countries and includes a workforce of approximately 150,000 employees. He stated that Schneider Electric’s mission is to create a positive impact by empowering individuals and organizations to achieve the optimum use of energy and resources, linking economic growth with sustainability.

Pant revealed that the company’s global revenues reached €19.3 billion during the first half of this year, adding that Schneider Electric allocates around 5% of its annual revenues to research and development to strengthen its innovation capabilities and ensure the sustainability of its solutions.

He emphasized that the Saudi market has been one of the company’s key strategic markets for over 44 years, noting that the Kingdom is taking confident strides toward a more sustainable future through resource diversification, accelerated digital transformation, and adoption of cutting-edge technologies. Pant highlighted that Saudi Arabia aims to generate 50% of its electricity needs from renewable sources by 2030 as part of the Saudi Green Initiative, alongside major investments in carbon emission reduction, energy efficiency, afforestation, and smart cities — all of which are reshaping the Kingdom’s energy landscape to become more flexible and efficient.

Pant remarked that Schneider Electric is proud to be a strategic partner of the Kingdom on this journey, providing advanced digital services, AI-powered data centers, smart building systems, and climate-friendly industrial solutions that reduce emissions and enhance resource efficiency, enabling industries, cities, and households to achieve higher levels of sustainability.

He also revealed ambitious expansion plans for the company in Saudi Arabia, which currently serves more than 8,000 clients through a range of assets and industrial facilities. These include the Dammam factory spanning 15,000 square meters, a preparation facility in Dammam, the Riyadh factory covering 13,450 square meters, and another preparation facility in Riyadh. The company will also open a new factory at King Salman Energy Park (SPARK), covering 20,000 square meters, scheduled for inauguration in the coming period to serve both Saudi Arabia and the wider Gulf region.

Pant noted that the new factory has obtained the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification, achieving a 34% reduction in carbon emissions and energy savings of up to 33%.

He further stated that Schneider Electric operates a 7,000-square-meter distribution center in Riyadh serving more than 200 local partners, as well as a research, development, and innovation center in Dhahran Techno Valley (DTV) in collaboration with Aramco. The company also has four legal entities in the Kingdom, with a localization rate exceeding 40%, and a regional training academy for the Middle East and Africa based in Riyadh.

Pant added that Schneider Electric has invested more than €50 million in its expansion plans in Saudi Arabia over the past five years and currently employs 700 people in the Kingdom. He highlighted that eight new products have recently earned the “Made in Saudi” mark, bringing the total number of locally manufactured products to over 20, with plans to increase production lines to 32 by 2030. The company also aims to export up to 20% of local production to regional markets, reinforcing Saudi Arabia’s position as a central industrial hub.

Regarding the Schneider Electric Innovation Summit, held recently in Riyadh in its second edition, Pant said the event serves as a leading platform to showcase the latest solutions in electric mobility, resilient infrastructure, smart buildings, advanced industries, and water resources management. He noted that hosting the summit again in Riyadh reflects the Kingdom’s leadership in energy transition, digital innovation, and sustainable development.

Pant added that the summit highlights innovation and digitalization as key drivers of Saudi Arabia’s goals for economic diversification, industrial growth, and global competitiveness. He concluded by affirming that technology and innovation are two core pillars of Schneider Electric’s strategy in Saudi Arabia and globally. Integrating AI- and IoT-based digital solutions, he said, enables the Kingdom to build more efficient and sustainable systems across cities, industries, and homes alike. Pant noted that the company’s achievements in Saudi Arabia have strengthened its standing as one of the world’s most globally integrated yet locally rooted companies. Saudi experiences, he added, contribute to developing globally scalable solutions and position the Kingdom as a role model to follow for innovation and sustainability.

Kholoud Hussein

As Saudi Arabia accelerates its journey toward Vision 2030, fintech innovation has emerged as a critical driver in reshaping access to capital, democratizing investment, and strengthening the Kingdom’s financial sector. With sukuk issuance reaching record levels and digital platforms reducing barriers for both corporates and individual investors, the ecosystem for Islamic finance is undergoing a profound transformation.

Within this evolving landscape, Tarmeez Capital has positioned itself as a frontrunner. Licensed by the Capital Market Authority and founded in 2022, the Saudi fintech is redefining how businesses—from large corporates to SMEs—secure financing. By leveraging technology to issue sukuk faster, more transparently, and in full compliance with Shariah principles, Tarmeez Capital bridges a critical gap in the Kingdom’s corporate debt market.

In this exclusive interview with Sharikat Mubasher, Nasser Al-Saadoun, Founder and CEO of Tarmeez Capital, sheds light on its business model, the impact it is making on companies and investors, and its role in enabling Saudi Arabia’s ambition to become a global hub for Islamic and sustainable finance.

Please can you give us an overview of Tarmeez Capital. What is your business model, and when was it founded? 

We are a Saudi-based fintech company licensed by the Capital Market Authority (CMA), reshaping access to finance in Saudi Arabia through fast, inclusive, and fully Shariah-compliant solutions. We founded Tarmeez Capital in 2022 with a clear purpose: to close the financing gap facing many businesses by connecting growing companies with the capital they need to thrive. We issue sukuk to fund enterprises across the Kingdom and operate a pioneering, people-first digital platform that seamlessly enables purpose-driven investors to participate in these issuances. 

Our technology enables sukuk issuance up to seven times faster than traditional channels, allowing companies to secure funding in as little as 10 days with repayment terms up to 10 years. We have facilitated over SAR 2 billion in lending programs, achieved a 459 percent increase in sukuk issuances over the last 15 months, and built a community of over 180,000 retail and institutional investors.

Which type of companies does Tarmeez Capital provide Islamic financing to? How do you select your portfolio to lend to? 

Tarmeez Capital supports companies across sectors, from established corporates like Red Bull Mobile and Red Sea International to SMEs. Our portfolio selection is guided by rigorous credit screening powered by AI-driven data analytics, our Shariah committee’s oversight, and a focus on businesses that contribute to Vision 2030 goals. We have a zero percent default rate, reflecting our robust due diligence and the quality of our portfolio.

What are the benefits for your users (companies seeking financing & institutional investors)? 

Traditional sukuk issuance often takes months and is limited to large corporations. With Tarmeez Capital, companies of all sizes can receive tailored, fast, and ethical capital - allowing them to seize growth opportunities. This year, Red Sea International, for example, used our sukuk offering to avoid costly project delays with rapid funding that kept engineers and factory teams on schedule. 

Through our digital platform, our investor community can gain access to transparent, Shariah-compliant returns of around 13.5 percent annually, compared to 7.3 percent for real estate and 8.5 percent for stocks. Our real-time digital dashboards and low minimum investments enable anyone to support transformative projects with ethical impact.

How does Tarmeez Capital position itself within Saudi Arabia’s rapidly evolving corporate debt landscape, especially under Vision 2030?

We bridge a critical gap by digitizing sukuk issuance for companies of different sizes. There is a clear demand in the Kingdom for fast, digital, and value-driven funding. Our seamless digital process positions us perfectly amongst Saudi Arabia, tech-savvy population. We focus on advancing funding for sectors such as healthcare, logistics, and education, etc.– all of which are aligned with Vision 2030. Our business model also supports SMEs, which are projected to contribute 35 percent of total GDP by 2030.  

What role do fintechs such as Tarmeez Capital play in broadening access to capital markets and investment opportunities? 

Fintechs like Tarmeez Capital make Shariah-compliant finance accessible to more Saudi businesses and individual investors alike. Our digital investment platform has been built to reduce the cost, complexity, and friction traditionally associated with debt capital markets. Our focus on creating a streamlined, user-friendly experience has contributed to the impressive growth of our investor community to date, a trend that we anticipate continuing.

Our platform empowers investors to invest small amounts into sukuk that back local companies. For example, people can now support projects like RASF’s Deem townhouses or Qudra’s solar rollout. This democratization of capital fuels entrepreneurship, spreads wealth creation, and reinforces Saudi Arabia’s Financial Sector Development goals.

Saudi Arabia is rapidly positioning itself as a global hub for Islamic finance, driven by accelerating sukuk issuance. How do you see this sector expanding in the next 5 – 10 years, and what role will Tarmeez Capital have? 

We expect Saudi Arabia’s sukuk market to continue its rapid growth. Global sukuk issuances reached USD 199 billion in 2023 and show no sign of slowing. Tarmeez Capital will play a central role in this transformation by making Shariah-compliant financing faster, more accessible, and more transparent for corporates and investors alike. Our tech-driven scalability and proven track record, including the lowest default rate among comparable private debt platforms in Saudi, position us as a national leader and partner of choice as the sector matures.

More broadly, we see Islamic finance moving firmly into the mainstream. Younger investors are seeking ethical, impact-oriented investments that reflect their values while delivering competitive returns. Islamic finance, built on principles of justice, risk-sharing, transparency, and social responsibility, is perfectly aligned with this shift. Unlike conventional debt, it prohibits interest (Riba) and emphasizes asset-backed, productive investment, making it inherently transparent, value-driven, and sustainable.

Saudi Arabia is set to become a global hub for Islamic and sustainable finance, issuing billions in ESG-linked sukuk and leveraging its Vision 2030 ambitions for inclusive, long-term growth. Platforms like Tarmeez enable everyday citizens to invest ethically, help finance the development of their communities, and support a self-sustaining ecosystem that benefits everyone.

In a region where regulatory dynamics are evolving quickly, especially for technology, how do you assess and manage regulatory risk?

Compliance is incredibly important. Our independent Shariah committee and close partnership with the Capital Market Authority help ensure we always meet the highest standards. Beyond regulation, we also use data and advanced AI to monitor the health of every investment, so that we can detect potential risks early and manage them carefully. This thorough approach allows us to grow sustainably and responsibly.

Many startups struggle to scale beyond the early-growth phase. Are there any patterns you have observed that block Saudi startups from becoming regional or global players?

A recurring challenge is facilitating access to capital that matches the vast ambitions of our most exciting startups. Too often, high-potential companies are held back by the rigidity of traditional lending. However, fintechs such as Tarmeez Capital enable companies to grow with the speed and flexibility they need to succeed regionally and globally.

Looking ahead over the next 3 - 5 years, what role do you see Tarmeez Capital playing in shaping the MENA innovation ecosystem?

We see ourselves becoming a vital catalyst for Shariah-compliant investing and capital raising in the region, and expanding our platform’s reach through smarter infrastructure, new products, and better user experiences. Our ambition is to continue to support founders in securing funding quickly and ethically, unlocking new ventures and supporting economic growth. 

We aim to grow Tarmeez Capital’s investor community, creating a powerful and self-sustaining cycle of growth, opportunity, and shared success. 

Finally, what advice would you give to Saudi companies that are looking for alternative forms of financing? 

Our advice is simple. Explore forms of accessing finance outside of the conventional channels. Innovative, Shariah-compliant solutions like Tarmeez Capital offer speed, flexibility, and alignment with your values. Whether you are rolling out solar power across commercial properties like Qudra Energy or delivering affordable homes like RASF Real Estate, this is your moment to embrace a new path to financing that will help you grow and contribute to the future of the Kingdom. Choosing providers who understand the local market and comply fully with Islamic principles will ensure financing that is both responsible and sustainable, setting businesses on a path to long-term success.

Throughout the discussion, Tarmeez Capital emphasized its mission of making Shariah-compliant financing faster, more inclusive, and more impactful for both businesses and investors. By digitizing sukuk issuance, expanding access to ethical investment opportunities, and ensuring robust compliance, the company is reshaping the role of fintech in Saudi Arabia’s financial sector. As the Kingdom positions itself as a global hub for Islamic finance, Tarmeez Capital aims to serve as both a catalyst and partner—empowering companies to grow responsibly while giving investors the tools to align financial returns with ethical values.

Noha Gad

The rapid growth of e-commerce urged retailers to deliver faster, cheaper, and more reliable services to meet customers’ preferences for same-day or even two-hour deliveries. Traditional fulfillment models, relying on large regional warehouses, often struggle to meet urban delivery expectations due to long transit times and high last-mile costs, which can account for up to 53% of total shipping expenses.  

This shift has driven the adoption of localized fulfillment strategies, with Micro-fulfillment centers (MFCs) emerging as a scalable solution to bridge the gap between supply and demand in high-density markets.

MFCs integrate directly with e-commerce platforms, allowing real-time inventory synchronization and seamless order processing. They play a pivotal role in optimizing e-commerce operations by enabling proximity-based fulfillment. By storing high-turnover inventory in urban micro-hubs, retailers can drastically reduce delivery times, often to less than 24 hours, while improving order accuracy through automation.

These compact, automated centers, typically ranging from 3,000 to 10,000 square feet, revolutionize modern logistics as they bring inventory closer to urban consumers and enable faster deliveries and more efficient supply chains. MFCs were developed to meet rising consumer demand for same-day or next-day delivery, utilizing automation and real-time inventory systems to process orders with speed and precision, making them a cornerstone of agile e-commerce fulfillment.

How MFCs work

The primary objective of an MFC is to optimize last-mile delivery, the most expensive and time-sensitive segment of the supply chain, by reducing the distance between inventory and end customers. 

Micro-fulfillment centers integrate three essential components: advanced management software, automated physical infrastructure, and streamlined packing operations. The software layer processes incoming online orders in real time, synchronizing with e-commerce platforms and inventory systems to ensure accuracy and speed. Meanwhile, the physical infrastructure leverages robotics, automated storage and retrieval systems (AS/RS), and conveyor networks to retrieve items with minimal human intervention, significantly reducing labor costs and error rates. Once ready, items are transferred to packing stations where staff or automated systems prepare them for dispatch, often within hours of order placement.

These centers can operate as standalone facilities or be embedded within existing retail stores, enabling omnichannel fulfillment strategies such as ship-from-store, buy-online-pickup-in-store (BOPIS), and curbside pickup.

Types of micro-fulfillment centers 

There are three primary types of MFCs: standalone, store-integrated, and dark stores. Standalone MFCs are independent, compact logistics facilities typically ranging from 3,000 to 10,000 square feet. These centers focus exclusively on processing online orders for rapid last-mile delivery. They are often built in repurposed industrial spaces, basements, or standalone urban lots and can be deployed within months due to minimal construction requirements. They are effective for e-commerce businesses seeking to scale delivery speed without relying on existing retail footprints.

Store-integrated micro-fulfillment centers are embedded within active retail or grocery stores, typically in backrooms, basements, or underutilized floor space, allowing simultaneous in-store shopping and online order fulfillment. This type leverages the store’s proximity to customers to reduce shipping costs and accelerate delivery times, often enabling curbside pickup, BOPIS, and local delivery within hours. This model also improves inventory turnover by dynamically allocating stock between in-store sales and online fulfillment, reducing overstock and shrinkage.

Additionally, dark stores are retail locations that have been converted into fully automated, customer-inaccessible fulfillment centers dedicated exclusively to processing online orders. Unlike store-integrated MFCs, dark stores do not serve walk-in customers; they serve fulfillment staff or robots that pick items from shelves and pack them for home delivery or pickup. 

Dark stores are particularly prevalent in grocery and fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) sectors, where demand for rapid delivery is high.

How MFCs boost the e-commerce industry

Retailers of all sizes leverage micro-fulfillment centers to stay competitive as they offer a wide range of benefits, including: 

-Faster delivery times.

-Improved customer satisfaction.

-Lower delivery and inventory costs.

-Space optimization.

-Omnichannel integration.

The future of MFCs is shaped by rapid urbanization and the growing need for hyper-local fulfilment solutions, fueled by advancements in robotics, AI-driven inventory management, and automation technologies. Thus, these centers are no longer a futuristic concept but a strategic necessity in the evolving landscape of e-commerce and urban logistics. 

MFCs offer a scalable, efficient solution to meet consumers’ demand for same-day and even same-hour delivery by bringing inventory closer to end customers through compact, automated hubs located in or near cities.

Finally, MFCs represent a transformative shift in how goods are stored, picked, and delivered. As technology advances and urban density increases, MFCs will become an operational imperative for businesses aiming to meet rising customer expectations for speed, convenience, and sustainability in the digital age.

Ghada Ismail

For years, the startup scene has been obsessed with unicorns; those rare, billion-dollar companies that symbolize hypergrowth, massive funding rounds, and meteoric success. But as markets mature and the realities of sustainable business sink in, many in the global startup ecosystem are beginning to ask: Do we really need more unicorns, or something entirely different?

Across the Middle East, and particularly in Saudi Arabia, the answer increasingly leans toward a new breed of companies: camels and zebras. These startups may not dazzle with billion-dollar valuations, but they embody traits that could prove far more valuable in the long run: resilience, sustainability, and social purpose.

From Unicorns to Camels and Zebras

The “unicorn” was once the ultimate prize: a company valued at over $1 billion, fueled by venture capital, and celebrated for its speed of growth. But this obsession often came at a cost. Many unicorns prioritized expansion over profitability, and when market conditions shifted, they found themselves struggling to stay afloat.

The global downturn in tech valuations and the funding scene exposed over time how fragile many of these high-growth models were. Meanwhile, startups that operated with leaner models, focused on cash flow, and adapted to uncertainty—the so-called camels—proved more resilient.

The term “camel startup,” first popularized in the Middle East and North Africa, captures a distinctly regional mindset. Just as camels survive harsh desert conditions, these startups are designed to withstand economic volatility. They grow steadily, conserve cash, and adapt intelligently to changing markets.

Zebras, on the other hand, represent a different kind of strength. Coined by a group of women entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley, “zebra startups” pursue profit and purpose simultaneously. They are black and white, symbolizing balance. In emerging economies like Saudi Arabia, this philosophy is resonating strongly, particularly among founders tackling social, environmental, or inclusion-driven challenges.

The Saudi Context: Vision 2030 and the Shift in Startup Mindset

Saudi Arabia’s startup ecosystem is evolving rapidly. Over the past few years, the Kingdom has transformed into one of the MENA region’s fastest-growing entrepreneurship hubs, with total venture funding reaching new highs annually. Yet as the market matures, there’s a visible shift in what founders, investors, and policymakers value.

Under Vision 2030, the Kingdom’s economic diversification plan, sustainability, innovation, and resilience are central pillars. This aligns closely with the camel and zebra mindset. Saudi startups are no longer just chasing valuations; instead, they’re building business models that can endure challenges, create jobs, and contribute to national priorities such as fintech innovation, food security, clean energy, and women’s empowerment.

Venture capital firms, too, are evolving. While early-stage funding remains strong, there’s greater scrutiny over unit economics, profitability, and long-term impact. Investors are asking tougher questions, not only about how fast startups can grow, but how well they can sustain that growth.

Camels in the Desert: Startups That Endure

In Saudi Arabia and the wider Gulf, the camel metaphor feels especially apt. Startups like Jahez, Tamara, and Foodics exemplify the camel mindset. Each grew deliberately, balancing rapid market capture with clear revenue models.

Jahez, for instance, built a profitable food-delivery platform long before its IPO, expanding carefully across the Kingdom instead of burning cash on regional domination. Tamara, one of Saudi’s leading buy-now-pay-later players, achieved remarkable growth but stayed focused on regulatory compliance and operational sustainability—traits that make it more of a camel than a traditional unicorn.

Similarly, Foodics navigated funding rounds and expansion by maintaining profitability as a core discipline. These companies may still reach unicorn valuations, but their success rests on fundamentals rather than hype.

This approach is especially relevant in Saudi Arabia’s macroeconomic environment. While government support and investor interest remain strong, startups that can survive without constant external funding are better positioned for long-term success.

The Rise of Zebras: Purpose Meets Profit

The zebra philosophy—building companies that are both profitable and purposeful—is also taking root in the Kingdom. A growing number of Saudi startups are tackling societal challenges, from financial inclusion to healthcare access, while maintaining sound business models.

Take Nana, which has expanded access to online grocery delivery not just in major cities but in smaller regions, improving supply chain efficiency and consumer convenience. Another example is Labayh. Founded in 2018, Labayh provides mental health and therapy services in Arabic, offering one-on-one therapy sessions, webinars, support groups, and self-assessment tools. It also acquired the UAE meditation app Nafas, adding over 300 audio clips for meditation and stress relief, to expand its wellbeing portfolio. 

These companies demonstrate that profitability and social impact can go hand in hand. They are building trust with customers, generating real economic value, and aligning with national goals such as improving the quality of life and fostering digital innovation.

Why the World Needs More Camels and Zebras

Globally, the call for more sustainable startup models is growing louder. As capital markets tighten, founders can no longer rely solely on fundraising cycles to survive. The camel and zebra frameworks encourage startups to focus on cash discipline, real impact, and steady growth; values that are not only good for business but for economies at large.

In emerging markets like Saudi Arabia, these models carry even more importance. Economies in transformation need startups that can withstand uncertainty, employ locals, and create solutions tailored to regional challenges. Unicorns might bring attention, but camels and zebras bring stability.

Moreover, these models align perfectly with Saudi Arabia’s evolving venture ecosystem. Initiatives by entities such as Monsha’at, SDAIA, RAED Ventures, and STV are increasingly supporting startups that solve real problems rather than chase inflated valuations.

The Investor Perspective: Quality Over Hype

Investors across MENA are beginning to recalibrate their expectations. The new question isn’t “Who will be the next unicorn?” but “Who will survive the next downturn?”

Funds like IMPACT46 and Wa’ed Ventures have emphasized the importance of sustainable scaling and solid governance. International investors entering Saudi Arabia are also adjusting their lenses, preferring startups with clear profitability paths, diversified customer bases, and mission-driven growth.

This shift in mindset could redefine how success is measured in the Saudi startup scene. Valuation alone is no longer enough; longevity, local relevance, and measurable impact are becoming the new metrics of excellence.

A Cultural Shift in Entrepreneurship

The rise of camels and zebras also reflects a deeper cultural transformation among Saudi entrepreneurs. A new generation of founders, many educated abroad but rooted locally, is questioning the “growth at all costs” narrative.

They are more aware of the risks associated with overfunding, more focused on building sustainable ecosystems, and more open to collaboration rather than competition. Many are exploring hybrid funding models—mixing venture capital with grants, government programs, and non-dilutive financing—to maintain control and flexibility.

This mindset aligns with broader societal changes under Vision 2030, which emphasizes entrepreneurship as a driver of economic and social progress, not merely personal wealth.

Toward a More Balanced Future

The world may always celebrate unicorns as they capture imagination and headlines. But in Saudi Arabia’s context, the future likely belongs to the camels and zebras: startups that combine endurance with empathy, profitability with purpose.

As global markets grow more volatile and sustainability becomes a non-negotiable standard, these models will define the next era of entrepreneurship in the Kingdom and beyond.

Saudi Arabia’s journey from an oil-driven economy to a diversified, innovation-powered one will depend not on a few billion-dollar valuations, but on thousands of resilient, responsible, and adaptive startups.

And that’s where the real magic lies, not in chasing mythical creatures, but in nurturing the ones that thrive in the real world.