Noha Gad

The commerce landscape is undergoing a significant transformation in 2025, driven by rapid technological advancements and changing consumer behaviors. Traditional retail and e-commerce are evolving beyond simple online transactions into immersive, engaging, and socially connected experiences. This shift reflects the importance of integrating technology, social media, and sustainability principles into how consumers discover, interact with, and purchase products and services. Thus, new types of commerce have emerged to redefine the relationship between brands and customers, creating innovative avenues for engagement, personalization, and convenience.

One of the most notable trends shaping commerce today is the rise of social commerce that integrates shopping experiences seamlessly into social media platforms. This type of commerce allows brands to engage directly with audiences, showcase products in real time, and drive immediate sales, creating a highly interactive retail experience.

Augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) technologies also revolutionize how consumers shop online by offering immersive and interactive digital experiences. Virtual try-ons, 3D product visualizations, and fully virtual stores enable customers to make informed purchase decisions from the comfort of their homes. 

Additionally, sustainability-driven commerce is another critical and rapidly growing trend that reflects consumers’ increasing preference for eco-friendly, ethical, and transparent shopping practices. Brands that embed sustainability into their business models, from sourcing and packaging to circular economy initiatives, are gaining trust and loyalty in a market where environmental responsibility is no longer optional.

In this blog, we will discover more about key trends that reshape the commerce landscape and how these shifting paradigms highlight a future where commerce is not just transactional, but experiential, interactive, and responsible.

Social commerce 

This term refers to the integration of e-commerce features directly within social media platforms, allowing users to discover, engage with, and purchase products without leaving their favorite applications. This trend gained rapid popularity among consumers who increasingly rely on social networks not only for social interaction but also for product recommendations, reviews, and seamless shopping experiences. 

Social commerce is witnessing significant growth thanks to multiple features, such as shoppable posts, stories, and in-app checkout options that simplify purchasing. These features reduce friction by allowing users to buy products directly through social media feeds, eliminating the need to navigate to external websites. Also, the integration of chatbots and customer service tools within social platforms enhances personalized shopping assistance and builds customer trust.

This type of commerce has a great impact on the way consumers discover brands and makes shopping more interactive and community-driven. For brands, social commerce opens new channels for storytelling, customer feedback, and direct engagement, enabling more personalized marketing strategies that foster loyalty and repeat business.

Live commerce

Live commerce integrates live video streaming with real-time shopping, creating an interactive experience where brands and influencers showcase products directly to an engaged audience. This type leverages the excitement and immediacy of live broadcasts to drive instant purchasing decisions, transforming the traditional sales funnel into a dynamic, entertainment-driven event. 

One of live commerce’s main strengths is the ability to interact with viewers in real time via chat, polls, and question-and-answer sessions. This interaction builds trust, answers consumer questions instantly, and encourages spontaneous purchases by creating a sense of urgency with limited-time offers and exclusive promotions.

This type of commerce enables brands to demonstrate products in action, showcasing features, benefits, and use cases more vividly than traditional online listings. It also features deeper emotional connections with consumers, ultimately reducing product returns and helping consumers make informed decisions.

AR and VR commerce

AR and VR transform online shopping by creating interactive experiences that bridge the gap between physical and digital retail. These technologies enable consumers to visualize products in a realistic context, enhancing confidence in purchase decisions and reducing the sense of uncertainty that often comes with online shopping. One of the biggest challenges in online shopping is the inability to physically experience products before purchase. AR and VR address this by offering personalized shopping experiences tailored to individual preferences and environments.

Sustainability-Driven Commerce

As awareness of climate change and resource depletion grows, shoppers increasingly demand products that minimize harm to the planet and promote fair labor practices. This shift requires businesses to integrate sustainability into every aspect of their operations, from product design and sourcing to packaging and distribution.

Sustainability-driven commerce emphasizes ethical sourcing practices, ensuring fair wages and safe working conditions throughout the supply chain. Brands are adopting blockchain and other technologies to increase transparency and traceability, allowing consumers to verify the origins and lifecycle of products. This transparency fosters trust and accountability, essential for maintaining brand reputation in a socially aware market.

As we navigate the rapidly changing world of commerce in 2025, adaptability and innovation have become essential for businesses aiming to thrive. Today’s consumers expect more than just products; they seek experiences that resonate with their lifestyles, values, and desire for authenticity. This evolution forces brands to reimagine their strategies and focus on creating deeper connections through meaningful engagement, transparency, and responsiveness. As 2025 unfolds, the most successful retailers will be those that master this balance, leveraging technology to connect, entertain, and inspire, while championing sustainability to build lasting trust and loyalty.

Ghada Ismail

When business founders land their first big fundraise, it can feel like unlocking a new level. Suddenly, there’s real capital to hire staff, launch a product, scale marketing, or even set up a new office. But for many, that influx of cash brings its own danger: burn rate anxiety. They spend fast. Too fast. And often, they run out of runway long before meaningful milestones are reached.

This issue isn’t unique to Saudi Arabia; it’s part of the startup playbook globally, but local dynamics, incentives, and pressures make it especially acute in the Kingdom. As Saudi Arabia pushes ahead with its Vision 2030 goals and builds out its tech ecosystem, understanding why many founders accelerate spending too quickly and how this behavior jeopardizes sustainability is vital.

The Investment Landscape

In the early 2020s, Saudi Arabia saw explosive growth in its startup funding ecosystem. According to MAGNiTT, the KSA venture capital landscape posted a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of about 49% between 2020 and 2024. First half of 2025 data shows the momentum continuing: Saudi startups raised about $1.34 billion in H1 2025, contributing some 64% of the total capital flowing into startups across the MENA region

But this surge is not without turbulence. Total Saudi funding dropped sharply in 2024 to around $750 million, a decline of about 44% year-over-year. Investors are more risk-aware, interest rates are up globally, and cheap money is less abundant. Meanwhile, although deal count remains reasonably strong, the size and quality of many early-stage rounds suggest founders are getting just enough fuel but are burning it quickly.

In this setting, founders often feel they must prove growth fast to justify valuations and future rounds. Burn becomes the badge of ambition. But without discipline, ambition can overrun sustainability.

What Drives Impulsive Spending?

Why do many Saudi founders spend fast after their first meaningful raise? Below are several intersecting causes:

1. Pressure to Signal

Securing funding is a public statement. For many founders, especially first-timers, spending on optics—office, branding, public events—becomes a way to validate the raise in the eyes of peers, media, and potential future investors. Luxury offices, PR teams, flashy marketing campaigns: these all send a message that the startup is serious and “playing at a higher level.”

2. Expectations of Growth & Speed

Investors often reward fast growth: user acquisition, market entry, and scaling. Founders internalize that and think in terms of “go big or go home.” Even before product-market fit is fully validated, they chase expansion: hiring aggressively, expanding into new markets, or scaling marketing channels prematurely.

When the macro environment is still rich with investment capital, pressure builds to outpace competition rather than pace builds around fundamentals.

3. Weak Financial Planning & Inexperienced Teams

Many early-stage startups in Saudi Arabia are led by passionate technical or product founders, often with less exposure to finance, unit economics, or cash-flow modelling. Without senior finance leadership or rigorous financial discipline, projections are optimistic and buffers are small.

They may underestimate costs (salaries, infrastructure, marketing), overestimate revenue growth, and mispredict customer acquisition cost (CAC) vs. lifetime value (LTV). This disconnect leads to spending that looks reasonable in plan, but in reality is unsustainable.

4. Easy Access to Capital + Push for Scale

Part of the Vision 2030 strategy has been opening up capital pools; government funds, accelerators, and VC firms are more active, and international investors are watching Saudi startups closely. That access encourages founders to spend, expecting that more capital will always come.

Alongside this, there’s a bias toward scaling up: bigger teams, more features, broader geographic footprint. Sometimes, less attention is given to profitability or even consistency of revenue. The “growth at all costs” mindset kicks in, especially when valuations are rising and comparisons with peers matter.

5. External Economic Pressures

Global economic tailwinds (inflation, supply chain shocks, rising costs) hit startups hard. In Saudi Arabia, rising operational costs—office rent, recruiting expensive talent, marketing—can strain budgets. Also, when interest rates rise and investor risk aversion increases, the pricing of capital and access to follow-on funding become less certain.

Consequences of High Burn: Why the Anxiety is Justified

Why is this urgent? What happens when burn rate exceeds sustainable levels?

1. Runway Depletion & Forced Cost Cuts
   If spending burns through capital too quickly, companies hit a cliff: layoffs, pivoting away from strategic priorities, or scaling back product features. These sudden adjustments damage morale, user trust, and long-term trajectory.
2. Valuation Pressure and Down Rounds
   Over-spending without matched growth can lead to disappointing metrics at the next fundraise. If performance lags expectations (users, revenue, retention), investors may value the startup lower than its previous round, causing down rounds. These dilute founder equity and harm investor confidence.
3. Investor Fatigue & Reputation Risk
   If founders repeatedly overspend or fail to show progress, local investors may begin to demand more oversight, impose stricter terms, or shy away from first-time founders. For the broader ecosystem, bad stories reduce willingness among limited partners (LPs) to invest in early-stage funds or raise their standards, making life harder for all.

Case Study: TradeHub—Choosing Discipline Over Runway

When entrepreneur Ahmed Jaber launched TradeHub in late 2023, investor enthusiasm was immediate. The cross-border B2B marketplace raised $1.4 million in pre-seed funding within just two months in a textbook early-stage win.

But funding didn’t translate into product-market fit. After a pivot to a SaaS sales-automation tool, Jaber and his team still couldn’t lock onto a model that customers truly needed. Despite having capital left in the bank, they made the rare decision to shut down the company and return remaining funds to investors.

Jaber later summed up the move: “Knowing when to stop is as important as knowing when to continue.”

For Saudi founders, the TradeHub story is a sharp counterpoint to the burn-rate spiral. Many startups, flush with first-round cash, rush into heavy hiring, marketing splurges, and premature scaling, only to find that revenue can’t keep pace. Jaber’s choice to preserve capital and reputation, rather than spend in hope of a breakthrough, illustrates that capital is a tool, not a trophy.

How Founders Can Shift to Balance

It’s not that spending is bad; it’s how and when you spend that counts. Here are some strategies Saudi founders can adopt to manage burn more intelligently.

A. Build Financial Discipline Early

• Hire or consult finance leadership early. A CFO or financial controller, even part-time or advisory, helps with realistic budgeting, forecasting, and monitoring cash flow.
• Scenario planning: run models for “best case,” “moderate case,” and “worst case” to see how burn looks under different growth assumptions (sales, retention, cost inflation).
• Focus on unit economics: customer acquisition cost (CAC), lifetime value (LTV), retention rates. If you have to spend $100 acquiring a user who gives $10 over their lifetime, growth through spending doesn’t scale well.

B. Stage Spending According to Milestones

• Prioritize capital allocation to high-leverage activities first: product development, core hiring (engineering, operations), modest marketing to validate channels.
• Delay expensive hires, extravagant offices, or wide regional expansion until product-market fit and stable revenue streams are proven.
• Let metrics (growth, retention, margins) guide the next spending round, not promises or projections alone.

C. Align with Investors on Realistic Metrics

• Be explicit in your pitch and early communications about what growth metrics matter vs which are vanity metrics.
• Set mutually agreed KPIs: monthly recurring revenue, churn, gross margin, profit vs. cost reductions, etc.
• Include milestones for fundraising rounds tied to performance (e.g., reaching X revenue, Y retention, or proof of unit economics), to ensure the next funding is obtained on solid footing.

D. Use Lean and Localized Strategies

• Use digital channels efficiently—invest in data to know which campaigns actually convert, where costs are sustainable.
• Wherever possible, outsource or use contractors/hybrid remote teams to avoid large fixed costs in early stages.
• Leverage local infrastructure and partnerships rather than immediately seeking costly global expansion.

E. Ecosystem Support and Shared Learning

• Founders can benefit from local incubators/accelerators that offer CFO-as-a-service or financial advisory, allowing even early-stage companies to access better financial practices without hiring full senior leadership.
• Build networks of peer founders to share lessons on what worked—and what drained runway.
• Investors can play a role: some are moving towards more hands-on support. If VCs insist on aggressive marketing spend or expansion, they share responsibility for the consequences.

Conclusion: From Burn Rate Anxiety to Sustainable Ambition

Saudi Arabia stands at a crossroads in its startup journey. The Kingdom has done much right: launching public funds, promoting entrepreneurship, building infrastructure, and attracting global capital. The momentum is there. But momentum isn’t everything. Without financial prudence, even well-funded startups risk burning out fast—losing talent, investor trust, and ultimately, potential.

Founders who learn to balance ambition with discipline—who spend with intent rather than spectacle—will likely emerge as the durable success stories. For Saudi Arabia’s tech ecosystem to deliver on its promise under Vision 2030, that shift—from burn to balance—must come sooner rather than later.

Noha Gad

Modern commerce is witnessing a significant transformation triggered by rapid developments in technology. The traditional retail landscape, which was centered on physical stores and direct customer interactions, is evolving into a digitally interconnected ecosystem. This change was driven by emerging technologies that enhance how products are sold and redefine the overall customer experience and operational efficiency. 

Technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), virtual reality (VR), and augmented reality (AR) emerged as key enablers that revolutionize each aspect of modern commerce. Businesses increasingly utilize cutting-edge tools to understand and anticipate customer needs, tailor offerings, and create more engaging shopping environments. AI-driven analytics allow retailers to handle vast amounts of data, providing insights that help optimize product assortments, pricing strategies, and personalized marketing.

On the other side, VR and AR fill the gap between digital and physical worlds, offering immersive and interactive experiences for customers, ultimately enhancing logistical operations by improving warehouse management, staff training, and real-time problem-solving.

As modern commerce continues to evolve, organizations embracing these technologies are well-positioned to meet rising consumer expectations and adapt to the fast-changing market landscape effectively. Thus, understanding the importance of this technological evolution is essential for businesses to remain competitive

How AI transforms modern commerce

AI has become a cornerstone of innovation in modern commerce, driving significant improvements across customer engagement, inventory management, and operational efficiency.

-Personalization and customer insights. AI uses machine learning algorithms to analyze customer data, such as browsing behavior, purchase history, and preferences. This enables businesses to deliver personalized product recommendations and marketing messages in real time, enhancing customer satisfaction and boosting conversion rates.

-Inventory management and forecasting demand. AI models can optimize inventory levels by processing large datasets on sales trends, seasonality, and external market factors. This reduces risks of overstock or stockouts, cutting costs related to excess inventory and lost sales opportunities

-Customer experience enhancement.  AI-powered chatbots and virtual assistants provide 24/7 customer support by handling routine inquiries, guiding shoppers through product selections, and resolving common issues quickly. This ultimately contributes to enhancing customer experience and reducing response time, thereby enabling human agents to focus on more complex problems. 

-Fraud detection. AI models detect unusual patterns and potential fraud in real time by analyzing transaction data and user behavior. This capability enhances the security of digital payments and protects both merchants and customers from cyber threats.   

Using VR and AR to enhance the shopping experience 

VR and AR are transforming the shopping experience as they create immersive environments that engage customers in ways traditional retail cannot. For instance, virtual stores and showrooms allow shoppers to explore products in a fully digital space without leaving their homes. Both innovations enable virtual product try-ons and demonstrations, especially valuable in sectors like fashion, furniture, and automotive.

Additionally, VR and AR are used for remote product training and retail staff education. Retailers can simulate real-world scenarios to train employees on product knowledge, customer interaction, and store layout without disrupting physical store operations. This method improves staff preparedness and service quality, directly benefiting the shopping experience.

These innovative technologies also fill the gap between physical and online retail, making shopping more interactive, engaging, and convenient in the modern commerce landscape. They enable interactive marketing campaigns and promotions that engage customers in innovative ways.

The integration of AI, VR, and AR technologies in modern commerce has a significant impact on supply chains and logistics as they can optimize inventory and deliveries, enhance warehouse and fulfilment efficiency, promote logistics planning, and improve risk management. 

Finally, these emerging technologies are fundamentally reshaping the landscape of modern commerce, creating opportunities for businesses to innovate and deliver exceptional customer experiences. 

Beyond customer interaction, they revolutionize the operational backbone of commerce by optimizing supply chains and logistics. AI-driven analytics improve forecasting and inventory control, AR guides warehouse staff to operate more efficiently, and VR simulations help plan resilient delivery routes and workflows. Together, these innovations not only reduce costs but also enhance speed, accuracy, and flexibility in meeting consumers’ growing demands.

Looking ahead, the continued convergence of AI, VR, and AR is expected to unlock more transformative possibilities that will redefine how people discover, interact with, and purchase products.

Noha Gad

In today’s world, the way people manage money and investments not only impacts financial returns but also has profound effects on the environment and society. Sustainable finance is an approach that recognizes this connection by integrating environmental, social, and governance (ESG) standards into financial decisions. 

The ESG standards offer a framework for evaluating how companies and investments perform in these critical areas: environmental responsibility, social impact, and governance transparency. They help investors understand the broader risks and opportunities that traditional financial metrics might miss.

Sustainable finance plays a pivotal role in advancing ESG principles by directing capital toward initiatives that promote long-term sustainability and responsible growth. This approach is crucial for addressing global challenges, notably climate change and social inequality.

Green finance, which is a key component of sustainable finance, focuses specifically on funding environmentally beneficial projects, including investments in renewable energy, energy efficiency, pollution control, water management, and biodiversity preservation. Instruments such as green bonds and sustainability-linked loans are common tools used to mobilize capital for these purposes.

Ultimately, sustainable and green finance aim to rebuild financial systems to serve society and the planet in a better way, directing investments into activities that align with sustainability goals and support the transition to a low-carbon, equitable economy.

How does sustainable and green finance support 3?

Integrating ESG criteria into investment and financing decisions ensures that the capital is allocated to projects and companies that demonstrate responsible practices aligned with ESG principles. This integration helps drive positive environmental outcomes, social inclusion, and transparent governance. For instance, green finance channels funds into renewable energy, energy efficiency, and ecosystem conservation projects that directly address the environmental goals of ESG.

Financial instruments like green bonds and ESG-linked loans were designed to link funding conditions to ESG performance, incentivizing companies to improve their sustainability practices.

Benefits of integrating sustainable finance with ESG standards

Integrating sustainable finance with ESG standards brings significant benefits to businesses, investors, and society. This includes: 

*Lower operational costs and improved efficiency.

*Enhanced risk management.

*High stock market performance.

*Strong employee engagement.

*Improved brand reputation.

*Compliance with regulations.

Although the integration of sustainable finance into ESG standards offers various advantages, it faces different challenges, notably:

• Changing regulatory landscape: Financial institutions face a rapidly shifting regulatory environment with new rules emerging globally. Navigating these evolving requirements demands agility and continuous adaptation.
• Risk of greenwashing: misleading sustainability claims, known as greenwashing, impose major challenges that affect transparency and lead to mislabeling of funds as sustainable without sufficient backing.
• Fragmented standards: The absence of globally accepted ESG and green finance standards creates confusion and complicates compliance.
• High compliance costs: Meeting enhanced ESG disclosure requirements can be expensive and resource-intensive, particularly for smaller firms.
• Data quality and transparency issues: Reliable and standardized ESG data remain rare. This makes it difficult for investors to assess sustainability credibly.

Sustainable and green finance are expected to witness significant growth in the future, triggered by evolving regulatory frameworks and innovation. The global sustainable finance market is projected to expand rapidly, with assets under management (AUM) anticipated to rise substantially in the next few years. This growth will be triggered by increasing investor demand for ESG-aligned products and the widespread awareness of the importance of integrating sustainability for long-term financial performance and risk management.

Innovative financial instruments, such as sustainability-linked loans, green bonds, climate-linked derivatives, and voluntary carbon credits, are emerging to realize various sustainability goals. Technology is playing a transformative role, with advances in artificial intelligence and blockchain enhancing transparency, data accuracy, and efficiency in ESG reporting and sustainable asset issuance.

Overall, the sustainable finance ecosystem is expected to become more advanced and integrated, driving a global transition toward a resilient, low-carbon, and equitable economy. Strategic adaptation to these trends will be pivotal for investors, companies, and policymakers aiming to capitalize on opportunities while addressing pressing environmental and social challenges.

Shaimaa Ibrahim 

As Saudi Arabia’s food technology sector continues to evolve at a rapid pace, Calo has emerged as a leading success story. The company has effectively combined innovation with nutrition, redefining the way personalized, ready-to-eat meals are delivered and consumed.

Calo was founded with a clear mission: to make healthy living simpler. By leveraging artificial intelligence and advanced supply chain systems, the company offers daily, customized meals tailored to individual needs. What started as a bold idea in the Kingdom has grown into a fast-scaling regional player, now expanding into major European markets.

The company recently secured $64 million in a significant funding round, marking a key milestone in its growth. This was followed by the acquisition of two well-known UK-based health food brands, highlighting Calo’s global ambitions. With plans to list on the Saudi stock exchange, the company is well positioned to accelerate its international expansion.

In this exclusive interview, Sharikat Mubasher speaks with Ahmed Al Rawi, Co-founder and CEO of Calo, about the company’s origin, the challenges it has faced, and its long-term vision. He also offers insights into the current state of the food tech sector in Saudi Arabia and the key opportunities shaping innovation and entrepreneurship in this dynamic industry.

Can you tell us about the inception of Calo in the Saudi market and the founding vision that has driven the company’s journey since its launch?

Calo was born out of a simple observation: people want to eat healthy and personalized meals, but most don’t have the time or energy to prepare them daily. Our founding vision was clear — to make healthy easy. We launched in Saudi Arabia because we believed the Kingdom would be an ideal environment to grow this model, given the increasing awareness around health and fitness. From day one, our focus has been on personalization powered by technology and building a vertically integrated model that delivers a world-class experience starting from Riyadh.

Following your successful $64 million funding round, how does Calo plan to deploy this capital to diversify its product portfolio and accelerate its growth trajectory?

We are humbled by the strong investor interest in our Series B extension. This capital will be deployed across three main levers:

• Product expansion: introducing new segments such as athlete-focused macro personalization, premium “Chef’s Picks,” and a healthy CPG line.
• Geographic scaling: expanding both within Saudi Arabia and internationally, including our recent entry into the UK and Oman.
• Innovation and AI: investing in personalization technology and AI-driven customer experiences to ensure that the customer remains at the heart of everything we do.

What are the key markets in which you operate, and what is the current size of Calo’s customer base? How is this customer base distributed geographically?

Calo currently operates in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, and the UK, with a recent launch in Oman where over 10,000 customers are already on the waiting list. Across these markets, we now serve hundreds of thousands of customers, with Saudi Arabia remaining our largest market.

How many retail outlets does Calo currently operate, and what are your near-term plans for opening new locations?

We now operate over 10 retail outlets across the GCC, including hospital-based locations, and we are committed to opening new sites every quarter. Our strategy is to complement our digital subscription model with physical locations that increase accessibility, enhance brand visibility, and allow for new customer touchpoints.

Calo reported over 50% year-on-year growth in the first half of 2025. What were the primary drivers behind this impressive performance, and how do you intend to sustain this momentum for the rest of the year?

Our growth has been driven by three main factors:

1. Segment diversification — expanding our offerings to athletes, lifestyle-focused customers, and clean-eating enthusiasts.
2. Localization — appointing General Managers in each market, giving us deeper customer understanding and stronger execution.
3. Brand strength — our positioning as the go-to personalized meal subscription in the region continues to build trust and loyalty.

Looking ahead, we will continue to double down on customer experience, expand our footprint, and embed personalization even more deeply into every interaction.

You recently acquired leading UK food brands such as Fresh Fitness Food and Detox Kitchen. What strategic goals do these acquisitions aim to achieve, and how will they strengthen Calo’s presence in the UK market?

Our acquisitions of Fresh Fitness Food and Detox Kitchen were strategic moves to accelerate our UK entry. Both brands came with strong teams, supply chains, and customer trust. The integration allowed us to bring Calo’s operational excellence and technology while respecting the DNA that made these brands successful. This dual approach strengthens our presence in the UK by combining local expertise with Calo’s mission and innovation.

What role do you believe AI plays in transforming the food technology industry, and how is Calo leveraging this technology to enhance its services and improve the customer experience?

AI is redefining what personalization means in food. At Calo, we are piloting Calo Black, an AI-powered private chef experience that uses natural conversation to capture nuanced preferences and generate personalized daily menus. Beyond the customer interface, AI is embedded across our workflows — from menu optimization to supply chain efficiency — making us faster, leaner, and more customer-centric. Ultimately, AI will help us bring our mission of “making healthy easy” to life at scale.

What are Calo’s plans for further geographic expansion within Saudi Arabia and internationally? Are there any upcoming partnerships or product launches you can disclose?

In Saudi Arabia, we continue to deepen our footprint with new retail outlets and partnerships such as our collaboration with Armah Sports. Internationally, we are scaling operations in the UK, Oman, and evaluating other markets where we see strong demand. On the product side, we are preparing to launch our own line of healthy CPG products as well as expanding into on-demand delivery to meet customers across more occasions.

As Calo prepares for its public listing on the Saudi stock exchange, what are the key objectives of this move, and how will it support the company’s future growth and expansion?

Our planned IPO is an important milestone. It reflects our ambition to cement Calo as one of the Kingdom’s leading consumer-tech success stories while giving us access to capital markets to fuel further global expansion. Beyond financial growth, a public listing will deepen our transparency, governance, and ability to attract top talent as we scale globally.

How do you evaluate the current state of the food tech sector in Saudi Arabia? What major opportunities do you see, and what advice would you offer to entrepreneurs looking to enter this space?

Saudi Arabia is one of the most exciting markets globally for foodtech. Rising health awareness, strong digital adoption, and government support for innovation create immense opportunities. For entrepreneurs, my advice is simple:

• Obsess over the customer — build around real needs, not assumptions.
• Invest in local expertise — talent that understands the culture and customer is your greatest asset.
• Balance speed with sustainability — rapid growth is exciting, but thoughtful execution builds long-term success.

 Above all, never lose sight of your core mission. Expansion and innovation should strengthen your identity, not dilute it.


 

Ghada Ismail

In the startup scene, raising money is rarely a straight line. Founders often find themselves between major funding milestones, needing extra capital to keep moving forward. This is where two financing tools come in: the bridge round and the extension round. While they sound similar, each serves a distinct purpose and is applied differently depending on the company’s stage and needs.

What is a Bridge Round?

A bridge round is exactly what it sounds like: a bridge. It’s temporary funding that helps a startup “cross over” to its next big milestone. For example, a startup might raise a bridge round to extend its runway until it can close a larger Series A or Series B.

These rounds often come from existing investors, who already believe in the company and want to protect their earlier investment. Sometimes, bridge rounds are structured as convertible notes or SAFE agreements, which postpone the valuation discussion until the next major funding event.

In the MENA region, several startups have turned to bridge rounds. A notable example is Kashat, the Cairo-based fintech offering nano-loans to Egypt’s unbanked population. In 2021, the startup raised $1.75 million in bridge financing, providing the short-term capital it needed to further develop its platform and expand operations before securing larger rounds. This illustrates how bridge funding can give startups in emerging markets the breathing space to strengthen their fundamentals while preparing for the next stage of growth.

What is an Extension Round?

An extension round, by contrast, is not about survival; it’s rather about momentum. In this case, a company has already raised a round, say a Series A, but wants to bring in more capital under the same terms. Instead of rushing into a higher-priced Series B, the startup simply extends its existing round, allowing new or existing investors to participate without changing the valuation.

Extensions are particularly useful when the company is performing well and sees fresh opportunities, but the timing isn’t right for a new fundraising milestone. 

For example, UAE-based cloud kitchen giant Kitopi reportedly tapped into extension rounds in its growth phase, bringing in extra firepower from new investors while keeping its valuation steady until it was ready for a much larger jump. In mid-2021, Kitopi closed a $415 million Series C funding round, led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2 with participation from other investors. Later that year—or into early 2022—the company raised an additional $300 million as a Series C extension, bringing the total size of the funding round to approximately $715 million and lifting its valuation to about $1.55 billion.

How Founders Decide Between the Two

So how does a founder know which path makes more sense—bridge or extension? It often comes down to intent.

• If the company is under pressure—perhaps revenue growth slowed, or the market turned tough—a bridge round provides short-term relief until conditions improve.
• If the company is doing well but wants to capitalize on opportunities before the next major raise, an extension round allows for flexibility without the burden of a new valuation.

Both tools have risks. A bridge round can signal distress if not managed carefully, while an extension round could dilute founders more than they’d like. Yet, when used strategically, both can be powerful instruments to keep momentum alive.

Why It Matters in MENA

The startup ecosystem in the Middle East and North Africa is still maturing. Many companies operate in fast-changing regulatory environments and fragmented markets. That means fundraising is not always as predictable as in Silicon Valley.

Bridge and extension rounds offer founders flexibility in navigating this landscape. They buy time, bring in the right investors, and allow companies to align growth with the realities of local markets. As more MENA startups scale beyond their home countries, we’re likely to see these tools used more frequently.

Wrapping Things Up…

For founders in Saudi Arabia and the broader region, the lesson is clear: not every funding story has to fit neatly into the Seed–Series A–Series B path. Sometimes, it’s about building the right bridge or extending what’s already working.

Investors, too, are becoming more open to these structures as they realize the unique challenges startups face in this region. Whether it’s a Saudi fintech waiting on central bank licensing or an Egyptian logistics startup expanding to Africa, bridge and extension rounds are proving to be valuable stopgaps that help startups stay on track.

In the end, the key is transparency. Founders should communicate clearly why they’re raising a bridge or extension, what the money will achieve, and how it sets the stage for the next big leap. Done right, these rounds are not a detour; they’re part of the journey.

Ghada Ismail

Lean Technologies has become one of the standout players in MENA’s fintech space, building the infrastructure that helps businesses offer modern financial services. With its latest funding round, the company is entering a new chapter, focused on expanding its reach, deepening partnerships, and shaping the region’s Open Finance future.

In this interview, Mehdi Tazi, Chief Operating Officer at Lean, shares with Sharikat Mubasher what the company’s latest milestone means for its next phase, how it’s supporting everyone from early-stage startups to large enterprises, and why MENA’s fintech landscape is capturing global attention.

1. Lean’s recent $67.5 million Series B is one of the largest fintech raises in the region. What does this milestone represent for the company’s next phase?

It marks a significant step forward in our journey. We’ve spent the last few years building critical infrastructure, earning trust, and laying the groundwork for Open Finance in the region. With this raise, we’re accelerating product development, expanding regional coverage, and helping more businesses embed modern financial services into their platforms. We’re here to lead this next chapter, responsibly and at scale.

When we started Lean 5 years ago, we were struck by the lack of fintech penetration in the Middle East and inspired by the immense potential to create a unified fintech infrastructure platform that can reduce barriers to entry. We aspired to make financial data sharing seamless and accessible, while enabling instant, low-cost payments. Today, we have connected over one million user accounts and processed more than $2 billion in transactions and thanks to the support of forward-thinking regulators in the UAE and KSA, the region is leading the way with open banking standards that unlock amazing new possibilities.

2. What makes fintech in the MENA region an attractive investment opportunity for leading investors like Sequoia and General Catalyst, and what does their involvement say about the region’s venture capital landscape?

Fintech in MENA is evolving quickly and the fundamentals are stronger than ever. In Saudi Arabia, the number of licensed fintechs has grown from 89 in 2022 to over 200 by mid-2024. In the UAE, fintech accounted for nearly 40% of all venture funding in H1 2024, making it the region’s most heavily backed sector. That kind of year-on-year growth reflects a market that’s no longer catching up, it’s building from the ground up.

At the same time, the underlying infrastructure hasn’t kept pace. Demand for modern financial experiences is rising, but legacy systems are still holding many businesses back. That’s where Lean comes in, and why investors like Sequoia, General Catalyst, and Bain Capital are here.

Their involvement isn’t just a vote of confidence in Lean. It signals that global investors see MENA as one of the few regions where foundational fintech infrastructure is still being built, where companies can define the rails, not just build on top of them. That’s the opportunity, and that’s the bet.

3. How does Lean’s API platform reduce barriers to entry for fintech founders across MENA?

Historically, founders in MENA had to navigate months of bank integrations and fragmented infrastructure before launching a product. Lean removes that friction. With one secure API, businesses can access real-time bank payments and financial data without compromising on compliance or user trust.

Careem moved from costly card payments to seamless A2A bank transfers using our infrastructure. DAMAC sped up its payment processing by 24x, reducing wait times from hours to minutes to improve its collections process.

We are not just providing APIs. We are removing technical and regulatory barriers so that fintech teams can build meaningful solutions that help people manage money more efficiently and transparently.

4. How do you adapt your offering for large enterprises versus emerging fintechs?

At Lean, we start with the same powerful platform, but we shape how we deliver it around the needs of each customer.

Emerging fintechs are often looking to move quickly and experiment. They value speed, flexibility and a partner who can help them build fast. Larger enterprises, on the other hand, look for depth. They need systems that are secure, scalable and able to work smoothly within their existing set-up.

What makes the real difference is not just the technology, but the people behind it. We do not hand over a product and step away. Our teams work closely with our customers, helping them integrate the platform, adapt workflows, and get real value from day one. We bring the care and attention you would expect from a trusted partner, not just a provider.

This hands-on approach means our customers never feel left on their own. Whether it is a fintech launching something new or a major enterprise rolling out across regions, we are right there with them, making sure the solution fits, performs and grows with them.

Everything we do is shaped by one belief - when our customers succeed, so do we.

5. You’ve now processed over $2 billion in transactions through your platform. What operational strengths or strategic decisions helped you achieve that scale?

From day one, we focused on building payment infrastructure that solves real business problems; instant settlement, lower fees, and improved reliability, making payments viable at scale. While some businesses accepted bank payments, they faced slow, non-instant payments and spent hours on reconciliation, limiting their ability to scale. Others needed instant payment options but lacked a reliable alternative to costly card payments.

Our first priority was to digitize and streamline this flow, replacing legacy systems with an account-to-account payment experience that is instant, reliable and cost-effective. This was not just about improving efficiency. It was about creating a genuine alternative to legacy payment systems. At the same time, we invested in reliability, compliance and transparency so our clients could scale on a platform built for long-term trust. This focus on practical value and operational resilience is what enabled us to reach more than $2 billion in transaction volume. More importantly, it’s what allows our clients to scale with confidence.

6. With more than a million accounts connected via secure APIs, what does this tell us about user trust and the adoption of financial connectivity in MENA?

It tells us that users are ready, as long as the experience is built the right way.

Connecting a financial account is a high-trust action. We have spent years refining our consent flows, strengthening our infrastructure, and working closely with regulators to make that process as seamless, secure and transparent as possible.

The result is clear. More than one million accounts have been connected through Lean. That shows people are open to trying new financial experiences when the value is obvious and the infrastructure feels trustworthy.

We are also seeing strong engagement with our clients. For example, more than 50% of users on platforms like Sarwa, the all-in-one investment platform, choose to pay via Lean. That level of share of wallet shows not just adoption, but real trust and stickiness.

And it goes beyond convenience. For some of our clients, Lean is helping to drive genuine financial inclusion. Many expats arrive in the region with little or no credit history. Because we can help underwrite them using bank data, they can now access financial services they might have struggled to get before. We have seen this impact within our own team, where access to financial services has transformed individual lives. It is not just meaningful, it is personal, and it matters.

7. Lean supports over 300 companies across sectors, from ride-hailing to e-commerce and real estate. How are you tailoring your offering to serve such a broad client base?

We take a customer-first approach. Our strength lies in understanding the pain points and building infrastructure that solves them. Whether it is a digital wallet, a ride-hailing app or a property developer, we begin by focusing on the core problems rather than promoting product features.

Let's take Tabby as an example. They needed a better way to approve users with limited credit history. Credit bureau data wasn’t cutting it, and manual uploads were too slow. With Lean, they connected directly to customers’ bank data, improving approval rates by 8.9%, unlocking 50% more high-risk users, and reducing default risk by 4x.

e& money was dealing with high card fees and poor payment conversion. We helped them move to instant A2A payments, eliminating the card layer, saving $800,000 a year, and doubling customer return rates.

Tawuniya’s pain was operational. Claims were delayed due to manual verification and misrouted disbursements. We automated the process end-to-end, cut disbursement time by 50%, and helped them reach a 94.8% transaction success rate.

These outcomes are the result of targeted infrastructure solving real business problems in a scalable, measurable way.

8. What advice would you offer to startup teams building products in heavily regulated spaces like financial infrastructure?

Regulation is not an obstacle. It is part of the product. In a space like ours, trust and compliance are fundamental. My advice is to build for scale from day one. That means getting the right controls in place early, staying close to regulators, and understanding the operational implications of every decision you make. Moving fast is important, but moving responsibly is what keeps you in the game long-term.

9. What strategic priorities will define Lean’s next phase of growth?

We’re focused on three things: expanding our payments and data infrastructure, deepening adoption across key sectors, and supporting the market as Open Finance comes into shape.

The opportunity is significant. In MENA alone, the Arab Monetary Fund projects Open Finance to grow from $1.65 billion in 2022 to nearly $12 billion by 2027. As countries like the UAE and KSA move from policy to implementation, businesses are looking for partners who can help them adapt and build.

We’ve spent the past five years doing exactly that: building trusted infrastructure, integrating with banks, and working closely with regulators. Today, we’re helping over 300 enterprise clients like Careem, DAMAC, and e& money go live with real-time payments, account verification, and secure data access.

With the growing momentum, we’re well positioned to lead this next phase and scale impact across the region.

Kholoud Hussein 

In a rapidly digitizing world, the demand for powerful, secure, and sustainable AI infrastructure is no longer optional—it’s essential. OmniOps, founded in 2024, has quickly emerged as a national pioneer in this space, becoming Saudi Arabia’s first dedicated AI infrastructure technologies provider. The company has recently secured SAR 30 million in funding to accelerate the deployment of sovereign AI inference clusters and strengthen its R&D capabilities. Positioned at the intersection of innovation, compliance, and sustainability, OmniOps is tackling some of the most pressing challenges faced by enterprises and government institutions in their AI transformation journeys.

What sets OmniOps apart is its commitment to building local, production-grade infrastructure tailored to the Kingdom’s regulatory and operational needs. With a client base already including Saudia Airlines and CNTXT, and strategic partnerships with global tech giants like NVIDIA and Google Cloud, OmniOps is well on its way to becoming a cornerstone of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 and its National Strategy for Data and AI. In an exclusive interview with Sharikat Mubasher, Mohammed Altassan, CEO of OmniOps, shares how the company is balancing high performance with sustainability, navigating regulatory frameworks, addressing talent gaps, and charting a course for regional and international growth.

OmniOps recently closed a funding round of SAR 30 million. What are the core goals behind this raise, and how do you plan to allocate the investment to scale your operations?

This funding round is focused on accelerating the deployment of our sovereign AI inference clusters across the Kingdom and investing in our next-generation AI inference software layer. The capital will be allocated toward expanding our infrastructure footprint, enhancing our R&D capabilities, particularly around sustainable AI Infrastructure architecture, and scaling our engineering team to support growing demand across sectors such as aviation, finance, and government. 

We're also investing in client enablement and partnerships to ensure our customers can unlock real-world value from our infrastructure.

Founded in 2024 as Saudi Arabia’s first AI infrastructure technologies provider, what market gap did you identify that led to the creation of OmniOps?

We identified a critical gap in sovereign AI infrastructure. While demand for AI solutions is rising across Saudi Arabia, enterprises lacked access to high-performance, locally hosted infrastructure that complied with data residency requirements. Most available options were either international clouds with limited regional presence or generic infrastructure not optimized for AI workloads. To add to that, public and private institutions are adopting artificial intelligence at a phenomenal rate which is creating a heavy load on their infrastructure and resources. 

OmniOps was created to address this, offering Saudi-built, production-grade infrastructure optimized for AI inference and compliant with local regulations.

Your focus on building sustainable AI infrastructure is a key differentiator. How do your solutions balance energy efficiency with computing power at scale?

We’ve developed proprietary GPU overbooking methods that enable us to achieve a 50% reduction in power consumption while boosting inference efficiency by up to 14 times. This means we can offer clients the computational performance they need for AI workloads, without the environmental and operational costs traditionally associated with AI Infrastructure. Our clusters are designed to be both high-performance and energy-conscious, enabling sustainable AI development at scale.

One of your strategic pillars is developing sovereign AI inference clusters that meet local compliance standards. How do you ensure regulatory alignment without compromising on technical performance?

Compliance is integrated into our infrastructure by design from day one. We help clients store their data on-premises (on-prem), in the cloud, or in a hybrid cloud set up as is needed for compliance and best performance. At the same time, we’ve built a software and hardware stack that delivers enterprise-grade performance, with no trade-off on speed or scalability. Our regulatory alignment is not a limitation—it’s a strength that allows us to serve sectors with high compliance demands, such as healthcare, finance, and aviation.

You’ve partnered with global tech leaders such as NVIDIA, Google Cloud, and IBM. How do these partnerships enhance your technical capabilities and support your long-term product vision?

These companies provide the critical infrastructure that powers most essential sectors globally. OmniOps builds upon and collaborates with their foundational technologies to create our specialized solutions. This integration allows us to optimize our platform for the latest advancements, ensuring our Inference Optimizer delivers maximum performance gains. By working closely with these technology leaders, we enhance Saudi organizations' access to world-class AI infrastructure while maintaining compatibility with global standards.

With clients like Saudia Airlines and CNTXT already on board, which additional industries are you targeting? How do you tailor your infrastructure solutions to meet the specific demands of different sectors?

Our approach begins with understanding each sector's unique challenges, regulatory requirements, and AI maturity. For example, in education, we are designing an infrastructure that supports personalized learning environments that can handle the increasing adoption of AI, while ensuring student data privacy and security. This sector-specific approach allows Saudi organizations to implement AI that directly addresses their unique operational needs while maximizing return on infrastructure investments.

How does OmniOps’ strategy align with Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 and the National Strategy for Data and AI, particularly regarding digital sovereignty and local content development?

OmniOps is directly aligned with Vision 2030’s goals of building a digital economy rooted in local innovation. Our sovereign AI infrastructure advances the Kingdom’s digital sovereignty by ensuring that critical data and models remain within national borders. We also contribute to local content development by hiring and training Saudi talent, partnering with local universities, and investing in R&D initiatives that position the Kingdom as a leader in AI infrastructure.

What are the main challenges you face in building AI infrastructure in the Kingdom, and how are you addressing those hurdles—whether technical, regulatory, or talent-related?

One of the main challenges is the availability of specialized AI infrastructure talent, which is why we invest heavily in training and upskilling. We also navigate evolving regulatory frameworks by working closely with relevant authorities to ensure full compliance while advocating for innovation-friendly policies. On the technical side, the biggest hurdle is delivering global-level performance locally, and our R&D focus ensures we meet and exceed those standards.

Are there plans for regional or global expansion? If so, which markets are you prioritizing, and what’s your approach to entering them?

OmniOps is actively forming strategic partnerships with leading players in the AI infrastructure space. Several of these partners are exploring Saudi Arabia as a key market and view OmniOps as their conduit for entry and expansion in the region. In parallel, these relationships are creating reciprocal opportunities for OmniOps to establish a presence in the U.S. market through their networks and infrastructure.

We are also targeting the European market, with a strategic entry point through our Moroccan office. Our approach focuses on identifying and aligning with the right partners to accelerate market access and regional growth across the continent. 

Finally, what is your long-term vision for OmniOps? How do you plan to maintain leadership in the evolving landscape of AI infrastructure across Saudi Arabia and beyond?

Our vision is to become the foundational layer of AI infrastructure across the region—empowering enterprises and governments to build and scale intelligent applications securely and sustainably. We’ll maintain leadership by continuing to innovate in energy-efficient AI infrastructure, expanding our AI inferencing, and growing a strong ecosystem of local talent and strategic partners. Ultimately, we aim to help shape a future where Saudi Arabia is not just a consumer of AI but a global contributor to its development.

In conclusion, OmniOps isn’t just building AI infrastructure—it’s laying the groundwork for Saudi Arabia’s digital sovereignty, global competitiveness, and future leadership in artificial intelligence. By marrying technical performance with regulatory compliance, and innovation with sustainability, the company is aligning itself perfectly with the core tenets of Vision 2030. Its sector-specific solutions, talent development initiatives, and plans for global expansion demonstrate a comprehensive strategy to not only support but also shape the AI landscape in the Kingdom and beyond.

As OmniOps looks ahead, its long-term vision is bold yet grounded: to become the foundational layer of intelligent systems across the region. In doing so, the company is helping reposition Saudi Arabia not merely as a consumer of cutting-edge AI technologies, but as a global contributor and innovator in this critical domain.

Ghada Ismail

An MVP is not a prototype or a half-baked concept. It’s a functional product just stripped down to its core. It includes the most essential features that solve your customers' main problem. Think of it as the shortest path between your idea and real user feedback.

Instead of spending months building the “perfect” app or platform, you build something usable and release it early. This way, you avoid wasting time and money on features nobody wants.

Why MVPs Matter in the Startup Journey

1. Validation Before Scaling
   Your MVP helps you test the market before committing heavy resources. You’ll find out if there’s actual demand — and learn what users really care about.
2. Faster Time to Market
   Building an MVP helps you launch quickly. And in the startup world, speed often beats size.
3. Smarter Use of Resources
   Startups usually work with tight budgets. An MVP helps you focus only on what matters, reducing risk and avoiding feature bloat.
4. Informed Product Decisions
   By releasing early, you gather real-world data. That feedback becomes your compass for what to build next.

What an MVP Is Not

• It’s not a buggy or unpolished product. It should still be functional and user-friendly.
• It’s not a test run with your friends and family. Real users provide real feedback.
• It’s not the final version. It’s the beginning of a learning process.

Examples of MVPs in Action

• Instagram started as a photo-sharing app with just a few filters, no stories, no messaging.
• Dropbox first launched with a video explaining how the product would work, even before it was fully built.
• Uber began as a simple app connecting black car drivers with iPhone users in San Francisco.

These MVPs were not flashy. They were focused.

Tips for Building Your MVP

• Identify the core problem you’re solving.
• List the must-have features and ditch the rest.
• Choose the right tools for speed and simplicity.
• Build, release, and listen to your users.
• Iterate based on actual usage and feedback.

Final Thoughts: MVP Is a Mindset

Building an MVP isn’t just a tactic,  it’s rather a mindset. It encourages startups to learn, adapt, and grow in the most efficient way possible. In the fast-paced world of entrepreneurship, launching smart can be just as important as launching fast.

So if you’re at the early stage of your startup journey, don’t wait for perfect. Start with an MVP and let your users shape what comes next.

Ghada Ismail

Securing capital for any startup can be one of the most common challenges in the world of business everywhere, however, in the rapidly evolving entrepreneurial landscape of Saudi Arabia, attracting funds for your startup is no longer just a dream—it's an achievable reality. 

With a robust support system bolstered by government initiatives and a burgeoning network of investors, entrepreneurs are well-positioned to access the capital they need to thrive, yet for some entrepreneurs, navigating the fundraising process can still feel daunting. Whether you're a budding entrepreneur looking for seed funding or an established startup seeking venture capital, understanding the intricacies of the funding landscape is crucial. This mini-guide will walk you through the essential steps to conduct a successful fundraising campaign, helping you unlock the doors to financial support and propel your business toward success.

1. Understand the Funding Landscape

Saudi Arabia offers various funding options, including venture capital, angel investors, crowdfunding, and government grants. Organizations like Monsha'at, the Small and Medium Enterprises General Authority, provide crucial resources and support for startups seeking funding, with a landscape that will help you identify which funding sources align best with your business model.

2. Develop a Strong Business Plan

A well-structured business plan is essential. It should detail your startup's vision, target market, , and financial projections. Investors are keen on understanding how their money will be utilized and the expected return on investment. Ensure your plan is data-driven and well-tailored to the interests of your potential investors.

3. Create an Engaging Pitch Deck

Your pitch deck is your opportunity to make a compelling first impression. It should highlight the problem your startup solves, your innovative solution, and your market strategy. Use visuals and concise data to support your narrative. Remember to practice your pitch so you can deliver it confidently and answer questions effectively.

4. Build Meaningful Connections

Networking is a cornerstone of the fundraising process in Saudi Arabia's entrepreneurial ecosystem. Attend industry events, such as Biban 2024, and local meetups to connect with potential investors, mentors, and fellow entrepreneurs. These gatherings provide an invaluable opportunity to share experiences, exchange ideas, and create lasting relationships.

5. Choose the Right Funding Option

Consider your startup’s stage and funding needs. Early-stage startups might look for seed funding from angel investors, while later stages could attract venture capitalists for Series A rounds. Crowdfunding is also gaining traction in Saudi Arabia an alternative avenue for raising capital by appealing directly to the public.

6. Prepare for Due Diligence

Once you catch an investor’s interest, prepare for a thorough due diligence process. Investors will review your financial records, legal documents, and overall business health. Being transparent and organized during this phase can strengthen trust and potentially lead to smoother negotiations.

To wrap things up, embarking on a fundraising journey for your startup in Saudi Arabia is not just about securing financial backing; it’s an opportunity to connect with a vibrant ecosystem that celebrates innovation and entrepreneurship. By strategically navigating the funding landscape, crafting an engaging narrative, and building authentic relationships, you can turn your vision into reality. Remember, every pitch is a stepping stone toward not only finding investors but also fostering valuable partnerships that can propel your startup forward. As you prepare to take this crucial step, embrace the process with confidence, knowing that the support of the Kingdom’s evolving entrepreneurial environment is with you. Your next chapter of growth awaits—seize the opportunity and unlock the potential that lies ahead!

Kholoud Hussein 

Starting a business is an exhilarating journey, filled with both opportunity and challenge. One of the biggest hurdles many entrepreneurs face is securing funding. Whether you're launching a tech startup, a lifestyle brand, or a social enterprise, having access to capital is often essential for growth. In this blog, we will explore various methods startups can use to raise funds effectively, ensuring that you find the best strategy for your venture.

1. Bootstrapping

Bootstrapping refers to the practice of funding your startup using personal savings, revenue generated from sales, or reinvesting profits back into the business. This method allows entrepreneurs to maintain complete control over their company without diluting ownership with outside investors.

Pros:

• Full control and ownership
• No debt or equity obligations
• Encourages frugal practices

Cons:

• Limited resources may restrict growth
• Higher financial risk on the founder

2. Family and Friends

Turn to your personal network for initial funding. Often, family and friends are willing to invest in your vision, believing in your potential and passion.

Pros:

• Faster funding process
• More flexible repayment terms

Cons:

• Risk of damaging relationships if the business fails
• May lead to unrealistic expectations

3. Crowdfunding

Crowdfunding platforms like Kickstarter, Indiegogo, and GoFundMe allow startups to present their ideas to a broader audience. If people resonate with your project, they can contribute funds in exchange for rewards, equity, or early access to products.

Pros:

• Validate your business idea
• Builds a community of early supporters
• Access to a diverse pool of small investors

Cons:

• Requires a compelling campaign and marketing
• Fees associated with platforms can cut into profits

4. Angel Investors

Angel investors are individuals who provide capital to startups in exchange for ownership equity or convertible debt. They often bring valuable industry experience and networks, along with their financial backing.

Pros:

• Access to mentorship and advice
• Offers larger amounts of funding than friends and family

Cons:

• Giving up a portion of equity
• Potentially high expectations for returns

5. Venture Capital

Venture capital (VC) firms invest large sums of money into startups in exchange for equity, often seeking high-growth companies. VCs usually come in during the later stages of development when a business has proven its concept and shows potential for significant returns.

Pros:

• Substantial funding for rapid growth
• Access to industry expertise and connections

Cons:

• Loss of control due to equity dilution
• Pressure for quick returns on investment

6. Small Business Loans

Traditional banks and credit unions offer loans designed for small businesses. These loans can provide needed funds without giving away equity.

Pros:

• Retain full ownership of the business
• Fixed repayment terms

Cons:

• Stringent approval requirements
• Can take time to secure funding

7. Grants and Competitions

Various government bodies, nonprofits, and organizations offer grants to startups, especially those focused on innovation or social impact. There are also startup competitions that provide cash prizes.

Pros:

• Non-repayable funds
• Provides recognition and credibility

Cons:

• Highly competitive
• Often comes with strict eligibility criteria

8. Accelerator and Incubator Programs

Joining an accelerator or incubator can provide startups with funding, mentorship, office space, and resources to help develop their business. These programs often culminate in a demo day, where startups pitch to investors.

Pros:

• Valuable support network and resources
• Access to potential investors

Cons:

• Intensive programs may require significant time commitment
• May require equity for participation

9. Equity Crowdfunding

Unlike traditional crowdfunding, equity crowdfunding allows startups to raise small amounts of money from a large number of investors in exchange for shares in the company. Platforms like SeedInvest and Crowdcube facilitate this process.

Pros:

• Access to a broad network of potential investors
• Engages a community of supporters

Cons:

• Regulatory complexities
• Requires transparency and ongoing communication with investors

To conclude, raising funds for a startup can be challenging, but a variety of options are available to entrepreneurs. Each method has its own pros and cons, which should be carefully considered in the context of your business model and goals.

Whether you choose to bootstrap, seek angel investors, or participate in an accelerator program, being well-prepared with a solid business plan, a clear value proposition, and an understanding of your target market will significantly increase your chances of success. Ultimately, the right funding strategy can fuel your startup’s growth and bring your vision to life.

Noha Gad

The agricultural technology (agritech) market in Saudi Arabia is experiencing significant growth as the Kingdom invests heavily in modernizing the agricultural sector through cutting-edge technologies, in alignment with Vision 2030 goals of diversifying the national economy and ensuring food security. 

The agritech startup ecosystem in Saudi Arabia is rapidly evolving, backed by government support, private investments, and innovative entrepreneurs. Additionally, the focus on sustainable and efficient agricultural practices aligns with global trends, positioning the Kingdom as a potential leader in agritech developments in the Middle East and beyond.

In this regard, Sharikat Mubasher had an interview with John Keppler, Executive Chairman of iyris, one of the leading agritech startups in Saudi Arabia specializing in advancing commercial farming for low to mid-tech farmers in hot climates globally.

First, can you share more details about iyris' solutions to advance commercial farming in warmer climates? 

iyris is a pioneering Saudi-founded Agritech company. We specialize in solutions which enable sustainable commercial farming in hot climates. 

Our founders designed solutions to make it easier for farmers to grow fresh crops in difficult environments. Derya Baran, Mark Tester, and Ryan Lefers each had an academic and commercial focus on mitigating the impact of climate change to help feed the world’s growing population sustainably.

In our lead product, SecondSky, we created a range of greenhouse coverings that minimize the stress and impact of near-infrared heat radiation on plants while allowing the spectrum of light that plants need for photosynthesis. This is revolutionary in the agriculture industry. It delivers more resilient, productive, and profitable crops in regions where climate change and excessive heat make it difficult to grow fresh produce sustainably.

SecondSky’s polycarbonate, polyethylene, nets, and soon-to-be-launched shade screens are deployed to customers growing fresh produce in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Morocco, Spain, Portugal, Mexico, and North Africa. 

While the nanomaterials we invented to make these benefits possible are proprietary and complex, our business model is designed to deliver this innovation as simple as possible by making it a drop-in solution to existing manufacturing and distribution channels.  That way, our customers can buy their roofs, nets, and screens using SecondSky as a one-for-one replacement for traditional plastic greenhouse roofing. 

Utilized by growers on five continents and in 11 countries, SecondSky alone delivers a reduction in energy use by over 40% and water consumption of 30% at customer installations and we have seen crop yield increases and growing season extensions by as much as 35%.

Additionally, iyris has developed plant genetics via a novel hybridization process that has the potential to breed resiliency to salinity, head, and drought processes across a broad range of crops, ensuring stress-resistant, dependable food production. The technology is already demonstrating exciting results with some of the world’s largest tomato growers in large-scale open-field trials.

How could iyris’ climate-smart solutions enhance agricultural sustainability in Saudi Arabia?

iyris’ climate-smart solutions play a pivotal role in enhancing agricultural sustainability in Saudi Arabia and beyond. Invented at KAUST in Saudi Arabia, our technologies have been trialed and tested to withstand the Saudi Arabian climate. The academic and scientific resources at KAUST and funding and incubation provided by the university and its seed and venture funding capabilities have been a critical part of our journey in developing products in Saudi, by Saudi, and for Saudi, and then exporting to the world. 

It works well in the region because it was developed for the challenges of the region, which given the implications of climate change are having a negative impact globally.   

iyris’ SecondSky technology blocks heat radiation effectively, making it ideal for addressing the challenges of the extreme Arabian Gulf conditions and helping to increase food security in a country where 85% of its food is imported. In targeting low to mid-tech farmers, who represent more than 70% of growers worldwide, we provide an immediately deployable solution that impacts growers from the moment it is installed. 

In the Saudi Arabian context, that means that farms that were unproductive can be brought back into the supply chain very quickly. For each kilo of produce that is grown locally, that is a kilo less that needs to be imported, or transported across the Kingdom. Every farmer who can grow both in a financially and ecologically sustainable way protects the future of their local communities and has the potential to reduce urban drift. 

We have already executed pilot projects within the Kingdom where these benefits are starting to be seen and it’s a program that we think can be widely expanded.

Pure Harvest Smart Farms concluded a deal to acquire iyris’ facility in the Kingdom. In your opinion, how could this step help iyris to broaden its presence in Saudi Arabia?

The sale of our facility in Saudi Arabia to Pure Harvest Smart Farms reflected our strategic transition into a pure-play technology company. Known for its commitment to sustainable and climate-smart farming, Pure Harvest was an ideal partner to take on this facility.

The integration of our SecondSky heat-blocking technology at the facility aligns with Pure Harvest's dedication to sustainable agriculture and solidifies our technology as a valuable asset in Saudi Arabia's agricultural landscape. 

This sale solidifies existing partnerships (e.g. Alajaweed Farm), presents opportunities for collaboration, and fosters the growth of innovative agricultural solutions in the region. The move has advanced sustainable agriculture and addressed climate-related challenges in Saudi Arabia, strengthening our presence in the Kingdom.

What about your recent $16 million Series A funding round? 

In May 2024, we raised a $16 million Series A round. We are proud of this vote of confidence from the investment community, which comprised existing and new investors.

The fundraising was led by Ecosystem Integrity Fund (“EIF”), a San Francisco-based climate and sustainability fund supporting high-growth companies that drive a positive environmental impact, with further support from Global Ventures, Kanoo Ventures, Dubai Future District Fund (DFDF) and Bonaventure Capital. 

The proceeds will help support increased sales coverage and delivery of iyris’ strong international sales pipeline for our SecondSky greenhouse covers and nets. It will also fund the continued development of our innovative heat-blocking products and resilient plant genetics, which both have huge potential to improve yields further. 

We are grateful for the investors who have recognized that iyris technology solutions deliver tangible benefits to the farming community and understand its wider potential. Our investors understand there is a clear and focused strategy for delivering scalable AgriClimate technologies into our addressable market. 

What are iyris’ plans to expand beyond the Saudi market, notably in Egypt and East Africa? And how do you see the future of sustainable farming and agriculture in Africa?

We are actively expanding our footprint in North and East Africa, delivering adaptable and effective solutions to commercial farming. In March 2024, we signed a strategic MoU with Magrabi Agriculture, Egypt’s leading fresh produce provider, enabling iyris’ cutting-edge technology to be deployed across Magrabi’s farming facilities and international operations.

This is one of several examples of successful partnerships and endorsement by key stakeholders in the region, as we continue to work closely to transform agriculture globally. 

In your opinion, how do iyris’ solutions contribute to tackling climate change?

With the global population estimated to grow to 10 billion by 2050, food security and farming in a sustainable manner (both environmentally and fiscally) is a worldwide challenge. By providing sustainable and efficient solutions that reduce water and energy consumption in farming practices by up to 90%, we contribute significantly to the collective effort to tackle climate change and promote a sustainable future.

We are proud to be helping feed the world in a climate-friendly manner.