Riyadh - Sharikat Mubasher: The first half (H1) of 2024 marked a significant milestone for four Saudi companies, as they collectively attracted around $185 million in various funding rounds. This influx of investments reflects the increasing investor confidence in Saudi Arabia’s dynamic and rapidly evolving economic landscape, paving the way for continued economic expansion and innovation.

Salla, the Saudi leading SaaS e-commerce enablement platform, secured $130 million in a pre-IPO investment round in March. The round was led by Investcorp, a global alternative investment firm, with participation from Sanabil Investment and STV.

Salla dedicated these investments to unlock opportunities and empower individuals as well as small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to get off the ground and expand their businesses within and beyond Saudi Arabia.

In the same month, the Saudi financial company Moyasar raised a $21 million seed round to innovate new solutions that cater to the needs of government entities and private companies.

Through this round, Moyaser aimed to foster upgrade payment services and fintech solutions, in alignment with the Kingdom’s aspirations to enhance the financial sector.

Abyan Capital, a leading provider of automated, easy-to-use, and Shariah-compliant investment and savings solutions in Saudi Arabia, successfully closed a series A round amounting to $18 million in May to expand its financial products portfolio and expedite the market penetration across the investment solution value chain.

Likewise, the innovative agriclimate tech company Iyris secured a $16 million series A round to support increased sales coverage and develop its innovative heat-blocking products and resilient plant genetics.

It is worth noting that Saudi Arabia registered $240 million in venture capital (VC) funding during the first quarter (Q1) of 2024, signaling a 42% year-on-year (YoY) drop.