We are pleased to announce that Saudi Telecom Company (stc), the largest telecom operator in MENA, has committed an additional $300m on top of its original $500m to STV, the largest independent technology investment firm in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) during the sixth Future Investment Initiative (FII).
The investment will further fuel our mission of backing and scaling the region's digital champions. STV recently projected that MENA is poised to create 45 unicorns by 2030, presenting a $100b value opportunity to be unlocked through local IPOs [read more]. We believe that our first fund will capture a significant part of this accelerating unicorn creation on the back of its investment in champions across sectors that are growing rapidly.
Since the launch of STV’s first fund in 2018, we invested in a portfolio of technology companies across many sectors in the Middle East and North Africa, with a core focus on whitespaces with a gap between digital supply and demand in traditionally large industries such as logistics, e-commerce, and fintech. In order to double down on this opportunity and support our existing portfolio startups, our team has grown to 20+ professionals from a variety of backgrounds, including technology, investments, and operations.
With venture capital deployment in MENA significantly increasing in recent years, Saudi Arabia is becoming the fastest-growing large VC market in the region with its venture capital market growing 244% YoY to $584m in H1 2022. With Vision 2030 programs fostering digitization and innovation, a robust macroeconomic environment, alongside a significant influx of international institutional capital, the pace of value creation in the Kingdom is only set to accelerate over the coming years.
In 2021, STV drove almost 60% of VC deployment in Saudi Arabia and its portfolio companies created thousands of direct jobs and close to 3 million gig jobs, on top of becoming sector winners that expanded across the region and internationally. Through this additional commitment, STV is cementing its position as the most active growth investor in the region and amplifying the region’s digitalization and innovation, together with stc.