10 Years Saudi Arabia Founders Report (Saudi Venture Capital Company (SVC))

Summary

• The report analyzes the founders of the 200 most funded venture capital-backed startups in Saudi Arabia over a 10-year period (2014–2023), representing $3.3Bn in aggregated funding.p.10
• Male founders represent 94% of the 400 total founders, while female founders account for only 6%.p.15
• Male-only founded startups captured $3Bn (98%) of total funding, whereas female-only startups received $12M (0.4%).p.17

Key insights

1. Two-founder teams represent the majority of funded startups in Saudi Arabia at 44%, closely aligning with global unicorn trends where over 35% have two founders.p.12
2. Single-founder startups comprise 30% of funded companies in KSA but account for only 15% ($506M) of total funding.p.13
3. No startups with two or more founders in the KSA sample were exclusively female-led.p.16
4. 55% of the analyzed founders in KSA held at least a bachelor's degree, while 18% held an MBA and 17% held a master's degree.p.19
5. King Saud University is the top local university producing Saudi startup founders, representing 12% of the total founder pool.p.23
6. Stanford University and INSEAD lead as top international choices for KSA founders, producing 5% and 3% of founders respectively.p.24
7. Saudi Aramco is the top individual prior employer for Saudi startup founders, representing 7% of all founders.p.28
8. 31% of the founders had held roles as Founder, Co-Founder, or Board Member immediately prior to starting their current company.p.29
9. Only 30% of the top funded founders in Saudi Arabia had prior experience within the MENA startup space.p.31