One of the Kingdom’s largest conglomerates and investment companies, Al-Muhaidib Group, launched its digital business strategy, with digital transformation enabler SAP in an enterprise agreement signed by Abdulkareem Al-Khalawi, vice president of IT at Al-Muhaidib Group, and Steve Tzikakis, president of Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) South at SAP.
Al-Muhaidib Group is undergoing digital transformation across its 93 affiliates, covering five key sectors: Building materials, food, contracting, utilities and infrastructure and real estate.
This is in line with the Saudi Vision 2030, which is calling on private sector contribution to GDP to grow from 40 percent to 65 percent.
As part of its digital transformation, Al-Muhaidib Group’s eight largest entities will run on the SAP HANA in-memory platform.
“Saudi’s largest organizations need to run in real-time to enhance their business competitiveness. Using SAP HANA, Al-Muhaidib Group now has the real-time analytics to ensure our customers have the right products at the right time. We have enhanced our performance, improved our reporting time, and can better fuel our regional and international expansion,” said VP Al-Khalawi.
One of the oldest and largest conglomerates in the Kingdom, Al-Muhaidib Group was founded in 1943. Its most prominent investments include Mayar Foods, Savola Group, Masdar Building Materials and Thabat Construction, Saudi Tharwa in real estate, and ACWA Holding.
“Al-Muhaidib Group is at the cutting edge of Saudi organizations undergoing digital transformation. Conglomerates are the lifeblood of the Saudi economy, across a wide range of industry verticals. SAP is committed to exchanging global best practices in enabling Saudi Vision 2030’s nationwide digital transformation and private sector companies to take their business plans to the next level,” said Ahmed Al-Faifi, managing director, SAP Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Yemen.
Al-Muhaidib Group advances its digital transformation strategy
Al-Muhaidib Group advances its digital transformation strategy
25,000 attend Social Development Bank’s DeveGO25 forum
The Social Development Bank concluded the second edition of the Entrepreneurship and Modern Business Practices Forum — DeveGo 2025 — announcing the achievement of high-impact outcomes that further reinforced the forum’s position as the largest national platform in the region dedicated to entrepreneurship, innovation, and freelance work in Saudi Arabia and beyond.
The forum witnessed broad participation from local and international experts, investors, entrepreneurs, and representatives of local, regional, and international institutions.
Over three days at the King Abdulaziz International Conference Center, the forum drew 25,000 participants and visitors, who benefited from over 45 specialized workshops and over 2500 advisory sessions delivered by more than 70 consultants and experts.
The sessions covered key areas including entrepreneurial planning, business models, venture capital, digital platforms, freelancing, and emerging technologies.
The forum also featured 20 panel discussions with leading local and international speakers, addressing major global trends in entrepreneurship, including the future of artificial intelligence, the creative economy, digital transformation, and venture investment.
The forum saw the launch of the Saudi Empretec Fellowship, in the presence of Rebeca Grynspan, secretary-general of the UN Conference on Trade and Development.
The partners in success within the Social Responsibility Portfolio supporting entrepreneurs were honored.
It also saw the honoring of 13 winners of the Handicrafts Competition, representing various regions of the Kingdom, the announcement of winners of the Salam Award for Promising Projects, and the recognition of leading entrepreneurial projects fund under the Enterprises Track.
In addition, the NEXT UP Challenge concluded on the third day of the forum with 20 startups presenting their projects to more than 500 investors, enhancing opportunities for networking and partnership building.
As part of efforts to strengthen the support ecosystem, the forum witnessed the signing of 51 agreements, along with the launch of a suite of new financing products. These included the Capital Expansion Product with a ceiling of up to SR10 million, the Payroll Product with a ceiling of SR2 million, and the Rental Product with a ceiling of SR1.5 million, aimed at supporting enterprises in asset development and covering operational costs.
This reflects the bank’s direction toward offering more specialized financing tools that respond effectively to market needs.
The forum concluded by reaffirming its role as a unifying national platform for entrepreneurship, where accompanying activities and events provided direct engagement opportunities between entrepreneurs, investors, and experts.
The forum also highlighted success stories and practical experiences that reflect the scale of entrepreneurial momentum in the Kingdom and the growing role of the Social Development Bank in supporting a national economy driven by innovation and knowledge.
