RIYADH: Saudi Arabia is participating in a major G20 startup summit that aims to develop the sector.
The summit meeting, Startup20 Shikhar — which is being held under India’s G20 presidency — will run from July 3 to 4 in New Delhi, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
The two-day event includes talks, mentoring sessions, opportunities to network with experts and policymakers, and a platform for businesses to promote their products and services.
Saudi Arabia’s delegation is led by Prince Fahad bin Mansour Al-Saud, who said it was an important opportunity to highlight what the Kingdom has accomplished in terms of startups, small and medium enterprises, and entrepreneurship.
He added that the summit would allow for the sharing of new ideas, formation of strategic global partnerships and investment opportunities.
A policy communique was unveiled at the beginning of the summit by the chairperson of Startup20, Chintan Vaishnav.
The document urged G20 leaders to raise the joint annual investment in the global startup ecosystem from their nations to $1 trillion by 2030.
It also called for the creation of a networked institution of “existing nodal agencies” across G20 nations to carry out the recommendations of the group, and sought assurances that the Startup20 project would continue under future G20 presidencies.
Another key tenet of the communique was the need for a special focus on startups led by entrepreneurs from underrepresented groups and diverse communities across G20 nations.
Saudi Arabia’s participation in the Startup20 engagement group is in line with the goal of economic diversification under the Vision 2030 plan, which is working towards the SME sector making a 35 percent contribution to the Kingdom’s gross domestic product by the end of this decade.
The focus on this sector saw $25 million of investment flow into Saudi startups in June, according to analysis from Wamda.
This placed the Kingdom first in the region, with the UAE coming in second with $6 million — less than a quarter of the Saudi figure.
One of the tools used to boost the SME sector was the Biban 2023 forum held in Riyadh in March, which attracted over 105,000 participants.
It also featured over 350 speakers sharing their insights about the SME ecosystem globally and regionally.
