Saudi POS hits $3.6bn as education spending surges with academic year start
Updated 20 November 2024
Miguel Hadchity
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s point-of-sale transactions climbed to SR13.5 billion ($3.61 billion) between Aug. 11 and 17, reflecting a 3.6 percent increase from the previous week, official data showed.
According to the latest figures from the Saudi Central Bank, also known as SAMA, the education sector led the charge, recording a 127.5 percent surge in spending, with total transactions reaching SR1.01 billion.
This marks the fourth consecutive week of gains for the category, coinciding with the start of the academic year on Aug. 18.
In an interview with Arab News, Saudi-based economist Talat Hafiz said that it is normal to see such a trend as pupils prepare to return to education.
He added: “Most of the parents and students rush to the market before the opening of the school doors to buy the school supplies, leading to a noticeable increase in the POS of the education sector.”
Hafiz explained that such behavior “will definitely reflect positively on the sales and revenues of the retail markets specialized in selling educational related goods.”
He also pointed out that the campaigns launched by bookstores and electronic stores before the start of the school year attract consumers, leading to heavy purchases due to the discounts offered.
The boost in POS spending follows a dip in the previous week, where transactions fell to SR13.09 billion.
During the Aug. 11-17 period, spending on recreation and culture also saw a notable rise, up 11.8 percent to SR318.1 million, marking the second-largest increase.
Clothing expenditures followed with a 7 percent uptick, reaching SR931.5 million.
The top three biggest shares of this week’s POS were:
Restaurants and cafes – SR1.87 billion spent, a 4.4 percent decrease from last week.
Food and beverages – SR1.73 billion spent, down by 2.6 percent compared to the previous week.
Miscellaneous goods and services – SR1.47 billion spent, dipping by 2.9 percent from the week before.
Spending in the top three largest categories accounted for 37.45 percent of this week’s total value.
As for the number of transactions, the education sector recorded the highest increase at 59 percent, reaching 232. Conversely, the hotel division saw the largest decrease at 14.1 percent, reaching 764 transactions.
The most significant decline, at 15.9 percent, occurred in hotels, reducing total expenditure to SR267 million. Jewelry came in second place, dipping by 14.3 percent to SR209.9 million.
Geographically, Riyadh dominated POS transactions, representing 34.1 percent of the total, with spending in the capital reaching SR4.62 billion — a 6.9 percent increase from the previous week. Jeddah followed with SR1.87 billion, accounting for 13.8 percent of the total, and Dammam came in third at SR665 million, up 5.5 percent.
Abha saw the largest decrease in spending, down 10.2 percent to SR212 million. Hail and Makkah also experienced slight declines, with expenditure dropping 0.7 percent to SR199.9 million and 0.2 percent to SR544.3 million, respectively.
Hafiz suggested that the decline in Abha might be due to consumers buying school supplies early and others relocating or entering the workforce after finishing their education.
Tabuk recorded the highest increase in terms of the number of transactions, at 4.7 percent, achieving 4.5 million transactions. Abha saw the most significant decrease at 11.5 percent, reaching 3.6 million transactions.
Fresh funding flows in even as broader market data points to a slowdown
Updated 5 sec ago
Nour El-Shaeri
RIYADH: Startup funding activity across the Middle East and North Africa delivered a mixed picture over the past week, with fresh capital flowing into gaming, fintech, deep tech, and travel, even as broader market data pointed to a slowdown in overall investment momentum.
Saudi Arabia’s Impact46 led a $1 million investment round in Hypemasters, an international game development studio focused on competitive strategy experiences for mobile. The round included participation from GEM Capital.
Hypemasters develops strategy titles designed for competitive depth and precise game mechanics and has attracted more than 7 million players globally.
The studio is currently advancing several new projects, including a title in soft launch, as it looks to expand its reach in markets with sustained demand for strategy games.
“Strategy is one of the most demanding categories in game development, and Hypemasters approaches it with uncommon discipline. Their work shows a clear understanding of what committed players expect from this genre, and we believe their upcoming titles can serve a global audience with genuine depth,” said Basmah Al-Sinaidi, managing partner at Impact46.
“We are pleased to support a team that builds with intention and long-term ambition,” she added.
Boris Kalmykov, CEO and co-founder of Hypemasters, said: “We’re focused on deepening our presence across the region and pushing forward with the next generation of strategy games, including a major new title already in soft launch. Partnering with Impact46 marks an important step for Hypemasters.”
The CEO added that Impact46 shares his company’s long-term vision for building “world-class strategy games” from the MENA region, and the support reinforces his firm’s commitment to expanding its portfolio with high-quality releases.
The investment reflects Impact46’s continued interest in game development and interactive entertainment and aligns with its broader strategy of backing studios building globally oriented titles.
Premialab raises $220m
UAE-headquartered Premialab, a provider of data, analytics, and risk management solutions for quantitative investing, has raised $220 million in a growth investment led by KKR, with participation from existing investor Balderton.
Founded in Hong Kong in 2016 by Adrien Geliot and Pierre Trecourt, Premialab operates a global platform serving the $800 billion quantitative investment strategies market.
Counterfeits don’t just impact economies; they erase identity, creativity and truth. Along with our investors, we’re building a movement to make the world’s stories verifiable again.
Walid Tarabih, founder and CEO of Relik
The company provides benchmarking, performance analysis, and risk analytics tools for institutional investors.
The funding will be used to support global expansion, strengthen core operational systems, and scale Premialab’s execution product, which was developed in partnership with Eurex, to broaden access to quantitative investment strategies.
“Quantitative investment strategies have grown rapidly in scale and importance, yet the market has lacked a truly independent standard for data, analytics and risk. Premialab was built to fill that gap,” said Adrien Geliot, CEO of Premialab.
Relik closes seed round
UAE-based Relik has closed a seed funding round with participation from KBW Ventures, Naatt Holding, Fort Holding, and Ayman Sejiny.
Founded in 2023 by Walid Tarabih and later joined by John Tsioris, Relik is an artificial intelligence-powered authentication platform designed to help collectors, brands, and marketplaces.
The company plans to use the funding to roll out additional products and expand across sectors including sports, luxury, and heritage markets.
“We are ensuring authenticity in a fakeable world,” said Walid Tarabih, founder and CEO of Relik, adding: “Counterfeits don’t just impact economies; they erase identity, creativity and truth. Along with our investors, we’re building a movement to make the world’s stories verifiable again.”
Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed bin Talal Al-Saud, founder and CEO of KBW Ventures, said: “Relik is creating a new global standard for truth and trust. At a time when counterfeiting and AI-generated content are rising, Relik’s mission to protect authenticity carries both cultural and commercial value.”
Nawah raises $23m
Egypt-based deep tech startup Nawah Scientific has raised $23 million in a series A round comprising a mix of equity and debt, marking a decade since the company’s founding.
The round was led by Life Ventures Holding, with participation from Den Ventures, Empire M, AfricInvest, Elsewedy, as well as banks and angel investors.
Founded in 2015 by Omar Saqr, Nawah operates a cloud laboratory model that enables remote access to advanced testing services. (Supplied)
Founded in 2015 by Omar Saqr, Nawah operates a cloud laboratory model that enables remote access to advanced testing services. Its operations span four business units covering life sciences, food and agriculture, pharmaceuticals, and certified reference materials.
The company plans to use the funding to build a global research and development center in Rwanda, double laboratory capacity in Egypt and Saudi Arabia, and expand into North Africa and Europe.
Algeria’s VOLZ raises $5m
Algeria-based travel tech startup VOLZ has raised $5 million in a series A funding round led by a consortium of private investors under Tell Group, with participation from Groupe GIBA.
Founded in 2023 by Mohamed Abdelhadi and Hacene Seghier, VOLZ enables travelers to book flights in Algerian dinars using online payments or cash on delivery, while comparing multiple airlines through a single platform.
Announced at the African Startup Conference in December, the transaction is Algeria’s largest startup funding round in local currency and marks the first exit of the Algerian Startup Fund.
The capital will be used to launch new consumer and corporate travel products, strengthen VOLZ’s position in Algeria, and support expansion across North and West Africa.
MENA startup funding slows in November
Investment activity across the MENA startup ecosystem slowed sharply in November 2025, with 35 startups raising a combined $227.8 million, according to Wamda’s monthly report.
This marked a steep decline from the $784.9 million recorded in the previous month and a 12 percent drop compared to November 2024, pointing to a period of consolidation as investors moderated deployment toward the end of the year.
More than half of the capital raised during the month was driven by a single debt-backed transaction by erad, which propelled Saudi Arabia to the top of the regional rankings. Across 14 deals, the Kingdom attracted $176.3 million, accounting for more than three-quarters of all capital deployed in November.
Despite funding activity spanning 35 startups, capital was concentrated in just 5 markets. After Saudi Arabia’s dominant lead, the UAE followed with $49 million across 14 transactions.
Egypt recorded $1.12 million across 4 deals, while Morocco raised $1.1 million through 2 transactions. Oman saw 1 deal with an undisclosed value, with limited activity reported outside these markets.
Fintech emerged as the most funded sector in November, raising $142.9 million across 9 deals, largely influenced by the same debt-driven transaction.
E-commerce followed with $24.5 million across 6 rounds, while property tech, which topped the charts in October, slipped to 3rd with $18.9 million raised by 3 startups.
Debt financing dominated the month, accounting for more than $125 million through a single transaction.
The remaining capital was largely channelled into early-stage startups, with no later-stage funding rounds recorded in November, underscoring continued investor caution.
From a business model perspective, B2B startups captured the majority of capital, with 20 companies raising $197.1 million.
B2C startups lagged, with 9 companies raising a combined $22.2 million, while the remainder was split across hybrid models.
The gender funding gap showed no signs of narrowing, with male-led startups absorbing 97 percent of the capital raised during the month. Female-led and mixed-gender founding teams accounted for the remaining share.
