Riyadh: Moving to Saudi Arabia to launch a business is one thing; choosing to build your future here is another. Joel Huffman did exactly that. As the co-founder and CEO of Arabius, partner at GoldenPoint Global, and co-founder of Anchor Digital Infrastructure, Huffman is a passionate advocate for entrepreneurship, cross-border partnerships, and Saudi Arabia’s growing innovation ecosystem, and he believes the Kingdom is the world’s most exciting place to build a business.
“It’s just been an adventure. I say God opens doors, and I just walk through them. I have no idea what’s on the other side, but it’s been a massive blessing for sure. I originally came to Saudi in 2017, so kind of right at the start of Vision 2030,” the entrepreneur from Texas explained.
“At that point, there were a lot of initiatives that were announced, a lot of things that were happening, a lot of changes, positive changes, not just social, economic transformation,” he said of the time he arrived in the Kingdom. “But you could feel it and … you still do. It’s not like the transformation is in the past; it’s right in the middle of it.”
Since that time, the Kingdom has continued to improve, grow and enact more impactful changes.
“I came over here to help launch a company … I came for a job and stayed for the people. And it’s been an incredible almost nine years now. I can’t believe it. Nine years, I think, five or six different companies. All four of my kids have been born here,” Huffman said.
Most people think learning a language is about communication, but Huffman argues it is really about connection, which is why he built Arabius — to provide a service he wished was available when he wanted to learn Arabic.
“We started Arabius from a felt need — coming to Saudi Arabia in 2017 and really wanting to learn the language. When we first moved here, we had friends who had been living here, and they were like, it was sad to be honest, because they were like, ‘I’ve been here for 10 years, I don’t have any Saudi friends, I don’t speak any Arabic,’” he said, adding that not knowing the local language created a barrier.
“We always say language is a gateway to culture, and there’s a lot of different elements of culture. It’s not just all the (chatting) and the music … We (wanted) to build the company that we wish we had when we first moved here,” he said.
Many expatriates see what is happening in Saudi Arabia, and eager to be involved, they want to learn the language, he said.
“At the end of the day, a lot of foreigners move here, you know, great opportunities, great economy.”
Huffman praised the “famous” Saudi hospitality, insisting that it needed to be experienced first-hand to understand the culture better.
“Saudi hospitality is famous, Saudis are generous and the culture (is) so gracious and so hospitable,” he said.
“It’s ubiquitous across (the country), I would say. It’s everybody I’ve known in the past nine years … It doesn’t matter the setting or scenario, whether you’re out in public or sitting in a majlis, istirahah, or a diwania or whatever, there’s a genuine … just a respect (and) treating people with dignity.”
Huffman also lauded the Ministry of Investments, which provided a large office dedicated to helping foreign entrepreneurs come and set up a company in the Kingdom.
“You get every single (service) in the Saudi business center as well. Huge respect for them, and just understanding that starting a company gets complex,” he said.
“You can walk into one place and get the Ministry of Commerce, Justice, and Finance and … just go one at a time, like a buffet line and just kind of get everything that you need. I think that is a very, very important point because building a company is hard.”
Huffman also volunteers with the American Chamber of Commerce, a networking business group, helping build bridges between Saudi Arabia and the US.
