KARACHI: Pakistani technology companies heading to Saudi Arabia for one of the world’s largest tech gatherings are looking beyond exhibition booths and networking, with several seeking clients, partnerships and a permanent foothold in the Kingdom’s rapidly expanding digital economy.

LEAP 2026, a four-day global technology event opening in Riyadh on Monday, will bring together more than 1,800 technology companies, 600 startups, 1,900 investors and over 1,000 speakers as Saudi Arabia pours investment into technology and innovation under its Vision 2030 economic transformation plan.

Pakistan will have a dedicated pavilion featuring 20 technology companies through the Pakistan Software Export Board and Trade Development Authority of Pakistan, while other Pakistani firms and startups will also attend the event independently.

For some returning companies, the event has already translated into tangible business opportunities in Saudi Arabia.

“This is the fourth edition that we would be attending at LEAP, and I can say for sure that every next edition has been better than the previous one,” Abdul Muqsit Abbasi, CEO of Karachi-based ByteCorp. Technologies, told Arab News on Saturday.

“We’ve made very deep industry connections,” he said, referring to the company’s participation in previous editions. “We’ve been able to understand the market. We’ve been able to make very long relationships that has helped open a lot of doors for us.”

Pakistan recorded its largest-ever presence at LEAP last year, with more than 100 companies and over 1,500 delegates, according to a post-event report by PSEB. Its annual report said Pakistan’s participation generated $9.74 million in business and 78 leads.

Khizer Ahmed Siddiqui, founding member and director of KAACIB, said his company’s participation last year had gone a step further, opening the way for it to establish an office in Riyadh.

“After the 2025 LEAP, we got the opportunity to have a local presence in Riyadh, and Alhamdulillah we are going to develop our office over there,” Siddiqui said.

“And what we are looking forward to, right now in 2026, is to have more opportunities, more partnerships, more connections, more business, and more local presence in Saudi Arabia.”

FROM EXHIBITING TO EXPANDING

Other Karachi technology companies are approaching this year’s event with similarly specific ambitions, targeting opportunities in Saudi Arabia’s real estate, logistics and enterprise technology sectors.

Syed Zain Ali, founder of property technology company Fortify, said his company saw an opening in the Kingdom’s fast-developing real estate market.

“We believe that ... Saudi Arabia is a good market for software like Fortify, where we are perfectly aligned with the Vision 2030 for the Saudi government,” Ali told Arab News.

For some firms, competing in Saudi Arabia also means adapting products specifically to local regulations and business practices.

Stellisys, an operations and enterprise resource planning platform developed by FifthThought, is attending LEAP as part of a startup delegation backed by Ignite National Technology Fund.

Its co-founder and CEO, Rajiv Pardhan, said the company was taking a Saudi version of its platform incorporating invoicing compliant with the Kingdom’s Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority (ZATCA), an artificial intelligence layer and tools for businesses migrating from older systems.

“We are bringing the Saudi version of the product, ZATCA invoicing plus the AI layer, and the migration tooling that moves a business off its old system without losing legacy data,” he said.

MaalBardaar, another Karachi technology company heading to Riyadh, is taking its digital supply-chain logistics platform to the event.

“We are bringing MaalBardaar to LEAP 2026,” co-founder Faiz Hanif said. “We help businesses, such as importers and exporters, gain full visibility and transparency across all of their logistics.”

For Abbasi, the value of LEAP lies not only in immediate deals but in understanding how business is done in Saudi Arabia and building relationships over time.

“I think this is the best place for any new entrant to come and understand how the market is operating,” he said.