Riyadh: Saudi Venture Capital (SVC) has made a significant $5 million investment in a fintech fund managed by VentureSouq (VSQ), primarily targeting early-stage fintech startups. This investment initiative was reported by SVC.

According to the press release, the subscription agreement was signed by the CEO and Board Member at SVC, Dr. Nabeel Koshak, and the General Partner at VSQ, Maan Eshgi. The signing ceremony was also graced by the presence of the Chief Investment Officer, Nora Alsarhan, and the Chief Legal Officer at SVC, Haifa Bahaian, as well as the Fintech General Partner at VSQ, Musaab Hakami.

Dr. Koshak commented, “The investment in the fintech fund by VSQ is part of SVC’s Investment in Funds Program to support the development of the VC ecosystem in Saudi Arabia for all sectors and stages. This investment also comes to foster the growth witnessed recently by the fintech sector. This growth is driven by the launch of many governmental initiatives that stimulate the fintech sector, such as the Saudi Fintech initiative launched by the Saudi Central Bank in partnership with the Capital Market Authority, as well as the launch of the Kingdom's fintech strategy as a new pillar within the Saudi Vision 2030 Financial Sector Development Program (FSDP), which aims to support the Kingdom to be among the leading countries in the field of fintech."

SVC, established in 2018, is a government investment company and a subsidiary of the SME Bank, one of the developmental banks affiliated with the National Development Fund.

SVC's mission is to catalyze and sustain financing for startups and SMEs from the pre-Seed to pre-IPO stages by deploying $2 billion through investments in funds and co-investment in startups. To date, SVC has invested in 43 funds that have, in turn, invested in over 700 companies.