Since its inception in 2018, SVC has made a significant impact on the private investment landscape, investing in over 40 funds and 700 startups and SMEs, totaling SR2.6 billion ($693.1 million).

The overall impact of these investments, including partner commitments, is estimated at SR13.6 billion.

SVC's investments span critical sectors for economic diversification, including e-commerce, fintech, healthcare, educational technologies, transportation, and logistics.

The Saudi Venture Capital (SVC) organization, led by CEO Nabeel Koshak, has played a significant role in boosting private venture capital (VC) investment in Saudi Arabia since its inception in 2018.

SVC's strategies have led to an increase in the number of investors in Saudi startups, encouraged financial companies to establish VC funds, and attracted regional and global funds to invest in Saudi startups.

As a result, funding for Saudi Arabian startups grew from $65 million in 2018 to a record-high of $1.4 billion in 2023.

This growth has made Saudi Arabia a leader in venture investments within the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region for the first time in 2023, reflecting the broader economic and financial sector evolution under Saudi Vision 2030.

Penny Software, a Saudi Arabian procurement startup founded in 2020 by Iyad Al-Dalooj, Majid Al-Dalooj, and Mohamad Ibrahim, has completed its pre-series A funding round.

The amount raised was undisclosed, but the round was led by Iliad Partners, with participation from GSI, Knollwood Investments, Dallah Investment, Hambro Perks Oryx Fund, Class 5 Global, Altuwajiri family fund, and strategic angel investors.

Penny Software offers a Business-to-Business Software-as-a-Service solution that digitizes the entire source-to-pay process, improving spend efficiency, governance, and compliance.

Iyad Al-Dalooj, the CEO, expressed his gratitude for the investment and the confidence shown in the team.

Penny Software, a procurement software company, is excited to announce a new capital infusion to fuel its expansion plans.

This follows a successful $5 million seed funding round in 2021.

With this investment, Penny aims to enhance its platform capabilities, broaden market reach, and solidify its position as a leader in the procurement software industry.

The company plans to manage a gross transaction value of over $1 billion this year and ease procurement for thousands of companies globally.

The new capital will help Penny scale its operations and expand regionally and globally.

Saudi Arabia's economy is undergoing a major transformation with technology playing a key role.

Iliad Partners, a venture capital firm, plans to invest a significant portion of their fund in this market, specifically in strong founders at the pre-series A stage and beyond.

One of the recent investments made by Iliad Partners is in UAE's DocsInBox, an e-invoicing and procurement startup that raised $500,000 in a funding round from angel investors.

DocsInBox, founded by Leonid Dovbenko and Stanislav Seleznev, streamlines invoicing and procurement processes, saving up to 1 million hours monthly.

The platform allows purchasing agents to place orders in three clicks and completes tasks in 13 seconds that previously took 300 seconds.

U-topia, an UAE-based Web3 services provider, secured $850,000 in funding from GDA Capital.

The company, founded in 2021 by Jérémy Mahieu and Nicolas Prévost, operates as a Web3 entertainment company merging intellectual property licensing in GameFi, AI music, and video entertainment with NFT provenance.

The investment will be used for platform development and advanced features.

Separately, Nigeria's Verod-Kepple Africa Ventures closed a $60 million fund, led by existing investors and new ones, including SCM Capital from Nigeria and Japanese institutional investors Taiyo Holdings and C2C Global Education Japan.

VKAV, a new venture capital firm formed in 2021 as a joint venture between Kepple Africa Ventures and Verod Holdings, is led by Satoshi Shinada, Ryosuke Yamawaki, and Ory Okolloh.

The fund focuses on bridging the funding gap for African startups, particularly those moving to series A and B stages.

Meanwhile, Egypt's Beltone Venture Capital, under Beltone Holding, has partnered with UAE's CI Venture Capital from Citadel International Holdings to manage a $30 million fund.

This collaborative fund invests in pre-seed and seed funding rounds of innovative tech startups across the MENA region while continuing to support standout performers within its existing portfolio.

Recent investments include Bosta, Trella, Qlub, and ariika.