LONDON: Saudi Arabia has a higher percentage of women working in the tech startup sector than in Europe, according to new research results.
The recently released Endeavor Insight report also found that start-up rates for women in Saudi Arabia’s tech sector were higher than those for men.
The participation rate of women in the sector was 28 percent in the third quarter of last year, more than 10 percent above the European average rate, which was 17.5 percent in the same period. period.
Saudi Arabia issued 139,754 new business licenses to women in 2021, according to the Kingdom’s Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, a figure that represents one of the highest growth rates in the world.
The ministry said the figure represents a 112 percent increase in business registrations issued to women entrepreneurs compared to 2015, when 65,912 were granted to women-owned businesses.
The Saudi Vision 2030 framework, which emphasizes private sector investment as well as talent attraction and retention, has fueled this rise, according to the report.
“Saudi Arabia has the potential to become a regional hub for technology entrepreneurship in the Middle East if more companies reach scale,” he adds, citing the progression from small businesses to larger companies. of 50 employees.
And having more than 50 employees would have contributed to resilience in times of economic crisis, according to the report.
The study findings are based on interviews with 70 tech entrepreneurs and more than 340 companies and their founders between September and November, with data collected from more than 250 supporting organizations and investment firms working with the tech community of the Kingdom.
Lateefa Alwalaan, Managing Director of Endeavor Saudi Arabia, said: “At Endeavor, we have witnessed the rapid growth of the technology ecosystem in Saudi Arabia and the value of businesses at scale for the growth of any which sector.
“It was important for us to document this growth and impact to better understand the ecosystem and create a valuable tool to guide policymakers, venture capitalists and other stakeholders who support founders.”
