Saudi Telecom Group invests $ 50 million in a Telecom and IT Investment Fund For Startups and SMEs

Pictured (left to right): Eng Saud bin Majed Al Daweesh, STC Group CEO; and Antoine Garrigues, Managing Partner of Iris Capital.

Saudi Telecom Company (STC) Group announced its investment in a new Venture Capital Fund which specializes in start up, small, and medium sized companies operating in the field of telecommunications and IT in the Saudi market as well as other international markets.
STC Group will invest an initial amount of $50 million that is self financed making it the only investor in the fund at this stage. Other local and international companies will be invited to invest in this fun at a later stage.

Eng Saud bin Majed Al Daweesh, STC Group CEO said that his Fund targets the local market and invests in local Saudi expertise in the field of IT and telecommunications in addition to other markets in the Middle East, North Africa, Europe, and the United States.

The fund had been set up in an agreement with venture capital firm Iris Capital

This is good news for Saudi tech startup community as startup based seed and early stage funding is still nascent. We hope to see more funds like this in Saudi Arabia and the region.