Wa’ed Ventures, the venture capital arm of Saudi Aramco Entrepreneurship Center, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to provide ethically focused fintech startups with visibility and access to investment in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
The deal has been inked with Maydan Capital (Maydan), an equity investment platform based in the United Kingdom that connects ethical investors with technology-focused, Halal investment opportunities.
The MOU was signed at this year’s Global Entrepreneurship Congress in Saudi Arabia, where investors, policymakers and community leaders from around the world came together to find ways to rebuild the global economy, which had been negatively impacted by the pandemic.
Muhammad Zeeshan Hassan, Chief Investment Officer of Wa’ed Ventures said, “With a shift toward the globalization of fintech, this strategic partnership will allow early-stage Saudi fintech startups to leverage the global experience of the Maydan team in ethical investment.”
Through this partnership with Wa’ed Ventures, Maydan will be offering its members the opportunity to co-invest alongside Wa’ed Ventures into innovative Saudi-based startups. The two companies will coordinate and collaborate on finding, backing and mentoring founders as they launch and grow their ethically-focused startups.
The goal will be to boost the growing startup ecosystem in Saudi Arabia and create a world-class hub which is focused on championing companies that develop ethical and inclusive financial services. The partnership will also play an important role in supporting economic diversification in the country, in alignment with the Kingdom’s strategic goal of creating a knowledge-based economy.
Commenting on the agreement, Safdar Alam, CEO of Maydan, said: “This is an exciting partnership that is a win-win for both parties, as well as consumers that will ultimately benefit from the next generation of ethically-focused fintech firms that we back. More than ever we need to prioritise a more sustainable sector and the only way to achieve this is by collaborating with organisations that share our vision for the future. We look forward to working closely with Wa’ed Ventures to find the best talent and shape a better financial services sector that reflects the morals and values of consumers.”
