Discussing the Venture Capital ecosystem in Saudi Arabia and the MENA with investor Amjad Ahmad and much more...

The 966

Episode 105! Amjad Ahmad, a leading venture capitalist and seasoned investment professional with extensive experience in VC and private equity in emerging markets, joins The 966. Amjad discusses the VC ecosystem in Saudi Arabia, the MENA region, and globally today. In addition to over two decades of experience investing in the region, Amjad is also chairman and founding director of the EmpowerME initiative at the Atlantic Council, a program which empowers entrepreneurs, women, and the private sector in the region and which oversees in collaboration with Georgetown University the WIn Fellowship, a fully sponsored year-long program for female entrepreneurs from the region. Amjad also sits on the board of directors for several companies in the US and across the region. Before the discussion, the hosts discuss crypto in the MENA region, an incredible report on giga-projects from Knight Frank highlighting growth in Saudi Arabia, and much more in the concluding Yallah! segment.

6:50 - Richard's One Big Thing is crypto in the MENA region and the region's growth as a player in that space. Saudi Arabia is the fastest growing crypto economy globally amid a regional drive in the sector. The kingdom led globally with a 12% increase in crypto transaction volume reaching nearly $31 billion from July 2022 through June 2023, according to an industry report released Tuesday cited by Al Monitor.

17:27 - Lucien's One Big Thing is a recent report from the real estate firm Knight Frank on Saudi Arabia, which included an excellent update on the progress and top-level figures of Saudi Arabia’s giga-projects. This one is available online and published by 2x previous guest of The 966, Faisal Durrani, who is partner and head of MENA research for the global real estate firm. The firm reviews how the total value of real estate (and infrastructure) projects since the launch of Saudi Arabia’s National Transformation Plan in 2016 has crossed US$ 1.25 trillion. "The phenomenal transformation in 2022’s fastest- growing major global economy is clearly visible across the entire urban landscape, with the Kingdom’s Giga projects set to deliver a new urban future for Saudi Arabia through a transformed and vastly expanded residential, office, retail, hospitality and industrial offering, designed to support the projected population growth which is expected to top 50 million by 2030 (government forecasts) as well as the arrival of 100 million international visitors by 2030," the report said.

24:18 - Amjad Ahmad, a leading venture capitalist and seasoned investment professional with extensive experience in VC and private equity in emerging markets, joins The 966.

1:24:30 - Yallah! 6 top storylines to get you up to speed on Saudi Arabia this week.

Saudi Arabia said on Monday it has decided to end light-touch oversight of its nuclear activities by the U.N. atomic watchdog and switch to full-blown safeguards, a change the agency has been demanding for years.

Soudah Peaks is Saudi’s new luxury mountain destination opening in Aseer in 2033. Spanning across 627 square kilometres, it will sit 3,015 metres above sea level on the highest mountain peak in Saudi and will have 2,700 keys, 1,336 residential units, over 30 attractions and 80,000 square metres of commerical space.

As many as 500 leaders, sector experts and officials from 120 countries are expected to attend the World Tourism Day in Riyadh on September 27-28, the organising committee for the events said. World Tourism Day 2023 will be held under the slogan “Green Tourism and Investment”.

Saudi traffic authorities have said a visitor is allowed to use a foreign driving licence for one year in the kingdom, which is seeking to attract more tourists as part of efforts to diversify its oil-reliant economy.

In a significant move toward economic diversification and revolutionizing the national transportation landscape, the Economic Cities and Special Zones Authority has granted Lucid Motors a permit to operate a manufacturing unit in King Abdullah Economic City.

The Saudi foreign minister addressed the UN General Assembly on 24 September in a speech calling for the establishment of a Palestinian state and a “just, comprehensive solution to the Palestinian issue” while criticizing Israel for its ongoing illegal building of Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank.