Establishment of a $100 Million Investment Fund through Saudi-Japanese Partnership
BIM Ventures has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Japan’s SBI Holdings, in collaboration with the Saudi Ministry of Investment, to establish a joint investment fund worth $100 million. The fund aims to build and invest in startups within the Saudi market.
The MoU signing took place in the presence of Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Minister of Energy, Prince Badr bin Abdullah bin Farhan, Minister of Culture, Engineer Khalid Al-Falih, Minister of Investment, Engineer Abdullah Al-Sawaha, Minister of Communications and Information Technology, and Japanese Minister of Economy and Industry Saito Ken, along with representatives from the Ministry of Investment and senior officials from both companies.
This collaboration aims to enhance economic relations between Saudi Arabia and Japan and to support startups in the Saudi market by providing the necessary funding for the stages of establishment and growth, in addition to guidance and mentorship from experts to ensure the success of these companies. The fund also seeks to attract foreign investments to Saudi Arabia and create an encouraging and innovative investment environment.
In this context, Mohamed Amin Muraeh, Managing Partner and CEO of BIM Ventures, stated: “The agreement with SBI Holdings reflects our commitment to fostering an entrepreneurial environment in the Kingdom and providing opportunities for startups to achieve growth and innovation. Our primary goal is to collaborate with the Ministry of Investment to attract local and international partnerships to have a positive impact on the Kingdom’s economy.”
Yoshitaka Kitao, CEO of SBI Holdings, added: “We consider the Middle East a strategically important region and seek to enhance our presence there. We are proud to support startups in Saudi Arabia and contribute to its economic growth, leveraging our global network and venture investment expertise that we have developed since the company was founded in 1999.”
This initiative is part of the Kingdom’s efforts to achieve its vision of increasing the private sector’s contribution to GDP, attracting more foreign investments, and enhancing Saudi Arabia’s ranking among the top ten economies in the Global Competitiveness Index by 2030.
