“Saudi Arabia’s startup ecosystem has affirmed its leading position in the funding space, capturing over 53 percent of the region’s venture debt financing in 2023, according to MAGNiTT’s latest report. The venture data platform revealed that Saudi startups raised a total of $400 million in venture debt last year, a 602 percent growth compared to $57 million in 2022.” Saudi startups take lead in MENA funding space [Arab News]
“Let’s just say this would be a historic agreement that would upgrade the security partnership between the United States and Saudi Arabia. It would upgrade the economic relationship. It would bring Israel and Saudi Arabia essentially into the same region. And it would bring benefits and a path to statehood for the Palestinians. So, that’s a lot. It’s a complex set of discussions. And I’m really reluctant to get into the details of things, some of which are still yet to be negotiated.” Michael Ratney, the US ambassador to Saudi Arabia, How Close Are We To A ‘Historic’ US-Saudi Deal? [Eurasia Review]
“After seven years in England I think the first thing was the sun. I never had summer sun in my life. It’s been different you know, different culture, different football, the mentality of people as well but so far I’m really happy. My family is happy. The club is amazing so far it’s a great experience and looking forward to more years.” Aleksandar Mitrovic, Aleksandar Mitrovic and Ruben Neves enjoying work-life balance of Saudi Pro League [Sky News]
“Real-time payments eliminate payment friction, inject greater liquidity into the system, and promote economic growth and financial inclusion. Yet, their full potential can only be realized when banks transcend legacy silo systems. With real-time payment schemes now operational in every GCC nation, local banks are at a pivotal juncture where they must harness technological evolution as the catalyst for innovation. The path to innovation lies in modernizing and future-proofing their infrastructure, enabling them to fully leverage the potential of real-time payments.” Santhosh Rao, Senior Vice President, Sales at ACI Worldwide MEASA, The Middle East Is the Fastest Growing Real-Time Payments Market Globally For The Second Consecutive Year, Finds ACI Worldwide Report [Fintech Finance News]
“As for many middle powers/swing states in the Global South, for Saudi Arabia, multi-alignment is the logical response to a more volatile, complex, multipolar world order, Not marriage but a fluid set of relationships is the way Riyadh sees it can hedge against international instability and leverage its strengths and assets to greatest advantage.” Kristina Kausch, deputy managing director of GMF South, Saudi Arabia Is Becoming One of Biden’s Most Important Swing States [Newsweek]
“What’s unique about these projects is they’ve achieved extremely low cost of electricity that is considered the lowest we’ve seen globally Achieving extremely low tariffs on renewables is definitely helping reduce the cost of power generation in Saudi Arabia.” Mazin Albahkali, chief executive officer of SPPC, Believe it or not: Even in Saudi Arabia, renewable power is cheaper than fossil fuels [Economic Times]
“We don’t pause. We don’t do neutral” Savvy Games CEO Brian Ward in a joint interview with Prince Faisal bin Bandar bin Sultan Al Saud, chair of the Saudi eSports Federation. Saudi Arabia spending big for a place on the gaming map [Al-Monitor]
“It is not done. Nobody here is going to say this is, you know, just right around the corner… We now have a near final set of arrangements, which will be the bilateral elements of this deal.” A Biden administration official on condition of anonymity, US-Saudi defense deal with civil nuclear component nears completion, official says [Reuters]
