Flat6Labs, a MENA-focused venture capital firm, has launched the Startup Seed Fund to support early stage startups in Saudi Arabia.
Flat6Labs, a regional VC firm, has announced the first close of the Startup Seed Fund in Saudi Arabia. Saudi Venture Capital Company (SVC), a subsidiary of the Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) Bank, a development bank affiliated with the National Development Fund, and the “Jada” Fund of Funds, wholly owned by the Public Investment Fund (PIF), are participating.
Startup Seed Fund
The SAR 75 million (USD 19.9 million) fund seeks to invest in early-stage startups in the technology and innovation sectors within Saudi Arabia. According to Flat6Labs, the fund will initiate a diversified, systemic investment plan that seeks to reduce the risk faced by venture capital and that will reduce the administrative and legal costs incurred by early-stage startups. The fund also aims to enable startups to receive follow-on funding up to SAR 2.4 million (USD 64,000), and the selected startups will receive support and training programs as part of the program.
Creating over 6,000 jobs
The fund will seek to develop the capabilities of over 180 entrepreneurs and create more than 6,000 jobs in Saudi’s private sector. Flat6Labs will also support startups in expanding internationally through its regional offices. Due to the tech-related nature of the fund, it is hoped that it will support the transformation of the Saudi economy as it seeks to move away from oil and increase the contribution made by the digital economy to the Kingdom’s GDP.
Flat6Labs are currently accepting applications to the second cycle of the company’s seed program based in Riyadh. The program supports new startups located from Saudi Arabia that are seeking opportunities for expansion and investment across the MENA region.
Flat6Labs: MENA-focused investments
Launched in Egypt in 2011, Flat6Labs is a MENA-focused seed and early-stage venture capital firm that manages a number of seed funds with assets under management in excess of USD 85 million.
Read our exclusive interview with Ramez El-Serafy, Flat6Labs’ CEO about the company its approach to investment across the MENA region.