Saudi Unicorns Launches With An Eye Toward Creating More Startup Success Stories From The Kingdom

n a bid to bolster the Saudi Arabia’s entrepreneurial ecosystem, the country’s National Technology Development Program (NTDP) has unveiled a new program called Saudi Unicorns, which is aimed at supporting and enabling high-growth technology companies in the Kingdom to become “unicorns,” i.e. worth US$1 billion. 34 startups have been selected to be a part of the first cohort of the Saudi Unicorns program, which will see these enterprises be provided with an integrated set of services and offerings to help boost their respective businesses in the Kingdom and beyond.

Two separate tracks have been announced as part of the Saudi Unicorns program. The first of these is the Growth Track, which will enable high-growth tech startups in the pre-seed stage reach the growth stage, and the second is the Scaling Track, which shall support high-growth companies that have proved their readiness to expand to new local and international markets.

Be it with the provision of guidance and mentorship from a network of global experts, or with connections to relevant investors and/or large corporations, Saudi Unicorns will be offering an assortment of services at no cost to the enterprises that will be a part of the program. One of the companies in the current Saudi Unicorns cohort is Unifonic, which is the leading communications platform and communications platform as a service (CPaaS) provider in the Middle East. Commenting on his company’s inclusion in the program, Ahmed Hamdan, co-founder and CEO of Unifonic, said, “Being chosen for the Saudi Unicorns Program is an honor, and we are eager to embark on the next leg of our adventure. This latest feat further solidifies our position as the leader in the sector and acknowledges our efforts to provide an affordable enterprise-grade multilingual, seamless omnichannel communications platform throughout the Middle East.”

“This program will significantly improve the standing of regional businesses in the global tech sector, and give them the resources they require to successfully compete with industry behemoths,” Hamdan added. “We believe that it is important to create an ecosystem that fosters innovation and encourages a steady stream of ideas in order to pave the way to a sustainable future. Initiatives like the Saudi Unicorns Program are steps in the right direction.”