Falak & Wa’ed Sign MoU to Fund More Saudi Startups Through VC Deals

Falak Investment Hub - a Saudi VC and accelerator led by Founder and CEO Adwa AlDakheel, one of the most influential female entrepreneurs in Saudi Arabia - is looking to escalate capital investment in the Kingdom through a new agreement with Wa'ed, the entrepreneurship branch of Aramco.

The freshly signed MoU would bring in Falak's unique hybrid of an accelerator program, VC investments, angel investor networks and co-working spaces to increase the likelihood of success in early-stage and growth-stage startups in Saudi Arabia. Meanwhile, as Saudi Arabia's only no-collateral lender to startups, Wa'ed would leverage Falak's various programmes, networks and mentors.

"The Saudi entrepreneurial ecosystem grows through cooperation and alliances," said AlDakheel. "This collaboration with Wa’ed will leverage the synergies between our companies to benefit entrepreneurs across the Kingdom.”

“With the robust platforms and complementary resources our organisations bring to the table, I am confident this cooperation will enable us to fund more entrepreneurs and innovators that will add value to the Kingdom’s venture capital ecosystem,” said Wassim Basrawi, the Wa’ed Managing Director.

Falak is known for launching Saudi Arabia's first angel-backed acceleration programme, and has been graduating batches of startups through its 'Flagship Acceleration Program'. Taken together, Falak's portfolio of startups has generated over SAR 550 million. Wa’ed, for its part, has signed off on over SAR 375 million in venture capital investments and loans into Saudi-based startups since its founding in 2011.