Riyadh – Sharikat Mubasher: Adaverse, a Cardano ecosystem accelerator and seed fund with a focus on scaling Web3 solutions, inaugurated a report namely ‘State of Web3 in Saudi Arabia’ which zooms in on the most important developments unfolding in Saudi Arabia’s tech ecosystem.
With a special focus on Web3 technologies, this report also highlights the country’s current advancements, government initiatives, and market potential in areas such as NFTs, GameFi, and blockchain infrastructure.
Vincent Li, Founding Partner at Adaverse says: “We encourage innovators, entrepreneurs, and tech enthusiasts to engage with this dynamic sector, your involvement and collaboration is essential for shaping the ecosystem. With your contributions, we hope to see future editions of this report grow”.
The report explains why Saudi Arabia is a great market for Web3 as it requires a tech-savvy population, strong government support, and ample funding, meanwhile, Saudi Arabia is uniquely positioned to meet these needs with the largest market in the GCC and a youthful, enthusiastic population eager for technological adoption and it provides fertile ground for B2C Web3 solutions.
The ambitious Vision 2030 initiative further strengthens this by fostering a robust tech and innovation ecosystem. Additionally, substantial funding from both private and public sectors ensures that Web3 ventures have the financial backing necessary for their development cycles.
Saudi Arabia’s readiness is clear with 63% of its 36 million residents under 30 nearly 99% of Saudis connected to the internet, and 97% of people using smartphones, with half spending over seven hours online daily. According to the Saudi Internet Report 2022, 49.4% of internet users spend seven hours or more online each day and the average monthly use of mobile internet data is 37GB, demonstrating the profound integration of technology.
On the other hand, the Kingdom enjoys a supportive government that has early recognized the need to diversify its economy away from reliance on oil and petroleum products. Encapsulated in Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 economic diversification initiative, the government seeks to develop sectors such as technology & tourism with a focus on attracting FDI and up-skilling the native workforce.
The Kingdom has proactively implemented substantial measures to improve the country's investment climate. The establishment of the Ministry of Investment (MISA) and Saudi Industrial Development Fund (SIDF) has supported local innovation and entrepreneurship, as well as the Public Investment Fund (PIF) launched a number of key development and investment initiatives.
Vision 2030 is driven by numerous sub-projects, each targeting specific areas of economic diversification. One example is Digital Saudi 2030, which aims to improve digital infrastructure, support startups, and encourage technological research. Similarly, the Financial Sector Development Program, one of eleven executive programs by the Council of Economic and Development Affairs, aims to enhance Saudi Arabia’s regulatory environment and expand regional access to its financial markets
The results are evident: non-oil foreign direct investment has surged by 54% since 2020, while the private sector's GDP contribution has reached 65%. The number of new businesses in the kingdom is growing at an impressive 20% year-over-year rate, signaling a vibrant startup ecosystem.
