Saudi Arabia has more female technology entrepreneurs than in Europe: report

Saudi Arabia has a higher percentage of women working in the technology startup sector than in Europe, according to Endeavor Insight’s latest report released in April.

The report disclosed that Saudi Arabia’s startup rates for women in technology higher than those for men.

The participation rate of women in this sector reached 28 percent in the third quarter for last year, which more than 10 percent of the European average rate that extended 17.5 percent in the same period.

Kingdom’s Ministry of Communications and Information Technology had issued 139,754 new commercial licenses to women in 2021. This number of licenses have marked one of the largest growth rates globally.

Saudi Arabia aims to become a regional hub for tech entrepreneurship in the Middle East if more companies reach scale, the report read, citing progression from small companies to firms with more than 50 employees.

The study based on interviews with 70 technology entrepreneurs and more than 340 companies and their founders between thee period of September and November.

Moreover, the results depend on more than 250 support organizations and investment firms working with the Kingdom’s technology field.

“It was important to us to document this growth and impact to better understand the ecosystem and to create a valuable tool to guide policymakers, venture capitalists, and other stakeholders who support founders,” Lateefa Alwalaan managing director of Endeavor Saudi Arabia, said.