SAB Invest Partners with Stride Ventures to Boost Saudi Startup Scene

Editorial Team

Last updated 29-10-2025

3 min

SAB Invest partners with Stride Ventures to boost Saudi Arabia's venture capital ecosystem.

This collaboration aims to fund startups using non-dilutive methods, easing entrepreneurs' equity concerns.

Shariah-compliant financing will target innovation-led sectors like fintech, health tech, and logistics.

The move aligns with Vision 2030 and enhances local investment opportunities for global growth.

Stride Ventures plans to invest about $500 million in the GCC region over three to five years.

Saudi Arabia’s investment scene is buzzing again—this time with SAB Invest teaming up with Stride Ventures, one of India’s leading growth debt and private credit platforms. The duo’s goal? To bolster the Kingdom’s venture capital ecosystem and draw in more international know-how to fuel its startup economy. I’ve seen plenty of talk about Saudi’s push to diversify its economy, but this move feels particularly spot on for what Vision 2030 is aiming to achieve.

SAB Invest, which reportedly manages over SAR 36 billion in assets as of mid-2025, seems to be widening its horizons beyond traditional finance. By joining hands with Stride Ventures, they’re looking at ways to back startups and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) using non-dilutive funding methods. That means founders can raise capital to scale their businesses without handing over a big slice of ownership—a relief for many entrepreneurs, if you ask me.

What stands out here is the focus on innovation-led sectors. The partnership will roll out Shariah-compliant financing solutions across industries such as fintech, B2B SaaS, logistics, consumer goods, and health tech—areas that have been gaining serious traction in the Gulf. And believe it or not, this could help turn Saudi into an even stronger hub for creative, tech-driven ventures.

Ali Almansour, Managing Director and CEO at SAB Invest, said that the deal complements the Kingdom’s broader economic transformation plan, adding that the company aims to “expand the investable universe” for clients by localising global financial expertise. In simpler terms, it’s about bringing big-league investment models to home turf and giving local startups a fair shot at sustainable funding.

On the flip side, for Stride Ventures, this marks a confident stride (no pun intended) into the GCC market. Founder and Managing Partner Ishpreet Singh Gandhi called the partnership a reflection of Stride’s growing commitment to the region, highlighting plans to deploy around $500 million over the next three to five years. That figure isn’t just impressive—it signals genuine confidence in the region’s entrepreneurial potential.

From where I sit, the tie-up aligns neatly with Arageek’s mission of seeing more founders across MENA step into the global spotlight. I still remember talking to a young startup founder in Riyadh who said getting access to fair, flexible capital was “a bit of a faff.” Partnerships like this could finally smooth that out, helping dreamers turn business plans into thriving operations.

It’s also worth mentioning that SAB Invest recently launched its Multi-Strategy Private Investment Fund I, designed to deliver stable returns through private credit opportunities across Saudi, the GCC, and MENA. I reckon this partnership with Stride just slots right into that bigger picture. It’s early days, sure—but the energy behind it feels, well… genuinely exciting, even if I’m not usually one for overhyping finance news.

If all goes to plan, the collaboration could energise the region’s startups and give global investors fresh ways to join the Saudi growth story. And for those of us who’ve been watching MENA’s booming scene unfold, that’s definately something to keep an eye on.

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