Saudi Arabia and Macquarie Partner to Supercharge Infrastructure Growth

It looks like momentum is picking up in Saudi Arabia’s infrastructure scene—and not in a half-hearted way, either. The Public Investment Fund (PIF) and Macquarie Asset Management (that’s MAM for short) have just inked a Memorandum of Understanding, or MoU, to explore investment opportunities across sectors that most definitely aren’t old hat: digital infrastructure, electric vehicles, and energy storage, to name a few.

Now, this MoU is all about joining forces: PIF, with a whopping $925 billion under management, and Macquarie, which manages more than $600 billion in client assets worldwide, are two heavyweights in their own right. The idea is for them to put their heads—and wallets—together to accelerate the rollout of Saudi’s infrastructure ambitions, particularly as the kingdom aims to diversify its economy under the Vision 2030 agenda. MAM even plans to set up shop in Riyadh, underscoring the trend of global players putting down roots in the Gulf.

According to Yazeed A. Al-Humied, who oversees MENA investments at PIF, bringing a world-class asset manager like Macquarie on board is “a significant milestone” in attracting top-tier expertise and unlocking international capital. That’s spot on—because, let’s face it, if you want to go beyond what’s bog-standard in infrastructure and tap into global best practice, you need partnerships like these.

Ben Way, who leads Macquarie Asset Management globally, echoed this optimism, expressing excitement about the “opportunities presented by Saudi Arabia’s economic transformation” and looking forward to swapping know-how from some 30 years in infrastructure projects. He mentioned ambitions to help develop local talent while working on transformative projects—something that should, in theory, trickle down benefits to the overall ecosystem and not just fill up corporate coffers.

Now, as someone who’s spent a fair amount of time highlighting stories of daring and determination across the MENA startup community for Arageek, I can’t help but admire the sheer scale of vision at play here. That said, I’ll admit—sometimes these big MoUs can be a bit of a faff, with all the ceremony but little substance down the line. Still, a partnership of this magnitude feels different, if only because both sides have a track record of putting their money where their mouth is.

All the same, a reality check: this deal is non-binding for now, which means it needs the usual stamp of approval from regulators and the relevant boards before things really start moving. In other words—don’t break out the bunting just yet.

Something that caught my eye (and that often gets brushed aside in the buzz) is the specific mention of capacity-building and knowledge-sharing. It’s easy to forget, but strengthening local capabilities is crucial if you’re serious about building a self-sustaining innovation scene—exactly the sort of thing we at Arageek get chuffed to bits about when it actually happens.

On a wider level, partnerships like this don’t just bring foreign money into the mix; they offer a chance to raise the bar for everyone. And believe it or not, Saudi has already launched more than a hundred new companies through the PIF since 2017. If this MoU leads to even a handful of genuinely transformative infrastructure projects, I reckon it’ll have been well worth the effort… Well, provided the red tape doesn’t tie them in knots first!

For anyone in the region’s startup or entrepreneurship space, it’s certainly a story worth keeping an eye on—not least because the trickle-down effect on local supply chains and talent development could be game-changing. Here’s hoping it doesn’t all get lost in the bureaucracy, you know?

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