Latest news with #Awaed
Arab News
05-05-2025
- Business
- Arab News
Fintech founder describes journey in shaping Saudi finance
Adel Alateeq, co-founder and CEO of Awaed, reflected on a career that has witnessed the evolution of Saudi Arabia's investment landscape. In a discussion with The Majlis podcast produced in partnership with Arab News, Alateeq described his career path from traditional finance to fintech startup cofounder. Alateeq's early roles involved managing public equity funds, an area significantly affected by Saudi Arabia's market crash in February 2006. 'The market was booming, a lot of Saudis were participating in the Saudi markets,' he said. 'But, then, all of a sudden, came February 2006, a crash happens, and a lot of people lost trust, lost money, a lot of money in the market, and then they started looking for other things, and they started deserting the local markets.' The financial turmoil, coupled with the 2008 global financial crisis, highlighted the vulnerability of relying solely on public equities and spurred a search for alternative investments. This led Alateeq to work on the first real estate investment trust in Saudi Arabia with Riyad Capital, a project initiated around 2008 and eventually launched in 2016. Simultaneously, he championed the development of a venture capital fund with Riyad Capital. Discussions began in 2012, but it took four years to convince investors, primarily due to skepticism about the potential for startups in Saudi Arabia at the time. 'We started talking about the fund back in 2012. We only launched in 2016,' Alateeq said. 'It took us four years to convince investors, and to fundraise for our first VC fund, because a lot of investors did not believe that there would be startups coming out of Saudi.' Not long afterwards, Alateeq was tapped by the Public Investment Fund to join Jada Fund of Funds, founded in 2018. He said the mandate was to 'catalyze the private equity and venture capital industry' in Saudi Arabia. Despite the challenges of building a team remotely during the global pandemic, Jada achieved its five-year key performance indicators within just three years. Speaking about his move to establish the Awaed digital wealth management platform, Alateeq said: 'Entrepreneurship is part of me. I've always wanted to do something on my own, to have the freedom to do creative things out of the boundaries of large organizations.' Alateeq believes that Saudi retail clients are 'underserved' by existing players who struggle to reach them effectively. He challenges the notion that Saudis lack financial literacy, arguing that the key issue is one of 'access, not knowledge.' In line with the unique aspects of the Saudi market, Awaed allows users to screen out non-Sharia compliant investment options. Reflecting on the Saudi banking and investment sector, Alateeq said that its profitability can lead to complacency and a lack of innovation among many established players. 'The market is hungry,' he said. 'There's so much to do. But because of that, creativity is not at its best.' Alateeq is optimistic about the country's reforms under Vision 2030. 'I think today, the transformation that Saudi is going through is probably a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,' he said.
Mid East Info
20-02-2025
- Business
- Mid East Info
Investcorp Launches Investment Partnership with Fintech Firm Awaed - Middle East Business News and Information
Launch follows announcement of the commercial partnership in October 2024 Manama, Bahrain,February 2025 – Investcorp, a leading global alternative investment firm, has launched its commercial partnership with Awaed, the first commission-free Saudi trading platform. As of today, investors on Awaed will be able to gain access to pre-IPO Saudi and GCC companies by investing in Investcorp Saudi Pre-IPO Growth Fund (the ' Fund') on the Awaed platform. The launch was announced at LEAP 2025 last week with a signing ceremony attended by Mashaal AlJomaih, Managing Director and CEO of Investcorp Saudi Arabia Financial Investments Company ( ' ISAFIC'), and Adel Alateeq, Chief Executive Officer of Awaed. Investcorp is one of the first global asset managers to set up a strategic fintech commercial partnership of this kind in the Middle East, democratizing the alternative investments space. Awaed is a leading digital investment platform in Saudi Arabia and is the first fintech in Saudi Arabia to receive a full license from the Saudi Capital Markets Authority. This pioneering initiative will increase the avenues of investment for investors, providing access to the Fund. The Fund is dedicated to investing in a diversified portfolio of companies at a ' pre-IPO' stage of development in Saudi Arabia, providing investors with an opportunity to gain exposure to growing and market-leading businesses in the Kingdom. It forms part of the ' Investcorp Golden Horizon' platform, which was announced in April 2024 with an anchor commitment from the China Investment Corporation, one of the world's largest sovereign wealth funds. Data from Riyad Bank reveals that the Saudi private sector started 2025 with its best performance in ten years. The Saudi Purchasing Managers Index (PMI), which measures the performance of companies in the non-oil private sector, reached 60.5 in January, the highest recorded figure since September 2014[1], with companies observing higher sales volumes due to positive economic conditions and the acceleration of infrastructure projects. The Fund has already made investments in three market leading companies: Trukker: MENA's leading cloud-based freight platform, with operations across several countries including Saudi Arabia, the UAE and across Europe. NourNet: a leading independent provider of IT solutions in Saudi Arabia, offering connectivity and information and communications technology services to a wide range of clients in Saudi Arabia. Salla: a leading SaaS e-commerce enablement platform in Saudi Arabia. Mashaal AlJomaih, CEO of ISAFIC commented: ' With this partnership, investors now have an additional gateway to investment opportunities and can access the returns potential associated with private markets. Our commercial partnership with Awaed will actively contribute towards the thriving economy of Saudi Arabia ' s Vision 2030 by improving accessibility to investment products for investors, with the aim of building the personal wealth of the population.' Adel Alateeq, Chief Executive Officer, Awaed, commented: ' At Awaed, we believe in the importance of empowering retail investors through a smart and innovative platform that provides access to top-tier investment opportunities. Through this partnership with Investcorp, we have taken a step forward toward realizing our vision by enabling investors in the Kingdom to invest in Investcorp Saudi Pre-IPO Growth Fund, which focuses on companies with significant growth potential such as Salla, NourNet, and Trukker, among others across various sectors. This agreement strengthens investors' ability to diversify their portfolios and gain exposure to thriving economic sectors that contribute to sustainable growth.' Nahar Houthan, Managing Director, Deputy CEO of ISAFIC, commented: ' By partnering with Awaed, we offer access to companies with growth potential in attractive sectors, including consumer, healthcare, logistics and business services, all delivered with convenience and transparency. As the asset management sector continues to digitalize, offering these new solutions enhances the client experience and keeps investors front-of-mind.' About Investcorp: Investcorp is a global investment manager specializing in alternative investments across four asset classes : Private Equity (Mid-Market Buyouts, Growth Investments, and GP Staking), Real Assets (Infrastructure and Real Estate), Credit (CLOs, Broadly Syndicated Loans & Structured Credit, and Middle-Market Direct Lending), and Liquid Strategies (Absolute Return Investments and Insurance Asset Management). Since our inception in 1982, we have focused on generating attractive returns for our clients and seeking to create long-term value in our portfolio companies by adopting a disciplined investment process, employing talented professionals, and utilizing the resources of a global institution with an innovative approach. We invest capital in our products and strategies, aligning interests with our clients and other stakeholders. We pursue sustainable value creation through our investments and in the communities in which we operate and take pride in partnering with clients to deliver tailored solutions for their needs. Today, Investcorp manages approximately $53 billion in assets, including assets managed by third party managers. Investcorp has 14 offices in the US, Europe, GCC and Asia, including, India, China, Japan and Singapore and employs approximately 500 people from 50 nationalities globally.
Al Bawaba
19-02-2025
- Business
- Al Bawaba
Investcorp Launches Investment Partnership with Fintech Firm Awaed
Investcorp, a leading global alternative investment firm, has launched its commercial partnership with Awaed, the first commission-free Saudi trading platform. As of today, investors on Awaed will be able to gain access to pre-IPO Saudi and GCC companies by investing in Investcorp Saudi Pre-IPO Growth Fund (the 'Fund') on the Awaed platform. The launch was announced at LEAP 2025 last week with a signing ceremony attended by Mashaal AlJomaih, Managing Director and CEO of Investcorp Saudi Arabia Financial Investments Company ('ISAFIC'), and Adel Alateeq, Chief Executive Officer of Awaed. Investcorp is one of the first global asset managers to set up a strategic fintech commercial partnership of this kind in the Middle East, democratizing the alternative investments space. Awaed is a leading digital investment platform in Saudi Arabia and is the first fintech in Saudi Arabia to receive a full license from the Saudi Capital Markets Authority. This pioneering initiative will increase the avenues of investment for investors, providing access to the Fund. The Fund is dedicated to investing in a diversified portfolio of companies at a 'pre-IPO' stage of development in Saudi Arabia, providing investors with an opportunity to gain exposure to growing and market-leading businesses in the Kingdom. It forms part of the 'Investcorp Golden Horizon' platform, which was announced in April 2024 with an anchor commitment from the China Investment Corporation, one of the world's largest sovereign wealth funds. Data from Riyad Bank reveals that the Saudi private sector started 2025 with its best performance in ten years. The Saudi Purchasing Managers Index (PMI), which measures the performance of companies in the non-oil private sector, reached 60.5 in January, the highest recorded figure since September 2014[1], with companies observing higher sales volumes due to positive economic conditions and the acceleration of infrastructure projects. The Fund has already made investments in three market leading companies: Trukker: MENA's leading cloud-based freight platform, with operations across several countries including Saudi Arabia, the UAE and across a leading independent provider of IT solutions in Saudi Arabia, offering connectivity and information and communications technology services to a wide range of clients in Saudi a leading SaaS e-commerce enablement platform in Saudi Arabia. Mashaal AlJomaih, CEO of ISAFIC commented: 'With this partnership, investors now have an additional gateway to investment opportunities and can access the returns potential associated with private markets. Our commercial partnership with Awaed will actively contribute towards the thriving economy of Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 by improving accessibility to investment products for investors, with the aim of building the personal wealth of the population.' Adel Alateeq, Chief Executive Officer, Awaed, commented: 'At Awaed, we believe in the importance of empowering retail investors through a smart and innovative platform that provides access to top-tier investment opportunities. Through this partnership with Investcorp, we have taken a step forward toward realizing our vision by enabling investors in the Kingdom to invest in Investcorp Saudi Pre-IPO Growth Fund, which focuses on companies with significant growth potential such as Salla, NourNet, and Trukker, among others across various sectors. This agreement strengthens investors' ability to diversify their portfolios and gain exposure to thriving economic sectors that contribute to sustainable growth.' Nahar Houthan, Managing Director, Deputy CEO of ISAFIC, commented: 'By partnering with Awaed, we offer access to companies with growth potential in attractive sectors, including consumer, healthcare, logistics and business services, all delivered with convenience and transparency. As the asset management sector continues to digitalize, offering these new solutions enhances the client experience and keeps investors front-of-mind.' © 2000 - 2025 Al Bawaba (
