Saudi Jada: Pandemic resulted in $266 mln worth of investment opportunities in 2020

Published 18 Jan,2021 via Asharq Alawsat (English Edition) - Adel Al Ateeq, CEO of Jada Fund of Funds Co. (Jada), said that the goal of the company was to stimulate investment in private equity and venture capital funds, thus financing the growth of the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) sector in Saudi Arabia in a sustainable manner.

“In Jada, we are not only looking for profit, but we are forming a nest for an entire sector, the investment sector, with the aim of enhancing its positive contribution to the Saudi economy,” Al Ateeq told Asharq Al-Awsat in an exclusive interview.

Jada – the Saudi Fund of Funds - was approved by the Saudi Council of Ministers in 2016 and launched in 2019. Al Ateeq said that the company - founded by the Public Investment Fund (PIF) with a capital of 4 billion riyals (one billion dollars) - is focusing on benefiting from the diversity of resources and the multiplicity of sectors, activating the human potential and attracting foreign investments.

Asked about the repercussions of the Covid-19 pandemic on the investment climate in 2020, he said: “Certainly, it was a difficult year health wise and economically for the entire world, and undoubtedly, everyone felt these effects… Here, experiences and right insights play their role, allowing challenges to be transformed into opportunities.”

He explained: “The challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic brought with it investment opportunities in many sectors, especially those related to technology and entrepreneurship. For example, the quarterly report of the Saudi Venture Capital and Private Equity Association showed that investments in SMEs grew by 300 percent during the second quarter of 2020 compared to the same period last year.”

Al Ateeq noted that despite the repercussions of the pandemic, Jada implemented “many excellent partnerships.”

“So far, we have invested in 14 private equity and venture capital funds, worth up to one billion riyals (USD 266.6 million), and now we are focusing our goals on continuing impactful investment, especially as the world begins to recover from this pandemic,” he said.

Al Ateeq continued: “We are looking forward to 2021 with great ambition, and we are planning to implement quality and impactful investments that continue to ensure the flow of good financial returns and enhance Jada’s contribution to the Saudi economy.”

The CEO of Jada underlined the importance of partnerships with the different Saudi institutions.

He said the company was working with the Saudi Capital Market Authority and other regulators to develop frameworks and to transfer successful global experiences to investment funds within the Kingdom in order to accelerate their growth and improve their performance.

Managing, dealing with, and assessing risk is an essential feature of the experts who work with Jada, and those who manage the funds the company invests in, he noted.

Asked about the company’s investment priorities, Al Ateeq said: “If we review the agreements that were concluded, you will notice that we focus on certain sectors. We have concluded partnership agreements with investment funds to finance emerging companies in the technology, entertainment and industry sectors, as well as the food and beverage sector. At the same time, we are open to all sectors, and what matters to us is the quality, specifically the sectors that have the greatest impact on the level of economic development and job creation.”

Jada’s investment portfolio currently includes more than 240 SMEs that have provided more than 1,125 job opportunities in the Kingdom, he noted.

“We are not a legislative body, but we are able to contribute to the development of sectors that we think are most beneficial to the Saudi economy by approaching the issue from the investor’s point of view. Therefore, through our investments, we stress the importance of applying the most important global ethical standards,” Al Ateeq told Asharq Al-Awsat.

He revealed that the company has benefited from the experiences of funds in Western and European countries, and some Asian countries, such as Singapore and Hong Kong.

“But each country has its own experience; and here in the Fund of Funds Co. we have our own experience that suits the Saudi economy, the nature of investments and the SMEs in Saudi Arabia,” he said.

On the factors that help Jada achieve its goals, Al Ateeq said that those include “our leadership’s support, the Kingdom’s focus on the importance of investment, and Vision 2030, which lays the foundations for all these trends, in addition to the vitality of Saudi Arabia’s economy, the diversity of its resources, and the availability of experts and managers who can be described as professionals, especially from within the country.”

In addition, Jada’s CEO also cited the great progress in the Kingdom’s legal structures, the development of the culture of initiative and innovation, the establishment of private enterprises, and the determination to empower the private sector.

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