Monsha’at, Saudi Arabia’s Small and Medium Enterprises General Authority, led a group of five potential Saudi unicorn startups to participate in VivaTech 2025, Europe’s premier technology and innovation exhibition. This participation is part of the Saudi Unicorns initiative, which aligns with Saudi Vision 2030 and aims to help fast-growing companies in promising sectors achieve valuations exceeding $1 billion.

The event, held in Paris from June 11-14, attracted 13 500 startups, 3 200 investors, and over 165 000 attendees. It provided a significant opportunity for Monsha’at to introduce high-potential Saudi startups to global best practices, industry insights, and strategic networks with leading global stakeholders. This exposure is intended to help these startups gain fresh perspectives and the necessary skills to scale internationally while sharing Saudi Arabia’s success story with prominent tech investors.

Saud Alsabhan, the Vice Governor of Entrepreneurship at Monsha’at, emphasized that participating in VivaTech 2025 was a remarkable opportunity to showcase some of the Kingdom’s best young startups and concepts. He noted that it also allowed Saudi tech entrepreneurs to share insights about the Kingdom’s thriving startup ecosystem with influential global investors and innovators.

The Monsha’at-led cohort included five startups: Telgani, a digital car rental platform boasting over 3 million users; Soum, a second-hand sales app with over 6 million downloads; Webook, a digital engagement platform that has processed over $500 million in event transactions; SiFi, which offers financial solutions to more than 500 Saudi companies; and Rewaa, a retail tech company serving over 7 000 clients across the Kingdom. These companies exemplify the vibrancy of Saudi Arabia’s expanding e-commerce, transportation, entertainment technology, fintech, and retail tech sectors.

This involvement comes amid a strong momentum for the Kingdom’s SME and startup ecosystems. In the first quarter of 2025, Saudi Arabia’s private sector recorded a 48% quarter-on-quarter increase in commercial registrations, reaching 1.68 million active registrations nationwide. High-growth sectors included e-commerce, which saw a 6% rise to 41,322 registered entities, and cloud computing, which surged 33% during the same period.

Monsha’at’s presence at VivaTech 2025 underscores Saudi Arabia’s commitment to fostering entrepreneurship, facilitating international partnerships, and accelerating the growth of Saudi tech leaders, particularly in the SME sector.