At Leap 2024, Hong Kong start-ups and investors lay groundwork to tap future Saudi Arabia growth

Jamy

Editor

posted on 9 months ago — updated on 1 second ago

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Start-ups and investors say attending the Leap tech conference is about building relationships for a market seen as ‘like China in the late 90s’
Saudi Arabia is seen by some as a growth market where sanctioned companies like Huawei and DJI can compete equally with US tech giants

This week’s third annual Leap technology conference in Riyadh, which ran from Monday through Thursday, was seen by Hong Kong start-ups and investors as an opportunity to make inroads in Saudi Arabia as it invests heavily to take on the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as the dominant regional market.

The government-backed conference has been able to attract attention from companies large and small because Saudi Arabia is seen as the next big growth market in the region compared with the more mature UAE market, where Dubai typically leads as a destination for tech investment.

“I always give the sort of rough comparison of Saudi [Arabia] as more like China in the late 90s, early 2000s, with UAE or Dubai more like Hong Kong: sexy, bright lights, tourists and so on,” said Patrick Tsang, founder of the Hong Kong-based Tsangs Group family office. “But [the UAE] is a much smaller place, much less population and fewer projects than you can invest into.”

“Because [the UAE is] so mature now, it’s actually quite difficult to penetrate the relationships with the top brass and the business leaders,” the British investor added. “Whereas in Saudi, they’re … a little bit after the beginning, and this is the best time to come. So the next 10-15 years in Saudi is a golden period for them, and also for investors.”

Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry Sun Dong talks with Saudi Arabia’s Vice-Governor of the Research, Development and Innovation Authority Abdulrahman Alsufvani at the Leap conference in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on March 4, 2024. SCMP/ Matt Haldane

Leap 2024 also marked the first year to host a pavilion dedicated to Hong Kong start-ups. Attendees there noted the potential of the Saudi market as the main driver of their interest rather than any material benefits they might realise today.

“We didn’t have many expectations [for Saudi Arabia] … It’s definitely exploratory for us,” said Pete Laverick, senior project manager at tech education firm Preface and head of business development for its Web3 affiliate Prolog. Preface attended the event as part of a Cyberport delegation, joined by Hong Kong Science and Technology Park (HKSTP), which covered airfare and accommodation for the Post’s trip to Leap.

“It’s definitely a market we’re looking to move into with both Preface and Prolog,” Laverick added. “So it’s really a case of coming here, trying to get a lay of the land a bit, meet some people, and start building those relationships.”

For a company like Prolog, Dubai in the UAE would make more sense as a regional headquarters. The city has become a major global Web3 hub, attracting some cryptocurrency entrepreneurs previously chased out of mainland China.