An actionable strategy that is already bearing fruit

• Saudi Arabia aims to become a global hub for data and AI, thanks to a dedicated National Data and AI Strategy.
• The Kingdom is targeting to train 40% of its total workforce on basic data and AI literacy skills to produce at least 15,000 targeted local data and AI specialists and 5,000 experts by 2030.
• Saudi Arabia is working to become one of the top ten countries in the Open Data Index by 2030.
• By 2030, the Kingdom intends to have a high level of legislative maturity in the areas of data and AI
• Saudi Arabia aims to facilitate $8 billion worth of FDI and $12 billion worth of cumulative local investments in data and AI by 2030.
• Saudi Arabia intends to position itself among the top 20 countries for peer reviewed data and AI publications by 2030.
• Saudi Arabia aims to establish 300 dedicated data and AI startups by 2030.

The region's largest and most lucrative e-commerce market

• Saudi Arabia's e-commerce market is valued at $13 billion in 2021, a 45% share of the GCC market.
• The e-commerce market grew by 32% from 2015 to 2020 and is expected to grow at 16% CAGR by 2025, reaching $21 billion. .

Attractive e-commerce investment destination

• Strategic geographic location as a gateway to Africa, Europe, and Asia to establish fulfillment centers with the necessary infrastructure and the government's large-scale investment in mega projects.
• Global e-commerce players have a huge opportunity to establish regional headquarters in Saudi Arabia to address GCC market demand and develop Arabic user interfaces to serve the local market.
• With an investment of $58 million, e-commerce investor can expect to breakeven after 6 years of operation
• By 2030, investors can generate $1.7 billion in net revenues in Saudi Arabia and an additional $600 million from the GCC while maintaining an EBITDA of 8%.

Big multinationals have already chosen Saudi Arabia

• Amazon, the world's largest e-commerce marketplace, has been steadily expanding its presence in Saudi Arabia.
• Amazon has announced plans to expand its storage capacity in Saudi Arabia by 89% with the addition of eleven new buildings. Amazon's storage capacity will total more than 867,000 square feet, which is more than ten football fields.
• The expansion will also increase Amazon's area coverage in the Kingdom by 58%.

An emerging leader in cloud services

• In 2018, the government issued a cloud computing regulatory framework, which resulted in an increase of 28% in cloud computing spending, reaching $1.7 billion in 2018 and $2 billion in 2019
• The spending on cloud computing is expected to grow by 22% CAGR between 2021 and 2024, reaching $6 billion.

  The FinTech industry in the Kingdom is growing at a rapid rate

  • Between 2017 and 2019, the value of fintech transactions increased at a rate of over 18% each year, reaching over $20 billion in 2019.
  • Payments account for two-third of the market and almost 98% of the user base. It is followed by personal finance which comprise over 30% of the FinTech transaction values.
  • The number of payments made through SADAD has increased by a CAGR of 11% between 2016-19 to reach 270 million transactions in 2019.
  • The value of SADAD transactions has grown by a CAGR of 24% in the corresponding period to reach $119 billion
  • The number of smart phone payment transactions in Saudi Arabia increased by 352% year-on-year reaching 19.7 million in April 2020, compared to 4.4 million in April 2019
  • The FinTech market is expected to reach transaction values of over $33 billion by 2023.