CAIRO: Saudi Arabia’s booming fintech sector is set to be boosted by an $80 million investment fund launched by Saudi Venture Capital Co.. The ‘Investment in Fintech VC Fund’ was launched in partnership with Saudi Arabia’s Capital Market Authority and the Financial Sector Development Program to preserve the Kingdom’s fintech industry growth that attracted almost 25 percent of all Saudi venture capital funding last year. SVC aims to stimulate and sustain financing for startups and small and medium enterprises from early stage to initial public offering by backing venture capital and private equity firms all around the region. The firm has been keen to empower the startup landscape in the Kingdom, and also signed a memorandum of understanding last month with the Saudi stock market Tadawul to support SMEs going public. The company will strategically place the new fund to support Saudi Arabia’s fintech ecosystem which raised $239 million in funding in 2022, according to venture data firm MAGNiTT. Saudi Arabia’s venture capital market has been one of the most attractive markets globally, capturing $987 million in funding last year, a 72 percent increase from the year before. The Kingdom’s 2022 funding boom came as investment across the world decreased by 35 percent year-on-year, while the US venture market experienced a 37 percent drop, according to Crunchbase. The UAE and Egypt, which are the region’s leading venture markets, also witnessed a decline in funding activity last year. Founded in 2018, SVC is a government investment company under the SME Bank and has invested in 35 funds which financed 525 companies through 904 deals.