NEWS
Global venture debt player Stride Ventures establishes office in Riyadh
Fariha Ansari Javed its presence across the Gulf Cooperation Council- with Saudi Arabia at the epicentre of its ambitions. The move, which includes doubling its local team and opening a second regional office, is emblematic of a broader shift: the Kingdom is not just attracting capital, but fundamentally redefining the region’ s approach to startup financing. scale,” says Fariha Ansari Javed, Partner at Stride Ventures.
“ We are seeing a new generation of founders who understand the value of non-dilutive capital to scale responsibly and an equally ambitious set of investors in the region ready to fuel their growth”
In a striking signal of the Middle East’ s rapid financial maturation, Stride Ventures, a player in the global venture debt market, has announced significant expansion of
Stride Ventures now boasts an active investment pipeline of up to $ 110 million across the region, with an average cheque size of $ 10 million per transaction. This robust pipeline signals both the scale of opportunity and the growing appetite among Middle Eastern founders for strategic, founderfriendly debt capital. Stride’ s approachoffering sizable and flexible financing to ambitious startups- positions it as a critical enabler of the region’ s next wave of unicorns.
“ Saudi Arabia is shaping the future of venture capital and private credit with intention and
The implications are profound. The Middle East, long seen as a passive capital provider, is repositioning itself as an active hub for innovation finance. As Fariha puts it:“ Saudi Arabia is moving from being a capital source to becoming a capital magnet. Stride is proud to be part of this next chapter.”
Stride Ventures’ announcement coincides with the publication of the inaugural Global Venture Debt Report 2025, produced by team Stride in partnership with global consultancy Kearney.
UiPath appoints Sara Al-Alsheikh as Regional VP for Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain
UiPath, a global provider in agentic automation, announced appointment of Sara Al-Alsheikh as Regional Vice President and Managing Director for Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Bahrain, amid rising demand for AI-powered automation adoption across the Gulf.
Based in Riyadh, Al-Alsheikh will lead UiPath’ s go-to-market and customer success strategy across Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Bahrain and act as Managing Director of the UiPath regional hub, headquartered in Riyadh. Al-Alsheikh will focus on accelerating growth in key sectors such as government, banking, oil and gas, and others, strengthening UiPath’ s partner ecosystem, and driving customer success across largescale digital transformation initiatives.
“ UiPath has reached a pinnacle of innovation through the recent relaunch of the UiPath Platform as the first enterprise-grade
Sara Al-Alsheikh
platform for agentic automation on the market” said Sara Al-Alsheikh, Regional Vice President and Managing Director for Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Bahrain at UiPath.
Thanks to her exceptional track record of proven success having worked closely with UiPath customers in the region since joining in 2023 as Director of Public Sector and Public Investment Fund, PIF, Al-Alsheikh’ s appointment aligns with this momentum.
Furthermore, it is placing UiPath in a solid position to further support the Gulf’ s ambitious Vision 2030 objectives by fostering innovation and driving sustainable growth across key sectors, while also supporting gender inclusion goals.
“ Sara’ s leadership is a strategic asset for UiPath and a symbol of what’ s possible when talent, vision, and inclusion intersect,” said Zakaria Haltout, Area Vice President Middle East and Africa at UiPath.“ She brings not only invaluable regional insight but also the drive to execute at scale, and we are excited to see her lead our next chapter of growth.”
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