At LEAP, Saudi Arabia's national technology event, held in Riyadh from 31 August to 3 September, WIPO signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Saudi Bridge and Entrepreneurship Vision, adding two partners to the WIPO Global Awards ecosystem. Entrepreneurship Vision is chaired by Prince Fahad bin Mansour bin Nasser Al Saud, who also serves as President of Saudi Arabia's Startup20, the G20 engagement group dedicated to startups.
On one hand, the partnership makes it easier for Saudi startups and SMEs to take part in the WIPO Global Awards. WIPO and its partners intend to support Saudi innovators ahead of applying, including through IP diagnostics and guidance, so that companies can present the full value of the intellectual property they already hold.
On the other hand, the agreement gives WIPO Global Awards alumni a point of contact in the Saudi market. Saudi Arabia led venture-capital investment in the Middle East and North Africa in 2025, with $1.72 billion across 257 disclosed deals, and ranked first in the region for the third consecutive year, according to MAGNiTT. Under Vision 2030, the Kingdom aims to raise the contribution of SMEs to GDP from around 20% to 35% by 2030, supported by public financing bodies including the Saudi Venture Capital Company and Monsha'at.
WIPO thanks Dr. Essam Bukhary, member of the international jury of the WIPO Global Awards, for representing the organization at the signing, and Fahad Algahtani and Alwaleed Alkhlaiwi for a year of steady collaboration. We look forward to building on this partnership in the months ahead.