Saudi Aramco, the largest oil and gas company in the world and Saudi Information Technology Company, a recently founded Saudi sovereign wealth fund PIF-owned company for digital and cyber security services, have signed an agreement to set up a joint venture that will invest in enterprise in information, communication and technology sector, Aramco announced in a statement today.
The statement notes that the JV will invest in companies in Saudi and rest of GCC with a focus on opportunities with significant potential for local value creation. It will also develop a platform for investing in high potential growth companies in the information, communication and technology sector with strategic importance to Saudi Arabia.
The size of initiative and of the investments it will be making is not clear. Aramco is already active in the VC ecosystem of Saudi with investments being made through its entrepreneurship arm Wa’ed.
Yousef Al-Ulyan, VP for Information Technology with Saudi Aramco, commented, “The joint venture with Saudi Information Technology Company will provide training and employment to Saudi nationals, as well as support the growth of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) active in the ICT sector in Saudi Arabia and the GCC market.”
Saudi Information Technology Company CEO Dr Saad Alaboodi, noted, “We are exploring promising opportunities with this joint venture that will drive the transformative leap of the digital resilience and technological advancement of the kingdom and the region.”
“This does not only afford our company a position to pioneer the transformation for realising Vision 2030 and lead the investment in national human capital and future technologies, but also speaks to the unique culture of service that the company provides to its clients and its mission to empower national capabilities with training and employment,” he added.
