Start-ups from across the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) had raised nearly $375 million with Saudi firms taking a sizeable chunk of the pie, netting $219 million across 23 investment deals in February, according to a report.

With 58 per cent of overall funding in the wider region going towards Saudi Arabia, it is no surprise to hear that headcount has grown by 20 per cent within the kingdom’s start-ups over the past 12 months, said the report by leading recruitment consultancy Robert Walters Group, adding that this figure is expected to grow further this year as the government continues to create the ideal environment for start-up growth and international investment.

The competitive recruitment landscape between big corporates and start-ups continues to grow, with approximately three times the number of jobs posted vs available talent.

Faisal Saqallah, the Consultant from Robert Walters Saudi Arabia, shares his thoughts on why start-ups are winning the race on talent.

THE CAREER ACCELERATOR

With relatively flat structures and hands-on founders and CEOs - new starters can find themselves lining up into the senior leadership team from day one, explained Saqallah.

By taking on several different responsibilities and working closely with senior members of the team, start-up environments enable you to prove your worth early on, as well providing an opportunity for your work to be recognised if it has had a direct impact on the business, he stated.

Unlike within corporate structures, leaders will be able to clearly see your involvement in a project’s initial stages to completion, and as a result, the rate of advancement at start-ups tends to be much faster.

According to the Robert Walters Report – Act Like a Start-Up and Win the War on Talent – 50 per cent of professionals in Saudi Arabia are interested in working for a start-up for their next career move.

“This is not surprising therefore to see that our survey found that over half of professionals (52 per cent) would be willing to take a pay cut and join a start-up if they saw an opportunity to progress much quicker than they would do within a corporate set-up,” stated Saqallah.

“After any period of economic change, we typically see a wave of entrepreneurial or start-up activity – and so it doesn’t surprise me to hear of the success of this sector, so much so that Saudi Arabia now ranks sixth in global entrepreneurial competitiveness,” he stated.

“But what is most interesting is how these relatively-new 10-30 person companies are managing to draw some of the county’s top talent away from established firms who typically offer much higher levels of job security,” noted Saqallah.

“Post pandemic we have seen a significant shift in what professionals want from their employer – with purpose, culture, and people, rated above competitive pay and the well mapped-out corporate ladder,” he added.

The top 16 upcoming start-ups in Saudi Arabia are:

• Sary - A B2B, e-commerce marketplace with $37.1 million in funding and a headcount of 251 to 500;

• Tamara - A financial services, fintech and mobile payments group - $116 million- 51-100 headcount;

• Red Sea Farms - An agriculture, agtech, farming group ($14,348,00) and headcount of 10;

• Gathern - A customer services company ($6 million) with a headcount of 11-50;

• unifonic - An IT, messaging, PaaS, SaaS and SMS firm ($21 million) with 101-500 headcount;

• Nana - An e-commerce, groceries and internet firm ($28.9 million) with 101-250 headcount;

• Salla - An e-commerce, IT, internet company ($8.5 million) with 11 to 50 headcount;

• Jahez - Food delivery  ($36.5 million) with 11 to 50 headcount;

• PayTabs - An e-commerce, financial services, fintech and mobile firm ($2.53 million) with 51 to 100 headcount;

• Zid - E-commerce, internet, retail ($8.9 million) with 101 to 250 headcount;

• Nearpay - FinTech, mobile payments, software ($2.7 million); 1 to 10 headcount;

• Fordeal - An e-commerce company ($20 million) with 51 to 100 headcount;

• Lendo - A finance and FinTech firm ($7.2 million) with 11 to 50 headcount;

• Acwa Power - A renewable energy firm ($239 million) with 1001-5000 headcount;

• Lean Technologies - Developer platform, finance, IT, mobile apps, software ($3.5 million) with 1 to 10 headcount and

• FalconViz - Architecture, Drones - ($1.76 million) with 11 to 50 headcount.

SCALE-UP MENTALITY

Start-ups are designed to have high growth potential – and so it is not surprising to see that on average decisions are processed 4x quicker in a start-up than within a large firm (250+). The changing and fast-paced nature of a start-up will keep employees on their toes, encouraging them to develop new skills as they go, and push boundaries beyond the initial job description.