Saudi Arabia Showcases Potential Unicorns at VivaTech Paris

Saudi Arabia is quickly solidifying itself as a big global player in the startup scene – and at this year’s VivaTech, it announced the 5 companies leading the charge.

Monsha’at, the Kingdom’s Small and Medium Enterprises General Authority, took to the stage to introduce the world to 5 of their country’s most up-and-coming businesses.

 

Monsha’at Takes The Stage

 

Monsha’at’s attendance in the event was part of Saudi Unicorns, an initiative backed by Vision 2030 which is designed to help the country’s most promising SMEs reach unicorn status.

As part of this, Monsha’at are in charge of creating an environment that SMEs can thrive in, powering a more entrepreneurial society in Saudi.

VivaTech, which is held in Paris every year, drew in over 165,000 people, including investors, startups and journalists – so it was the perfect place for these startups to be introduced.

 

Promoting Saudi Innovation

 

In its ninth year, VivaTech 2025 has always been a place that countries, businesses and investors come together to build relationships and boost global innovation.

Speaking about the event, Saud Alsabhan, Vice Governor of Entrepreneurship at Monsha’at said “Our participation at VivaTech 2025 was a tremendous opportunity to not only showcase several of the best young startups and concepts coming out of the Kingdom. It was also a chance to allow some of our best tech entrepreneurs to share insights about the Kingdom’s booming startup ecosystem with leading global investors and innovators.”

 

 

Saudi’s Growth

 

Saudi Arabia’s involvement in VivaTech comes at a time when the country is building strong momentum for its SMEs.

In the first quarter of 2025, Saudi recorded a 48% quarter-on-quarter increase in commercial registrations, hitting 1.68 million active registrations across the country.

High-growth sectors included e-commerce, which saw a 6% increase to 41,322 registered entities, and cloud-computing, which surged 33% during the same period.

 

Meet the Five Saudi Startups Heading For Unicorn Status

 

The 5 Saudi Startups introduced at VivaTech show Saudi’s commitment to boosting areas like mobility, fintech and e-commerce.

According to Monsha’at, each startup is growing quickly and has strong potential to hit unicorn status in the coming years.

The startups are:

 

Telgani

 

 

Telgani is a digital car rental marketplace that allows users to rent cars at the best prices and have them delivered directly to their doors.

The startup is on a mission to help more people across Saudi access the vehicles they need.

With over 3 million users already on the platform, Telgani gives renters a choice of over 75 car brands and over 50,000 models to choose from.

 

Soum

 

 

Soum is a second-hand devices app, where people can buy and sell used mobiles, smart watches, tablets, laptops and more.

The company currently has over 6 million downloads, boosting the circular tech economy in the country. As a leader in the ecommerce industry, Soum is building a marketplace that allows users to buy and sell anything online.

 

Webook

 

 

Webook is an event tech platform that allows people to find tickets for boxing matches, sports, music concerts, shows, experiences & more.

With a huge range of events on the app and over $500 million in transactions, Webook is powering events all over the MENA region.

 

SiFi

 

 

Sifi is a fintech scaleup that helps SMEs with financial management. With tools like expense management, financial tracking and automated accounting, it’s helping over 500 Saudi SMEs spend and control their finances in a smarter, more connected way.

 

Rewaa

 

 

Rewaa is one of the fastest-growing retail tech companies in the country, pulling together inventory management, POS systems and cloud-based accounting to help retailers with their operations.

Rewaa currently serves over 7,000 clients and is focused on helping retail businesses across Saudi improve their inventory and operations.