High-Impact Entrepreneurship

On January 24 in Riyadh, Endeavor Co-Founder & CEO Linda Rottenberg delivered the opening keynote at the annual gala dinner for Saudi Fast Growth (SFG) 100 — a national initiative to promote entrepreneurship and innovation in Saudi Arabia that ranks the fastest-growing emerging companies in the Kingdom.

Former US President Bill Clinton also spoke, as well as Endeavor Global Board member Arif Naqvi, CEO of Abraaj Capital.

“When I think about entrepreneurship taking root in the Kingdom and the MENA region,” said Linda, “I am actually struck by a lot of similarities with the landscape in Latin America just a decade ago.”

She elaborated on the conditions needed to foster an entrepreneurial culture in countries like Brazil and Mexico — factors such as mentors, role models, trust, and capital — and offered a series of tips to entrepreneurs and investors.

Linda encouraged up-and-coming entrepreneurs with an optimistic assessment: “I truly believe that the time is now for high impact entrepreneurship to transform the Kingdom and the region.”

The list of companies named to the SFG 100 was compiled by SAGIA with joint founding partners the National Commercial Bank and Al-Watan Arabic newspaper.