In its inaugural year, the list from KSA highlights the Kingdom’s emerging startups through a four-pillar methodology that measures employment growth, engagement, job interest, and talent attraction. It showcases startups that are successfully navigating the evolution of consumer and business needs in the post-pandemic landscape.

Many are paving the way through the “Great Reshuffle,” a phrase coined by LinkedIn to signify the moment of unprecedented change in which employers and employees are rethinking how and why people work.

The startup funding rate in KSA, which was about $8 million per annum in 2016, surged to over $150 million in 2020 and continues to grow exponentially in 2021, according to business research firm Magnitt.

The top 10 companies on the list are:

- Sary

- Tamara

- Jahez International Co.

- The Chefz

- Salasa

- Zid

- Nejree

- Shgardi

- Hala

- Shift inc.

“Startups are a natural place to look to for forward thinking and innovation around the future of how we live and work. LinkedIn’s Top Startups list for KSA is the place to find the startups you should be paying attention to,” said Salma Altantawy, news editor for the Middle East and North Africa region at LinkedIn.

Based on the list, LinkedIn has identified three key trends driving the startup market in the Kingdom:

Convenience: The companies featured on the list are ones offering easy-to-use apps that have revolutionized the concept of convenience for customers and businesses in the country. Sary, for instance, connects small businesses with wholesalers to boost the supply chain, while Tamara aims to empower people with its buy now pay later business model.

Delivery: With people turning to e-commerce more and more during the pandemic, the convenience of using an app to order everything from groceries to sneakers has become second nature to most shoppers, explaining the success of companies such as Zid and The Chefz.

Logistics: Through innovation and technology, small companies are able to make a big impact. For example, Hala provides effective logistics solutions from warehousing to freight forwarding. Similarly, Shift inc. offers smart transportation solutions in an easy-to-use format.

“The startups — mostly in the apps, technology, information technology and business-to-business marketplace space — are innovative, contributing to the Kingdom’s growth and helping build the booming small to medium-sized enterprise ecosystem,” added Altantawy.