French Entrepreneur: Saudi Arabia is a Launchpad for Technology into Global Markets

French entrepreneur and investor Julie Barbier views Saudi Arabia not just as a market, but as a strategic launchpad for technology companies aiming for global reach. She emphasizes the Kingdom's robust digital infrastructure, readily available capital, rapid execution capabilities, and extensive customer base as ideal conditions for developing and scaling innovative technologies for international markets.

Barbier, who is the founder and CEO of Merit, a company specializing in engagement and incentive technologies, noted that Saudi Arabia's economic transformation under Vision 2030 has cultivated a highly ambitious business environment. This environment readily embraces new ideas and is actively restructuring key sectors like finance, tourism, transportation, and government services. Merit's Saudi team, for instance, achieves 59 percent higher innovation efficiency than the company's benchmark and generates approximately eight new innovation initiatives weekly.

She further explained that Saudi Arabia's high digital adoption rates, willingness of major institutions to collaborate on innovative solutions, abundant capital, and the simultaneous transformation of economic sectors provide entrepreneurs with invaluable real-world use cases and serious customers. This allows for the effective testing and refinement of new products at scale before their international rollout. Barbier stated, "That is why I see Saudi Arabia not simply as a technology market, but as a launchpad for companies with regional and global ambitions."

Vision 2030's clear direction and shared ambition across government, business, and entrepreneurship are significant contributions, according to Barbier. She observes that while some goals may progress faster than others, the overall momentum is strong. This clarity of ambition accelerates decision-making and encourages experimentation, which is crucial for developing novel solutions. Merit has established its regional headquarters in Riyadh, leveraging its presence to gain direct access to customers and partners, and to develop and test products before global deployment.

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That is why I see Saudi Arabia not simply as a technology market, but as a launchpad for companies with regional and global ambitions.