RIYADH — Jada, the Fund of Funds Company, part of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), Wednesday signed an investment agreement with Alpha Capital, to invest in growth-stage small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the Kingdom’s food and beverage (F&B) sector.

The agreement, which was signed by Adel Al-Ateeq, CEO of Jada and Fahad Bin Khaled Al-Saud, Managing Director and CEO of Alpha Capital, will boost contributions to the Kingdom’s private equity investment sector.

Commenting on the occasion, l Al-Ateeq said, “Jada’s commitment to the Alpha Capital today underscores its aim to foster local innovation and entrepreneurship by directing capital to promising, emerging Saudi-based SMEs through private equity investments.”

He added: “This investment agreement marks Jada’s first investment in private equity funds, having previously invested in several venture capital funds. It is a clear indication of our confidence in the fund’s investment team at Alpha Capital to implement the investment strategy in accordance with global private equity best practices.”

Alpha Capital is licensed by the Capital Market Authority and is one of the leading and most active companies in private equity and asset management.

Al-Saud said: “We aim to develop long-term capital gains by investing in companies that have the potential to grow and scale, and are managed by capable and ambitious entrepreneurs. The fund management will be supervised by an investment team characterized by a diversity of experiences in fund management, strategy and corporate governance.”

Jada was established by the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) with an investment of SR4 billion to increase the localization of non-oil sector economic growth and build an ecosystem of private equity and venture capital activity that can drive the Kingdom’s long-term diversification and raise the SME sector’s contribution from 21 percent to 35 percent of the Kingdom’s GDP by 2030.

By stimulating investment in private equity and venture capital funds, the Fund of Funds finances the growth of the Kingdom’s SME sector, while guiding the management of the fund’s beneficiary companies. — SG