Chinese business expansion in Middle East to get boost as unit of Saudi Arabia’s PIF invests in venture firm eWTPA
- Jada Fund of Funds joins fundraising for eWTP Arabia Capital (eWTPA), which focuses on expanding Chinese businesses in the Middle East
- Fund will contribute to ‘economic transformation under way in the kingdom’ across sectors such as cloud-based services and logistics: eWTPA founder
A unit of Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund (PIF), has injected fresh capital into eWTP Arabia Capital (eWTPA), a Riyadh-based venture firm focused on easing Chinese business expansion in the Middle East.
eWTPA, an investment arm of eWTP (Electronic World Trade Platform) launched in 2019 with the backing of PIF and Alibaba, aims to raise US$1 billion in capital commitments for its second fund. The funding will mainly go to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that have technology, products and business models that are proven in Asia and can be brought to the Middle East and North Africa region.
“Jada’s investments in our Fund II will further strengthen our capabilities in Saudi Arabia, thereby paving the way for the next wave of international technology companies to enter the Saudi market,” Jerry Li, eWTPA’s founder and managing partner, said in a statement.
“[The fund] will contribute to the economic transformation under way in the kingdom across key growth sectors such as digital infrastructure, cloud-based services, logistics and industrial technologies.”
