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RIYADH: Representatives of Jada, a fund-of-funds set up by ¶¶Òõ¶ÌÊÓƵ’s Public Investment Fund, and Saudi Venture Capital have arrived in Seoul, South Korea, to look for local startups to add to their portfolios, according to a government statement. 

The Seoul Metropolitan Government noted that these two public investment funds will cooperate with the Seoul government to find Korean firms with a value of $1 billion to invest in. 

The city government noted that ¶¶Òõ¶ÌÊÓƵ is interested in startups in the Korean game industry, commerce and artificial intelligence sectors. 

The representatives arrived in Seoul on Monday, and will stay until Thursday. 

In line with the goals outlined in Vision 2030, ¶¶Òõ¶ÌÊÓƵ has been busy diversifying its economy, and the Kingdom is focussing a lot on the gaming sector. 

Earlier this month, during the Next World Forum, Mohammed Saud Al-Tamimi, governor of ¶¶Òõ¶ÌÊÓƵ’s Communications and Information Technology Commission, said the esports market size in the Kingdom is expected to expand by more than 250 percent in the next eight years. 

He also added that the gaming sector’s contribution to the Kingdom’s gross domestic product will increase 50 times by 2030.

During the event, Prince Faisal bin Bandar, chairman of the Saudi Esports Federation, said that some 21 million Saudi nationals out of a total population of 34 million consider themselves gamers. 

Prince Faisal added that the Kingdom is undergoing an amazing journey in the e-sporting sector over the last five years, with a strong community within the Kingdom.