HAB & Partners

Resources

Expert guidance on Saudi Arabia market entry. Interact with our AI assistant or browse official portals and frequently asked questions.

Ask our AI assistant

Pre-configured Saudi Arabia investment policy expert. Ask questions about regulations, licensing, market entry, or any other aspect of doing business in the Kingdom.

Start a conversation

Ask about MISA licensing, Saudization quotas, or regional setups.

Official government portals

Go straight to the source — the official Saudi government platforms every market entrant works with.

Ministry of Investment (MISA)Official

Investor licensing, the RHQ program, and the official gateway for foreign investment.

misa.gov.sa
Vision 2030Official

The national transformation program your entry case should align with.

vision2030.gov.sa
MODONOfficial

Saudi Industrial Property Authority — industrial cities and ready-built factory land.

modon.gov.sa
ZATCAOfficial

Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority — VAT, corporate tax, and customs registration.

zatca.gov.sa
QiwaOfficial

Ministry of HR labor platform — work permits, contracts, and Saudization (Nitaqat).

qiwa.sa
Premium Residency CenterOfficial

Official Premium Residency (Iqama) programs for investors and professionals.

premiumresidency.sa
EtimadOfficial

The government procurement platform — tenders, bids, and contract awards.

etimad.sa
Saudi Business CenterOfficial

Commercial registration and unified business licensing services.

business.sa

Upcoming conferences in Saudi Arabia

The major business events over the coming months where market entrants meet ministries, investors, and partners. Dates are confirmed from official sources — always verify before booking travel.

31 Aug – 3 Sep 2026Technology

LEAP 2026

Riyadh Exhibition & Convention Centre, Malham

The Kingdom's flagship technology event and one of the largest on earth — the fastest way to meet ministries, giga-projects, and global tech partners in one place.

onegiantleap.com
26–29 Oct 2026Investment

Future Investment Initiative (FII) 2026

King Abdulaziz International Conference Centre, Riyadh

Saudi Arabia's premier investment summit — where sovereign funds, CEOs, and policymakers set the capital and partnership agenda.

fii-institute.org
5–8 Nov 2026Entrepreneurship

Biban Forum 2026

Riyadh Front Exhibition & Conference Centre

Monsha'at's national entrepreneurship forum — your gateway to SME partnerships, franchising, and the local startup and investor ecosystem.

bibanglobal.sa
9–10 Nov 2026Digital commerce

Seamless Saudi Arabia 2026

Riyadh Front Exhibition & Conference Centre

The Kingdom's leading payments, fintech, e-commerce and retail event — essential if your market entry touches digital commerce.

terrapinn.com
16–19 Nov 2026Real estate

Cityscape Global 2026

Riyadh Exhibition & Convention Centre, Malham

The largest real-estate and investment exhibition in the region — where giga-projects, developers, and property decisions come together.

cityscapeglobal.com
1–3 Dec 2026Cybersecurity

Black Hat MEA 2026

Riyadh Exhibition & Convention Centre, Malham

One of the world's biggest cybersecurity gatherings — key for technology, security, and any regulated-sector entrant.

blackhatmea.com
Exhibiting or attending?

Contact us to arrange your booth — A to Z

From stand design, permits and logistics to meetings booked with the right people, HAB & Partners handles your Saudi conference presence end to end.

Arrange your booth

Market intelligence

Independent reports and briefings we track as background sources — another lens on the Saudi market, alongside our own advisory.

Retail

KSA Retail Trends & Insights

Q1 2026

  • Riyadh remains the Kingdom's largest and most diversified organized retail market, with stock rising further in Q1 2026.
  • Jeddah saw substantial quarterly growth in organized retail GLA, lifting its GLA per capita just above Riyadh's.
  • The Dammam Metropolitan Area has the highest GLA per capita and a balanced category mix — future growth depends more on concept differentiation than on volume.
  • Consumer behavior in Riyadh softened: average dwell time fell about 8% and visit frequency about 7% versus Q4 2025.
  • Jeddah's retail supply expanded by roughly 500,000 sqm of GLA after a period of stability.
  • The Dammam area's organized retail supply held steady at about 1.7 million sqm, with dwell time and visit frequency moderating since Q3 2025.

Source: KSA Retail Trends & Insights

Market strategy

Strategy for KSA

Mach49

  • Saudi Arabia's economy grew 8.7% in 2022, with the non-oil private sector expanding 5.8% across 2023–2024 — among the fastest-growing large economies.
  • Saudi VC funding rose from $70M in 2018 to $1.85B in 2024, as the number of active VCs grew from 5 to more than 80.
  • Active corporate VC funds increased from 3 in 2016 to 31, signalling strong demand for innovation partners.
  • The Kingdom's consulting and venture-services market is estimated at $4.2–4.8B today, and projected to reach $7.5–8.2B by 2030.
  • All seven national strategies call for rapid innovation ahead of the 2030 milestone.

Source: Strategy for KSA (Mach49)

Real estate

ROSHN — giga-project developer

ROSHN

  • ROSHN is a Saudi real-estate giga-project developer scaling rapidly across the Kingdom.
  • Its development programmes contribute toward a national target of 2.2 million homes.
  • In a competitive market, retaining institutional knowledge is emphasised as key to managing execution risk.

Source: ROSHN — giga-project developer (ROSHN)

Reference material supplied as background — another source of data alongside our advisory. Figures are quoted as published by each source and are not independently verified.

Saudi AI framework at a glance

Key points from Saudi Arabia's national standard for data and artificial intelligence.

SDAIA's national mandate

The Saudi Data & AI Authority (SDAIA) is the Kingdom's national reference for organizing, developing, and handling all data and AI matters.

A global AI ambition

Saudi Arabia aims to become a global leader in data and AI, with building national competencies as a key enabler under Vision 2030.

Why the framework exists

SDAIA issued the National Occupational Standard Framework to standardize and improve data and AI occupational practices across organizations.

Five data & AI job families

It groups roles into Business & Leadership; Governance, Risk & Analytics; Data Science & Analytics; Engineering & Architecture; and Research.

Standards and governance

For each occupation it defines the key tasks, skills, knowledge, and abilities — a reference for talent management and policy.

Building national capability

It guides talent acquisition, job descriptions, and workforce planning to grow Saudi data and AI talent for future jobs.

Source: SDAIA — National Occupational Standard Framework for Data & Artificial Intelligence

Frequently asked questions

Curated answers to the most common questions about Saudi market entry, directly from our advisory team.