New Business Ideas & Opportunities in Saudi Arabia for 2023

Saudi Arabia which is one of the richest and developed countries in the world and especially in the Middle East region is going through turmoil in the economy from 2016 when the GDP of the economy hit a low of 1.4% contradicting the 2015’s GDP which was more 4% and the further blow came in 2017 when the GDP on an annual growth rate scale hit a negative 1%.

The reason behind this continuous decrease in the growth rate of the economy made the government think about alternated sources of income and revenue generation. Ongoing COVID-19 pandemic made it difficult to revive the economy. But the economy will revive by the end of 2022.

Earlier the country was mainly dependent on the oil production sector and its sub-sectors but with the VISION 2030 in the eyes of the officials as well as the citizen of the nation, there is a shift in the investment in the business sector. There are various start-ups in the nation which has flourished with head high and huge returns and thus even though the economy is showing negative growth rate, there are various avenues for the creative and the innovative minds to build something out of nothing to make millions.

If you are an expatriate and want to start a business in KSA then lots of opportunities are there in the Kingdom. This article will help you in understanding the various trending small business ideas and opportunities in the Kingdom.

Here are some of the business ideas which have a huge prospect in the Saudi Arabian market to boom in next few years and some ideas are already a hit and grabbing the market really soon and this is the right time for you to invest in Saudi market if you are looking or seeking good business opportunities here.

1. Open a Media Production House

This is not unknown to anyone that the media production is a business where if you can click the right opportunities, and give few hits, you can earn a hugely. If you have the know-how of the media production and you have prior knowledge working in the production houses and have ideas and vision on the line as well, you can start with small production projects.

The investment, in the beginning, might look a little huge in comparison to the profit margin, but after a few good projects, the profit would shoot up hugely.

2. Start Security and Surveillance Services

In Saudi, there is huge importance given to the security and surveillance. If you have interest and expertise in the field of providing security to a group of people, society/complex, you can build a team of the trained guard and open your own security agencies.

The investment in the initial period will be on hiring the right candidates, training them for the job, renting an office space. If you can make good contacts, you can easily expand your business. Many expatriate are running a security company in the kingdom.

3. Create an Online Financial Services Platform

The world is running on technology and Saudi is no way left behind. The online payment services, online or e-financial services are popular in the country as well. But the numbers of services available are few as of now so the competition in the market is low and this is the right time to invest in this sector.

You can build your own website application where you can provide various financial services that are from a comparison of products to consultancy or advisory services along with payment facilities. If you can build an all-in-one service application, then definitely it is going to have an impact on the market as there is no such app as of now on the market which has all these features. This is among one of the trending and profitable business idea for Saudi Arabia in 2022.

4. Aerial Surveillance/Survey/Mapping Services

If you want to do something in the technology sector and you have expertise in the three dimensional aerial survey devices, then one interesting avenue for you would be building or setting up a company providing survey and mapping and even surveillance services to the companies and other organisations of the government.

With the help of the 3D aerial survey technologies, you can collect data and create maps for construction companies, help the cab drivers with the route and the delivery agents as well and many other related services can be done under this idea. 

5. Become a Reseller and Purchaser of Used Cars

Cars and vehicles are very common in the Saudi nation, and the supercars are more famous and popular. With people having a high standard of living, they change their cars in a shorter period of time. There is a huge market for the used cars which are in good condition and can be sold out in and outside the country at a good price.

If you have a good amount of knowledge about the cars and the process of purchasing them and reselling in the market, you can start with few used cars and then expand your business. The initial cost for setting up the business would include the purchase price of the used cars you are buying and the revenue generation would start immediately after you sell the used car which is not that difficult at all in Saudi.

6. Automated Cleaning Service For Solar Panels

The use of solar energy is on the rise in Saudi as the depletion of the non-renewable energies threatening the world at this current point in time. Moreover, solar energy is cheaper but there is a maintenance that the users need to do periodically. You can use the latest automated technologies for cleaning the solar panels and provide this service to the solar energy users whether in the residential or commercial place. This is a very innovative business idea for the people looking for technology start-ups in Saudi Arabia.

7. Virtual Reality or Multi-Dimensional Media Production

If you have good knowledge of the multi-dimensional movies, production and direction and other aspects, you can start with the small projects as this is a very in thing in the market. The revenue generation is high once, the set up is popular amongst the youngsters as well as the family persons. The initial investment is high but with the right business plan and expertise, you can easily get financier for your project in Saudi.

8. Start a Home Maintenance Business

Home Maintenance is a popular service in the Middle East as the people here have huge money and they love a lavish lifestyle with everything in their home at proper place with no dirt or waste material around. This creates the demand for different types of home maintenance services.

You can build an online site or an application where the homeowners can put their request for particular services they require and you can then send your team members to provide the service with the fixed charges. You can also tie up with individual service providers and when you receive any request for a service, you can pass it on to the service provider and being the mediator, you can earn a commission.

9. Start Online Education Services

Online education is high on demand in most of the countries nowadays because of the current COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown. With the growing number of students and the different field of study and the ease of studying from home is hiking the demand for the online courses.

If you have already got experience in the field of education services, you can develop an online site of your own, provide tuition services to the students all over the world and earn revenue in the firm of the fees the students pay. You can set it up as a bigger business with introducing teachers from the different field for a different level of education so that the customer or the student enrolment also increases for the courses.

10. Digital Healthcare Services

Digital healthcare is the need of the hour in every state/countries and in the world as a whole. With the advancement in the medical science, acute and severe diseases can be treated nowadays but without on-demand facilities during an emergency, many people have to leave this world. You can build an online application where the patients or their family member can seek for medical consultancy, medical aid, ambulance and other services on urgent basis.

11. Crowd Management Services

A lot of investments have been made in the event management and waste management business but one of the secluded business which has a high potential for growth is crowd management business. There are lots of events which took place in Saudi Arabia and since the nation is very particular about rules and regulation, a crowd management facility can get huge businesses from these events. If you can build up a team of professional crowd managers, you can get business with the right contacts. This is new and innovative business idea in Saudi Arabia.

12. Digital Marketing Agencies

Since, under VISION 2030 project, 600 start-ups are planned and already half of it has been built, there is a huge need for digital marketing services for these new and upcoming business enterprises. The digital marketing thing is nothing new at the present time but it has huge prospect and thus if you have the expertise and right people in hand, you should form an agency providing various digital marketing services to small businesses and startups.

13. Construction Related Services

There are many services and products in the construction field for which you can set up a business. One of the most innovative things to do will be making concretes for the building industry. The initial investment is huge though but if you have the experience, right business model with right people in the team, angel investors, construction companies are there to fund you. You can make slabs, tiles etc.

14. E-commerce Site For Automobile Parts

As stated above as well, Saudi being one of the richest countries has various vehicles and people actually maintain their cars from time to time and also a modification of the cars is in demand in this market. You can invest in trading of the automobile parts on an online platform which you have to develop and then trade. The demand for the right kind of automobile products/spare parts is there in the market always.

15. Corporate Sports Activities Management

The companies in Saudi arrange sports tournaments within the employees and other peer companies from time to time. There are many such events of sports activities which take place in Saudi. Thus if you have thought of investing in sports activities, this can be a little different avenue to channel your investment in sports business. If you have the right contact which you can develop with time, the management charges are pretty high in the market, so there is a good scope for making money.

16. Food Delivery Services

The working young adults and the millennials are very unaware of the bad effects of not having food at the right time. You can build an application or an online service in which if someone registers, they can fix the time of sending the food to their office or home, you can prepare a chart where they can pre-select the food items they want for each day of the week. This way, you can prepare and deliver the food within time every day against the charges for the food and delivery charges.

17. Online Trainers for Fitness and Sports

The fitness is one of the top concerns of the people of Saudi and thus there is a huge demand for personal trainers. You can build an application or online portal where the people finding personal trainer can put their inquiry and a database you have to prepare with the interested personal trainer’s details for the specific jobs. Once the criteria for the client and trainer matches, they can proceed with the training. For your revenue, you can charge a commission from both the parties.

18. Online Platform for Selling Handicrafts

The market for handicrafts is again booming in different countries. You can build an application and sell handicrafts products of yours or the people who make such products and you know them to the rest of the part of the country and make money for yourself and the craftsmen as well.

19. Start Event Management Business

Saudi Arabia and the Middle East as a whole has become a hub for events from across the world citizen. Thus there is a high demand for the event management services in the economy and the charges and the earning potential is really high.

20. App for Comparing Discounts on Products

An application can be built for comparing the prices and the available discounts on various products available online in the different e-commerce stores.

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