Riyadh - Mubasher: Wa'ed Ventures, the venture capital arm of Saudi Aramco, announced investing $5 million in EME, the innovative Dutch company specializing in sustainability and circular economy solutions.

Waed Ventures revealed today, Sunday, that Excess Materials Exchange has joined Waed Ventures’ global portfolio after leading the Series A investment round, estimated at $5 million .

The Dutch company was founded in 2017 to provide a platform for tracking and exchanging surplus materials with the aim of reducing waste .

Wa’ed Ventures is a venture capital fund that aims to accelerate the development of the local startup ecosystem. Wa’ed Ventures is one of Saudi Aramco’s venture capital funds, designed to support the startup ecosystem in the Kingdom by investing in local technology-based startups and localizing world-leading innovations.

Saudi Aramco established Wa’ed Ventures in 2013 to bridge the gap between local technology startups and fully commercially mature companies, by providing a mix of venture capital funding and post-investment support services.

With support of up to $20 million per investment deal, Wa’ed Ventures directs its $500 million venture capital fund to invest in the development of local startups. In addition to financial and project growth support, the fund supports an incubator program targeting early-stage startups in the Kingdom.

The fund provides local entrepreneurs with the opportunity to incubate their businesses for 12 months, and also provides regular mentoring from experts, in addition to offices and co-working spaces. It offers business training courses, workshops and events to enhance networking between startups.

Wa’ed Ventures has a proven track record since its inception in 2013, having funded over 50 companies with over $100 million in venture capital deals aimed at supporting talented entrepreneurs and promising startups to grow locally and expand globally. The startup group is working to expand innovation across five areas: digital transformation, sustainability, social innovation, industrial transformation, and manufacturing .