The Saudi Industry Forum 2026 continued its third day in Jeddah with a presentation delivered by Umm Al-Qura University titled «Entrepreneurial Ideas.. From Innovation to Investment», tracing the pathways that turn early-stage concepts into ventures capable of attracting capital and sustaining growth.
The session, led by Dr. Sharaf Al-Sharaf — an innovation expert, associate professor at Umm Al-Qura University's College of Pharmacy, and owner of the «Pharmathon» brand — walked through the full arc of an entrepreneurial idea, beginning with identifying a genuine market need and validating the viability of a proposed solution, then moving to product development and market fit, and finally reaching the stage of drawing investment, scaling up, and achieving sustainable growth.
Al-Sharaf outlined the factors investors weigh most heavily when evaluating startups, with team capability at the top of the list, followed by market size and growth potential, product strength and competitive edge, demand indicators and economic feasibility, alongside clarity on how much funding is needed and where it will be deployed. He also reviewed the skills that underpin entrepreneurial success, including leadership and communication, adaptability and resilience, decision-making, negotiation and relationship-building, and planning with effective management of resources and risks.
His central argument was that the shift from innovation to investment is a connected sequence rather than a single leap: it rests on verifying a real market need, proving the product's viability and capacity to grow, and only then moving toward financing and expansion. The presentation forms part of the broader program of the forum, held at Jeddah Superdome under the theme «Innovation for Industrial Sustainability», which aims to exchange knowledge and expertise, advance the use of modern technologies, and convert ideas into projects that can grow and attract investment — contributing to the competitiveness and sustainability of the industrial sector and to the objectives of Saudi Vision 2030, according to the Saudi Press Agency.