Although the primary source of revenue for the economy of Saudi Arabia is generated from the oil production, as it is the most significant oil producer in the world with a market capitalization of 25%, but since the times are changing, and everyone seeking for an alternative source of incomes, the small scale business industry in Saudi Arabia is growing in the economy. The government is pushing the private sector and the small-scale sector forward to generate more revenue and reduce the dependency of its economy on oil. This is also necessary for the general employment generation. If you are looking for business opportunities in Saudi Arabia then you have come to right place, I have crafted a list of profitable investment opportunities with a limited amount of capital and which have potential to grow further.
Target city for investment in Saudi Arabia
- Riyadh – Total population 6.5 million
- Jeddah – Total population 4.5 million
- Mecca – Total population 2.0 million
- Medina – Total population 1.1 million
- Dammam – Total population 1.0 million
- Neom Mega city – Newly proposed independent $500 billion megacity in KSA
Here are some of the profitable business investment opportunities in Saudi Arabia:-
1. Food delivery Business:
In 2016-17, the online orders for food delivery made a turnover of more than $644 million in Saudi Arabia which is enormous. And thus the potential for success in setting up an online food delivery business is enormous. Being an oil producing country, the prices for fuel which is required in the vehicles to deliver the food is also in the lower bracket. You can first use your vehicle to start delivering food to your nearest places by contacting the restaurants and cafes in your area. If you don’t have any vehicle, then your initial cost of setting up the business would include the hiring or the EMIs of the vehicle you hire or purchase (respectively), registration charges with the restaurants and the fuel consumption charges, driver’s salary if you hire one.
2. Food trucks:
This is a concept from the USA where commercial food vendors, as well as homely food, is available in the food trucks which either roam the roads of the city or stand still at a popular joint. In Saudi Arabia, food is one of the most entertaining things to the people, and people love eating out. Food trucks offer sandwiches to ice cream which are most affordable on a daily basis as well. The initial cost would include the hiring charges or the buying price of the food truck. The price range of a food truck varies within $25000 to $100000.
3. Hookah bars:
It is the well known fact that the youngsters of Saudi Arabia prefer hookahs over alcohols and smoking, and hookah is not as toxic as the later mentioned substances. The initial cost would include the rent of the place, salaries of your employees and the cost of the products. The average price of the hookah pot varies within the range of $11-$28. Hookah parlour in Saudi Arabia is indeed a profitable business idea.
4. Wall mural painting service:
Saudi Arabia is indeed a rich country, and thus people invest in their homes and villas a lot to showcase their credibility. If you are looking to target the upper classes as well middle-class consumers, and you have knowledge of paintings and art, you can set up a business to sell the mural painting or to provide service for wall mural paintings. The price of these paintings depends on the artistic features as well as on the dimension and the area it covers on the wall. The price range of these paintings is in between $5600 to $34500 for an area they cover 160ft to 1230ft. This is new business opportunity in Saudi Arabia and it is growing very fast, you should invest in this profitable idea as soon as possible because the competition is very low at present.
5. Export of dates from Saudi Arabia to other countries:
Dates are one of the most favorite dry fruits which are liked by most of the people across the world. Saudi Arabia has great production of dates which is produced at very low price and thus if you are in Saudi and looking for an export business opportunity in the small-scale sector, then you start exporting dates from Saudi Arabia to other countries. The profit margin is really good if you can export in bulk. There is huge demand of Ajwa Dates in many countries.
6. Perfumes Business:
People in Saudi Arabia love alcohol free perfumes. In small-scale business, perfume making is another profit making business as the initial cost of making perfumes is really low expect the machine you need to purchase for producing the perfumes. Otherwise, if you use the natural ingredients, and a little bit of chemical then the cost price of the perfumes becomes comparatively lower but you can sell the perfumes within the country as well as outside the national border at higher rates. USA, UK gives three times higher prices for the perfumes thus you can start export of perfumes from Saudi as well.
7. Mobile phone accessories:
With the online shopping evolution, mobile accessories have become really cheaper, and thus if you are setting up a shop for selling mobile accessories and spare parts, you can make a good amount of profit. You can procure the accessories form online giants or from China and sell them at a higher price from your shop. Generally, the shipping charges they charge individually from each person turns into your profit. Because the shipping charges, freight and everything that you need to pay, you will be paying for a bulk product, so economies of scale make this business profitable.
8. Schools for expat kids:
Saudi Arabia is populated with kids from other nations as well. Since every nation has its own kind of education which includes cultural and national facts, expat schools are much in demand amongst the foreigners residing there. Under small-scale business, you can start the school at a very basic level with utmost quality education from experienced teachers so that you can flourish. You can either open a properly registered school with the help of the government or else you can form private educational institutions to provide the right education to the expat students. This is best and profitable business in Saudi Arabia for foreign nationals and expatriates.
9. Home Maintenance Services:
Since the homes of the citizens of Saudi are well maintained and luxury, there is a continuous need for maintenance as well. You can start any home maintenance business with a capital investment of $2000, and you can operate the business from home provided you have hired the right people. You can take up a franchise of big home maintenance companies and run under your surveillance.
10. Online Grocery:
Groceries are required by every household but with the craze of online shopping and people becoming high busy in their work schedule, shopping from the vendors in the morning becomes difficult. Online groceries delivery is one of the most growing businesses in Saudi Arabia, but the competition is fierce as there are many who are trying to reap profit from this market. You should come up with a mobile app for grocery shopping in Saudi Arabia.
11. On-demand health consulting:
Health is one of the top most priorities of the people across the globe and so is in Saudi. The on-demand health consultation is highly in demand as doctors are not available at their chambers 24*7. For setting up a site to provide on-demand health consultation service, you need to form an online site and contact the medical practitioners to provide their valuable consultation when demanded by any customer/patients. The cost of setting up includes charges to create the online platform, doctor’s charges or share of profit, the salary of the person who will continuously monitor the requests of the patients and customers. The initial cost of setup will also include the price of desktops if you are purchasing one, electricity charges of the units, etc.
12. On-demand pharmacy:
Like On-demand health consultation, on-demand pharmacy to deliver medicine when and wherever required is very much needed. If you have a pharmacy already then, you must start delivering medicine to the doorsteps on demand, and you can charge extra for the urgency. If you are looking for only delivering the medicine on demand, then you have to contact another pharmacy so that you can avail the medicines from them and sell it to your customers at a higher rate (because of the urgent delivery and transportation).
13. Roadside assistance service:
Accidents, vehicle breakdown, are inevitable, and thus in Saudi Arabia, there is a growing need for roadside assistance service. You can buy the franchise from the reputed vehicle companies for providing services at the time of need. From tire changing to maintenance everything, you can cover under one roof. You can also specialize in any of the maintenance work of the vehicles.
14. Event management services:
Saudi Arabia and the Middle East countries are becoming one of the most popular destinations for weddings and other ceremonies amongst the elites and the rich people in the world. Asians also prefer these countries over national heritage sites for destination weddings. Forming an event management company doesn’t require huge capital investment; all it requires is the right contact. If you know such people who are influential and rich, you can make huge profit out of this business. You need to be prudent about choosing the right employees as event management is a work of communication, representation.
15. Taxi Service:
With the growing demand for Taxi/cab, setting up a taxi service business is a good option. You don’t have to start with a fleet of cars but you can start with one car, if you are purchasing it on EMI, you can pay off from the monthly turnover you make by providing the service. If you are hiring a driver, his salary, registration charges of the taxi and license charges are the costs which are included in the initial investment of this business.
16. Imported Car accessories store:
Since Saudi is a country of rich people, there are also many imported cars available with them and setting up a store which specializes in car accessories of imported cars will make you exclusive and the profit margins are really high. You need a store or shop, initial investment would include a license to run the store, or you can franchise of any specific motor company to sell their exclusive accessories. You need to purchase the accessories directly from the producers to get them at a lower price to keep a good profit margin. Marketing is what you need desperately for this business at the beginning so the marketing and the advertisement costs you need to include the initial investment as well.
17. Clothing and accessories store:
In Saudi Arabia, the revenue from the fashion industry marked up to $1679 million in 2017, and the analysts predict the fashion industry to grow by 100% in next 5 years. You can estimate the magnitude of the opportunity you have if you enter the market at this moment. Clothing and accessories store initial business investment include the buying price or the deposit and the rent for the store or the shop, flowed by the first stock which you purchase, the staff of the salary, registration of the store. If you are making online publicity, advertisement, then the charges are also included in the initial investment. If you import material from other countries, the price will be on the lower end, and you can make a good margin of profit.
18. Import business:
Saudi Arabia is a land of oil and fuels; rice is not what they produce or specializes in products not also in fabrics. Importing rice of good quality at lower price/rate from other nations who have an excess of rice production is one of the good small scale business ideas you can implement. Fabrics and garments are also comparatively costlier than other nations and thus importing from those nations where fabric are cheap; you can make a profit by selling the readymade garments in Saudi made out of those imported fabrics.
The investment opportunities are endless in this country and as the government is now after decades, concentrating on the small scale, private business in the country for generation of employment, revenue and reducing dependence on the fuels. It is the right time to invest in the Saudi Arabian market.
