MENA Unleashed

MENA Unleashed

From Megaprojects to Megabytes: Saudi Arabia’s Tech Pivot

TikTok appears to offer a more lucrative return for the Kingdom than Vision 2030 megaprojects, prompting a pragmatic positioning amid US–China tech rivalry.

Zayna's avatar
Ahmed's avatar
Zayna
and
Ahmed
Sep 18, 2025
∙ Paid
Share
Image: Arab News

On 11 September, TikTok’s socio-economic impact report, produced with Redseer Strategy Consultants, revealed a $1 billion contribution to Saudi Arabia’s GDP and support for over 25,000 jobs. This coincides with setbacks for Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s Vision 2030, notably an $8 billion writedown by the Public Investment Fund (PIF)…

Keep reading with a 7-day free trial

Subscribe to MENA Unleashed to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.

Already a paid subscriber? Sign in
© 2025 Ahmed
Privacy ∙ Terms ∙ Collection notice
Start writingGet the app
Substack is the home for great culture