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In Saudi Arabia —the second-largest economy in the Middle East and North Africa— Ghassan Ayidh has launched the country’s first SF, OxMar Partners, focused on identifying, acquiring, and operating a privately owned company. Ghassan emphasizes the significant opportunities in Saudi Arabia’s SME sector:
- Acquisition opportunities: The market is vast and largely untapped, with over 1.3 million SMEs offering profitable, stable, cash-generating businesses in fragmented industries. Of these, nearly 400,000 operate in sectors well-suited for SF acquisitions.
- Growth potential: SME financing in Saudi Arabia tripled between 2019 and 2022. National initiatives are in place to increase SME contributions to GDP and expand manufacturing and exports by 170% and 230%, respectively.
- Exit opportunities: Saudi Arabia has emerged as the leading market for private equity M&A activity in the MENA region, providing strong exit prospects for investors.
OxMar Partners is supported by prominent regional and international investment firms, including Ambit Partners, Yurbi Capital, Kalimat, Mazal Capital, Spectra Investments, Inversiones Cabiedes, and Novidam, along with well-known entrepreneurs and investors such as Paul Thomson, Yousef Al Yousefi, Mohammed Al Muhawis, and Mohammed Aldossary.
Ghassan earned a degree in chemical engineering with a minor in business and entrepreneurship from Oregon State University. After completing his degree, he spent six years at Aramco, the world’s largest integrated energy company, consistently ranking among the top 5% company-wide. His experience spans operations and project management, business development, and VCPE, and he obtained an MBA from Harvard Business School.
Ghassan describes his search criteria as sector-agnostic, with no preference for a specific industry in Saudi Arabia, as long as the business meets key parameters: appropriate size, consistent profitability, B2B focus, and local presence. In his proprietary outreach, he is currently focused on opportunities in the industrial, logistics, and healthcare services sectors.
