YiDa Capital

YiDa Capital is a China-originated investment fund with offices in Riyadh and Beijing that focuses on technology and energy investments across the Middle East and North Africa . The firm was spun out from the eWTP fund and relocated from India and Southeast Asia to the Middle East in 2019 . Its founder and managing partner Jerry Li arrived in Saudi Arabia in 2018, making YiDa an early mover among Chinese institutions in the region .

The fund's strategy centers on bringing Asian-proven technology, products, and business models to build out Saudi Arabia and the broader MENA tech ecosystem—what it describes as being "backed by Asian resources, but rooted in the Middle East" rather than treating the region merely as a source of capital . YiDa has secured Jada, the fund-of-funds arm of Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF), as a cornerstone LP for both its first and second fund vehicles; the first fund closed at $400 million with 18 portfolio companies, while the second targeted $1 billion with an expected close in early 2024 . Its investments include logistics player J&T Express and cross-border "matchmaking" between Asian tech companies and local Middle Eastern partners, such as joint ventures between Alibaba Cloud and Saudi Telecom . Jerry Li has explicitly rejected defining YiDa as a traditional VC or financial investor, instead emphasizing its role as a coordinator and "messenger" for strategic industrial entry .