StampIQ lays the groundwork for local RFID production as it expands technology operations in Saudi Arabia
StampIQ has outlined plans to develop local RFID manufacturing capabilities in Saudi Arabia as part of a phased strategy to strengthen the Kingdom’s connected technology ecosystem. The company is preparing to establish the final stage of the RFID production process, involving printing onto printable materials, with ambitions to progressively develop more advanced manufacturing capabilities locally. StampIQ is also developing a connected wearable designed around the operational challenges of Hajj, and has secured an initial order for 1,000 units.
The expansion comes as Saudi Arabia’s events and entertainment sector generates growing demand for identification, access and visitor technology. The General Entertainment Authority reports 76.9 million attendees across 1,810 entertainment events, illustrating the scale of the audience now moving through the Kingdom’s entertainment ecosystem. StampIQ estimates the addressable Saudi market at approximately 50 million Tyvek wristbands annually, while one major Saudi Giga project requires approximately 800,000 wristbands every six months, demonstrating the potential scale of demand from individual destinations.
StampIQ is taking a phased approach to establishing local RFID manufacturing capabilities, having identified eight stages within the production process. The company is initially focusing on the final stage, which involves printing onto printable materials, before progressively working towards earlier and more technically complex stages of manufacturing. While RFID production has not yet commenced locally, StampIQ’s longer-term ambition is to develop domestic capabilities across the manufacturing value chain, including chip encoding, antenna production, RFID inlay manufacturing and final assembly. To inform this strategy, the company’s team travelled to China to study the RFID manufacturing supply chain and production processes.
“Saudi Arabia has a significant opportunity to develop the technology and manufacturing capabilities that will support its rapidly expanding events, entertainment and visitor economy,” said Zuber Adams, Founder and CEO of StampIQ. “We have identified eight stages involved in RFID production, and our strategy is to work progressively towards establishing these capabilities in the Kingdom. By starting with the final stage and building towards more advanced manufacturing processes, we aim to develop the expertise, infrastructure and technical capabilities needed to support long-term localisation. Our ambition is to create technology that serves Saudi Arabia’s growing market and ultimately has the potential to reach international markets.”
StampIQ is currently testing its RFID technology alongside camera and antenna infrastructure, exploring applications including automated access, visitor movement and footfall analysis. The technology is designed to give operators greater visibility over how people move through large physical environments while reducing reliance on manual access processes. Developing local RFID manufacturing capabilities could eventually reduce dependence on imported finished products, strengthen supply chain resilience and support Saudi Arabia’s ambitions to establish a more advanced domestic technology industry.
That same focus on connecting people with physical environments is underpinning StampIQ’s second development: a connected smart wearable designed specifically around the challenges of Hajj.
Saudi Arabia recorded 1,673,230 Hajj pilgrims in 2025, of whom 1,506,576 arrived from outside the Kingdom, according to the General Authority for Statistics. The scale of the operation extends far beyond pilgrim numbers, with 420,070 public and private sector workers, including security personnel, serving pilgrims within the holy sites during the 2025 Hajj season, alongside 34,540 volunteers. The smart wearable is being developed around one specific challenge within this complex environment: helping locate, communicate with and support individuals to enable a safer Haj experience.
Designed in a smartwatch format and supported by a mobile application, the smart wearable is intended to provide an additional layer of connectivity between the wearer and authorised users. Planned functionality includes location tracking, cellular connectivity, two-way communication, emergency assistance and heart rate monitoring. The product remains in development, but StampIQ has secured a confirmed initial order for 1,000 units for Hajj, providing an early commercial application as the company moves the technology towards real world deployment.
“Hajj presents one of the most complex movement and coordination environments in the world,” Adams added. “That creates an opportunity for Saudi technology companies to develop solutions here that can ultimately have relevance far beyond the Kingdom. Our smart wearable starts with a very human problem: knowing where someone is, being able to communicate with them and helping them when they need support. The initial 1,000-unit order gives us an opportunity to prove that proposition in the real world.”
StampIQ’s expansion reflects wider Saudi Vision 2030 priorities around localisation, digital transformation, advanced manufacturing and technology capability building. The Vision 2030 Annual Report 2025 identifies a growing focus on automation and high-value manufacturing and says efforts to localise high technology industries are accelerating, including domestic capability in semiconductors, smart devices and AI infrastructure. Against that backdrop, StampIQ’s long-term strategy is to progressively develop the expertise, infrastructure and manufacturing capabilities required to localise more of the RFID technology value chain in Saudi Arabia, supporting the Kingdom’s ambition to become a regional centre for advanced technology and manufacturing
