Our Story

Our Foundation

For eight decades, Saudi Arabia has been at the center of our operations, our largest market, and where we have deep local knowledge and roots.  Today, we’re opening doors in 34 countries worldwide.

Our growth has been built on the wisdom and tenacity of our entrepreneurial founder, the late Abdul Latif Jameel, who saw that better personal transportation could empower businesses and individuals, advancing the economic development of his nation.

Our automotive story began modestly in 1955, when, having been appointed as a Toyota distributor in Saudi Arabia, Mr. Jameel ordered four Toyota vehicles.  Seventy years later, our relationship with Toyota Motor Corporation has helped us transform from a modest Saudi-based company to a global automotive business, delivering end-to-end service to commercial clients and retail customers in 9 countries.

Mr. Jameel was a visionary entrepreneur and dynamic pathfinder, dedicated to the needs of his fellow citizens. In the same spirit, we seek opportunities to add value and encourage development in our communities.

In recent years, our pioneering development efforts have taken us from that first vehicle order to being one of the leading independently-owned Toyota distributors in the world, with immense regional, financial, and business development expertise.  Our success today is built on proven excellence across the full automotive value chain.

From this strong base, we’ve grown thoughtfully – engaging new strategic partnerships and building businesses where we saw tangible possibilities for economic and social development. This rapid expansion and diversification has now taken us to 34 countries on 6 continents, creating an infrastructure to create value and trade from many angles across a number of industry sectors.

In Search of Tomorrow’s Potential

Supporting Society and Serving Our Communities

Harnessing the potential in human advancement is a core focus which sits at the very heart of Abdul Latif Jameel.  Our founder, the late Abdul Latif Jameel, pioneered active and positive social change in our communities and his vision lives on today.

In 2020, celebrating 75 years of this family tradition, his legacy has grown internationally, reaching across the world, from local projects to world-class partnerships with internationally respected institutions – touching hundreds of thousands of people.

Today, the Jameel family’s activities continue to support our communities through four main organizations:

Bab Rizq Jameel is geared towards making a positive change in the lives of young men and women across the region, supporting promising young talent to find brighter futures and advance their potential. It supports jobseekers, entrepreneurs and small businesses towards economic independence achieving sustainable livelihoods which will grow and prosper. 

Art Jameel recognizes the role that art plays in building connected communities, fostering a thriving arts scene to promote contemporary work and support creative entrepreneurs.  Current initiatives include running heritage institutes and restoration programs, plus a broad range of arts and educational initiatives.  The Jameel Arts Centre, an innovative contemporary institution in Dubai, UAE, opened in 2018; Hayy: Creative Hub, a major complex for the creative industries in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, is set to launch in 2021.

Through Community Jameel Saudi Arabia, a separately funded and managed entity, the Jameel family is expanding on decades of support for the community, including for the unemployed, and various social initiatives to support the  nation’s efforts to achieve the Saudi Vision 2030 agenda.

Community Jameel is an international organization tackling some of world’s most urgent challenges, through a pioneering approach grounded in evidence, science, data and technology, innovating for a better future. Community Jameel employs a new approach to achieving impact, by driving scientific and technological breakthroughs and innovations in the fields of education, health and climate.