A sovereign wealth fund led by Saudi crown prince Mohammed Bin Salman has launched a $24bn investment fund targetting the Middle East tech sector.

The fund, to be managed by the Public Investment Fund (PIF)  is designed to boost the region's burgeoning tech and telecoms industries.

As part of the fund launch, the PIF will establish five separate investment firms in Bahrain, Oman, Sudan, Jordan and Iraq. 

According to the PIF, the fund will boost regional investment opportunities for its portfolio companies as well as Saudi Arabia's private sector.

The announcement was made at the Future Investment Initiative, a flagship event for the region's financial services industry. 

At the same event, Visa announced it would set up an innovation centre in Saudi Arabia sometime in 2023.

The PIF has become one of the world's most active sovereign wealth funds in recent years as it looks to bolster its assets under management.

Technology has been one of the fund's main focuses as it looks to align with the Kingdom's stated ambition to diversify away from oil-based revenues.