Saudi SMEs see 166% company growth despite $4.8 billion in funding push.
Saudi Arabia is making significant progress in supporting small and medium enterprises (SMEs), with over 1.14 million SMEs now operating in the country. The Small and Medium Enterprises General Authority (Monsha’at) has developed 23 initiatives related to seven of the strategic objectives outlined in Saudi Vision 2030 through five of its programs: National Transformation, Financial Sector Development, Fiscal Stability, Human Capability Development, and National Industrial Development and Logistics Programmes.
Since the launch of Vision 2030 in 2016, Monsha’at has achieved a growth rate of 166% in the number of small and medium enterprises in Saudi Arabia, from 429,026 to 1,141,733. This accomplishment has led to Saudi Arabia ranking second in the 2022 Global Entrepreneurship Monitor’s National Entrepreneurship Context Index, a significant improvement from its previous ranking of 41st in 2018.
Monsha’at has contributed to the establishment of the Small and Medium Enterprises Bank, raising the lending quota from 5.4% in 2018 to 8.3% in 2022, and launched a funding portal connecting public and private sector financiers with SMEs seeking finance, with funding reaching over $4.8 billion. The authority has also launched the Saudi Venture Capital Company to promote venture capital and direct investment in startups, with the value of venture capital in Saudi Arabia totaling nearly $1 billion.
Under the Fiscal Stability Programme, Monsha’at launched the Government Fee Refunding Initiative Estrdad, which has refunded over $934 million to SMEs since 2018, while the National Industrial Development and Logistics Programme saw the launch of the Jadeer service, aimed at empowering SMEs by facilitating procurement opportunities offered by the public and private sectors. More than 2,300 enterprises have qualified for the service.
Monsha’at has also launched the University Startups Initiative to promote the Entrepreneurial culture, with the program supporting over 65,000 University Students and contributing to the Kingdom’s advancement in the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor report. The authority has launched several SMEs support centers in four different regions in the Kingdom to upskill small and medium enterprises and entrepreneurs, with over 66,000 beneficiaries to date. The goal is to build a regional competitive economic system that aims to achieve sustainability and prosperity in various sectors and boost its contributions to the GDP.
