Arab News, Saturday, Mar 11, 2023 | Sha'ban 19, 1444
Over 25 agreements worth more than $2.93bn signed on the opening day of Biban 2023
Saudi Arabia:Saudi Arabia’s Small and
Medium Enterprises General Authority, also known as Monsha’at, signed a flurry
of memorandums of understanding on the first day of Biban 2023 to help catalyze
the entrepreneurial ecosystem in the Kingdom and achieve the socioeconomic goals
set in Vision 2030.
Monsha'at inked an agreement with Huawei Tech
Investment Saudi Arabia Ltd which will see the organizations work together to
equip Saudi SMEs with the tools to grow and succeed in the e-commerce space.
The agreement will promote joint-cooperation and
pioneer leading-edge solutions designed to empower SMEs reliant on communication
technology.
As part of the agreements signed, separate to the
MoU with Huawei, eight banks and financing entities pledged more than $2.93
billion to support the Kingdom’s SME ecosystem at the event, which will continue
until March 13 in Riyadh and will host 300 workshops likely to benefit more than
20,000 participants.
Monsha’at signed an MoU with Diriyah Gate
Development Authority to promote entrepreneurship in the Diriyah community. A
data-sharing agreement was also signed between the two entities.
The authority also signed an agreement with SABB
bank. Under the deal, the two entities will support micro, small, and medium
enterprises wishing to obtain financing for their projects.
Monsha’at also signed a deal with Bank Albilad to
provide innovative financial products at competitive prices. The authority also
signed a similar agreement with Abdul Latif Jameel Finance. The deal also
envisages the provision of training programs in commercial franchising in
cooperation with the Monsha’at Academy.
The authority signed an MoU with Sobol Digital
Services to boost cooperation in innovative services, exchange of practical and
scientific knowledge, and work on projects that improve the entrepreneurship
sector in the Kingdom.
Under the Vision 2030 goals, the SME sector in the
Kingdom is eyeing a 35 percent contribution to the gross domestic product by the
end of this decade.
SMEs are set to play a significant role in
achieving Saudi Arabia’s objectives of lowering the unemployment rate from 11.6
percent to 7 percent.
On the other hand, SMEs in the Kingdom are also
reducing the gender gap effectively, as the Kingdom aims to increase women’s
participation in the workforce from 22 percent to 30 percent.
As Saudi Arabia is hosting more events like Biban,
monumental developments can be witnessed in the SME sector in the future, which
will in turn help the Kingdom achieve the economic diversification goals
outlined in Vision 2030.