RIYADH — The number of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) has reached 892,000, with an increase of 25.6% compared to the Q4 of 2021, the Small and Medium Enterprises General Authority (Monsha'at) announced on Sunday. Monsha'at's announcement came while revealing its Q2 of 2022 report and its view of a number for several investment fields and files. The report showed that the Riyadh region has the highest shares from the total enterprises, with a percentage of 35.4%, while the Makkah region recorded 21%, and Al-Shraqiyah 12.7%. The Monsha'at stated that 81% of these enterprises are designated as micro and small enterprises. The percentage of the enterprises that are owned by women recorded 45% from the total start-up companies' owners in Saudi Arabia, which represents the double percentage of what had been achieved in 2017. As for the investment finance that has been obtained by the Saudi start-up companies, it has grown by 244%, reaching SR2.19 billion in the Q1 of 2022 on an annual basis. With that growth, Saudi Arabia has been designated as the second most active venture capital market in the Middle East and North Africa regions, during the same period. The report stated that the Makkah region has witnessed a huge entrepreneurial activity, as it hosts more than 21% of the total of SMEs in Saudi Arabia. The food and beverages sector has received the biggest percentage of investment finance in the first half of 2022 compared to the companies working in other sectors. According to MAGNiTT platform report for the first half of 2022, the food and beverages sector received an investment of SR700 million during the first half of this year. The Monsha'at' report also stated that the Saudi coffee manufacturing is witnessing a huge activity during the current period. Saudi Arabia enjoys, with more than 400,000 coffee bean trees, an increase that reached 70% in the Khawlani coffee beans' production. It confirmed that the investment in the Saudi coffee sector reached SR1.2 billion by the Saudi Coffee Company for the coming 10 years.
