RIYADH — There has been an increase of 2.6 percent in the number of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Saudi Arabia in the second quarter of 2023 compared to the previous quarter, reaching a total of 1.23 million establishments. According to a report of the observatory of the Small and Medium Enterprises General Authority (Monsha'at), 42.3 percent of SMEs are located in the capital city of Riyadh, and it was followed by the Makkah region with a rate of 18.6 percent. The latest report of the observatory, which was issued in both Arabic and English, specially dealt with the developments in the southern Asir region and the great investment opportunities it offers to entrepreneurs thanks to its unique advantages in the sectors of tourism, agriculture and industry. Monsha'at was also keen in this edition to honor the late photographer Hani Al-Zahrani, by using one of his artworks, highlighting the beauty of the region, as the cover photo of the observatory report. The observatory started the quarterly edition of its report with a preface by the designated CEO of the Asir Region Development Authority Eng. Hashim Al-Dabbagh in which he explained that the authority has completed work on preparing a study of 70 investment opportunities by the mayoralty of the Asir region and its municipalities. The opportunities will be presented through the Furas platform of the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs and Housing over the coming period, indicating that the authority signed an agreement with the Social Development Bank to allocate an amount of SR1 billion to support small and medium enterprises in the Asir region. The report reviewed the latest figures for venture capital financing in the first half of this year, which witnessed an increase that contributed to making the Kingdom the second largest country in terms of financing volume and the number of deals compared to other Middle East and North Africa markets. The Kingdom has provided about SR1.7 billion in financing to startups in the Kingdom, most of which are concentrated in the e-commerce and retail sectors, with a rate of 83 percent. The report sheds light on the tourism sector, which is one of the promising sectors for SMEs, through a set of government initiatives and programs to support enterprises, most notably the financing initiatives launched by the Tourism Development Fund at a value of SR1 billion, in addition to the tourism sector product, which is the largest program allocated from the Kafala program for SMEs. The report also include expert insights and success stories in various fields, including interviews with the CEO of the Tourism Development Fund Qusay Al Fakhri; Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Federation of Saudi Chambers of Commerce and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Abha Chamber Hassan Al-Huwaizi; Founder and CEO of the Magnet platform Philip Bahushi, Co-Founder and CEO of Beni Programming Company Iyad Al-Daalouj, and other experts and specialists in the field of entrepreneurship. The detailed report of the observatory can be had from the following link: https://www.monshaat.gov.sa/sites/default/files/2023-08/Monshaat%20SME%20Monitor%20Q2%202023%20AR.pdf
