RIYADH: The Global Entrepreneurship Congress saw 33 agreements signed and several investment initiatives launched worth more than SR16 billion ($4.27 billion) on its opening day in Riyadh.
The event, which aims to enhance Saudi Arabia’s status and support entrepreneurship, kicked off on Sunday March 27 and will run for four days.
Some of the agreements signed at the GEC were from big companies such as Saudi Aramco, Social Development Bank, the Saudi Venture Investment Company, Monsha’at, and Aljabr Finance Company.
As part of Saudi Aramco’s digital transformation, information technology and national development initiatives, the company signed ten memoranda of cooperation and two agreements with local and international companies.
In addition to signing agreements with a number of entities, including the Royal Commission of Yanbu and the National Entrepreneurship Institute in Riyadh, the Social Development Bank announced it was launching several initiatives aimed at empowering entrepreneurs worth over SR11 billion.
SVIC has signed agreements with several funds worth SR2.4 billion, while SABIC has launched the “Nusaned Fund 2” worth SR750 million to support start-up businesses and develop the industrial sector.
The General Authority for Small and Medium Enterprises, Monsha’at, signed memoranda of understanding with Cars24, an automotive e-commerce platform, Lenskart, the largest Asian optical eyewear retailer, and Kitopi, a cloud-kitchen platform, to support specialized entrepreneurs.
Monsha’at also signed with the Saudi Authority for Data and Artificial Intelligence to launch the “Ruwad” initiative. As part of the MOU signed, they will also be cooperating with the Royal Commission for Jubail and Yanbu, the Saudi Industrial Development Fund, and King Abdullah University of Science and Technology. In addition, SABIC signed to intensify cooperation in small and medium business initiatives.
A SR20 million agreement was also signed with Aljabr Finance Company to finance products for entrepreneurs and small and medium sized businesses.
