RIYADH: Despite the many investments and commercial opportunities provided by the Saudi government to entrepreneurs and owners of small and micro enterprises, industry experts have stressed the need to move forward in key areas.
During a recent virtual seminar, entrepreneurship and finance specialists wishing to break into the world of commerce urged systematic investment in various Saudi business sectors and agreed on the importance of being able to reach target groups.
Addressing delegates at Tuesday’s seminar, organized by the Misk foundation, Faisal Al-Maghlooth, director general of the Made in Saudi program, said: “In the coming period, we aim to work with a number of partners from government agencies to ensure expansion in more than one sector, in which micro, small, and medium enterprises, and entrepreneurship are an insignificant part of target groups in the program.”
He noted that the Made in Saudi program offered many benefits to businesses. “Today it includes more than 1,400 registered companies and more than 6,000 registered products for 326 companies,” he added.
Faisal Al-Maghlooth, director general of the Made in Saudi program.
The Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources launched the Made in Saudi program in March last year as part of the National Industrial Development and Logistics Program.
Made in Saudi seeks to market national goods and services to become the preferred option locally and globally, in cooperation with a group of partners from the public and private sectors. It aims to stimulate national industries and encourage consumers to purchase local goods, while developing and promoting the Kingdom’s exports to global markets.
Al-Maghlooth told seminar attendees: “Our role in the program is to promote the product and focus on consumers and increase the presence of Saudi products.”
He pointed out that the Made in Saudi program sought to enhance the attractiveness of investment in small and medium enterprises and the industrial sector in particular.
Ibraheem Alzuhaimeel, founder and chief executive officer of Oceanx, said that self-employment created financial sustainability and provided promising job opportunities, and that the extent of added value to the market was a key factor in starting any investment business.
He added that the administrative procedures and government facilities in Saudi Arabia for the investment sector were among the best in the world, advising those interested in starting a business to have a “knowledge guide” for commercial activity.
Ibraheem Alzuhaimeel, founder and chief executive officer of Oceanx.
He noted that government support for the business sector included not only finance but also money and knowledge through training courses and workshops for new entrepreneurs.
Alzuhaimeel said: “The accountant will be one of the important parts of the work team with the expansion of the activity of small companies to assess the level of profitability after a year of activity.”
