RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Social Development Bank has signed an agreement with the Saudi National Bank to launch a financing portfolio to support entrepreneurship in the Kingdom.
The financing portfolio is being introduced as part of SNB’s Ahalina program, with the agreement set to provide SR10 million ($2.66 million) in funding to entrepreneurs, according to the Saudi Press Agency.
The deal was inked against rising entrepreneurship in Saudi Arabia, with the number of active commercial registrations in the Kingdom reaching 1.51 million by the end of the third quarter of the year.
According to the SNB website, it launched the Ahalina strategy to empower various society groups, “converting them into positive and developmental energies capable of supporting the national economy.”
Tareq Al-Sadhan, the CEO of SNB, said: “Through the Ahalina program, we seek to consolidate our commitment to the community by supporting entrepreneurs and start-ups, which enhances our contributions to achieving sustainable development, and confirms the role of social responsibility as an integral part of our corporate strategy.”
The newly launched portfolio will also provide individuals with entrepreneurial knowledge. It will help them acquire the necessary skills to secure project funding and contribute to Saudi Arabia’s socio-economic development.
The agreement also aligns with the more expansive goal of SNB, which is to empower individuals and institutions and provide community support in all regions of the Kingdom, contributing to Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 program, the SPA report added.
“This agreement represents an extension of the bank’s march toward achieving sustainable development, promoting entrepreneurship, and supporting Saudi youth to build sustainable projects with a tangible impact,” said Sultan Al-Hamidi, the CEO of SDB.
Under the deal, both SNB and SDB will work to enhance cooperation between the public and private sectors to boost the entrepreneurial landscape in the Kingdom.
In November, Saudi Arabia’s General Authority for Small and Medium Enterprises, also known as Monsha’at, organized the Biban 24 event to support SMEs in the Kingdom, where agreements worth SR35.4 billion were signed.
During the event, Sami bin Ibrahim Al-Husseini, the governor of Monsha’at, said that such events are crucial to strengthen Saudi Arabia’s entrepreneurial framework and are aligned with the nation’s Vision 2030 objectives to boost the SME sector’s contribution to the national gross domestic product.
