Saudi Arabia signs agreements worth SAR 29 bln on second day of GEC

The Global Entrepreneurship Congress

Saudi Arabia announced agreements and investment initiatives worth SAR 28.9 billion (or $7.71 billion) on the second day of the Global Entrepreneurship Congress (GEC) in Riyadh.

On the second day of the conference, held under the theme “We Repeat, Innovate, Renew”, 21 agreements were made.

The Small & Medium Enterprises General Authority (Monsha’at) signed a MoU with Saudi Amazon to enable local firms to promote and sell their products across the Kingdom via Saudi Amazon.

Monsha’at signed a cooperation agreement with Al Rajhi Bank at a total value of SAR 2 billion (or more than $533 million) to offer innovative financing products.

Arab National Bank (ANB) also signed various cooperation agreements, including one for over SAR 1 billion ($293 million) to launch innovative financing products. A second agreement woth SAR 50 million was signed to launch credit cards for SMEs.

New licenses and investments were announced by Ministry of Investment in Saudi Arabia (MISA) at a total investment value of nearly SAR 3.51 billion (more than $936 million).

The total value of innovative financing programs by banks surpassed SAR 7.3 billion ($2 billion) for the next five years.

A cooperation agreement worth SAR 1 billion was also made between Saudi National Bank (SNB) and Monsha’at to launch innovative financing solutions.

Another agreement was made by Monsha’at and Bank Albilad on offering innovative financing programs and solutions at a total value of nearly SAR 2 billion ($520 million).

Monsha’at sealed an agreement with THIQAH for SME services.

The Saudi Organization for Chartered and Professional Accountants (SOCPA) also signed an agreement with Monsha’at to provide audit guidance services and launch “etikal” accounting platform.

The Ministry of Investment also announced signing a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Saudi Authority for Data and Artificial Intelligence (SDAIA) to further support SMEs and entrepreneurs.

Moreover, an agreement was signed by the Saudi Tourism Authority (STA) and Monsha’at on initiatives to support establishments in the tourism sector.

Monsha'at and Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz Development Fund signed an agreement to launch a business accelerator in the Eastern Province.