Saudi Aramco launches SAR 3 bln Taleed program to accelerate SME growth in Saudi Arabia

Logo of Saudi Aramco

Saudi Aramco announced today, Oct. 20, the launch of a new program, “Taleed”, which aims to accelerate the growth of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Saudi Arabia — helping boost their contribution to economic development and support job creation.

In a statement, the oil giant said that the program targets sustainable SME growth across multiple sectors through a portfolio of 20 initiatives, providing a wide range of support from capability building and strategy development to training, market access, advisory services and business planning.

It also aims to deliver funding and financial solutions to existing and new businesses through five funds, with a combined capital exceeding SAR 3 billion ($800 million).

The funds are being established in collaboration with partners to support SME development in the sustainability, digital, manufacturing, industrial and social innovation domains.

A total of 150 SMEs have already been enrolled to mark the launch of Taleed. Ultimately, Taleed’s sustainable growth program is expected to benefit as many as 15,000 SMEs annually.

Aramco is also partnering with a wide range of entities to deliver Taleed initiatives. The oil giant signed 30 memorandums of understanding (MoUs) with leading public and private partners to enable development of the SME ecosystem.

The 20 initiatives being offered through Taleed are categorized into three groups:

The first focuses on job-matching upskilled local talent, including a National Vocational Apprenticeship Program and a National Freelancing Program, to provide manpower with relevant skills to companies across Saudi Arabia. The initiative aims to enable thousands of jobs across multiple new or growing industries, including steel plate manufacturing, casting and forging, offshore and subsea diving.

The second focuses on creating business opportunities for SMEs, including the establishment of world-class integrated parks in nine cities across Saudi Arabia, targeting untapped fields such as agriculture, artisans and cloud kitchens. Other components include setting up a national artisans company to address challenges faced by artisans. This is besides rolling out the Smart Shared Services initiative, Carbon Utilization National SME Program, Sustainable City Development initiative, Value Chain Services in Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries initiative, Home Construction Inspection initiative and Industrial E-Marketplace initiative.

The third focuses on supporting SMEs and enabling the ecosystem. This includes an SME Excellence Program to help SMEs sustain and grow their business.

Other components include the SME Mentorship Program, SME Leadership Development Program, SME Net-Zero Carbon Program, National E-Commerce SME Support Platform, SME Digital Enterprise Solutions initiative, Customized Logistics Solutions for SMEs initiative, Regional SME Association, SME of the Year Awards and SME Business Hackathon, Aramco concluded.