RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Kafalah Fund signed 10 agreements and memorandums of understanding worth SR6.3 billion ($1.67 billion) with several entities at the Global Entrepreneurship Congress in Riyadh, Homam Hashem, the fund’s CEO, told Arab News.
The deals seek to offer financial solutions to small and medium enterprises in the Kingdom. The Kafalah Fund is a collaboration between the Ministry of Finance, represented by the Saudi Industrial Development Fund and Saudi banks, to promote financing to SMEs.
Hashem said the program targets the sectors targeted by Vision 2030. Tourism, Saudization and culture are on the priority list of the fund, he said.
He said due to Vision 2030, the SMEs in the Kingdom are witnessing exceptional growth.
In only 2021, Hashem added, Kafalah lent a total of SR22 billion to SMEs.
According to Hashem, within four years only, Kafalah has raised the bar for itself. “Our contribution of the total amount lent to SMEs in Saudi Arabia used to be 4 percent guaranteed by Kafalah. Now as of Q3 2021, as per the report of the Saudi Central Bank, we reached 13 percent,” Hashem added.
Hashem said that he recommends any fresh graduate or startup entrepreneurs to go take training classes at Monsha’at and learn the know-how, understand how to conduct businesses, and manage finances.
