The Riyadh region secured the largest share of commercial registrations for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) at 32%.
The number of commercial registrations for SMEs increased by 78%, reaching 1.5 million by the end of Q2 2024, according to a report by the SME Observatory.
Women accounted for 45% of SME registrations
The report by the General Authority for Small and Medium Enterprises, “Monshaat,” highlighted that women-owned businesses held 45% of the registrations, while youth-owned businesses made up 38% of the total issued registrations.
Following Riyadh, Makkah region had 23% of the registrations, and the Eastern Province had 15%, indicating the significant role of the private sector in driving the national economy.
The SME Observatory report also noted that since the launch of the “Fintech Saudi” initiative in 2018, there have been 216 active companies in the financial technology sector, with venture capital investments exceeding 6.9 billion riyals, bolstering the Kingdom’s position as an innovation hub in this thriving sector.
The “Fintech Saudi” initiative benefited over 100,000 individuals. The Kingdom aims to establish 525 new companies in the financial technology sector to meet increasing consumer demand and enhance liquidity levels. As of May, the liquidity in the financial technology sector reached 2.8 trillion riyals, an 8.6% year-on-year increase.
Osama Al-Rai, co-founder and CEO of “Lendo,” stated that the upcoming phase will attract more international and institutional funds to support SME financing and create new products to meet their needs, leveraging the robust economy and the objectives of Saudi Vision 2030.
Noura Al-Sarhan, Deputy CEO and Chief Investment Officer at the “Saudi Venture Capital Company,” reaffirmed the company’s commitment to achieving Vision 2030 goals by promoting entrepreneurship and investing in startups. The company invested over 3.1 billion riyals in 49 funds during the first half of the year, supporting more than 700 startups and small businesses.
