The Saudi delegation recently wrapped up its participation at the G20 Young Entrepreneurs Alliance (G20YEA) Summit for the year 2024, held from June 12 to 16 in the Brazilian cities of Goiânia and Florianopolis, under the leadership of His Royal Highness Prince Fahd bin Mansour bin Nasser bin Abdulaziz.
In a pavilion representing the Kingdom, various governmental and private sector entities showcased their efforts and services to support entrepreneurs and invest in startups as well as small and medium-sized enterprises.
During the opening of the summit, His Royal Highness lauded the Kingdom’s significant achievements in establishing a regulatory environment conducive to young entrepreneurs, aligned with the Saudi Vision 2030. He highlighted the Kingdom’s impressive 108% growth in small and medium-sized companies since 2016 and its lead in venture capital funding in the Middle East and North Africa, accounting for 50% of the region’s market share and a 33% annual growth rate.
He emphasized one of the Vision’s main goals is to support the youth, who make up 70% of society, and stressed the pivotal role of Saudi women in achieving sustainable development goals.
The Saudi delegation expressed pride in presenting local flagship projects that reflect Saudi identity and emphasized the importance of enhancing cooperation with other nations in entrepreneurship, exchanging ideas, and creating new investment opportunities.
The delegation engaged in various public sessions and bilateral meetings focusing on empowering entrepreneurs and exploring collaborative opportunities to forge productive partnerships.
The Saudi participation was distinguished by workshops conducted in collaboration with participating entities about the entrepreneurial ecosystem in the Kingdom and the opportunities for investment and residency.
These events provided the Saudi delegation with the opportunity to exchange expertise with global leaders within the G20 and to sign multiple partnership agreements, notably including agreements between the Net Zero Platform and Brazilian companies and cities such as Gatai, in coordination with the Ministry of Environment, Water, and Agriculture.
The Saudi initiative will be implemented in Brazil, showcasing the quality of Saudi technical innovations and their transferability to Brazil and other nations. This partnership involved planting the first tree in Brazil, which was technically registered to account for the carbon emissions by Saudi Net Zero Company (part of the Sedra program) during the summit.
In the sphere of women’s education, an agreement was signed between the Global Innovation Training and Assessment Center and EW Brazil, aimed at developing the entrepreneurial environment for women through knowledge transfer from business accelerators.
An exceptional agreement was also signed between the Expenor initiative and leaders from G20 member state organizations to attract and engage entrepreneurs in the Japan Expo 2025 and the Saudi Arabia Expo 2030.
At the summit’s conclusion, the recommendations to be submitted to the leaders of the G20 nations were signed, focusing on five key areas: economic growth, facilitating international trade, accelerating the transition to a global circular economy, educating and motivating a new generation of entrepreneurs, and innovation and digitization for the future of business.
His Royal Highness Prince Fahd bin Mansour bin Nasser expressed his gratitude to Brazil for hosting the G20 Young Entrepreneurs Alliance Summit and appreciated the collaborative efforts reflected in the outcomes of the working groups, which succeeded in integrating and coordinating the member states’ recommendations to enhance sustainable cooperation and open new horizons in various economic fields.