Aramco Spends $12 Bil on SMEs Yearly

Aramco Spends $12 Bil on SMEs Yearly
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Aramco Spends $12 Bil on SMEs Yearly

Aramco Spends $12 Bil on SMEs Yearly

Aramco has been spending $12 billion every year on more than 4,000 SMEs (small and medium enterprises) either directly or through its supply chain through Total Value Add Program (iktva).

Aramco’s iktva is a landmark initiative that catalyses localisation in the energy and energy-related industries, leveraging the economic role of SMEs and increasing their contribution to the GDP, and adds thousands of quality job opportunities, according to VP for Procurement & Supply Chain Management at Saudi Aramco Abdulaziz al-Abdulkarim.

This is being mainly done by Aramco to highlight the importance of creating an ecosystem that enables SMEs to flourish and grow in order to achieve a sustainable economic development in the kingdom, stated the VP.

Through iktva, Aramco plans to deliver a world-class, locally-sourced supply chain in the Kingdom, with an overarching objective of achieving 70 percent of locally supplied content by 2021, he added.

He indicated that this is in line with the goals and objectives of Vision 2030 that aspires to raise the contribution of local content in industry and to foster the economic role of SMEs as engines for innovation and sustainability.

Currently, SMEs contribute around 20 percent of the Kingdom’s gross domestic product. Saudi Vision 2030 has set an initial target to increase that share to 35 percent.



Egypt's Non-oil private Sector Contracts Further in April

FILE PHOTO: Egyptians and tourists visit the Great Pyramids in Giza, on the outskirts of Cairo, Egypt, November 4, 2024. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Egyptians and tourists visit the Great Pyramids in Giza, on the outskirts of Cairo, Egypt, November 4, 2024. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh/File Photo
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Egypt's Non-oil private Sector Contracts Further in April

FILE PHOTO: Egyptians and tourists visit the Great Pyramids in Giza, on the outskirts of Cairo, Egypt, November 4, 2024. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Egyptians and tourists visit the Great Pyramids in Giza, on the outskirts of Cairo, Egypt, November 4, 2024. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh/File Photo

Egypt's non-oil private sector economy contracted further in April after a decline in domestic and foreign demand caused new orders and output to fall for a second month, according to a survey released on Tuesday.

The S&P Global Egypt PMI headline index dropped to 48.5 in April from 49.2 in March, marking the lowest reading so far in 2025. A figure below 50 indicates contraction and one above 50 indicates growth, reported Reuters.

"Business activity weakened for the second month running in April as firms highlighted an additional drag from falling sales," said David Owen, Senior Economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence. International market weakness impacted business confidence and spending, he said.

Despite rising input costs, driven largely by a 15% increase in fuel prices, firms kept sale prices stable, ending 56 months of inflation. Employment and purchasing activity also decreased, with companies reducing staff for a third consecutive month.

While input prices rose at their fastest pace in four months, output prices remained unchanged, reflecting subdued pressure on costs, the survey indicated. Firms expressed cautious optimism about future activity, with confidence ticking up to a three-month high, although still below long-term trends.

Supply chains remained stable, with delivery times unchanged and inventories slightly increasing. The sub-index for output dipped to 47.4 from 48.6, while that for new orders fell to 47.24 from 49.0.