Saudi Arabia Aims to 'Reboot, Rethink, and Regenerate' Entrepreneurship

The Global Entrepreneurship Congress (GEC) seeks to benefit from Saudi Arabia as a platform to reboot, rethink, and regenerate the entrepreneurship system at the international level.

Speakers at the conference reiterated that economic strength depends on the sector's development to return to the economies of countries positively.

The conference witnessed the signing of 33 agreements and the launch of several investment initiatives worth over $4.2 billion, supporting entrepreneurship in various fields and boosting the Kingdom’s status as an attractive environment for pioneers, innovators and creators in the Middle East and North Africa.

Saudi Aramco signed ten memoranda of cooperation and two agreements with local and international companies in digital transformation, information technology, and national development.

The Social Development Bank signed agreements with several entities, including the Royal Commission in Yanbu and the National Entrepreneurship Institute (Riyadah), and announced the launch of several initiatives to support Empowering entrepreneurs valued at around $3 billion.

The Saudi Venture Investment Company (SVC) signed agreements with several investment funds of more than $656 million.

SABIC launched the “Nusaned Fund 2" with al-Ahly Capital Holding worth $200 million to support startup companies and develop the industrial sector.

Minister of Communications and Information Technology Abdullah al-Swaha stressed that Saudi Arabia boasts several innovative companies and institutions led by the ministry that contribute in the growth of the entrepreneur sector.

Speaking at a panel discussion at GEC, Swaha noted that the Riyadh Green Initiative realizes its work and set goals, indicating that Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman is one of the leading entrepreneurs, with his many projects in Saudi Arabia.

He added that the ministry supports and provides advice to entrepreneurs, all of whom “work for meaning and purpose, rather than money.”

Swaha continued that entrepreneurship is an essential part of the skills for success and is needed to reap the benefits of the 21st Century.

The minister said the Saudi government supports all procedures that help develop technology and benefit significantly from it, searching for innovation and creating different and advanced technologies that benefit all technological and economic aspects.

Egyptian businessman Samih Sawiris announced he intends to invest in the Saudi market during the coming period, stressing that work will be done to translate the project on the ground whenever appropriate opportunities are found.

During one of the dialogue sessions, Sawiris stated that the very encouraging thing in the business world is the low cost of becoming an entrepreneur.

“The world of business has now shaped in such a way that it is very easy and cheap to become an entrepreneur.”

Meanwhile, the speakers discussed topics aimed at helping entrepreneurs expand their businesses worldwide, providing them with the necessary skills to face crises, enhance flexibility, and reach the desired goals to support countries' economies.

The participants stressed the importance of establishing a unified global entrepreneurship system, helping sustain and expand the business, and acquiring the new global trends for pioneering work after the pandemic.

They also noted the need to reboot, rethink, and regenerate the entire system to achieve the goals set for the sector in the future.

The Social Development Bank (SDB) announced the allocation of $2.9 billion to finance entrepreneurs in the Kingdom in the next three years, as part of the Bank’s efforts in empowering Saudi youth and promoting comprehensive national development.

SDB CEO Ibrahim al-Rashid stated at the event that business financing programs in the past period exceeded $2.6 billion, noting that this support contributed to creating more than 100,000 jobs so far.

Rashid indicated that the Bank would allocate, during the coming period, several financing, training, and sponsorship programs to support entrepreneurs in establishing and developing their projects. The aim is to finance more than 68,000 startups and small businesses in the next three years.

On the sidelines of the conference, the SDB signed several agreements with various strategic bodies aiming to provide training, rehabilitation, and sponsorship services to male and female entrepreneurs.

It was also keen to initiate effective communication with the guests and visitors of the conference and introduce its services and financial and non-financial programs to them through the Bank’s pavilion in the exhibition accompanying the conference.

Furthermore, the Saudi Industrial Development Fund (SIDF) and the General Authority for Small and Medium Enterprises (Monsha'at) signed a cooperation agreement to support small and medium industrial enterprises in the Kingdom through their programs (Afaq and Tomooh).

The agreement seeks to enable SIDF's current and new small and medium enterprises to benefit from the services and programs provided by Monsha'at.

Cars24, an automotive e-commerce platform, Lenskart, the largest Asian optical eyewear retail chain, and Kitopi, a cloud-kitchen platform, signed memorandums of understanding (MoU) with Monsha’at to support entrepreneurs in specialized fields.

Monsha'at also signed an MoU with the Saudi Authority for Data and Artificial Intelligence to launch the "Ruwad" initiative.

The Royal Commission for Jubail and Yanbu, the Saudi Industrial Development Fund, and King Abdullah University of Science and Technology signed another MoU with Monasha'at to cooperate in the fields of data, artificial intelligence, and boost cooperation in various initiatives for entrepreneurs and small and medium enterprises.

Moreover, an agreement was signed with Aljabr Finance Company to finance products for entrepreneurs and small and medium enterprises, valued at $5.33 million.

The conference witnessed broad international participation through the launch of several investments.

Watheeq Financial Services closed an investment in Spiders Mobility for the pre-launch stage, at a value of $1.4 million, Courier Solutions for Logistics Services closed an investment round of $4.5 million, and PayPal received an investment of $1.6 million.

Merak Capital, an investment firm focused on technology, closed the seed round, led by Merak Capital, with the participation of MERCED, and an investor with a value of $1.3 million.

Antella closed an investment led by HALA Ventures in Egypt with $1 million. HALA Ventures also achieved an investment in Daily Mills, with the participation of Sidra Venture and Vida Holding, with a value of $5.3 million.

Vision Fund closed an investment in Krusty Company with a value of $2 million, at a pre-seed stage, with the participation of Access bridge Ventures and 500 Startups, with a value of $400,000.

The agreement stipulates for Monsha’at to add programs for the Industrial Fund within Tomooh, in line with the program's terms that target rapidly growing small and medium enterprises with added value to the national economy.

It aims to enhance growth and development by linking service providers and support agencies from the public and private sectors.

The International Monetary Fund expects the world economy to grow a little faster and inflation to keep falling this year. But it warned that the outlook is clouded by President-elect Donald Trump’s promises to slash US taxes, impose tariffs on foreign goods, ease regulations on businesses and deport millions of immigrants working illegally in the United States.

The Washington-based lending agency expects the world economy to grow 3.3% this year and next, up from 3.2% in 2024. The growth is steady but unimpressive: From 2000 to 2019, the world economy grew faster – an average of 3.7% a year. The sluggish growth reflects the lingering effects of big global shocks, including the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

The IMF is a 191-nation lending organization that works to promote economic growth and financial stability and to reduce global poverty.

Global inflation, which had surged after the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted global supply chains and caused shortages and higher prices, is forecast to fall from 5.7% in 2024 to 4.2% this year and 3.5% in 2026.

But in a blog post that accompanied the release of the IMF’s latest World Economic Outlook report, the fund’s chief economist, Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas, wrote that the policies Trump has promised to introduce “are likely to push inflation higher in the near term,” The Associated Press reported.

Big tax cuts could overheat the US economy and inflation. Likewise, hefty tariffs on foreign products could at least temporarily push up prices and hurt exporting countries around the world. And mass deportations could cause restaurants, construction companies and other businesses to run short of workers, pushing up their costs and weighing on economic growth.

Gourinchas also wrote that Trump’s plans to slash regulations on business could “boost potential growth in the medium term if they remove red tape and stimulate innovation.’’ But he warned that “excessive deregulation could also weaken financial safeguards and increase financial vulnerabilities, putting the US economy on a dangerous boom-bust path.’’

Trump inherits a strong US economy. The IMF expects US growth to come in at 2.7% this year, a hefty half percentage point upgrade from the 2.2% it had forecast in October.

The American economy — the world's biggest — is proving resilient in the face of high interest rates, engineered by the Federal Reserve to fight inflation. The US is benefiting from a strong job market that gives consumers the confidence and financial wherewithal to keep spending, from strong gains in productivity and from an influx of immigrants that has eased labor shortages.

The US economy’s unexpectedly strong performance stands in sharp contrast to the advanced economies across the Atlantic Ocean. The IMF expects the 20 countries that share the euro currency to collectively grow just 1% this year, up from 0.8% in 2024 but down from the 1.2% it was expecting in October. “Headwinds,” Gourinchas wrote, “include weak momentum, especially in manufacturing, low consumer confidence, and the persistence of a negative energy price shock’’ caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The Chinese economy, No. 2 in the world, is forecast to decelerate – from 4.8% last year to 4.6% in 2025 and 4.5% in 2026. A collapse in the Chinese housing market has undermined consumer confidence. If government doesn’t do enough to stimulate the economy with lower interest rates, stepped-up spending or tax cuts, China “is at risk of a debt-deflation stagnation trap,’’ Gourinchas warned, in which falling prices discourage consumers from spending (because they have an incentive to wait to get still better bargains) and make it more expensive for borrowers to repay loans.

The IMF forecasts came out a day after its sister agency, the World Bank, predicted global growth of 2.7% in 2025 and 2026, same as last year and 2023.

The bank, which makes loans and grants to poor countries, warned that the growth wasn’t sufficient to reduce poverty in low-income countries. The IMF’s global growth estimates tend to be higher than the World Bank’s because they give more weight to faster-growing developing countries.

Saudi Arabia Aims to 'Reboot, Rethink, and Regenerate' Entrepreneurship