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.

President-elect Donald Trump's pick for Treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, said on Thursday that the dollar should remain the world's reserve currency, the Federal Reserve should stay independent and that he is ready to impose tougher sanctions on Russia's oil sector.

Bessent, testifying at a Senate Finance Committee confirmation hearing, underscored an urgent need to extend Trump's 2017 individual tax cuts, saying that allowing them to expire at the end of this year would unleash a $4 trillion tax hike that could crush the US economy.

"If we do not renew and extend, then we will be facing an economic calamity," Bessent said. "We will see a gigantic middle class tax increase."

Bessent, a hedge fund manager and founder of Key Square Capital Management, voiced support for Trump's plans to impose steep tariffs, saying they would combat unfair trade practices, raise revenues and increase US negotiating leverage, including on non-trade issues.

In prepared remarks he said pro-growth tax, investment, trade and energy policies would usher in a "a new economic golden age" of prosperity.

RUSSIAN OIL SANCTIONS

Bessent said that US sanctions against Russia's oil sector have been too weak, partly because the Biden administration was too concerned about increasing prices at the same time it was constraining US oil output. Increased US oil production would allow for tougher sanctions on Russian oil majors, he said.

"I think if any officials in the Russian Federation are watching this confirmation hearing, they should know that if I'm confirmed, and if President Trump requests as part of his strategy to end the Ukraine war, that I will be 100% on board with taking sanctions up - especially on the Russian oil majors - to levels that would bring the Russian Federation to the table," Bessent said.

He also had harsh words for China, calling it "the most imbalanced, unbalanced economy in the history of the world," one that was trying to export its way out of a "severe recession/depression" and the US could not allow China to flood US or world markets with cheap goods.

NO DRAMA

In a hearing marked by few testy exchanges, Bessent coolly fielded questions ranging from child tax credits to tariff impacts on farmers and did not stray from answers consistent with previous Republican Treasury nominees, but without contradicting Trump's policy plans.

He said that US spending on President Joe Biden's clean energy tax credit was "wildly out of control" and that high deficits in recent years were due to a "spending problem." Asked if a 100% tax credit for business research and development needed to be restored, he said his "inclination" would be to support that.

Democrats chided Bessent for taking advantage of a tax loophole, the legality of which has been disputed by the Internal Revenue Service, to reduce the Medicare taxes paid by his hedge fund by $910,000 over three years.

"This is exactly the kind of abusive scheme that leaves Americans feeling disgusted with our tax system," said Senator Ron Wyden, the panel's top Democrat.

Bessent said that he would set aside funds to pay any taxes owing once the case is decided. He has pledged to shutter Key Square to avoid conflicts of interest if his nomination is confirmed.

FED INDEPENDENCE

Markets were expected to scrutinize Bessent's comments on keeping the Federal Reserve independent for clues as to whether Trump would try to exert control over the US central bank given the president-elect's frequent complaints over Fed interest rate decisions.

But Bessent came down firmly on the side of Fed monetary policy independence, adding that Trump would still make his views known.

"I think on monetary policy decisions, the FOMC should be independent," he said, referring to the Fed's rate-setting panel, the Federal Open Market Committee.

Although some economists have said that Trump's plans to impose tariffs, cut taxes and curb immigration would be inflationary, Bessent disagreed, saying Trump's plans, including increased energy production, would lower inflation to the Fed's 2% target while increasing wages.

Despite Trump's longstanding complaints about a strong dollar hurting US exports, Bessent said: "Critically - critically - we must ensure that the dollar remains the world's reserve currency."

Bessent also rejected the idea of a central bank digital currency for the Fed, saying that the dollar's wide use and security made this unnecessary. He said he was open to the idea of creating a US sovereign wealth fund, but said the US needed to get control over short-term deficit growth first.

HIGH DEBT, LESS CAPACITY

Bessent vowed that there would be no debt default on US Treasury debt under his watch. Asked whether Congress should abandon the federal debt ceiling, Bessent said that if Trump requested that, he would work with Congress to make it happen.

The high debt level means that there is less capacity to borrow heavily to combat a crisis, Bessent said, citing examples of the 1930s Great Depression, World War Two and the recent COVID-19 pandemic.

"Treasury – along with the whole of government and Congress - has used its borrowing capacity to save the union, save the world, and save the American people," Bessent said. "What we currently have now, we would be hard pressed to do the same."

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