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Saudi Arabia Allocates $2.9 Billion for SMEs

Biban 2023 - Saudi Arabia’s largest start-up, SME, and entrepreneurship conference – kicked off on Thursday at the Riyadh Front Exhibition and Conference Center. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Biban 2023 - Saudi Arabia’s largest start-up, SME, and entrepreneurship conference – kicked off on Thursday at the Riyadh Front Exhibition and Conference Center. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Saudi Arabia Allocates $2.9 Billion for SMEs

Biban 2023 - Saudi Arabia’s largest start-up, SME, and entrepreneurship conference – kicked off on Thursday at the Riyadh Front Exhibition and Conference Center. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Biban 2023 - Saudi Arabia’s largest start-up, SME, and entrepreneurship conference – kicked off on Thursday at the Riyadh Front Exhibition and Conference Center. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Saudi financing agencies announced the allocation of 11 billion riyals ($2.9 billion) for entrepreneurship projects and SMEs in the Kingdom.

This came during the launching of Biban 2023 - Saudi Arabia’s largest start-up, SME, and entrepreneurship conference – which kicked off on Thursday at the Riyadh Front Exhibition and Conference Center.

Organized by Monsha’at - the Saudi General Authority for Small and Medium Enterprises – the conference is attended by 350 speakers representing entrepreneurs, investors and experts from around the world, more than 120 public and private entities, and 750 exhibitors.

Monsha’at Governor Sami Al-Husseini said thanks to government support, the number of SMEs in the Kingdom grew to more than 1.141 million by the end of 2022.

Speaking at the event, Minister of Hajj and Umrah Dr. Tawfiq Al-Rabiah said: “We are working on several methods and incentives to attract entrepreneurship in the fields of Hajj and Umrah.” He noted that financial technology (FinTech) was a fertile field for entrepreneurs in the Hajj sector.

Minister of Human Resources and Social Development Eng. Ahmed Al-Rajhi explained that startups and medium-sized companies employed more than 6 million people in Saudi Arabia. He added that more than two million Saudis are working in the private sector.

“The government has involved the private sector in the employment process, which has created different job opportunities for young men and women... The number of workers in the private sector have exceeded that of government employees,” he remarked.

Minister of Transport and Logistics Services Eng. Saleh Al-Jasser stated that various government sectors, including transportation and logistics, were supported by SMEs.

Addressing a panel at the conference, he said: “Many of the initiatives today are not suitable for large companies, and are therefore a golden opportunity for SMEs... Most of the applications related to the transportation sector started with simple ideas by entrepreneurs, and today they compete with many large companies.”

Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources Bandar Alkhorayef stressed that promoting local content activity was an excellent opportunity, adding that the Biban 2023 forum will witness the launch of unique industrial projects.

“Supporting small and emerging industrial companies establishes a successful work system in Saudi Arabia. Young people must make sufficient efforts to search for promising opportunities in various fields of industry,” he added.

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US Job Growth Surges in September, Unemployment Rate Falls to 4.1%

A woman enters a store next to a sign advertising job openings at Times Square in New York City, New York, US, August 6, 2021. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz/File Photo
A woman enters a store next to a sign advertising job openings at Times Square in New York City, New York, US, August 6, 2021. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz/File Photo
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US Job Growth Surges in September, Unemployment Rate Falls to 4.1%

A woman enters a store next to a sign advertising job openings at Times Square in New York City, New York, US, August 6, 2021. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz/File Photo
A woman enters a store next to a sign advertising job openings at Times Square in New York City, New York, US, August 6, 2021. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz/File Photo

US job growth accelerated in September and the unemployment slipped to 4.1%, further reducing the need for the Federal Reserve to maintain large interest rate cuts at its remaining two meetings this year.
Nonfarm payrolls increased by 254,000 jobs last month after rising by an upwardly revised 159,000 in August, the Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics said in its closely watched employment report on Friday.
Economists polled by Reuters had forecast payrolls rising by 140,000 positions after advancing by a previously reported 142,000 in August.
The initial payrolls count for August has typically been revised higher over the past decade. Estimates for September's job gains ranged from 70,000 to 220,000.
The US labor market slowdown is being driven by tepid hiring against the backdrop of increased labor supply stemming mostly from a rise in immigration. Layoffs have remained low, which is underpinning the economy through solid consumer spending.
Average hourly earnings rose 0.4% after gaining 0.5% in August. Wages increased 4% year-on-year after climbing 3.9% in August.
The US unemployment rate dropped from 4.2% in August. It has jumped from 3.4% in April 2023, in part boosted by the 16-24 age cohort and rise in temporary layoffs during the annual automobile plant shutdowns in July.
The US Federal Reserve's policy setting committee kicked off its policy easing cycle with an unusually large half-percentage-point rate cut last month and Fed Chair Jerome Powell emphasized growing concerns over the health of the labor market.
While the labor market has taken a step back, annual benchmark revisions to national accounts data last week showed the economy in a much better shape than previously estimated, with upgrades to growth, income, savings and corporate profits.
This improved economic backdrop was acknowledged by Powell this week when he pushed back against investors' expectations for another half-percentage-point rate cut in November, saying “this is not a committee that feels like it is in a hurry to cut rates quickly.”
The Fed hiked rates by 525 basis points in 2022 and 2023, and delivered its first rate cut since 2020 last month. Its policy rate is currently set in the 4.75%-5.00% band.
Early on Friday, financial markets saw a roughly 71.5% chance of a quarter-point rate reduction in November, CME's FedWatch tool showed. The odds of a 50 basis points cut were around 28.5%.