Riyadh - Sharikat Mubasher:  The number of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Saudi Arabia soared by over 200% since the launch of Vision 2030, a recent report by the National Transformation Program (NTP) revealed.

The NTP’s Annual Report 2023 showed that the number of SMEs in the Kingdom reached 1.3 million by the end of the third quarter (Q3) of 2023 with 6.7 million employees.

The report shed light on the main programs that were launched in 2023 to foster SMEs notably Slingshot Saudi, Tech Frontiers, Stanford Program for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, and Tomoh Program which contributed to listing 18 enterprises in the Parallel Market (Nomu).

Additionally, the report stated that the Small and Medium Enterprises Bank (SME Bank) extended SAR 10 billion as financial aid for SMEs during the first half (H1) of 2023 as part of its strategy to increase financing provided to the SME sector, bridge the financing gap, enhance the contribution of financial institutions in providing innovative financing solutions, and achieve financial stability for the sector.

It is worth noting that the Saudi unemployment rate declined to 8.6% in Q3-23 from 12.8% in 2017.