Asharqia Chamber organizes the "Small and Medium Enterprises Forum 2022" next Sunday

Al-Moajil: The forum is an important step and an outspoken supporter of the "necessities" of young businessmen to continue the march

His Royal Highness Prince Saud bin Nayef bin Abdulaziz, The Prince of the Eastern Region, sponsors the "Small and Medium Enterprises Forum", which is organized by the Asharqia Chamber on Sunday and Monday 27 and 28 November 2022, in partnership with the General Authority for Small and Medium Enterprises (Monshaat), and with the participation of several experts and specialists. One of the issues that support the Kingdom's general direction in caring for small and medium enterprises, and confirms the centrality of its role in comprehensive development plans and support for localization options in goods, services, and human resources.​

This was mentioned by the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Asharqia Chamber, Badr bin Suleiman Al-Ruzaiza, who added that the forum, which is held at the chamber's headquarters in Dammam, seeks to transform investment, financing, and financial technology issues, so that they are major tributaries for development and expansion channels for small and medium enterprises, which are the basis for any economy looking forward to more Growth and development is like the Saudi national economy, so it is not surprising that small and medium enterprises are one of the pivotal goals of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030.

Accordingly, Al-Ruzaiza says that the forum - through this version - seeks to identify and support the best economic sectors that can be invested in by small and medium enterprises, by presenting the concept of partnerships and alliances for small and medium enterprises as a strategic option and developing the administrative skills of owners of small and medium enterprises. And technical .. stressing that keenness to develop small and medium enterprises is a strategic choice for the Asharqia Chamber, under which several programs and events are held throughout the year, such as seminars, lectures, consulting sessions, and training courses, in addition to the forum that is held once every two years.

Based on these data, Al-Ruzaiza says that the forum will discuss, during three sessions, several axes. In the first session, which is titled (Empowering small and medium enterprises in light of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030), the participants in the forum will discuss "the role of government agencies in supporting the legislative environment for entrepreneurs, and the integration between government agencies in facilitating the work of small and medium enterprises, with a focus on the role of universities and educational institutions in supporting and developing entrepreneurs." And integration between business incubators and accelerators and government agencies in light of Vision 2030.

As for the second session (or the second axis) (diversity of financing and investment sources for small and medium enterprises), the forum discusses several issues, including: “Empowering agencies supporting the small and medium enterprises sector in the Kingdom, developing the small and medium enterprises sector, challenges and solutions to financing and supporting small and medium enterprises, the role of Financial technology in the rapid growth of small and medium enterprises.

As for the third session, the forum will discuss (the future of the financial technology sector in supporting small and medium enterprises), and it will address several topics included under this axis, including the strategy for providing financial products and services to small and medium enterprises, areas and possibilities of financial support for small and medium enterprises, and the role of Financial technology in accelerating the growth of small and medium enterprises.

He pointed out that the forum will witness the participation of representatives of the General Authority for Small and Medium Enterprises (Monshaat), King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Imam Abdulrahman Al-Faisal University in Dammam, the Social Development Bank, Saudi Aramco, and several financing funds, as well as several academics and consultants in the fields of Business Development and feasibility studies. He expressed his hope for the success of the forum and the achievement of the desired goals.

The head of the Business Youth Council in the Asharqia Chamber, Saad bin Khaled Al-Mojel, described the establishment of the "Small and Medium Enterprises Forum" as another step within several steps supporting small and medium enterprises, and young businessmen in particular, and emphasizing their role in the comprehensive development that the Kingdom is witnessing in the era of Vision 2030.

Al-Mojil added that the option of supporting small and medium enterprises, and providing more opportunities and fields for young entrepreneurs is a "development necessity" that the country's leadership adopted not long ago, so this important forum comes within this direction, and moves within this framework, especially since all the data, as well as Global and regional experiences, support such an approach. The role of small and medium enterprises was not marginal in any plan that seeks success and aspires for further growth and development. In this regard, it is sufficient to say that supporting small and medium enterprises opens wide job prospects for Saudi youth who are willing, ambitious, and aspiring for a better world. , and more beautiful giving, so it is not surprising that small and medium enterprises are one of the explicit goals of Vision 2030.

He pointed out that young businessmen in the Kingdom (and in the eastern region in particular) continue the path of those who preceded them, who gave and achieved the great achievements referred to as Lebanon, including the presence of the Saudi product in various countries of the world, and the presence of the national human element in various work facilities, as well as The remarkable increase in the contribution of the private sector to develop. All these achievements (and many others) were a source of pride, and they are the ones that hold us - the young businessmen - another responsibility, which is to continue those bids, which are national and not individual, so we find that holding such events (Such as the Small and Medium Enterprises Forum) is the best support for opening new horizons of work for the new generation, to allow it to continue the march.

He praised the strategic partnership step embodied in the forum between the Asharqia Chamber on the one hand and the General Authority for Small and Medium Enterprises (Monshaat). In this partnership, it is an affirmation that the development process and the care of small and medium enterprises are one of its features. It is a joint responsibility between government agencies (represented by the Authority) and private sponsors. For the private sector such as the Asharqia Chamber, this is what we expect to see in the sessions of the forum and the resulting ideas, recommendations, and proposals that serve entrepreneurs and support the development process.