Small and Medium Enterprises General Authority

Small and Medium Enterprises General Authority, commonly called 'Monsha'at', is responsible for regulating and developing the small and medium enterprises sector in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It was established by the Council of Ministers resolution in 2016. It enjoys a public legal personality and administrative and financial independence.

The Authority works to diversify sources of financial support for enterprises, stimulate initiatives in the venture capital sector, develop policies and standards for financing, and provide administrative and technical support to enterprises in cooperation with strategic partners in the public and private sectors.

The General Authority for Small and Medium Enterprises has competencies and roles, most notably financing and supporting enterprises, defining and classifying enterprises, facilitating the establishment process of enterprises and launching their projects, supporting and developing entrepreneurial ideas, conducting studies and research related to the Authority's field of specialization, and offering consultations, initiatives, and support programs for the enterprises sector, to accelerate its growth.

The Authority also works to activate the role of banks and lending funds, encouraging them to play a more significant and influential role in financing and investing in enterprises. It aims to establish comprehensive service centers for enterprises to issue all their regulatory requirements and similar needs through the active and electronic participation of relevant public and private authorities. Additionally, it seeks to establish and support programs necessary for the development of enterprises.

In 2021, the General Authority for Small and Medium Enterprises launched the Small and Medium Enterprises Bank, as one of the developmental funds and banks affiliated with the National Development Fund to increase the financing provided to the small and medium enterprises sector, bridge the financing gap, enhance the contributions of financial institutions in offering innovative financing solutions, and achieve financial stability for this crucial sector to be a fundamental pillar for economic development in Saudi Arabia, facilitating the realization of Saudi Vision 2030.

In 2022, the Council of Ministers approved the Small and Medium Enterprises Bank and transferred the SME financing guarantee program from Monsha'at to the bank.

The Authority's headquarters is located in Riyadh, the capital, and has a board of directors with several members. The board is the supreme authority of the Authority and is responsible for overseeing its affairs, managing, and handling matters. Organizationally, it is linked to the Minister of Commerce, who chairs its board of directors.

The Authority offers several programs, including the Financial Awareness Program, the Transportation, Storage, and Digital Trade Accelerator, the Educational Technologies Accelerator, the Dates Business Accelerator, the Entertainment Business Accelerator, the Financial Technology Accelerator, and the Healthcare Sector Accelerator.

The Authority provides a variety of services, such as the Business Atlas service for accessing data, the Monsha'at Academy for training entrepreneurs, the Commercial Franchise Platform service, Thakaa Center, Jadeer Service, Fikra Platform, Nawafth Monshaat App, Small and Medium Enterprises Support Centers, and Tomouh Program.

The Authority enables entrepreneurs and others to benefit from its diverse initiatives, which include the Venture Capital Initiative, Indirect Lending, the Entrepreneurial Media Initiative, and the 'Kafalah' program.

The Saudi Venture Capital Company was established by the Small and Medium Enterprises General Authority in 2018 to support private sector enterprises and stimulate venture investment; capital investment in startups and early-stage businesses.

Enterprises are divided according to their size into four types: micro-enterprises, including (one to five) full-time employees with annual revenues of no more than SAR3 million, and small enterprises. The number of their employees ranges between (six to forty-nine) full-time employees with annual revenues between SAR3 million and SAR40 million, medium enterprises, with between 50 and 249 full-time employees with annual revenues of between SAR40 million and SAR200 million, and large enterprises, with around 250 and more employees, and annual revenues of more than SAR200 million.

The number of small and medium enterprises in Saudi Arabia is estimated at 1,373,252, according to statistics for 2023, of which 41.4 percent are in Riyadh Province, 18.9 percent are in Makkah al-Mukarramah Province, and 11.1 percent are in the Eastern Province. 85.5 percent of these enterprises are classified as micro and small enterprises.