RIYADH: The Monshaat support center for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) provides a package of three programs in cooperation with the public/private sectors to develop entrepreneurs, startups and SMEs facing daily challenges to their growth. It connects “beneficiaries” with freelance professionals to meet inside the support center in Riyadh. “We provide in the SMEs’ support center three main programs (training, advisory and mentorship); currently we serve more than 1,000 SMEs and entrepreneurs,” Monshaat said in a statement. “Also, we will be across the country soon with new programs customized to each region.” The center is a well-designed offline platform that provides offices to meet in. The customer journey starts with meeting a business support consultant located within the center who identifies customer needs and assigns them to the most suitable program provided by scheduling a session in one or more of the three programs. While there are many other initiatives to increase SMEs contribution to GDP by 35 percent in aligning with Vision 2030, Monshaat plays a different role through meeting the strategic and technical requirements for a business to start and grow. The open offices is where the consultants who enrolled in the consultancy program attend to provide specialized advice in areas such as strategic planning, operations, marketing and sales, legal and technology. Deema Al-Juhaimi, a freelance consultant registered with the Monshaat support center program to provide technical advice for startup founders and small enterprises, said: “As a consultant, I enlisted in the consultancy program last month when its first launched. During my 30-minute session, I found out that most of the clients’ business ages vary from startups to a small business. For now, clients mostly look for electronic solutions that can speed up and cut operational costs, or to move from offline to virtual sales.” While the mentorship program includes a team of experienced professionals who work part-time to provide practical advice and guidance to beneficiaries during a face-to-face session, the training program model offers a number of courses as part of the comprehensive qualification program for capacity building of entrepreneurs and existing SMEs.  “We have two trainings programs weekly as well as different workshops daily, and four to nine advisers (in all topics, changed every day based on the client’s need) available daily (Sun-Thu).” Although Monshaat support center is still in its very early stages, it is giving Saudi professional the chance to enhance their leadership skills and provide support to the SME community, and it is expected that the number of enlisted experts and support seekers will increase due to the boom of entrepreneurship in KSA while meeting the Monshaat objective of building a competitive economic system that ensures the sustainability and prosperity of SMEs. As a result, the support center is expected to significantly contribute to the birth of start-ups and to escalate businesses’ growth through strategic approaches and well-executed plans to ensure sustainability.