RIYADH: The number of investors in the Kingdom’s small and medium enterprises sector grew by 83 percent up until the end of the third quarter of 2022 as compared to the same period last year, according to figures released by the General Authority for SMEs. The authority, known as Monsha’at, attributed the spectacular growth to a package of initiatives and services it introduced in 2022 to encourage and facilitate investors in the sector, the Saudi Press Agency reported. According to the report, the number of micro and SMEs in the Kingdom exceeded 970,000 as of the third quarter of 2022. These establishments, it added, received as much as SR221 billion ($58.7 billion) worth of credit facilities from banks and other financial institutions until the end of the second quarter of 2022. Meanwhile, the total amounts disbursed in the indirect lending initiative for the third quarter amounted to SR2.85 billion, benefiting 2,500 establishments. When compared to the same period in 2021, credit facilities to SMEs in the Kingdom grew by 29 percent. Guarantees for financial institutions provided by the Kafalah program reached SR71.3 billion by the end of the second quarter, while the total financing portfolios in the commercial concession amounted to more than SR1.7 billion. The Kafalah program helps entrepreneurs launch or even expand their businesses. It offers approximately 12 products to support enterprises, among them the high Saudization program, supply chains, technology, and more. The program covers several business sectors, including wholesale and retail trade, catering and hotels, manufacturing industries, and administrative and support services. The authority’s achievements also included the public issue of three firms in the parallel market Nomu and supporting more than 130 fast-growing establishments under its “Elite” initiative. Monsha’at is constantly working on designing specialized programs, services, and initiatives that meet the needs of micro and SMEs. The report said the authority is also working on designing specialized programs to stimulate the culture of entrepreneurship and support aspiring entrepreneurs. The number of SMEs in Saudi Arabia jumped 9.3 percent in the third quarter of 2022, driven by strong economic growth and a healthy entrepreneurial ecosystem in the Kingdom, according to the latest government figures. A Monsha’at report showed the number of firms reached 978,445 in the three months to the end of September, up from 892,063 in the second quarter. It pointed out that venture capital funding in Saudi Arabia in the first nine months of 2022 witnessed a 93 percent year-on-year increase totaling SR3.1 billion. Some other goals Monsha’at is trying to materialize by 2030 include lowering the unemployment rate from 11.6 percent to 7 percent and increasing women’s participation in the workforce from 22 percent to 30 percent.