RIYADH: The Social Development Bank is set to host the UN’s annual Empretec meeting in Riyadh on Oct. 21-22.  Empretec is the flagship capacity-building program of the UN established by the UN Conference on Trade and Development to promote SMEs.  Its core mission is to enhance personal entrepreneurial capabilities, foster ‎sustainable and competitive micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, stimulate local ‎development, generate employment opportunities and contribute to social improvement. The meeting’s program includes a review of achievements, initiatives, success stories, panel discussions and specialized consultations designed specifically for business owners, entrepreneurs and freelancers. Fahad Alarjani, a researcher in entrepreneurship, told Arab News that the positive outlook for the future of the economy had increased due to the large influx of government and economic initiatives and huge development projects.  Fahad Alarjani, a researcher in entrepreneurship. (Supplied) “This is in addition to the clear facilitation in government policies for establishing companies, attracting foreign investors, improving the investment environment, continuing support for entrepreneurs,” he said. ‏ Alarjani‎, who is also executive board member at the Saudi-Chinese Business Council and the head of the ‎entrepreneurship committee‎, said that “Saudi Arabia has become a clear example of an economy that has invested generously in improving the entrepreneurship environment in recent years.”  “The Kingdom also dedicated huge investments in advancing the entrepreneurship system and its infrastructure, such as various services in the communications and information technology sectors, cloud technologies and emerging technologies,” he said. Established in 1988, the Empretec annual meeting is an international program under the UNCTAD ‎umbrella. Introduced in Saudi Arabia by the SDB in 2013, the program is exclusively owned ‎by UNCTAD. This is the first time that this important event has been hosted outside Geneva.  The Social Development Bank delivers a comprehensive suite of financial and non-financial services, conducts savings-awareness programs for citizens, offers capacity-building initiatives and workshops for ‎entrepreneurs and emerging enterprises — all geared toward empowering various segments ‎of society in their social and economic pursuits.