The Biban24 Forum, organized by the Saudi General Authority for Small and Medium Enterprises (Monsha’at), concluded on Saturday with new agreements and launches worth SAR 35.4bn, according to a press release.
Held under the theme Global Destination for Opportunities, Biban24 attracted more than 182,000 visitors over five days, offering many significant opportunities and activities to support the accelerating development in the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and entrepreneurship sectors in Saudi Arabia.
Supporting Entrepreneurs
On this occasion, Monsha’at Governor, Sami bin Ibrahim Al-Husseini, said: “Biban24 Forum has made huge success this year, with the signing of record agreements and providing several innovative initiatives that support entrepreneurship in the Kingdom. We are proud of the announced financing portfolios and strategic partnerships with key local and global entities.”
Al-Husseini added that Biban24 underscores the commitment of supporting and enabling entities from the public and private sectors, as well as the Forum’s partners and sponsors, to fostering the SMEs and empowering entrepreneurs to launch and develop their projects.
Furthermore, Biban24 Forum has contributed to enhancing entrepreneurship environment and expanding prospects of cooperation with various sectors, in pursuit of Vision 2030 objectives to boost SMEs contribution to the GDP, according to Al-Husseini.
Key Agreements
Biban24 Forum saw the signing of several agreements with international organizations, including the Estonian Business and Innovation Agency, Bahrain’s Labor Fund (Tamkeen), Korea Franchise Association, X Development Company, Miltton CIO World, Alibaba Cloud, Zoom, and Oracle.
Moreover, several financing agreements were signed with local banks, with a total value surpassing SAR 15bn, to support entrepreneurship and owners of SMEs in Saudi Arabia.
During Biban24, a large number of entrepreneurs from across the world gathered to attend the Forum’s events, which included over 300 panel discussions and workshops featuring 250 local and global speakers. The Forum celebrated the graduation of over 12 startups from the Real Estate Innovation Accelerator, in addition to launching the Virtual Lab to support entrepreneurs.
