Homam Hashem, the CEO and board member of the Kafalah program for financing small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), has signed seven memoranda of understanding (MoUs).
These MoUs aim to make Saudi Arabia a fertile environment for growth in supporting small and medium-sized enterprises by facilitating financing operations through innovative and modern financial technologies (fintech and crowdfunding platforms). This aligns with one of the main goals of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 to develop the financial sector and enhance the attractiveness of the investment climate.
Over the past three years since the licensing of the fintech and crowdfunding sector, there has been a positive impact on the growth of investments in this sector.
A notable SAR 12.2 billion has been invested to support lending to micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises, stimulating support for financial technology and crowdfunding.
Therefore, the Kafalah program for small and medium-sized enterprises has signed multiple MoUs with Taamid, Lamaa, Lendo, Hala, Mulkiat, Forus, and Raqamyah.
These agreements contribute to increasing financing opportunities for small and medium-sized enterprises by expanding strategic partnerships with financial technology and crowdfunding companies.
They also activate the Kafalah 3.0 product, which enables financial institutions to obtain guarantees for the micro-enterprise and small and medium-sized enterprise segment automatically, without human intervention. The total value of the agreements reached SAR 300 million.
The signing of the agreements coincides with the launch of the Small and SME Bank’s new financing program “Agency Financing”.
It was attended by His Excellency the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Small and Medium Enterprises Bank, Yousef bin Abdullah Al-Benyan, His Excellency the Vice Governor of the Saudi Arabian Central Bank, Dr. Khaled Walid Al-Dhaher, Abdul Rahman bin Mansour, Chairman of Kafalah, Suliman Alturaif, Vice Governor of Planning and Development at Monshaat, and His Excellency Dr. Nabeel Koshak, CEO & Board Member at SVC, and a number of officials from the public and private sectors.
It is worth noting that the Kafalah program for financing small and medium-sized enterprises aims to support micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises that contribute to enhancing the national economy.
It provides financial guarantees to enhance the chances of these enterprises obtaining the necessary financing through strategic partnerships and innovative technological tools supported by the program’s cognitive rules. This agreement is one of the steps towards integration with the SME Bank and will support the expansion of financing for small and medium-sized enterprises.
