SMEs are the backbone of the Saudi economy

10X Industry

Priya Wadhwa
10X Industry
Published:

SMEs are the backbone of the Saudi economy

99% of private sector companies in KSA are SMEs.

When looking at a country’s economy, whether it is in North America, Europe or the Middle East, you will find that the majority of the businesses in that country fall under the small and medium sized enterprises (SME) category, making them the backbone of the economy.

Even though their economic output is not as much as the larger corporations such as Saudi Aramco, Facebook or Google, they employ a large percentage of the population and keep the economy going. Hence, governments spend considerable time on laws and regulations that spur the development of this particular sector.

During an annual meeting in Saudi Arabia, it was said that 99 percent of the companies in the private sector fall in the SME category. Omar Bafeel, secretary-general of the National Entrepreneurship Initiative (NEI), said SMEs “are the backbone of the economy as they represent 99 percent of the private sector.

Moreover, they’re absorbing some 70 percent of the country’s workforce.” Learn more about the SME segment in Saudi Arabia and the measure that the Kingdom takes to support them here.