The Small and Medium Enterprises General Authority “Monsha’at” concluded the Biban 24 forum, held over five days, with agreements and launches exceeding SAR 35.4 billion, while the number of visitors to the forum reached more than 182,000.
The forum was held under the theme A Global Destination for Opportunities, after offering many important opportunities and activities to support the Kingdom’s rapid development in the SME and entrepreneurship sector.
The Governor of Monsha’at, Sami bin Ibrahim Al Hussaini, stated: “Biban 24 achieved great success this year, as we saw the signing of record agreements and the introduction of many innovative initiatives that support entrepreneurship in the Kingdom, and we are proud of the financing portfolios announced and the strategic partnerships concluded with leading local and international entities.”
He added: “The forum reflected the commitment of the enabling and supporting entities from the public and private sectors, and of the forum’s partners and sponsors, to supporting SMEs and enabling entrepreneurs to launch and grow their projects. It also contributed to strengthening the entrepreneurship ecosystem and expanding the horizons of cooperation with various sectors, in pursuit of the objectives of Saudi Vision 2030 in raising the contribution of SMEs to GDP.”
The forum included the signing of several international agreements with the Estonian Business and Innovation Agency, the Labor Fund (Tamkeen) in the Kingdom of Bahrain, the Korea Franchise Association, X, SME Corporation Malaysia, Korea’s Ministry of SMEs and Startups, the Malaysian franchise development company PERNAS, Miltton CIO World, Alibaba Cloud, Zoom, and Oracle. Many financing agreements were also signed with a group of local banks, with a total value exceeding SAR 15 billion, to support entrepreneurs and SME owners in the Kingdom.
Over its five days, the forum brought together a large gathering of entrepreneurs from around the world and hosted many events, including more than 300 panel sessions and workshops with the participation of more than 250 international and local speakers.
Around 59 service providers and enabling entities took part in the E-Commerce Door, which highlighted emerging technologies, modern retail, and digital solutions, while a group of consultants offered their services in digital payments, online marketplaces, and supply chains throughout the forum.
The Biban Talks stage hosted more than 100 speakers who discussed a variety of topics, including media, tourism, the environment, education, sports, funding, and investment, as well as the nonprofit and financial sectors, in an interactive environment that allowed entrepreneurs to share their success stories and the challenges they faced.
The Investors Arena drew more than 115 entrepreneurs, who presented their projects to the investors in the arena, resulting in preliminary approvals from investors to conclude deals with 65 companies with a total value exceeding SAR 15 million.
More than 1,350 startups from 72 countries around the world took part in the forum, which also celebrated the graduation of 12 startups from the Real Estate Innovation Accelerator and saw the launch of the Virtual Lab to support entrepreneurs.