The Small and Medium Enterprises General Authority “Monsha’at” issued the SME Monitor report, which showed that the number of new commercial registrations in the second quarter of 2025 exceeded 80,000, bringing the total number of existing registrations in the Kingdom to 1.7 million. The report focused on the key figures and developments of the SME ecosystem and the initiatives supporting its growth, and reviewed the education sector as one of the most promising fields for investors.
According to the report, these registrations included 39,366 in e-commerce, with 38% owned by young people and 47% by women.
Riyadh Region led in new registrations with 28,181 (35.2%), followed by Makkah in second place with 14,498 (18.1%), the Eastern Province with more than 12,985 (16.2%), Qassim with 6.2%, and 19,416 registrations in the remaining regions (24.3%).
The report featured a foreword by His Excellency the Minister of Education, Mr. Yousef bin Abdullah Al-Benyan, who emphasized in his remarks that investment opportunities in the education sector are estimated at more than SAR 50 billion by 2030. SMEs make up around 98% of education establishments, making them the driving force of the sector, and women own 39.4% of educational establishments, reflecting their growing leadership and investment role.
The report reviewed the impact of Monsha’at’s programs supporting SME owners and entrepreneurs, such as the Tomoh Program, which benefited 3,175 SMEs in the second quarter of 2025, many of which have been listed on the Nomu Parallel Market.
On the funding side, the report pointed to the Kafalah Program, launched in 2006 to support SMEs and entrepreneurs. The total value of products and initiatives provided up to the end of the second quarter of this year reached SAR 121 billion, the value of guarantees provided exceeded SAR 86.8 billion, and more than 26,095 enterprises have benefited from it through 12 available financing programs.
The report addressed the performance of the Kingdom’s venture capital ecosystem in the first half of 2025, with Saudi startups raising SAR 3.225 billion through 114 deals, an annual growth of 116% in capital value and 31% in the number of deals, representing 56% of total venture investment in the Middle East and North Africa region. Funding is expected to exceed SAR 3.75 billion by the end of the year.
The report highlighted the role of Riyadh as a pivotal economic hub, with its economy contributing around 50% of the Kingdom’s non-oil GDP, and its attraction of more than 600 global companies to establish their headquarters under the Regional Headquarters Program.
The report emphasized that the Kingdom’s private sector continues to record outstanding performance indicators, driven by the growth of non-oil investments and continued economic activity, and that Monsha’at initiatives such as the Monsha’at Academy, the Mazaya platform, and the Innovation Centers have contributed to supporting tens of thousands of entrepreneurs.
The SME Monitor report is part of a series of quarterly reports issued by Monsha’at to convey the latest developments in the entrepreneurship environment and provide accurate data on the current state and future of the sector, supporting decision-makers, investors, and male and female entrepreneurs in the Kingdom.
Read the full SME Monitor report for Q2 2025 (PDF).