The western province of Saudi Arabia is a mine of wealth when it comes to commercial and investment projects, particularly the city of Makkah AlMukkaramah. While Jeddah upholds its status as the strongest threshold for commercial exchange – thanks to its port, Makkah unveils limitless potential for a new knowledge-based economy, next to the vector of religious tourism that is open all year long. Umm AlQura is one of the universities which believes and supports this transformation and has launched last April 10 the state-of-the-art campus of "Wadi Makkah", which can also be referred to as the "Silicon Valley of Makkah". It is intended to become the headquarters to eight start-up companies (as previously announced in November 2015) in addition to international companies. Such a project corresponds to the needs of the Saudi economy to diversify and respond to the needs of a growing entrepreneurial segment and at the same time accommodate a changing market which can no longer rely on the old-time desired black gold. Research, development, production, distribution and operations will now be possible right from this academic campus and it will contribute to boost concretely, and on the ground, the projects of ambitious entrepreneurs. Aatef Kordi, a consultant and self-made entrepreneur, and Vice President, Innovation, at Umm AlQura University, emphasizes the importance of creating this hub for young entrepreneurs and for the sake of the national economy. "This makes for a starting point toward expanding the field of entrepreneurship. Today, the Kingdom covets 21 business incubators, 4 facilitating firms supported by 25 entities. In addition to this, there is a clear will to revitalize the standards of our economy by diversifying its resources and encouraging small and medium businesses to flourish." Kordi had anticipated and counted on this injection of SR2 trillion across all non-oil sectors, which in other words, underlines the necessity to look past oil and entice other sectors in the Kingdom. A vision, which as confirmed by Deputy Crown Prince Mohamad Bin Salman, along with a national investment plan, will bring along further investment opportunities but also job creation with the support of 15 entities from the private and public sectors. SMEs make up for 93% of the registered Saudi institutions yet they only contribute to 33% of the GDP, a weak influx given the growth size of the Saudi economy and its focus on diversification, in comparison with developed countries where SMEs contribute to no less than 50% of its GDP. Today, there are 688,000 unincorporated businesses or individual companies in Saudi Arabia which is equivalent to 85% of manpower existing across active institutions. "There are pros and cons to this matter. The fact is that 80% of these individual companies are in the construction or contracting field. Forty percent of those are inactive, they are simply registrations. So in brief, only 5% have a real impact and tangible effect on the economy. And this highlights the lack of planning which can affect any sector, private or public alike, unless the components are strategically linked and supported. That is why today knowledge-based economy is one of the logical steps for our economy." The ‘Wadi Makkah' company is valued at SR100,000,000 capital. "It will contribute to materializing our united vision for a more prosperous and sustainable economy which thrives on research and innovation with a tangible positive impact on the economy and society," Kordi noted. — SG
