RIYADH — Minister of Labor and Social Development Mufrej Al-Haqbani and Minister of Trade and Investment Majid Al-Qasabi agreed to offer full and exceptional support for small and medium sized enterprises with the aim of improving work environments, tackling unemployment and generating new job opportunities. The two ministers were speaking at the Council of Saudi Chambers in Riyadh on Thursday during the opening ceremony of the support mechanisms for the SMEs and Entrepreneurship forum and the launch of a new program titled "9/10ths." A large number of entrepreneurs, experts and officials, including Vice Minister of Labor and Social Development Ahmed Al-Humaidan and Director-General of the Human Resources Development Fund (Hadaf) Abdulkarim Al-Nujaidi and Governor of the Technical and Vocational Training Corporation Dr. Ahmed Al-Faheed, attended the forum. Governor of Saudi Standards, Metrology and Quality Organization (SASO) Dr. Saad Al-Kasabi and newly appointed Governor of the General Authority for Small and Medium Enterprises Dr. Ghassan Al-Sulaiman were also present. Al-Haqbani said in his keynote speech at the inauguration that 9/10ths stems from the Saudi Vision 2030 and the NTP 2020 aimed at creating and enhancing the work environment for the small and medium sized enterprises' market, reduce unemployment, increase women's participation and protect startups from structural abnormalities. The labor minister reiterated that the program has witnessed joint partnership between the ministries of Labor and Social Development and Commerce and Investment, stressing that all bureaucratic obstacles arising would be removed to facilitate procedures for SMEs. Al-Haqbani pointed out that the Council of Ministers recently issued a decree to establish the board of directors for the General Authority for Small and Medium Enterprises, which is a step toward carrying out its future objectives. He said the formation of the board ensures the development of SMEs and protecting them from unfair competition as by tackling various challenges. He added that the ministry will exert every effort to support the authority. On another hand, the commerce minister expressed happiness over the successful launch of the 9/10ths program and said one of its important objectives is to support SMEs in order to overcome challenges that face both genders in the work environment through a range of programs and e-initiatives, allowing them to have access to government and non-government bids. Al-Qasabi pointed out that the recent decision to form the board of directors for the SMEs authority would encourage creativity and local production as the sector weighs economic importance. He added that his ministry will spare no effort to ensure the success of the authority and achieve the long-aspired objectives by increasing the contribution of SMEs to the gross domestic production from 20 to 35 percent before the end of 2030. Al-Qasabi stressed the importance of partnership between the two ministries alongside the Council of Saudi Chambers to achieve the set objectives and welcome any new ideas to develop SMEs. Hadaf Director General Al-Nujaidi emphasized that the fund has taken the initiative to help out young men and women through a number of quality programs including 9/10ths as its portal offers distinctive solutions for entrepreneurs. Al-Nujaidi added that assisting SMEs will enable the youth to seize opportunities in the startup businesses and investment. "We recognize the need to benefit from the skills of young men and women as we believe they are the most important recourses, and we seek to better utilize their potentials through offering options and solutions that empower them to achieve their practical objectives and help them to start their own businesses," he said. The 9/10ths program was developed by Hadaf to target small and medium sized enterprises by turning them into productive entities through a number of cutting-edge services that ensure growth and advancement in the sector. The program strives to make the SMEs more attractive for Saudi nationals through overcoming complicated government procedures that are encountered by entrepreneurs as well as boost national employment by supporting startup businesses and spread a culture of entrepreneurship nationwide to build promising SMEs.
