The National Technology Development Program (NTDP) today launched the "Technical Growth Financing" initiative, as the first core initiative of the program through a strategic partnership with Small and Medium Enterprises Loan Guarantee Program (Kafalah). This product ensures offering guarantees for micro (start-up), small and medium enterprises (SMEs) that work in the technology field with a maximum limit of 90% of the value of the financing and providing them with loans of SAR 100,000 to SAR 15 million, in a bid to enable these enterprises to implement their projects and cover the expenses of their expansion plans. The initiative aims at enabling the growth and development of works of information technology enterprises, in addition to improving the financing of financial institutions licensed by the Saudi Central Bank to the information technology sector, helping in creating success stories for local companies in a way that contributes to achieving huge successes that reflect on increasing the confidence of investors and other companies to stimulate them to invest in the information and communications technologies sector. The initiative, moreover, aims at providing start-ups and SMEs with future tools in a way that allows their growth, development and entrepreneurship at all levels. This initiative, in cooperation with Kafalah, supports enhancing and developing the ICT system and realizing sustainability through offering the guarantees necessary for financing institutions in a way that stimulates them in the future to provide and increase the percentages of financing for profitable start-ups and SMEs working in the technologies and emerging technologies, where the initiative seeks to provide finances with a total value of up to SAR 700 million , and is expected to have a positive impact on the domestic output of the ICT sector. The work mechanism of the initiative involves applying for a loan directly by the company from banks and participating financing institutions or through the "financing gate" on the Monshaat website, where, in turn, these institutions continue procedures with Kafalah program that directly deals with the initiative. Kafalah also contributes to evaluating and downsizing risks for enterprises working in the ICT sector. NTDP seeks to launch several initiatives throughout this year to achieve its goal of developing the ICT sector to make the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia an international entrepreneur in manufacturing and adopting technology in several courses, mainly: localizing technology in the information field to contribute to establishing a comprehensive national technological system, creating competitive opportunities and encouraging investment in the field, developing the digital information technology sector through supporting all targeted enterprises and sectors, and contributing to developing the ICT system to become an effective contributor to the digital national economy.
