The General Authority for Small and Medium Enterprises “Monsha’at,” arranged the "Biban 2017" forum, which took place at the Riyadh International Convention and Exhibition Center over four days from September 17–20, 2017. On the first day, interactive sessions were held to discuss how to support and grow small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the Kingdom in accordance with the objectives of the Saudi Vision 2030.
Under the slogan of the "Biban" forum, "Between Dream and Reality, a Key in Your Hands," a session titled "The Role of the Government in Empowering Small and Medium Enterprises in Saudi Arabia" commenced. It was attended by His Excellency the Minister of Commerce and Investment and Chairman of the Board of the General Authority for Small and Medium Enterprises, Dr. Majid bin Abdullah Al-Qasabi, His Excellency the Minister of Municipal and Rural Affairs, Engineer Abdul Latif bin Abdulmalik Al-Sheikh, His Excellency the Minister of Communications and Information Technology, Engineer Abdullah bin Amer Al-Swaha, His Excellency the Minister of Labor and Social Development, Dr. Ali bin Nasser Al-Ghafis, and His Excellency the Governor of the General Authority for Small and Medium Enterprises, Dr. Ghassan bin Ahmed Al Sulaiman.
His Excellency the Governor of the Authority gave a remark at the start of the session emphasizing the value of entrepreneurship and pointing out that SMEs made up 99.2% of all private sector businesses in the Kingdom. Furthermore, he said that this ratio is similar to that of Malaysia, the European Union, and Canada. He stated, "The contribution of small and medium enterprises to supporting economic growth in the Kingdom is limited to 22%, while it reaches 77% in Europe and 65% in Malaysia. The contribution of small and medium projects to exports varies among different countries, and in the Kingdom, it only reaches 3%."
He further emphasized that the Saudi Vision 2030 has set a strategic goal to increase the contribution of SMEs from 22% to 35% and to position the Kingdom's economy in the top 15 globally by 2030, with a contribution of up to $2.2 trillion, four times the current contribution of the sector, which is estimated at half a trillion dollars.
His Excellency the Minister of Commerce and Investment spoke about the ministry's experience in reducing routine procedures and achieving the goals of the Saudi Vision 2030 regarding the business environment and developing procedures to facilitate the operations of SMEs in the Kingdom. He praised the experience of the "Tayseer" initiative, which emerged from the Council of Economic and Development Affairs, where 113 recommendations were presented and implemented by the ministry.
He explained that the measures undertaken by the "Meras" initiative to improve private sector business performance (Tayseer) aims to facilitate the procedures for starting businesses by providing integrated services associated with them to investors. Dr. Majid Al-Qasabi stated that self-employed and part-time workers would be registered with social insurance, and the Social Insurance Fund would bear all the costs related to self-employed individuals upon registration.
On his part, His Excellency the Minister of Municipal and Rural Affairs, Engineer Abdul Latif Al-Sheikh, stated that the ministry considers SMEs as an important part of enhancing the growth of the Saudi economy. He pointed out that the time has come to expand the role of these entities.
He discussed the ministry's experience in promoting the concept of entrepreneurship in the business field and facilitating administrative procedures for small, micro, and medium-sized enterprises. He cited the example of the "Baladi" platform, which initially consisted of 70 platforms but has now been consolidated into a single platform representing the municipal sector.
 Furthermore, the minister revealed that the "Balady" platform is electronically linked to the "Meras" platform to enable project owners and investors to access the municipal sector through the "Meras" platform managed by the Ministry of Commerce and Investment.
Minister Abdul Latif Al-Sheikh stated, "We are participating in the Biban 2017 forum with over 200 investment opportunities available for small and medium enterprises."
His Excellency the Minister of Labor and Social Development, Dr. Ali Al-Ghafees, affirmed the ministry's continued efforts to enhance its relationship with SMEs through various channels, including the self-employment track, part-time work track, wage track, startup track, and communications localization track, in addition to the "Ajeer" system which will provide an attractive environment for freelancers in small enterprises, among other tracks.
He stated that the ministry has provided funding to over 40,000 enterprises, amounting to 6 billion Saudi riyals, and emphasized that the ministry is determined to continue its support in the future.
On his part, His Excellency the Minister of Communications and Information Technology, Engineer Abdullah Al-Sawahah, confirmed that the ministry is working on two phases to support the growth of SMEs in the Kingdom: the "Building" phase and the "Digital Transformation" phase.
He explained that the infrastructure building phase aims to harness the potential of young talents, emphasizing that digital transformation relies on two elements: "youth" and "data." He stressed that the integration between relevant platforms ensures the growth of the SMEs sector.