The Governor of the Small and Medium Enterprises General Authority “Monsha’at”, Engineer Saleh bin Ibrahim Al-Rasheed, attended in Riyadh yesterday the launch of the Fintech Saudi initiative, which is concerned with stimulating the field of financial technology in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, with the aim of transforming the Kingdom into a destination for innovation in fintech, with a thriving ecosystem driven by local and international entities.

Engineer Saleh Al-Rasheed explained that Monsha’at’s strategic sponsorship of the initiative stems from its keenness to support the growth of SMEs at the various stages of their establishment, and to support the innovation of fintech products that support all SMEs in the Kingdom.

The Governor of Monsha’at noted that the launch of the Fintech Saudi initiative will stimulate startups in the field of financial technology and open the way for the establishment of new companies, which will in turn innovate new and impactful solutions for delivering financial services. He added that Monsha’at is working to support the development of SMEs specialized in fintech.

Engineer Saleh Al-Rasheed noted that the strategic objectives of Monsha’at’s funding sector include providing financing solutions to close funding gaps, enabling SMEs to obtain financing, and providing multiple options for financing SMEs, such as fintech solutions.

The objectives also include strengthening the creation of a technology-enabled financing environment (crowdfunding in both its lending and equity forms, and peer-to-peer lending), spreading the culture of using fintech solutions, and enabling entrepreneurs to establish financing platforms. Monsha’at is also working on creating a database and a specialized platform for financing SMEs.

Monsha’at recently launched the Tomoh Program for small enterprises, which aims to accelerate the growth of small enterprises through capacity building. The enterprises will be selected and assessed according to specific criteria to identify the support needed to strengthen the enterprise’s growth through support packages, including training courses and consultation for a group of enterprises selected according to need.