Saudi Arabia’s banking and finance sectors granted, in the course of six years, till the end of 2023, SR275.576bn ($73bn) worth of facilities to small, medium, and micro enterprises.
This marks a 154 per cent growth, or SR167.1bn ($45bn), over 2018, when the figure stood at SR108.519bn ($29bn).
On an annual level, the facilities provided grew by 20.3 per cent, at an estimated value of SR46.544bn, ($12bn) compared to SR229.032bn ($61bn) by the end of 2022.
Saudi SME support
According to the monthly statistical bulletin issued by the Saudi Central Bank for March 2024, medium-size enterprises accounted for the largest share of the total facilities, at 57.5 per cent, or SR158.411bn ($42bn).
Then came small enterprises, at 33.5% or SR92.275bn ($25bn), and micro enterprises, at 9 per cent or SR24.890bn ($7bn).
The banking sector contributed the largest share of the total facilities provided, at 94 per cent, or SR258.295bn ($69bn).
Finance companies contributed SR17.281bn, ($5bn) accounting for some 6 per cent.
Quarterly data for the total facilities provided by the banking and finance sectors to these enterprises also show a 3 per cent growth by the end of the fourth quarter of 2023, an increase of about SR7bn ($2bn) over the SR268.574bn ($72bn) at the end of the third quarter of the same year.
Medium-size enterprises are classified by the Small and Medium Enterprises General Authority as having revenues of SR40m ($11m) to SR200m ($53m), and 50 to 249 employees.
Small-size enterprises have revenues of SR3m ($800,000) to SR40m ($11m), and six to 49 employees, while micro establishments have revenues of up to SR3m ($800,000) or one to five employees.
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