Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: The number of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Saudi Arabia increased by 25.6 percent to 892,063 in the second quarter of 2022, compared to the fourth quarter of 2021, the General Authority for Small and Medium Enterprises (Monsha’at) has said.
The Riyadh region accounted for 35.4 percent of the total establishments, the Makkah region 21 percent and the Eastern region 12.7 percent.
Monsha’at report said that 81 percent of these establishments are classified as micro and small establishments.
The food and beverages sector attracted the maximum investment of about $178 million (700 million riyals) during the first half of this year, the report said and added that investments in Saudi startups grew by 244 percent on an annual basis to reach 2.19 billion Saudi riyals in the first half of 2022.
The kingdom was ranked as the second most active venture capital market in the Middle East and North Africa during the same period. .
The second quarter report dealt with empowering and supporting women in entrepreneurship and stimulating small and medium enterprises headed by women. The report revealed that the percentage of enterprises owned by women reached 45 percent of the total owners of start-up companies in the Kingdom, which is double the percentage achieved in 2017.
The quarterly report said the Makkah region hosts more than 21 percent of the total SMEs in the kingdom.
The production of Saudi Khawlani coffee has increased by 70 percent, while the number of coffee trees reached more than 400,000.
Investments in this sector amounted to nearly $319 million (1.2 billion riyals) by the Saudi Coffee Company over the next 10 years.