Saudi Arabia's largest conference for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) - Biban 2023 - has witnessed the signing of agreements worth more than $2.8 billion sealed on its third day, thus accelerating the digital transformation of retail and e-commerce in the country.
This comes on top of more than 25 agreements worth over $2.93 billion signed on the opening day of the event and over $1.5 billion deals inked the second day, said the event organisers.
These MoUs will be focused on leveraging the respective partnerships’ resources, expertise and networks to provide state-of-the-art financing solutions and electronic payments to the kingdom’s retail and online stores, they stated.
The top SMEs summit, which concludes tomorrow (March 13), has drawn some of the world’s most innovative start-ups, entrepreneurs, and investors to the Saudi capital.
This year’s event is being held under the slogan of “Opportunities Create Entrepreneurship”, with its theme being “Attract-Connect-Achieve”.
Bringing regional as well as international entrepreneurs, SME owners, investors, and policymakers together, Biban 2023 provides over 105,000 participants a productive environment to network, collaborate and pioneer solutions to global business challenges.
At the event, the Small and Medium Enterprises General Authority of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (Monsha'at) underlined its commitment to advancing entrepreneurship in the country.
In line with Vision 2030, Monsha’at said it had signed a range of agreements with a selection of leading regional and global entities.
These are fully geared towards accelerating the digital transformation of retail and e-commerce in the country, powering the future of Saudi SMEs in the modern retail space, it added.
Contributing to the growth and development of the national economy, the partnerships were launched on the third day of Biban 2023.
As part of its mission to empower the kingdom’s thriving community of entrepreneurs and enhance the Saudi SME ecosystem, Monsha’at signed a MoU with Zoho Software Trading Company Limited.
In addition, it has sealed a deal with Neoleap: the global digital solutions company, and GoDaddy, the leading domain registrar.
A major highlights of Day 3 was the signing of a $2.8 billion funding by SME Bank across its programmes over 3 years. These partnerships mark the latest arrangements announced at Biban 2023: Saudi Arabia’s flagship startup and SME forum.
In addition to the announcement of Monsha’at’s MoUs, the event's third day also provided the backdrop for the launch of wide-ranging initiatives focused on bolstering the kingdom’s SME community.
Offering access to all-important tools and insights, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) - the leading professional services network - is providing 500 free hours of consulting to local SMEs and entrepreneurs, in addition to training workshops targeting women entrepreneurs and social entrepreneurs, said the organisers.
The Global Finals of the Entrepreneurship World Cup (EWC) also continued during Biban’s third day, with some of the world’s most innovative startups competing for up to $1 million in cash prizes, they added.-TradeArabia News Service