JEDDAH, 18 June 2006 — Commerce and Industry Minister Hashim Yamani yesterday emphasized the role of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in boosting the country’s economy, and urged authorities to remove all obstacles facing them.
“Small and medium enterprises play a big role in achieving comprehensive development as they contribute to the national economy and create more jobs,” he said opening the first franchising forum and exhibition organized by the Makkah Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The minister urged chambers of commerce across the country to identify the problems facing smaller businesses and find viable solutions for them.
“It has been established through national and international experience that franchising is one of the best tools to confront those problems,” the Saudi Press Agency quoted Yamani as saying. Franchising, he explained, helps an entrepreneur to exploit successful expertise of proficient investors in a particular activity. He said the franchising system would help modernize internal trade and develop small and medium businesses.
Yamani commended the role of Saudi private sector as a provider and source of franchise to small and medium-sized businesses. Later answering queries of businessmen, he said he was concerned with the problem of dumping faced by poultry farmers in the Kingdom.
Referring to the growing number of unauthorized businesses run by expatriates under the cover of Saudis, Yamani called upon chambers to cooperate with the ministry to end the negative phenomenon. The businessmen urged the minister to take steps for establishing an industrial city in Makkah.
Earlier, in his welcome address, Adel Kaaki, chairman of Makkah chamber, said the forum was aimed at educating both businessmen and women about franchising opportunities offered by international companies and discussing solutions to problems faced by Saudi franchises.
He said a number of companies as well as organizations such as Abdul Latif Jameel Fund were offering support for franchising businesses. The forum discussed a number of papers presented by businessmen and legal experts.
Small businesses in Saudi Arabia are the main source of private-sector investment. They are a diverse group of businesses usually operating in the service, trade, and manufacturing sectors. They form more than 90 percent of private enterprises across the country. They are the primary source for creating jobs; alleviating poverty; fostering technological innovation; developing new products and services; encouraging entrepreneurial culture; and are expected to contribute more than 50 percent of total industrial production in the near future.