Riyad Bank was a key sponsor and partner to the fifth forum for small and medium-sized businesses.

The Chamber of Commerce in Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Region organized the event with the support of Eastern Province Gov. Prince Saud bin Naif on Dec. 23.

As part of its participation, Riyad Bank’s banking specialists met with SME owners at the bank’s booth to talk about solutions tailored for small to medium businesses in the Kingdom.

The bank’s expanding network of branches which support locally-based SMEs was also the focus of discussions.

“Riyad Bank is one of the leading banks in the Kingdom, when it comes to supporting small to medium businesses and their growth,” said Hisham Al-Abdali, senior vice president for commercial banking at Riyah Bank.

“Events such as this are essential for meeting with SME business owners face-to-face and understanding how we can best provide financial solutions to empower the Kingdom’s entrepreneurs.”

The bank has a range of financial programs and advisory services for SMEs, to help them gain access to funding that will help them grow, including Islamic financing, extended lines of credit to support working capital and corporate credit cards.

Up until the third quarter of 2014, the bank has provided up to SR2.6 billion of funding to approximately 1,500 SMEs nationwide through these initiatives.