Saudi Aramco strives to help young individuals set up SMEs

Aramco is conducting various programs that do not only support individuals, but also help build the future of the country. The programs are in the educational sector, private sector and the country’s economic development.
“We are helping the young men and women to fulfill their dreams. This will not only help them, but also the development of the country’s economy. Aramco’s Wa’ed program is providing different services to the entrepreneurs, such as funding and giving advice,” said Sami Al-Fursani, consultant at Saudi Aramco entrepreneur center.
“We target businesses that create a sense of responsibility among youth and the nation and create jobs, improving education. The sky is the limit for them to come forward and try to fulfill their dreams. We are also supporting small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in the energy sector. We aim to create a partnership,” he explained.
Abdulaziz Almalhum, head of the awareness department of Saudi Energy Efficiency Center (SEFC) explained the Saudi energy efficiency national program for reducing the energy efficiency and why it is important to reduce the use of energy in the Kingdom.
He explained that the consumption of the energy in the Kingdom is more than the rest of the world. This consumption needs to be reduced.
“We are basically aiming for energy efficiency in buildings, industry and transportation. We took some initiatives in this regards and set rules and regulations. A change in lifestyle is most important,” he said.
“Our target is to spread awareness so that people understand the importance of energy consumption to protect the environment. We are facing different challenges in this regard and the human component is the main challenge. People need to change their lifestyle,” he said.
Instead of consuming more fuel in the car, people could use smart devices to attain low consumption and ask themselves if they really need to take the car to get to their destination.
“The most important aspect is to spread awareness at school and at university level. For that we target families, students, teachers, schools, housewives, workers and industrialist to use new technology,” he said.
He also said that SEFC facilitates some institutes with energy efficient appliances, which are available in the market to reduce the energy consumption. They are spreading awareness in schools and they are organizing different programs, shows and exhibitions at shopping malls.