RIYADH: The Small and Medium Enterprises General Authority attracted more than 12,697 beneficiaries through its “Business Weeks” initiative during the first half of 2026, with participation from 240 entities across the government, private, and non-profit sectors, including 73 exhibiting organizations.
The initiative also featured 31 main sessions and 218 entrepreneurial meetings, reflecting the growing scope of the program and its role in connecting entrepreneurs and SME owners with regulatory and enabling bodies, services, and investment opportunities across promising sectors, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
These results underscore the increasing role of specialized sector-focused initiatives in bringing together service and program providers with beneficiaries within a single ecosystem, enhancing access to enablers and opportunities tailored to each sector’s needs.
“Business Weeks” is one of Monsha’at’s initiatives that brings together government, private, and non-profit entities with entrepreneurs and SME owners through weeks dedicated to specific sectors, allowing participants to explore investment opportunities, access services, and build partnerships.
The initiative offers an integrated platform for dialogue sessions, entrepreneurial meetings, workshops, consultations, and mentorship, alongside hosting decision-makers and senior officials in direct dialogues with entrepreneurs and SME owners.
The aim is to introduce investment opportunities, listen to the challenges entrepreneurs and SME owners face, and work with relevant entities to address them, with participation from government, private, and non-profit sectors, enabling beneficiaries to learn about investment opportunities, services, programs, and supportive solutions available in the targeted sectors.
Participating entities are given an opportunity to showcase their services and initiatives and to engage directly with target groups, while also interacting with entrepreneurs and SME owners and building partnerships. This takes place through SME support centers in Riyadh, Jeddah, Khobar, and Madinah, as well as through virtual events.
In the first half of 2026, “Business Weeks” focused on four main sectors: sports, innovation, finance, and social entrepreneurship, showcasing investment opportunities in those sectors alongside financing solutions, credit guarantees, modern technologies, digital transformation, and social-impact business models, in partnership with relevant government, private, and non-profit entities from each sector.
“Business Weeks” activities continue through the second half of the year. The “Real Estate and Contracting Week,” held in July, saw participation from more than 40 government and private entities and attracted more than 3,000 participants.
The initiative will continue in the coming period through specialized weeks covering education, law, health, industry, artificial intelligence, and exports, reinforcing its focus on promising sectors and connecting entrepreneurs and SME owners with investment opportunities, services, and enabling entities.
The first-half results affirm the initiative’s continued success in establishing a model that brings together enabling entities, entrepreneurs, and SME owners within a single ecosystem, enhancing the use of services and programs, expanding partnership opportunities, and supporting the growth and sustainability of SMEs, in line with the targets of Saudi Vision 2030.
