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Biban Forum 2025, one of the region’s most prominent gatherings dedicated to entrepreneurship, concluded last week in Riyadh, bringing together innovators, investors, enablers, and entrepreneurs from across the Kingdom and around the world on a single platform.

Building on the success of previous editions, this year’s forum expanded its global reach and ambition. It aimed not only to empower and advance ��������’s entrepreneurial ecosystem but also to enable local and international entrepreneurs to grow, connect, and scale their ventures. This was realized through seven main “doors” that spanned the fields of entrepreneurship, innovation, and investment — each designed to provide effective solutions and open high-quality opportunities for sustainable growth and expansion.

Biban 2025 once again demonstrated its pivotal role in cultivating a dynamic and supportive business environment. By fostering innovation and simplifying market entry, the forum contributes to strengthening the entrepreneurial landscape and building a vibrant culture of creativity and enterprise.

The continued success of Biban reflects the Kingdom’s strong economic fundamentals, robust logistics infrastructure, and evolving regulatory framework. These pillars, combined with an enabling entrepreneurial environment, empower exceptional ideas to flourish both locally and globally — reinforcing ��������’s position as a leading global destination for entrepreneurial and investment opportunities.

Among the primary objectives of this year’s edition were enhancing business efficiency and maximizing the economic impact of enterprises. Achieving these goals requires convening enablers, supporters, and investors from across the globe to facilitate access to financing, promote collaboration, and stimulate the growth of small and medium enterprises.

The scale of Biban 2025 underscored its significance. This year’s edition hosted more than 1,000 exhibitors representing over 150 countries, alongside 2,000 speakers who showcased and presented more than 10,000 business opportunities.

In my view, the forum — both in its current and past editions — has played a crucial role in advancing the capabilities of Saudi entrepreneurs and SMEs, strengthening their administrative, financial, and technical foundations. By encouraging business owners to refine and launch their ideas, Biban serves as a springboard for innovative ventures to move from concept to reality.

This process is further enriched by knowledge exchange with international experts, which broadens horizons and enhances competitiveness. Such engagement directly supports the objectives of Saudi Vision 2030, which places SMEs at the core of economic diversification and inclusive growth. Vision 2030 aims to raise SMEs’ contribution to the Kingdom’s GDP to 35 percent by 2030, up from 20 percent, and to increase their share of credit facilities to 20 percent — a significant jump from just 2 percent at the base level.

Biban Forum serves as a vital enabler in realizing these national goals by strengthening entrepreneurial skills, driving innovation, expanding access to global best practices, and accelerating growth opportunities for small and medium enterprises.

The Small and Medium Enterprises General Authority, known as Monsha’at, established in 2016, plays a central role in regulating, supporting, and developing the SME sector. Monsha’at promotes entrepreneurship and innovation through a range of programs and initiatives designed to foster a strong entrepreneurial mindset, diversify financial support, stimulate venture capital activity, and enhance operational capabilities in areas such as management, finance, technology, marketing, and human resources.

In line with these efforts, the Small and Medium Enterprises Bank, founded in 2021, complements Monsha’at’s mission by improving financing accessibility for SMEs. The bank works closely with financial institutions to create a vibrant, sustainable financing ecosystem within the Kingdom. Through varied funding models, it aims to expand credit access, enabling SMEs to grow, scale, and contribute more effectively to national economic development.

Similarly, the Small and Medium Enterprises Loan Guarantee Program provides vital assurances to lenders, encouraging them to finance MSMEs and entrepreneurs. By mitigating risk and fostering trust, the program incentivizes financiers to increase engagement with the SME sector while attracting new business owners who may have previously lacked access to credit.

These combined initiatives have produced measurable results. By the end of the fourth quarter of 2024, the total number of SMEs in �������� had reached 1.6 million. A growing share of these enterprises operates within forward-looking sectors such as the circular economy, renewable energy, reforestation, environmental tourism, and electric mobility. Collectively, financing extended to these strategic sectors has surpassed SR351 billion — a testament to the Kingdom’s commitment to sustainable and inclusive economic transformation.

Biban 2025, therefore, stands as more than just an event — it is a cornerstone of ��������’s entrepreneurial future. By empowering innovators, attracting investment, and connecting the Kingdom to the global stage, it continues to unlock new opportunities for growth, creativity, and long-term prosperity.

• Talat Zaki Hafiz is an economist and financial analyst.