Financing for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Bahrain is targeted to account for 20% of retail banks’ local lending portfolio by 2025, a top minister has said.
According to Abdullah bin Adel Fakhroh, Minister of Industry and Commerce, Saudi Arabia’s Financial Services Sector Development Strategy 2022-2026 provides for increasing the share of SME financing through a phased approach.
He was speaking at an event organized by Bahrain Islamic Bank (BisB) and the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Board at the bank’s Financial Mall in Budaiya.
“The government believes in the importance of this vital sector and has made significant efforts towards providing innovative and sustainable financial services that support small and medium-sized enterprises,” Fakhro asserted.
“This is also part of the 2022-2026 Small Business Development Board Strategy, which focuses on the ‘Access to Finance’ pillar, through which 13 initiatives have been established by the Board and 10 initiatives have been Has completed.”
The initiatives include Al Waha Fund of Funds, Women’s Banking Solutions, Crowdfunding Platform, Bahrain Investment Market, Phase 1 Startup Support, Public Procurement Loan Program for SMEs, etc. All of this is having a major impact, the minister said. In developing the funding process.
Declaring that partnerships are needed to achieve these goals, Fakhro further stated that BisB is committed to providing simplified and innovative banking solutions to support these businesses. Ta.
“This not only ensures the stability and growth of the company, but also enables further steps towards the development of products that meet the growing needs of this sector and support the company.”
Yasser Al-Sharifi, CEO of BisB, commented: “In collaboration with the Small and Medium Enterprise Development Board, we are delighted to be organizing this event with our partners to support Bahrain’s small and medium-sized enterprises. We are committed to continuing to provide innovative financial solutions.”
Jawad Humaidan, Chief Corporate and Institutional Banking Officer at BisB, said: “This event reflects our commitment to Saudi SMEs. Together with our partners, we are providing integrated solutions that enable businesses to grow through fully digital banking and financial solutions and exclusive and discounted services from our partners. We offer it to our customers.”
The event was attended by bank executives and several Bahraini entrepreneurs, as well as numerous representatives from the public and private sectors.
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