Al-Bilad Bank signed a partnership agreement with the SME Financing Guarantee Program as part of a new initiative aimed at encouraging and incentivizing financial institutions to provide financing to a broader segment of small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) owners by increasing the coverage ratios guarantees in accordance with Sharia-compliant financing models, given the importance of this sector and its economic and social impact.

Abdulaziz Al-Anizan, CEO of Al-Bilad Bank, said: “The agreement developed with the Kafala Program contributes to achieving the ambitious goals related to the SME sector and to financing enterprises operating in the sectors targeted by “Vision 2030,” as well as in promising regions, This reflects the efforts being made to implement the bank’s strategy of providing customers with a full range of financing options that will help channel funding to micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises, thereby contributing to increased economic and development activities.“

Hamam Hashim, General Manager of the Kafala Program, added: ”We are pleased with the continued constructive cooperation between the Kafala Program and Al-Bilad Bank, and with the strengthening of the relationship that has begun. We are always keen to enhance and activate this cooperation due to its positive impact on achieving the Kingdom’s Vision 2030, and to raise the rate of domestic lending to small and medium-sized enterprises to 20 percent by 2030, in order to keep pace with the steady growth in the number of applications submitted by owners of small and medium-sized enterprises seeking financing guaranteed by the program.

This agreement is also one of the outcomes of the Private Sector Stimulus Plan in conjunction with the Kafala Program, launched by the Local Content and Private Sector Development Unit, which involves increasing the Kafala Program’s capital to further empower small and medium-sized enterprises.”