Monsha’at and STC Bank Join Forces to Expand Financing for Saudi SMEs

Saudi Arabia’s micro, small and medium-sized enterprises will gain access to up to 5 billion riyals, roughly 1.33 billion dollars, in Shariah-compliant financing under a new agreement between the General Authority for Small and Medium Enterprises, known as Monsha’at, and STC Bank.

The deal, signed on the sidelines of the Money20/20 conference in Riyadh, is aimed at strengthening support for the Kingdom’s entrepreneurship ecosystem and making it easier for smaller businesses to access modern digital financing tools. It was signed by Monsha’at Deputy Governor for Planning and Development Suliman bin Abdulrahman Al-Turaif and STC Bank’s Head of Wholesale Banking, Modhie Farih Al-Shammary, and will provide Shariah-compliant financing solutions to businesses across a range of economic sectors.

The agreement lands as Saudi Arabia’s SME sector continues to grow. The Kingdom was home to more than 1.7 million small and medium-sized enterprises in 2025, employing around 8.8 million people and contributing 22.9 percent of gross domestic product, according to the 2025 Vision 2030 annual report.

According to Monsha’at, the program will offer short-, medium- and long-term facilities, both cash and non-cash, with terms extending up to 10 years, covering working capital, operational needs, and financing for assets, equipment, contracts and projects. It will also support e-commerce businesses through invoice and accounts-receivable financing, business credit cards, supply-chain financing, trade finance backed by guarantees and letters of credit, and financing tied to point-of-sale proceeds. Monsha’at described the deal as part of its broader effort to support the small business sector, offering entrepreneurs innovative financing options to strengthen growth, sustainability and the sector’s contribution to the national economy and diversification.

The agreement comes at a time when financing for Saudi Arabia’s small and medium-sized enterprises is already expanding rapidly. Cumulative credit facilities extended to these businesses reached about 467 billion riyals by the end of 2025, a 33 percent increase year on year, according to SME Bank CEO Ibrahim Al-Rashid, who said in May that the Kingdom had met its SME funding and lending targets for the year and expects significant growth over the next five years, driven by indirect funding, the Kafalah guarantee program and venture capital. Kafalah itself has already supported more than 27,000 enterprises through over 73,000 guarantees, with total financing nearing 135 billion riyals, according to Monsha’at.

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