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Saudi Central Bank data placed cumulative credit facilities extended to micro, small and medium-sized enterprises at SR467 billion ($124.5 billion) by the end of 2025. The total reflected a 33 percent rise from SR351.7 billion recorded at the end of 2024. Facilities to medium-sized enterprises grew 18 percent to SR220.9 billion over the period according to the same statistics. Commercial banks accounted for 96 percent of total lending in the second quarter of 2025, a Monsha’at report found.
SME Bank CEO Ibrahim Alrashid stated that the kingdom had achieved its 2025 targets for SME financing and lending. He anticipated a qualitative transformation in the financing sector during the next five years centered on indirect financing mechanisms, credit guarantees and venture capital instruments. Alrashid pointed to continued efforts to address remaining gaps in SME support structures. The comments were reported by Arabian Business on May 4, 2026.
The General Authority for Small and Medium Enterprises, known as Monsha’at, coordinates SME development under the Vision 2030 framework. The sector currently contributes approximately 28 percent to Saudi GDP with an official target of 35 percent by the end of the decade according to the authority. Monsha’at operates the Kafalah programme that guarantees up to 80 percent of qualifying SME loans to reduce lender risk. By 2022 the authority’s indirect lending platform had channeled more than SR5.2 billion through commercial partners with further expansion since.
Monsha’at collaborated with the SME Bank to host Funding Week between May 3 and 7, 2026. The initiative aimed to improve SME connections to financing options from both public and private providers while building awareness of available tools. Programme sessions explored financing solutions, digital transformation in finance and enablers offered by the Saudi Industrial Development Fund. Organisers positioned the event as a platform to advance SME contributions to national economic goals.
The number of active commercial registrations for SMEs reached 1.7 million by the close of the third quarter of 2025, Monsha’at reported the following month. Financing volumes rose 20 percent year on year during the second quarter of that year, the authority’s monitor showed. The SME Bank had provided more than SR1.2 billion in financing by mid-2024, supporting 918 enterprises through multiple schemes including co-financing and advisory services. These developments built on annual credit growth that exceeded 17 percent as of 2023 according to earlier assessments.
SAMA has supported the trend through open banking rules and fintech licensing that have expanded alternative lending channels. The regulator’s framework enabled platforms such as Funding Gate, which saw loan volumes climb from SR1.1 billion in 2020 to SR11 billion in 2021. SME Bank launched agency financing partnerships with peer-to-peer lenders to deploy an additional SR240 million in 2025 targeting startups and e-commerce firms. Such measures have helped integrate digital solutions into the SME finance landscape.
