{"id":2393,"date":"2022-08-30T06:17:09","date_gmt":"2022-08-30T06:17:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gulftimes.ae\/tibbiyah-buys-51-stake-in-saudi-medical-rival-innovative-care-for-57m\/"},"modified":"2022-08-30T06:17:09","modified_gmt":"2022-08-30T06:17:09","slug":"tibbiyah-buys-51-stake-in-saudi-medical-rival-innovative-care-for-57m","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gulftimes.ae\/?p=2393","title":{"rendered":"Tibbiyah buys 51% stake in Saudi medical rival Innovative Care for $57m"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Monsha\u2019at offered over 200 training programs to Saudi entrepreneurs as Kingdom bets on SMEs<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
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\nRIYADH: The Small and Medium Enterprises General Authority, or Monsha\u2019at, has been offering training programs to entrepreneurs to enhance the sector\u2019s contribution to the gross domestic product.<\/p>\n
\nMonsha\u2019at established an online academy in 2020 to support aspiring entrepreneurs and business owners by improving their ability to access markets, manage established enterprises and explore options to grow their businesses.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\nThe academy offered more than 200 training events, including boot camps, workshops and self-paced e-learning programs.<\/p>\n
\nIts programs include technology and innovation, planning and strategy, sales and marketing, accounting and financial management, human resource, franchise, e-commerce and retail business.<\/p>\n
\n\u201cThe circumstances of COVID-19 in the lockdown accelerated the need to have such a platform. So we started as a learning management system, where we get all of our training services in one place,\u201d said Abdulrahman Alotaibi, director of SMEs Training for Capacity Building at Monsha\u2019at.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n\n\nAbdulrahman Alotaibi, director of SMEs Training for Capaity Building at Monsha\u2019at<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
\nAlotaibi explained in an interview with Arab News that businesses at the time needed support to survive during the pandemic outbreak.<\/p>\n
\n\u201cWe have a group of experts coming into research and identifying the course\u2019s objectives. Then we start to develop the educational content. We do the research; we rely on good references,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
\nAccording to Alotaibi, startups face challenges in accessing finance and generating customers.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n\u201cSome challenges are related to human resources and finding the right team, and some have difficulties when it comes to managing the operation. I believe the main challenges are accessing finance and reaching out to customers,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
\nSaif Alshammari is one of the thousands of beneficiaries of this academy. He enrolled with around 20 other participants earlier this year in courses involving contract formulations, project budgeting and estimation.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n\n\nSaif Alshammari, founder and GM of RAK Construction<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
\n\u201cThe program developed the capability of entrepreneurs. It elaborated the concept of financial management, which is the heart of any business. We were taught about the types of commercial contracts, the differences between them, and which of them you should accept,\u201d he added in an interview with Arab News.<\/p>\n
\nAlshammari founded RAK Construction in 2007 in the city of Al Jubail, the eastern province of the Kingdom.<\/p>\n
\n\u201cI have a long experience managing my company, but Monsha\u2019at gave me a theoretical aspect of management and added a new wave of operation,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\nMonsha\u2019at enabled him to register his establishment as a vendor for a leading company in the sector called Thabat.<\/p>\n
\n\u201cOther participants and I were brought up on an open discussion with Thabat, and eventually we got approved vendors, and hopefully we will be rewarded with some projects soon,\u201d Alshammari said.<\/p>\n
\nIncreasing roles for women<\/strong><\/p>\n
\nAccording to Monsha\u2019at\u2019s 2022 quarterly report, the Kingdom\u2019s private sector has been a major beneficiary of the influx of dynamic female workers, with many female entrepreneurs grabbing new opportunities in the accommodation and food, wholesale and retail, and health and professional support service industries.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\nMonsha\u2019at works to develop policies and programs that empower women entrepreneurs across different industries.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\nA group of female college entrepreneurs spoke to Arab News about their experience with Monsha\u2019at regarding their next project.<\/p>\n
\nMoodhy Aljouali and her colleagues are currently launching a grammar and spelling error detection and correction system for the Arabic language named Mubeen.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n\n\nMoodhy Aljouali, co-founder of Mubeen<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
\n\u201cIt uses artificial intelligence techniques such as deep learning and natural language processing for editing and correcting any mistakes in the text. It will produce high quality and error-free text,\u201d Moodhy, co-founder of Mubeen, told Arab News.<\/p>\n
\nMajoring in artificial intelligence, Moodhy is in her final semester at the Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University in Riyadh.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n\u201cWe are working on improving what we have, and then create the website and publish it in two months,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\nMoodhy and four of her colleagues were part of a program run by Monsha\u2019at called the University Entrepreneurship Camps, a competition where the participants get to pitch their projects.<\/p>\n
\nAccording to Moodhy, their project was awarded the first prize, and Monsha\u2019at offered them a workspace and a consultation from domain experts.<\/p>\n
\n\u201cWe are planning to have courses in business from Monsha\u2019at since all the team members only have technology backgrounds,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n
\nKingdom\u2019s vision for SMEs<\/strong><\/p>\n
\nEstablished in 2016 under the Vision 2030 blueprint, Monsha\u2019at\u2019s objective is to create an inspiring environment for SMEs to grow, unlock their potential and create a supportive entrepreneurial community.<\/p>\n
\nIts SME Monitor follows an ecosystem that observes the ongoing progress of the Kingdom\u2019s SME sector, issuing new statistics and case studies that support their observations.<\/p>\n
\n\u201cSMEs in the Kingdom are not yet major contributors to the country\u2019s gross domestic product, especially compared to advanced economies,\u201d said the Vision 2030 document.<\/p>\n
\nThe Saudi vision is to create suitable job opportunities for its citizens by supporting SME entrepreneurship, privatization and investments in new industries.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\nSMEs will play a significant role in achieving Saudi Arabia\u2019s objectives of lowering the unemployment rate from 11.6 percent to 7 percent, increasing women\u2019s participation in the workforce from 22 percent to 30 percent and expanding SME contribution to 35 percent of the GDP by 2030.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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