Riyadh – Mubasher: The Saudi General Authority for Small and Medium Enterprises (Monshaat) and the Arab National Bank (AND) signed a cooperation agreement to provide franchise-related innovative financing products in line with the banking systems issued by the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA).

The agreement aims to stimulate the franchise industry while developing the kingdom’s SME sector and raising its contribution to the gross domestic product (GDP), state-run Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported on Thursday.

The deal, moreover, is part of a series of agreements Monshaat concluded to provide diversified financing products in collaboration with partners from the public and private sectors.

Established in 2016, the objectives of Monshaat are to organise, support, develop, and sponsor the SME sector as per the best global practices, to increase the productivity of these enterprises and increase their contribution to the GDP from 20% to 35% by 2030.