H.E. Minister of Environment, Water and Agriculture, Eng. Abdulrahman
Abdulmohsen Alfadley stressed the importance of entrepreneurship and its
contribution to the national economy. He also added that the Ministry
prioritizes enabling and supporting innovation and modern technology, enhancing
human capabilities. The ministry provides technical solutions in the most
efficient manner at the Ministry’s sectors, moreover achieves the goals of
sustainable development.
This came during the launching of three main programs for
entrepreneurship in the three sectors of the ministry, which are Sedrah in the
environment sector, Sahabah in the water sector, and Sunbolah, in the
agricultural sector, as part of the Entrepreneurship Forum,which was held today at the Ministry’s
headquarters in Riyadh, in the presenceof His Excellency Vice Minister Eng.
Mansour bin Hilal Al-Mushaiti.
The Deputy Minister for Research and Innovation, Dr. Hamad bin Abdulaziz
Al-Batshan, explained the growing interest in entrepreneurship in the Kingdom
by our wise leadership - may God protect them - confirms the importance of this
sector in supporting economic growth and diversification, meeting the
aspirations of Saudis youth and encouraging them to enter the field of
entrepreneurship through opportunities available to them.
He added that the development of entrepreneurship in the ministry comes
as an extension of its continuous efforts to grow in its various
sectors, by expanding the benefits
of enabling business innovation and Supporting research and modern technology,
and creating a pioneering movement that contributes to economy for sustainable development in the Kingdom in general, and in the environment, water and
agriculture sectors in particular.
Dr. Al-Batshan stated that the ministry’s entrepreneurship programs and
targets will have a prominent role in completing the process of distinguishing
the ministry’s sectors and its effective contribution to achieving the
aspirations and goals of Vision 2030.He noted that the entrepreneurship sector
has a broad horizon for development, in light of the auspicious support and
opportunities available within the Kingdom’s vision plan and national
strategies for different sectors.
A panel discussion was also held on the future of investment and
entrepreneurship presented by Abdullah Al-onaideel, with the participation of
Walid Al-Balaa, co-founder of the sukna Venture Fund, Nabil Al-Nour, General
Manager and Founder of the Graven Ventures Fund, and
Dr. Mazen Al-Zaydi is a general partner
in the STV (Saudi Technology Ventures).
An accompanying exhibition was held in which a number of start-up
participated,displaying their products to the visitors to the exhibition.
The General Supervisor of the Entrepreneurship Department at the
Ministry, Dr. Ali Al-Sabhan, explained that the aim of the forum is to build an
entrepreneurial system in every sector of the ministry, and gave a
comprehensive presentation of the entrepreneurship ecosystem. He noted that it acquires
the support of the leadership, and (30) million SR have been approved as a
first stage to support and develop entrepreneurship in the agricultural sector.
The Ministry is developing entrepreneurship by reviewing, updating, building
legislation and regulations, providing experts and consulting through
cooperation, partnership and building a database, providing and directing
funding to promote venture capital investment, in addition to empowerment and
support through open data to promote entrepreneurship.
The Ministry has formed a Steering Committee for Entrepreneurship headed
by His Excellency the Deputy Minister to ensure harmonization. The Agricultural
Entrepreneurship Development Program has established (4) business incubators,
(20) entrepreneurship boot camps in (12) cities, and (3) boot camps for fishery
incubators in (3) cities, in addition to launching a technical accelerator in
cooperation with the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology. The
Ministry also cooperated with the Small and Medium
Enterprises General Authority (Monsha'at) in establishing a number
of activities and events to develop the Ministry’s sectors, and launched (3)
major programs in entrepreneurship to ensure compatibility, and worked to build a community interested in
entrepreneurship Ministry sectors, in partnership with The Stage.
Together with the entrepreneurship in the Kingdom, the Ministry aspires
to empower and develop of
entrepreneurship in its sectors to achieve the goals of Vision 2030,by aligning
goals , creating an entrepreneurial community, in addition to exchanging data
and statistics and sharing knowledge and experience.
The research, development and innovation sector in the ministry is based
on national priorities, one of which aims to sustain the environment and basic needs
of its citizens by developing the eco-friendly products that save water and
desalination technology, sustainable
production technology in food, and carbon capture use and store.
