Saudi Gazette

JEDDAH — Prince Muhammad Bin Salman College (MBSC) of Business & Entrepreneurship launched the second edition of Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) report 2017-2018 Saudi Arabia on Tuesday.

The report presents a detailed examination of the behaviors, motivations and attitude toward entrepreneurship as well as different aspects of the entrepreneurship ecosystem in Saudi Arabia making it a valuable source of information about policies and programs.

The launch ceremony was inaugurated by Deputy Emir of Makkah Prince Abdullah Bin Bandar in the presence of MBSC Vice Chairman Fahad Al Rasheed, Dean of MBSC Dr. Nabeel Koshak, Director of Babson Global Center Entrepreneurship Leadership Amal Dokhan, top executives and entrepreneurs.

This year’s report marks the second country report for Saudi Arabia and was developed by Amal Dokhan, Osama Ashri, director of Development and Strategic Alliance at MBSC, Dr. Muhammed Roomi, vice dean, and Dr. Alicia Coduras, National Experts Survey coordinator, GEM Global Date Team, in cooperation with Babson Global.

In his keynote at the opening ceremony, Al Rasheed expressed his happiness in launching the second edition of GEM. He said: “The nation has taken huge strides toward the objectives laid out in Vision 2030. More importantly, the data this year in GEM show that the government is not only talking a good game in terms of supporting new businesses, it is backing up that talk with concrete action.”

He continued: “To prove the great efforts of the government, the Kingdom has jumped in the ranking of countries in terms of the development of entrepreneurship from the rank of 64 to 33.”

According to Dr. Koshak, entrepreneurship is the key driver for economic growth, job creation and competitiveness; it is a tool for socio-economic inclusion, youth engagement and a free and competitive economy.

He said this report served to place the Kingdom on the world map of entrepreneurship. He also stressed the importance of creating an international knowledge space for entrepreneurs to connect and inspire one another in different fields.

In his speech, Saleh Bin Ibrahim Al-Rasheed, the governor of the General Authority for Small and Medium Enterprises, said Saudi Arabia’s entrepreneurial ecosystem has been significantly growing during the past five years, as the government, in addition to other entities, got more involved in supporting the ecosystem.

Amal Dokhan, author and report manager, urged young Saudis to seek out entrepreneurial opportunities.

“We need to let young people know that there are options out there,” she said.

Some of the key findings of the GEM Saudi Arabia 2017 Report are: Saudi Arabia’s adult population showed a moderately high level of involvement in entrepreneurship activities; more than 33 percent has the attention to start up a new business in the next 3 years; Saudi Arabia's early stages entrepreneurship activity is better positioned compared with other economies in the region; 69 percent of the population believes that starting a new business correlates with a higher level of social status and respect; women perceive Saudi Arabian society as more favorable toward entrepreneurship.

GEM is a worldwide study on entrepreneurship that was first conceptualized in 1997 providing an annual assessment of entrepreneurial activity, aspirations and attitudes across countries at different levels of economic development.