Dubai: Saudi Arabia’s Shura Council has called for expanding government loan guarantees via the Kafalah Fund to support the SMEs sector and economy, as part of nationwide efforts to confront the COVID-19 outbreak.
The call was made during a recent virtual meeting presided over by Dr. Faisal Al Fadel, chairman of the council’s Economic and Energy Committee, in the presence of Homam Hashem, CEO of Kafalah Fund.
The meeting discussed ways to confront the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on small and medium enterprises benefiting from facilities provided by Kafalah.
The participants underlined the importance of the fund in dealing with the failure of SMEs to pay their loans and the need to ensure that loan guarantees cover all businesses across the kingdom, with an aim to achieve a balanced development in all regions.
The kingdom has started implementing recommendations by the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority (SAMA) to develop digital payment solutions that mainly promote economic development by increasing the effectiveness of financial transactions among all parties in the corporate and retail sectors.
The system would contribute to strengthening the digital infrastructure for electronic payments within the country.
