Saudi Kafalah small business loan program expands rapidly in Q1

RIYADH: The Saudi SMEs loan guarantee program ‘Kafalah’ helped 1621 businesses during the first quarter of 2021 — up 162 percent year-on-year, Al Eqtisadiah reported.

Guarantees increased by about 150 percent to SR2.9 billion and financing reached SR3.6 billion, the newspaper said.

Some 215 private sector business women benefited from the scheme during the first quarter of this year, compared to 64 during the year-earlier period.

The value of guarantees during the first quarter amounted to SR142 million and the value of financing reached SR157 million.