Saudi Arabia’s Small and Medium Enterprises General Authority (Monsha’at) has launched the second edition of the Estrdad initiative, allocating SAR 1.5 billion (US$400 million) to refund government fees for startups in their first three years.

Monsha’at said applications are open now and will remain so until the end of 2026, with payments to eligible businesses running until the end of 2028.

The program offers refunds on 10 government fees, such as expatriate fees, commercial registration, municipality licenses, and the newly added patent registration.

Eligible applicants must be micro, small, or medium enterprises, have started operating no earlier than January 1, 2024, and have been operating no more than three years.

Applicants must be at least 60% Saudi-owned, fully Saudi-owned unless specified otherwise, and meet localization requirements.

A digital platform will handle eligibility checks and refund processing.

The initiative is part of broader efforts to support entrepreneurship and diversify the Saudi economy.

🔗 Source: Arabian Business

🧠 Food for thought

1️⃣ Saudi Arabia deploys multiple funding mechanisms to systematically support SME growth

The new $400 million Estrdad initiative represents just one component of Saudi Arabia’s comprehensive SME funding ecosystem that spans multiple government programs.

The Kingdom operates several parallel support mechanisms including the Kafalah loan guarantee program, which issued $3.7 billion in guarantees and facilitated $4.8 billion in total SME funding in 2024 alone 1.

This multi-layered approach also includes the SME Bank’s flexible lending programs and various sector-specific initiatives like the Tourism Development Fund’s $4 billion program for tourism startups 2.

The systematic deployment of different funding tools, from fee refunds to loan guarantees to direct lending, demonstrates Saudi Arabia’s recognition that SMEs require diverse financial support at different stages of their development.

This comprehensive strategy appears to be generating results, with SME commercial registrations increasing 48% year-on-year in Q1 2025 and venture capital funding surging 72% in 2022 to reach $987 million 13.

2️⃣ The Kingdom pursues ambitious economic restructuring through SME sector transformation