The number of SMEs (small and medium enterprises) registered in Saudi Arabia grew by close to 10% to about a million by the end of the third quarter of 2022, as the country is diversifying its economy away from oil as part of its Vision 2030 program.

Now, to serve SMEs in the kingdom, Meta has launched a new training program called Meta Boost in collaboration with the Saudi Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT) and the Small and Medium Enterprises General Authority, also known as Monsha’at.

It aims to train 20,000 SMEs to boost their productivity, opening the way for them to contribute 35% of the country’s GDP by 2030.

“MCIT’s ambitious efforts always aim to contribute to the digital economy of the Kingdom, and SMEs are considered as a key integral part of the sector and a cornerstone of its future plans, which are driven by Vision 2030,” said Nasser Alnasser, assistant deputy minister for technology and investment at MCIT.

“We, at MCIT, are proud to work with Monsha’at and Meta to support SMEs through Meta Boost to realize those plans,” Alnasser added.

The program will also provide dedicated workshops and masterclasses for SMEs, delivered by Meta experts. The program includes a watch channel and a hub of resources for SMEs.

The hub will offer SMEs access to free tools, on-demand training films, and best-practice digital marketing tactics from Meta experts, along with live training sessions given by AstroLabs.

“The kingdom’s SMEs account for 99.5% of all businesses, so helping the SME community in Saudi Arabia thrive and grow is a priority for us. This is why we developed a tailored Meta Boost program that supports the digitization of 20,000 local SMBs through a series of capacity-building workshops and resources,” said Joelle Awwad, head of policy programs at Meta for MENA and Turkey.