H.E. Minister of Environment, Water and Agriculture, Eng. Abdulrahman Abdulmohsen Alfadley stressed the importance of entrepreneurship and its contribution to the national economy. He also added that the Ministry prioritizes enabling and supporting innovation and modern technology, enhancing human capabilities. The ministry provides technical solutions in the most efficient manner at the Ministry’s sectors, moreover achieves the goals of sustainable development.

This came during the launching of three main programs for entrepreneurship in the three sectors of the ministry, which are Sedrah in the environment sector, Sahabah in the water sector, and Sunbolah, in the agricultural sector, as part of the Entrepreneurship Forum,which was held today at the Ministry’s headquarters in Riyadh, in the presenceof His Excellency Vice Minister  Eng. Mansour bin Hilal Al-Mushaiti.

The Deputy Minister for Research and Innovation, Dr. Hamad bin Abdulaziz Al-Batshan, explained the growing interest in entrepreneurship in the Kingdom by our wise leadership - may God protect them - confirms the importance of this sector in supporting economic growth and diversification, meeting the aspirations of Saudis youth and encouraging them to enter the field of entrepreneurship through opportunities available to them.

He added that the development of entrepreneurship in the ministry comes as an extension of its continuous efforts to grow in its various sectors, by expanding the benefits
of enabling business innovation and Supporting research and modern technology, and creating a pioneering movement that contributes to economy for sustainable development in the Kingdom in general, and in the environment, water and agriculture sectors in particular.

Dr. Al-Batshan stated that the ministry’s entrepreneurship programs and targets will have a prominent role in completing the process of distinguishing the ministry’s sectors and its effective contribution to achieving the aspirations and goals of Vision 2030.He noted that the entrepreneurship sector has a broad horizon for development, in light of the auspicious support and opportunities available within the Kingdom’s vision plan and national strategies for different sectors.

A panel discussion was also held on the future of investment and entrepreneurship presented by Abdullah Al-onaideel, with the participation of Walid Al-Balaa, co-founder of the sukna Venture Fund, Nabil Al-Nour, General Manager and Founder of the Graven Ventures Fund, and
 Dr. Mazen Al-Zaydi is a general partner in the STV (Saudi Technology Ventures). 

An accompanying exhibition was held in which a number of start-up participated,displaying their products to the visitors to the exhibition.

The General Supervisor of the Entrepreneurship Department at the Ministry, Dr. Ali Al-Sabhan, explained that the aim of the forum is to build an entrepreneurial system in every sector of the ministry, and gave a comprehensive presentation of the entrepreneurship ecosystem. He noted that it acquires the support of the leadership, and (30) million SR have been approved as a first stage to support and develop entrepreneurship in the agricultural sector. The Ministry is developing entrepreneurship by reviewing, updating, building legislation and regulations, providing experts and consulting through cooperation, partnership and building a database, providing and directing funding to promote venture capital investment, in addition to empowerment and support through open data to promote entrepreneurship.

The Ministry has formed a Steering Committee for Entrepreneurship headed by His Excellency the Deputy Minister to ensure harmonization. The Agricultural Entrepreneurship Development Program has established (4) business incubators, (20) entrepreneurship boot camps in (12) cities, and (3) boot camps for fishery incubators in (3) cities, in addition to launching a technical accelerator in cooperation with the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology. The Ministry also cooperated with the Small and Medium Enterprises General Authority (Monsha'at)  in establishing a number of activities and events to develop the Ministry’s sectors, and launched (3) major programs in entrepreneurship to ensure compatibility, and worked to build a community interested in entrepreneurship Ministry sectors, in partnership with The Stage.

Together with the entrepreneurship in the Kingdom, the Ministry aspires to empower and  develop of entrepreneurship in its sectors to achieve the goals of Vision 2030,by aligning goals , creating an entrepreneurial community, in addition to exchanging data and statistics and sharing knowledge and experience.

The research, development and innovation sector in the ministry is based on national priorities, one of which aims to sustain the environment and basic needs of its citizens by developing the eco-friendly products that save water and desalination technology, sustainable  production technology in food, and carbon capture use and store.