Business and Entrepreneurship in Saudi Arabia

Chapter 5Exploring Saudi Entrepreneurism and Opportunities for Business

ENTREPRENEURSHIP AS A CATALYST FOR ECONOMIC GROWTH—SAUDI REALITIES

Entrepreneurship has long been recognized as a catalyst for economic growth. The economic consequences of creating a vibrant and healthy entrepreneurial class within a country can pay dividends to society well into the future. These dividends, although often not immediately perceived or seen, may include sustained job creation, foundational support for new industries and technologies, improved workforce skill levels, and the eventual creation of significant built wealth. The motivational factors leading governments or a nation's private sector to support commercial and industrial projects, particularly as they relate to SMEs and the pursuit of innovation, differ from country to country. Saudi Arabia's great push to diversify its economy by fostering broader private-sector participation in the expansion of its technological and industrial bases has led to new programs supporting Saudi entrepreneurs. Before discussing the Kingdom's efforts to support its entrepreneurs, however, the difference between how government and its institutions view their roles in investing in entrepreneurship and innovation and how the private sector weighs in on such areas should be noted.

Orthodox economic analysis views business development projects as being motivated by profits and the avoidance of losses. The reasoning goes something like this: investment decisions ...