A government-backed platform called Forsa has given small and medium-sized businesses in Saudi Arabia more than SR1 billion ($270 million) since 2017.
The platform, which is a component of the “Nine Tenths” initiative, has experienced substantial growth, according to a statement released by the Human Resources Development Fund. In 2023 alone, SR500 million was allocated for the programme.
According to the statement, Forsa acts as a conduit between buyers and suppliers, allowing registered businesses to electronically assess and submit price quotes for purchases made by the public and commercial sectors.
It also gives them the ability to request quotations from one another. More than 500 significant organisations gain from the platform, which spans more than 27 industries.
The main objective of the Saudi-based platform is to empower and encourage businesses by improving bid governance and transparency, encouraging local content, and enabling technological connections to expedite procurement procedures.
Through an integrated dashboard, it seeks to offer controllability and information access.
The Forsa, Bahr, Zaad, and Tajer platforms are only a few of the cutting-edge advantages that the Nine Tenths initiative provides.
By promoting and assisting SMEs, these services seek to empower companies and change the workplace culture of people and communities.
The programme aims to provide people and organisations with the tools they need to use creative thinking to generate new opportunities and jobs.
One of the HRDF’s programmes that was started in August 2016 in accordance with the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 is the Nine Tenths programme.
To transform small and medium-sized businesses into institutions that generate jobs and support an entrepreneurial ecosystem, it aims to develop and improve an environment that is favourable for their operations.
By offering grants for workforce certification, training, and employment, the HRDF seeks to promote the rehabilitation and employment of the country’s labour force in the commercial and nonprofit sectors.
In addition, it contributes to the expenses of preparing and educating the domestic labour force for positions in the commercial and nonprofit sectors and helps fund studies, plans, and field initiatives targeted at bringing Saudi nationals into the workforce and displacing foreign labourers.