Kafalah Loan Guarantees Double in 2020; Fund Fulfills Aim of Providing Islamic Finance to SMEs

The Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) Financing Guarantee Program (Kafalah) aims to help SMEs in accessing Islamic finance in order to develop their businesses. To this effect, the Saudi Arabia-based fund has demonstrated its strength, with more than 10,000 establishments now benefiting from it. Director General, Homam Hashem, said that guarantees stood at SAR 30 billion (USD 7.9 billion) at end-2020, double the value of those in 2019.

Why it Matters?

The fund continues to serve the development priorities and economic needs of a large number of enterprises, especially during this environment of difficult operating conditions for businesses given the adverse impacts of COVID-19. The programme supports establishments with high Saudisation percentage...