Saudi Arabia's Small and Medium Enterprises General Authority (Monsha'at) concluded its participation in LEAP 2026, held at the Riyadh Front Exhibitions & Conference Center in Malham from August 31 to September 3, by graduating the 11th cohort of its Innovation Leaders program, signing three memorandums of understanding, and providing business support, consulting, and mentoring services to entrepreneurs and owners of small and medium enterprises.
The graduation ceremony marked the completion of a development journey for 11 enterprises specializing in smart cities, which included mentoring, consultations, interactive meetings, technical tools and services, technical support sessions, and connections with government and private entities as well as supporting companies. Since the program's inception, a total of 163 enterprises have benefited across 11 cohorts, with 179 technology adoption cases and more than 350 job opportunities created, reflecting its role in helping enterprises adopt innovative technical solutions and enhance their competitiveness.
During the conference, Monsha'at signed three MoUs: one with the Bim platform to develop the entrepreneurship environment and exchange expertise; another with Zoho to expand support for startups in adopting business solutions and technologies, providing digital benefits to qualified companies, and offering technical training through the Monsha'at Academy; and a third with Nextven to exchange expertise, raise entrepreneurship awareness, support entrepreneurial activities, and facilitate international expansion for startups between the Kingdom and Turkey.
Throughout the event, the Monsha'at pavilion offered business support, consulting, and mentoring, introduced visitors to programs and services for SMEs, and showcased the Innovation Center while hosting entrepreneurs who shared their experiences. The pavilion also presented the Startups Gate, which helps entrepreneurs explore the Saudi market and its investment opportunities, connecting them directly with market-entry service providers. Additionally, Monsha'at held a session titled "From Idea to Market: The Journey of the AI Incubator," highlighting the Innovation Center's role in supporting entrepreneurs from idea development to market entry.