Badir Program for Technology Incubators and Accelerators, an initiative of KACST, has contributed SR2.1 billion ($560 million) to Saudi Arabia's economy on a cumulative basis from 2010 to the end of last year, a report said.

Badir Program for Technology Incubators and Accelerators, an initiative of King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology, has contributed SR2.1 billion ($560 million) to Saudi Arabia's economy on a cumulative basis from 2010 to the end of last year, a report said.

This is based on the total revenues of SR620 million achieved by the incubated and graduated technical companies in the Program, added the "Economic Impact Assessment Report" conducted by the Australian company CREEDA Projects, which specializes in the establishment and management of technical incubators globally.

The study showed that the contribution from the Badir Program to the Saudi economy was about SR664 million during the past three years, an increase of 56 per cent, compared to the "Economic Impact Assessment Report" conducted in 2015.

 The Economic Impact Assessment Report for the period from 2015 to the end of last year includes a summary of the economic indicators of the Emerging Technology Companies Sector in Saudi Arabia in terms of the development of the sector's contribution to the gross domestic product (GDP) and its direct impact on economic growth and share of the labour market and total investments. The report also includes projections of the rates of development and growth in these indicators in the coming years.

The results of the report were announced by Nawaf Al Sahhaf, CEO of the Badir Program for Technology Incubators and Accelerators at the "Gitex Technology Week 2018" in Dubai on Sunday.

In its report, CREEDA adopted two specific methodologies for the assessment of the economic impact of the Badir Program and its contribution to the Saudi economy. The first methodology took into account the contribution to the GDP on the basis of the total expenditures of the incubated and graduated technical companies; the second one measures the contribution of these companies to the GDP on the basis of their annual revenues.

According to the report, the performance of the Badir Program over the past three years has undergone a remarkable growth in terms of the number of jobs generated by the incubated and graduated companies and their economic impact, expecting an increase in the contribution of these companies to the GDP in the coming years as a result of the structural and operational improvements implemented by the Program in 2016 and 2017, which, in turn, will enhance the Program's future performance.

In this regard, Nawaf Al Sahhaf, CEO of the Badir Program for Technology Incubators and Accelerators, said that the data of the report from CREEDA Projects provides many important indicators on the effectiveness of the steps taken by the Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to support and develop the entrepreneurship sector and enhance its competitiveness globally, as well as increase its contribution to the GDP in line with the National Transformation Programme and Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030.

He emphasized that the Kingdom is keen to employ all its potential and capabilities to meet the elements of sustainable and comprehensive development, with a view to achieving its vision.

“The country attaches a special priority to the entrepreneurship sector, which is one of the key pillars of the diversification of national income sources, sustainable national economic growth, job creation, as well as strengthening the Kingdom's capabilities for moving toward a post-oil economy,” Al Sahhaf noted.

Earlier this month, the Badir Program for Technology Incubators and Accelerators officially received the presidency of the Arab Technology Incubators and Techno Parks Network (ARTECNET), for a period of three years (2019 to 2021).

ARTECNET aims to exchange the ideas and visions on the most successful ways to promote the Arab incubators industry, to benefit from expertise, information and experience in improving the performance of these incubators, and to develop ambitious plans and programs to improve the performance and enhance the role of emerging companies in the Arab world. . – TradeArabia News Service