OREANDA-NEWS. October 17, 2012. Wa'ed (the Saudi Aramco Entrepreneurship Center Company Ltd.), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Saudi Aramco, and General Electric (GE) have signed a strategic partnership agreement to serve as a major developer, financer and incubator of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Saudi Arabia, reported the press-centre of Saudi Aramco.v

Through the new partnership, GE will work with Wa'ed to aid efforts to drive the Kingdom’s SME sector and develop a solid supply chain in manufacturing and services in the energy sector to meet the needs of local, regional and global customers.

Through this agreement, GE will partner with SMEs supported by Wa'ed to enhance their capabilities as potential suppliers of products and services that support the Kingdom’s economy with a focus on the energy sector. This partnership emphasizes Wa'ed and GE's united commitment to support the goals of promoting human capital development and strengthening economic diversification in the Kingdom.

Submitted business proposals will be analyzed for potential support through one of Wa'ed’s funding programs, which include equity partnerships and debt financing. As a part of these programs, Wa'ed is offering intensive training to successful applicants from across the Kingdom in cities such as Dammam, Riyadh and Jiddah.

Fahad A. Al-Semari, managing director of Wa'ed, said: “One of Wa'ed’s major initiatives is developing SMEs in the energy sector and its supporting activities to enable the development of a competitive Saudi energy sector. Wa'ed will be working with GE to identify opportunities in the local market to develop new local start-ups and support the development of existing SME suppliers to expand and localize international suppliers. We are hopeful that our MOU with GE will be one of many to come with major companies supporting the energy sector in the Kingdom.”

Al-Semari added, “The partnership with GE, a long-term partner of Saudi Aramco, opens doors for new opportunities for these SMEs in the energy sector, helping them strengthen the Kingdom’s supply chain.”

Hisham Bahkali, GE’s president and CEO for Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, said: “Our partnership with Wa'ed builds on our long relationship with Saudi Aramco over the past several decades. The goals of Wa'ed complement our growth strategy for the Kingdom, where we are focused on nurturing local talent and promoting economic diversification.

“The MOU with Wa'ed will enable us to identify and develop Saudi talent to be partners in our operations, especially in serving our clients not only from the region but also in global markets,” he added. “This will strengthen the energy supply chain by creating local enterprises that have the potential to become reliable suppliers of essential services and products that can be provided cost effectively. It will further consolidate Saudi Arabia’s position as the regional hub for the energy industry.”

For more information on Wa’ed, visit www.waed.net.