Taleed
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) hold vast potential to drive economic growth and prosperity. By supporting these enterprises in Saudi Arabia, so they can continue to thrive and grow, we can help nurture a more diverse and vibrant economy, and help create the next-generation of skilled workers in our industry and beyond.
This is where the Aramco Taleed program comes in. It is the third stage in Aramco’s four-stage venture life-cycle support initiative — coming after the pre-seed (LAB7) and start-up (Wa’ed Ventures) stages. It is designed to help Saudi SMEs grow from being a viable business to becoming a well-established SME or major corporation, by nurturing the SME ecosystem that can accelerate their growth and with it their ability to create jobs.
Taleed is followed by the Namaat program, which aims to nurture trailblazing organizations with the potential to become ‘National Champions’ — those companies who are able to lead and shape their industry, and create impact on a national, or even global, scale.
Home-grown success
The name Taleed is derived from Arabic and means ‘innate’, ‘rooted’, and ‘original’. It also carries the meaning of ‘to be born’, ‘birth’, and ‘reproduce’. This range of meanings captures the breadth of this initiative, which has been crafted to nurture Saudi talent and enterprise.
Taleed is designed to be a catalyst for change — it is well positioned to help unlock capital, support the development of commercial ecosystems, enable new SME growth, and nurture scalable job creation. By supporting Saudi SME founders and employees, Taleed aims to help them realize more of their potential.
Portfolio of support
SMEs often need support in multiple areas, from planning and strategy development to training and capability building. And, they frequently require specific, expert help in gaining access to markets and finance.
Taleed aims to match suitable funding and financial solutions to existing and new SME businesses through multiple major national funds, which have a combined capital exceeding ﷼ 3 billion ($800 million).
Some of these national funds include the Saudi Development Bank and the Saudi Industrial Development Fund. Others have a particular specialty including: Wa’ed Ventures covering sustainability, and the digital and social innovation domains; Al-Rajhi Group Holding Company covering social innovation; Lamar Holding covering sustainability; and Energy Capital Group covering the energy sector.
Building talent
In a bid to boost available talent, both in terms of employees and entrepreneurs, Taleed’s National Vocational Apprenticeship Program enrolls Saudi candidates in specialized courses at technical colleges, institutes, and academies. It aims to create jobs in construction, offshore services, and other areas.
Building on Aramco’s decades of experience in running apprenticeship schemes, this program is designed to equip graduates with the skills, on-the-job training, and certifications needed to work in emerging fields, or even to start their own businesses.
Other initiatives include the National Freelancing Program, an on-demand workforce platform that matches skilled freelance workers with opportunities, building talent, which aims to create thousands of jobs in partnership with public and private-sector bodies.
The National Vocational Apprenticeship Program enrolls Saudi candidates in specialized courses.
Join Taleed on its journey
Aramco Taleed is designed to help SMEs accelerate their growth, creating more jobs and making a lasting beneficial impact on the national economy.
To be part of this initiative — either as an SME or a partner — or to find out more, visit Taleed’s dedicated website or contact us here.