Assertion Supported AI assessment confidence: 88% certainty 5/5 debate potential 2/5

Princess Reema: 40% of Saudi SMBs are owned or led by women

Princess Reema bint Bandar Al Saud · 5 memorable lessons from 2023 | Masters of Scale · Dec 19, 2023 · at 15:18

Princess Reema bint Bandar Al Saud was not on this episode. A recording of them was played into it, so these are their words but not an appearance on Masters of Scale. It still counts as said, and it is kept out of every score on their page.

Princess Reema bint Bandar Al Saud, Saudi Ambassador to the US, discusses the rapid transformation of women's economic participation in Saudi Arabia.

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“40% of all small and medium-sized businesses are women today. Not a true statement five years ago.”

quote is from the automated transcript, cleaned for reading: filler sounds and stutters are removed, nothing is rephrased. names can be misheard (the analysis reads context, assessments check outside sources). how →

The claim, plainly

As of 2023, 40% of all small and medium-sized businesses in Saudi Arabia are owned or led by women, which was not the case five years prior.

a quote alone can be ambiguous, so this restates it with the references and context of the conversation around it resolved. AI-written; the tape below the player is the source.

Assessment

Official data from Saudi Arabia's Small and Medium Enterprises General Authority (Monsha'at) corroborates both parts of the claim. In May 2023, Monsha'at reported that female-owned enterprises reached over 476,000 establishments, accounting for approximately 40% of all active SMEs in the Kingdom (with earlier 2022 quarterly reports indicating figures between 40% and 45%). Additionally, Monsha'at's historical baseline data showed that female ownership of SMEs was around 21% to 22% in 2016–2017, confirming that the 40% level was not the case five years prior.

Monsha'at reported in May 2023 that women-owned SMEs reached over 476,000 establishments, representing approximately 40% of all active SMEs in Saudi Arabia.
Monsha'at's SME Monitor reported that female ownership of SMEs stood at 21%–22% in 2016–2017 before rising to ~45% in 2022.

Checked against

[1] scribd.com [2] siasat.com [3] arabianbusiness.com [4] saudigazette.com.sa [5] saudigazette.com.sa [6] saudistreets.com [7] saudigazette.com.sa [8] bloomberg.com

Saudi Arabia SMEs owned by women percentage 2018 2022 2023 Monshaat "women-owned" "Monsha'at" "45 percent" OR "40 percent" 2022 OR 2023 Monshaat Saudi women owned SMEs 40 percent 2022 2023 Saudi women owned SMEs report Monshaat GASTAT percentage percentage of SMEs owned by women in Saudi Arabia 2018 to 2023 "Monsha'at" "female" "SMEs" "2017" OR "2018"

assessed as of 2026-08-27

This assessment is an AI reading of a public statement, made against the cited references with the confidence shown. It can be wrong. The quote, the tape and the references are all on this page; if something is off, use report an error below. full disclaimer →

Mentioned

Princess Reema bint Bandar Al Saud Saudi Arabia small and medium-sized businesses

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