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Tawuniya… The First Company in Saudi Arabia Financing the Health Insurance for SMEs

Today, the whole world considers the small and medium enterprises sector (SMEs) as one of the essential pillars in the economy due to its vital role in providing job opportunities, supporting the GDP, diversifying the income sources, providing a proper environment for innovation, and other benefits that enhance the development process.

In Saudi Arabia, the SMEs receive excellent attention as the Kingdom's government has made this sector among its primary targets of Vision 2030 by setting a goal to raise the SME sector's productivity and increase its contribution to the GDP from 20% to 35% by 2030. The Kingdom provided many services to SMEs, including ongoing support to the entrepreneurship sector, privatization programs, and attracting investments in new industries. This support raised the growth rate of several SMEs, which reached more than 550 companies in 2020, according to figures issued by the General Authority for Small and Medium Enterprises "Monshaat."

The exact figures also indicated that SMEs' share in the total loans increased to 8.3% in 2020, compared to 2% in 2015. This increase has resulted from the public and private sector's initiatives, which have been made under the supervision of the Saudi Central Bank. All this support raised the SMEs' contribution to the GDP to 29%, compared to 23% last year.

The Kingdom's government has provided full support to this sector, whether through the "Monshaat" programs or the regulations to provide innovative financing solutions and national strategic partnerships that can also enhance the growth of this sector.

The partnership between Tawuniya and Nayifat Finance, which led to the launch of the first "health insurance product financing" program for SMEs in the Kingdom, is one of the most prominent examples of the strategic partnership role in supporting SMEs' growth. This partnership aims to facilitate the process of purchasing insurance policies. Tawuniya signed an agreement with Nayifat Finance to provide innovative financing solutions that are compatible with Islamic law. This step will provide health coverage for SMEs' employees and their families, aligning with the Council of Cooperative Health Insurance requirements. This program will also enhance the sustainability of the financial income statements for SMEs.

In this regard, Dr. Othman Al-Qasabi, CEO of the Health and Takaful Insurance Sector of the Tawuniya Company, said: "Tawuniya provides a smooth and easy process for owners of SMEs to obtain financing solutions by choosing the method of payment. Tawuniya will study their requests, which will be sent to Nayifat Finance to submit the financing quotation and make the final agreement between the owner of the business facility and Nayifat Finance.

Tawuniya's experience in identifying, managing the risks, and proposing appropriate insurance solutions enabled it to provide health insurance policies with different benefits. This program offers many health services through a distinguished network of accredited medical centers and hospitals inside and outside the Kingdom, which reached more than 1500 service providers.

The development processes carried out by Tawuniya for the health insurance policies added to other services, including the Taj program, which offers a variety of services that suit cust,' rs needs such as reliable online consultation service, home children vaccination service, chronic disease management program, the immediate approval, Tawuniya's service offices in major hospitals. Furthermore, the opportunity to join the Tawuniya Vitality Program and other programs offered exclusively to Tawuniya's customers.

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