Kuwait, 07 February 2021: Gulf Bank has announced its readiness to receive funding requests from small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that have contracts in oil-related ventures and tenders. The announcement coincides with the virtual conference organized by the Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC), in cooperation with the National Fund for SME Development, which delved into the registration process for SMEs bidding for oil tenders.

During the conference, KPC announced that a certain percentage of oil tenders and related contracts would be allocated to small and medium-sized companies. This would be done by raising SME shares in tenders, operations, and purchase and supply requests (either directly or indirectly), as the law currently obliges public authorities to allocate at least 10% of all procurements to small and medium-sized companies, and grant them a price preference not exceeding 20% of acceptable prices.

Gulf Bank was keen to roll out vital financing tools and provide suitable financing options for small and medium-sized enterprises, especially in light of recent legal developments and the economic report published by the Bank a few days ago, which highlighted the lack of funding granted to small and medium-sized companies. For more information regarding the various services Gulf Bank provides to SMEs, the Bank has launched a dedicated website: https://www.e-gulfbank.com/en/sme.

Companies can apply for financing through Gulf Bank’s dedicated website by filling out the form and providing the required company information, including: the company’s date of incorporation, commercial record, banking information, a snapshot of the company's most prominent financial indicators, cash flows, and the size of the cash and non-cash facilities required. After filling out the form, customers can then direct the form and any relevant information to the designated email provided. Upon receiving the request, Gulf Bank will review the client’s request and evaluate the funding options accordingly. If economic viability is proven, the Bank will contact the SME for next steps.

Gulf Bank continues to provide SMEs with an integrated set of financial services, including digital salary transfers, issuance of debit cards, point-of-sale service registration, payment gateways, and more. For more information and to apply for a service, company owners can visit Gulf Bank’s dedicated website for SMEs.