الحلقة الخفية في سلاسل الإمداد!

The global trade finance gap amounts to $2.5 trillion, according to the latest estimates from the Asian Development Bank for 2025, which is equivalent to nearly 8% of global trade volume. 80% of the banks surveyed expect an increase in demand for financing in the near future. This increase coincides with companies rebuilding their supply chains and diversifying their suppliers and markets, in a world where global trade has become more complex and less certain. Behind this figure lies a fundamental financing challenge. Completing a sale does not necessarily mean that liquidity flows at the same time, as there may be weeks or even months between the supplier delivering their goods and collecting their dues. This period represents a real need for working capital. Here, a formula emerges in the world of trade that needs a tool to unravel it. A company may struggle not because it lacks sales, but because it is growing faster than its ability to finance that growth.

Here lies the crux of the importance of financing supply chains. If a small enterprise has an invoice backed by a large company with strong financial solvency, the financier can pay the supplier early, then collect their dues from the buyer when the payment is due, thus transforming the creditworthiness of the large buyer into a financing opportunity for the smaller supplier.

India offers an important experience in this approach through the "Trade Receivables Discounting System," which was established under the supervision of the Reserve Bank of India to electronically finance the receivables of small and medium enterprises. Once the invoice is approved, several financiers can compete to finance it, and the supplier chooses the most suitable offer. This way, the traditional financing relationship shifts from a supplier knocking on banks' doors for liquidity to financing their receivables becoming a competition among financiers.

These tools gain greater importance with the transformation occurring in global supply chains, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic, geopolitical tensions, shipping disruptions, and trade wars. The reason is that priorities have gradually shifted from the efficiency of supply chains to both their efficiency and resilience together. The resilience we are talking about is not just about ports, warehouses, and inventory; there is a less visible but equally important element represented by liquidity flexibility. It is certain that a supply chain is only as strong as its weakest link; this link may be a small supplier with contracts and orders, but who cannot finance the period between production and collection.

From this perspective, the launch of the Public Investment Fund's "Tawreed for Financing Solutions" as a digital platform to connect buyers, suppliers, and financing entities can be understood, which allows among its products early payment of receivables issued against approved invoices. This step comes at an important stage for the Saudi economy as the expansion of major projects, localizing industries and supply chains, and the growth of new sectors and increased participation of the private sector all mean an expansion of the network of contractors, suppliers, and small and medium enterprises. As is known, the larger the investment, the more the idea of financing working capital for the companies executing these investments increases.

This approach comes from the fund's belief in the reality that major projects do not alone build a strong private sector; true strength emerges when the opportunities and liquidity generated by those large companies flow to the surrounding companies. Reducing the distance between the moment of value creation and the moment of receiving its price means companies are more capable of growth, supply chains are more resilient, and capital within the economy is more efficient, thus transforming the invoice from a receivable waiting for payment into a financeable asset, leading to greater movement within the economy.