Cultural Development Fund in deal to boost Saudi innovation, talent
RIYADH, February 17, 2022
The Cultural Development Fund has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Saudi Exchange to advance the cultural sector, promote local content, bolster innovation and production, and foster national talent.
These goals fall under the Kingdom's commitment to enabling the growth of cultural entities and projects.
The partnership focuses on raising awareness on the importance of sustainability and reinvigorates the commitment of companies listed on the Saudi Exchange regarding social responsibilities and related policies and practices, stated Cultural Development Fund CEO Mohammed bin Dayel after signing the deal with Saudi Exchange CEO Mohammad Al Rumaih.
The MoU also highlights the Fund's active role in delivering creditable ESG expertise through various financing mechanisms that can amplify cultural and economic footprint and realize the National Culture Strategy objectives, he added.
Bin Dayel said the agreement reflects the continuous efforts by the Fund in establishing and fostering strategic partnerships in the financial sector to advance leading initiatives and programmes.
Al Rumaih said: "Recently, we released our ESG Disclosure Guidelines and are delighted to, now, sign this MoU with the Cultural Development Fund as another step in our commitment to advancing the Saudi capital market and Vision 2030."
"Our partnership will further raise awareness of the importance of adopting ESG practices and enable companies listed on the Saudi Exchange to recognize value beyond the balance sheet," he noted.
The Cultural Development Fund aims to foster the growing cultural sector, pushing forward the cultural scene and participating in achieving the National Culture Strategy's goals as part of Vision 2030.
The Fund also works to develop suitable financing channels in cooperation with several specialized entities and improve the quality of established services and digital banking to enhance products and services and increase efficiency.
These efforts strive to attract local and foreign investors and amplify local content within the cultural ecosystem in the Kingdom.
Cultural Development Fund will launch the second cycle of "The Cultural Projects Incentive Program" in April.
The program, which is the Fund's first program, with an allocation of SR181 million ($48 million), aims to provide the necessary financial support and incentives for qualified cultural sector projects to enable them to start their business or support their expansion and improve their services and outputs.-TradeArabia News Service
