Today, the Cultural Development Fund (CDF) announced Cultural Financing, the first financing program of its kind in the Kingdom to support and provide essential financing for projects and enterprises across the sixteen cultural sub-sectors. The program seeks to drive sustainable growth of the cultural sector, amplify its creative output, and boost the cultural sector's contribution to the Kingdom’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), thereby driving national economic growth.
The Cultural Financing has been designed to support the development of cultural enterprises through flexible, accessible, and competitive packages that maximize profitability while minimizing risks for both the cultural enterprises benefiting from the program and the local banking partners. The program finances micro, small, and medium-sized cultural enterprises, enabling them to launch and scale their operations through a range of financing products available for both short-term and long-term needs.
Commenting on the announcement, Majed bin Abdulmohsen Al-Hugail, the CEO of CDF, stated: "The Cultural Financing marks a new chapter in our mission to empower the cultural sector in collaboration with our local banking partners. This financing solution is designed to meet the diverse and evolving needs of the sector’s entrepreneurs and support their aspirations, reaffirming our commitment to building strategic partnerships with the private sector." He added, "We look forward to seeing the positive ripple effects of this collaboration in revitalizing the cultural sector and, in turn, bolstering the national economy."
This announcement follows the Cultural Development Fund's signing of partnership agreements with five local banks: Al-Rajhi Bank, Alinma Bank, BSF, Arab National Bank (ANB), and Bank AlJazira to provide financing to cultural enterprises. These partnerships underscore the vital role of the banking sector in the sustainable development of the cultural sector. They also reinforce the Fund's ongoing efforts to spur growth across various cultural sectors in the Kingdom and strengthen partnerships with the private sector to provide attractive financing solutions that support the cultural and creative sector and maximize its impact on economic development and job creation.
