Five Saudi banks to finance cultural development fund

Alamy/Jeff Rotman

• Fund’s current worth $234m
• Funding for SMEs in cultural field
• Part of Vision 2030 programme

Five Saudi banks have agreed to provide financing for a new arts fund managed by Saudi Arabia’s Cultural Development Fund, which has been leading government support for the arts since 2021. 

The agreement with Al-Rajhi Bank, Alinma Bank, Banque Saudi Fransi, Arab National Bank and Bank Aljazira will provide support to private sector projects in the 16 areas covered by the fund, which include architecture, museums, film, fashion, music and poetry. 

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The fund will seek to sign more agreements with local financial institutions to finance Saudi small and medium-sized enterprises in the cultural sphere, a statement on the official Saudi Press Agency said. 

It did not say how much the five banks would put up. But the fund currently has a programme for funding film production worth SAR879 million ($234 million) and a programme worth SAR181 million offering funds for private sector enterprises, associations and NGOs working in various cultural sectors. 

• Saudi art blooms with the kingdom’s transformation

• Raising Saudi Arabia’s quality of life is a work in progress
• Opera hits the high notes as Saudi’s latest cultural attraction

Saudi Arabia has poured billions into arts and culture as part of its Vision 2030 social and economic reform programme, building opera houses and museums in Riyadh, Jeddah and the desert resort of AlUla, and funding music, cinema and theatre, three endeavours which were frowned upon before. 

Banks are also being encouraged to help small and medium-sized enterprises as the country tries to expand its non-oil economy, which the government said reached 50 percent of GDP for the first time in 2023. 

But growth has suffered because of lower than expected oil prices, as Saudi Arabia continues its reliance upon energy revenues.