RIYALI, SEDCO Holding Group's, flagship Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) program is ready to launch its new program "Rowad Riyali" dedicated to entrepreneurs, in celebration of the "Global Money Week", to further address the need to educate the Saudi population on financial literacy and empower people with personal financial skills required to achieve a prosperous life. In line with the "Global Money Week" and under the slogan: "Learn, Save, Earn", the group arranged a lecture highlighting "Riyali" program for financial literacy for entrepreneurs at the Shargia Chamber of Commerce and Wa'ed, the Saudi Aramco Entrepreneurship Center to educate youth financial concepts such as: how to do a feasibility study, and reading financial statements.
During the seminar, Amr Banaja, VP marketing & corporate responsibility at SEDCO Holding Group, stressed on the importance of entrepreneurship in developing economies. The group also conducted "Train the Trainer" workshops as part of Rowad Riyali pilot launch with partnering ESO (Entrepreneurs Service Organization), such as Qutof, Wa'ed the Saudi Aramco's entrepreneurship arm, Badir, Bab Rizq Jameel, KAUST, and JCCI to run the program and ensure proper exposure and visibility.
"We organized our activities in concurrence with Global Money Week running a series of educational seminars targeting children and youth, educating them on proper planning for their financial life and building a successful future. These learning will help the young generation become successful future entrepreneurs. Additionally, we will be launching our new program Rowad Riyali in alignment with Saudi Vision 2030, which strives to advance and support SMEs and entrepreneurs for a brighter future and flourishing economy," said Banaja.
Saudi Arabia stressed on the importance of entrepreneurships and instructed to establish business incubators and financing firms; while the Small and Medium Enterprises Authority (SME) started implementing Vision 2030 plans.
In addition, funding plans have kicked off to support small and medium enterprises with the help of the Trade and Investment System recognized by the Ministry of Trade and Investment, through 5 main pillars including: building the (FOF) Fund of Funds; an investment strategy of holding a portfolio of other investment funds rather than investing directly, reforming Kafalah program's legislations for small and medium enterprises and increasing its capital, establishing the Venture Capital professional association and the private equity shares. Furthermore, it is encouraging the support of public and private sectors on their funding programs, exploring investment opportunities and motivating entrepreneurs to invest.
‘Riyali', SEDCO Holding Group's Financial Literacy Program, was launched in 2012 and aims to familiarize members of the community with financial planning and management in order to meet their personal financial responsibilities.
Riyali aims to educate kids and Saudi youth on financial concepts such as planning, budgeting, saving, investing and borrowing in order to empower them with the personal financial skills required to achieve a desirable standard of living. The program most recently won the Saudi CSR Summit Community Development Award in 2014 and the Makkah Award for Excellence in 2012.
