Finastra's core banking solution, Fusion Essence, has been chosen to power Saudi Arabia's Agricultural Development Fund's lending services. The governmental credit institution will use the platform – traditionally used by banks for retail – to provide its customers with an improved user experience, including new services and shorter loan approval times, as well as moving the fund forward in line with the Kingdom's strategic transformation plan, Vision 2030. "The fund's credit services are a vital element towards developing the Kingdom's agricultural activity," said Muneer bin Fahad Al-Sahli, General Director for Agricultural Development Fund. "It's crucial for us to offer our clients – farmers and other players in the agricultural space – a seamless digital experience which enables them with their endeavors. With Fusion Essence, we will be able to increase automation through our loan portal, which will lead to reduced timeframes for loan approvals and improved operational efficiencies." The fund is specialized in financing various fields of agricultural activity in Saudi Arabia, to develop the sector and increase its productive efficiency. Its services allow farmers to obtain Shari'ah compliant loans for agricultural machinery and equipment. The new system is part of the Information Technology initiative, one of the Fund›s 10 strategic transformation program initiatives, which seeks to achieve the fund›s objectives in line with the Kingdom›s vision for the future. Wissam Khoury, Managing Director for Middle East and Africa, Finastra, said "this is a tremendous demonstration of the flexibility and versatility of our products. It is great to see Fusion Essence recognized for its strengths, beyond its traditional banking remit. This project will enable the Kingdom's farmers to access credit faster, in support of agribusiness success, and in turn, encourages Saudi Arabia's agricultural development." The fund, which has until now used a legacy system, aims to go live with the solution within the next year. The system will also enhance the credit risk management practice in the Fund in order to become effective and achieve operational excellence in tandem with its objective. — SG
