Minister of Industry Launches New products, Programs, Initiatives

Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources and the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Saudi Industrial Development Fund, Bandar bin Ibrahim Al-Khorayef launched the Industrial Fund new products, programs and initiatives to serve the sectors of industry, mining, energy and logistics services, with the aim of consolidating the role of the Industrial Fund in empowering the sectors of the National Industrial Development Program and Logistics Services (NDLP).

The ceremony, which came within the meeting of the Third Industrial Fund to Empower the Private Sector included the “Land and Logistics Loan” program in cooperation with the Saudi Authority for Industrial Cities and Technology Zones “Modon”, the Royal Commission for Jubail and Yanbu, the Special Cities and Economic Zones Authority, and King Abdullah Economic City.

In addition, increasing the maximum terms of new logistics contracts in the Saudi Authority for Industrial Cities and Technology Zones “Modon” to reach 50 years according to specific controls and mechanisms, and to launch a supply chain financing product, in partnership with SABB Bank, and a program for industrial business incubators, in cooperation with King Saud University and Prince Sultan Fund for Development; and provide a package of services to industrial entrepreneurs.

During his speech, he stressed the pivotal role provided by the Industrial Fund to empower the private sector, including the approval of the Fund during the Year 2020 about 212 loans with a total value of more than SR17 billion, 84% of which are directed to small and medium enterprises, despite the challenges and circumstances that the world has gone through, remarkably, the pandemic.

He referred to the qualitative initiatives provided by the Fund, including the launch of the “Industrial Fund Academy” to be a primary center for providing knowledge, building human capacity and preparing leaders, in priority areas, in partnership with more than 19 leading educational institutions such as the Stanford Center for Expert Development, Fitch Training Center and London Business School, and recently with the University of Berkeley and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, which resulted in the launch of 23 training programs this year, benefiting more than 4,000 trainees from more than 200 government and private entities.

It was also announced during the meeting the expansion of the logistics sector financing policy to include financing of ground handling projects, at airports, in addition to the expansion of support for third-party logistics services, and the launch of a consultancy services product that aims to improve project performance and sustainability, by providing advisory support to small and medium enterprises through a study of appropriate opportunities and the development of plans to improve performance and achieve sustainable growth, by benefiting from the Fund’s expertise in the areas of technical studies and market studies.

For its part, the Fund announced the provision of its advisory services with the participation of its experts in the “Windows” platform of the General Authority for Small and Medium Enterprises, in addition to signing a memorandum of understanding with the Saudi Standards and Metrology Organization to qualify and empower the Fund’s clients, in order to obtain approved quality certificates to improve the quality and sustainability of projects.