RIYADH - The Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Saudi Industrial Development Fund, Bandar bin Ibrahim Al-Khorayef, announced; Launching a number of new products, programs and initiatives to serve the sectors of industry, mining, energy and logistics, 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 launch, which came within the meeting of the Third Industrial Fund to Empower the Private Sector, which was held today, Tuesday, 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 Economic Cities and Zones Authority, and King Abdullah Economic City. In addition to 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 the launch of a supply chain financing product, in partnership with SABB Bank, and a program of industrial business incubators, in cooperation with King Saud University and the Prince’s Fund Sultan bin Abdulaziz Development; To provide a package of services to industrial entrepreneurs.

During his speech, the Minister stressed the pivotal role provided by the Industrial Fund to empower the private sector, including the approval of the Fund during the year 2020 AD about 212 loans with a total value of more than 17 billion riyals, 84% of which are directed to small and medium enterprises, despite the challenges and circumstances that the world has gone through represented in the pandemic. Corona.

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 building 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.

He thanked the pioneer generation of fund board chairs and CEOs who, over the 48 years since the establishment of the Industrial Fund, contributed to achieving many accomplishments and providing a lot to develop the sector to build on these many accomplishments today.

It was also announced during the meeting the expansion of the logistics sector financing policy to include the 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 The 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.