AS part of its commitment to social responsibility SEDCO Holding Group participated as the knowledge partner in the 4th iteration of the Riyadh Social Forum, where it presented a review of its highly successful Financial Literary Program, Riyali.

The Riyadh Social Forum was held last Jan. 9-10 at the Al-Nakheel Crowne Plaza Hotel in Riyadh under the patronage of Prince Faisal Bin Bandar Bin Abdul Aziz, Governor of the Riyadh region.

The objective of the forum was to contribute to creating a community whose members and institutions are characterized by social awareness and civility. In addition to presenting the Riyali Financial Literacy Program, SEDCO Holding held two workshops over the two days of the Forum.

During the forum, Abdulrahman Al-Turjuman, Acting Head, Marketing & CSR at SEDCO Holding, gave an overview of Riyali’s experience in successfully spreading financial awareness and the achievements attained by the Program. He covered the journey of Riyali since its inception in 2012 targeting university and high school students, through its digital transition in 2013 when it launched the Riyali mobile phone application. Al-Turjuman also highlighted the launch of Ashbal Riyali, Riyali’s elementary school focused segment, and delved into Rowad Riyali, which was launched in 2016 targeting entrepreneurs. The journey concludes with the latest achievements of collaborating with the Ministry of Education in 2017, and partnering with the Saudi British Bank (SABB) in 2018. To date, the Riyali Program has succeeded in reaching more than 550,000 beneficiaries.

From its inception, Riyali has developed a solid reputation and has been a catalyst for attracting a wide range of partnerships geared to bringing financial literacy to everyone. Riyali soon became well known and attracted the attention of the Ministry of Education. The MoE has offered valuable support in spreading the program to all cities and students at all levels in Saudi Arabia. It has also invested in training school teachers to facilitate the incorporation of Riyali into the educational system and sponsors the recognition of educators for their performance and support. Riyali today represents the collective efforts of partners who add value to the continued growth and success by expanding the program to new frontiers.

Most recently, SABB, a part of HSBC, partnered with SEDCO’s Riyali initiative instead of establishing its own

financial literacy program and has pledged financial support to push the program more widely.

“In addition to the aforementioned, work is underway to develop the Riyali Club Program for universities and an agreement will be made with four universities for the pilot phase to be held during the second semester of the 2018-19 school year,” he said. “Through this program, interactive activities and programs will be organized to spread the culture of financial awareness among students. The program will support male and female students interested in developing their skills, abilities and knowledge, and will include various extracurricular programs designed to introduce them to the benefits and importance of financial awareness.”

“The Riyali Club will provide students with sustainable programs to enable them to better manage their finances within a culture of financial awareness. To this effect we will provide them with the required tools that will help them make sound financial decisions.”

“There are other programs that are currently under development, including the Ajyal Riyali Program dedicated to middle school students. The pilot phase of this program will be launched in the second semester of the 2018-19 school year in 10 schools before being fully deployed by the Ministry of Education to contribute to the agreement we signed with them to reach two million beneficiaries in 2020.” — SG