RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Cultural Development Fund has launched a $234 million Film Sector Financing Program to prop up the budding film sector in the Kingdom. As the name suggests, it is aimed at supporting the Saudi film industry by offering financial packages to local and foreign firms to empower the private sector and boost local content. The packages will be broadly focused on small and medium enterprises in the sector. “We are excited to announce that we have partnered with strategic financial institutions across the country to provide companies working in the film sector with the financial solutions to shore up the film sector, establish financial sustainability for film projects, and enable healthy market dynamics,” said the fund’s chief executive, Mohammed Bindayel. The financing packages will be divided into two types of funding: lending and investment. Bindayel launched the lending cycle by signing two agreements with the CDF’s financial partners Lendo and Sukuk Capital to provide financing packages to companies working in the Saudi film sector. The investment cycle will be launched later this year and will support SMEs and large companies in the sector. “We invite all financial and investment institutions to join this mission to build and empower this emerging sector,” Bindayel added The announcement took place at the “Ignite The Scene” event held in Riyadh between March 16 and 18, which was organized by the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology. The event served as a platform to celebrate films and creators locally and globally as well as connect storytellers and professionals within the industry. The CDF was founded in 2021 with the aim of enhancing the cultural landscape of Saudi Arabia. Organizationally linked to the National Development Fund, it was established as part of the Quality of Life Program’s initiatives to promote and empower the development of a self-reliant cultural sector. The fund actively supports a variety of cultural activities, facilitates investment and seeks to improve the domestic culture sector’s profitability, aligning with Saudi Vision 2030. The NDF boosted the Kingdom’s economy by approving financing and support worth over SR135 billion ($36 billion) in 2022, according to its recently published quarterly report. To enrich Arabic content, the CDF signed a partnership agreement with King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture to cooperate in developing cultural projects, spreading knowledge, and encouraging national talents locally and globally.