Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund unveiled new initiatives to boost private sector growth, on Tuesday.
The programme will boost the local business sector, help in the upskilling and development of employees, and increase investment avenues for the private sector.
Jerry Todd, Head of the National Development Division at PIF, said: “The empowerment of the private sector is one of PIF’s foremost priorities considering the private sector’s crucial role in the growth and development of the Saudi economy.”
The three initiatives are as follows:
• Local Content Growth Program ‘Musahama’: The programme aims to increase the share of local content spend in PIF’s domestic portfolio to 60 per cent by the end of 2025. As part of this programme, each PIF company will embed local content considerations in their design decisions and procurement policies.
• Suppliers Development Program: This will support the development and upskilling of local suppliers and vendors to meet the growing requirements of PIF’s portfolio companies. As part of this programme, PIF will this year hold vendor boot camps for the contracting sector to help Tier 2 and Tier 3 contractors prepare their companies to qualify as vendors.
• The Private Sector Hub: This will be a dedicated channel to share supplier and investment opportunities with the private sector. The hub is now live and contains more than 100 opportunities, and will be continuously enhanced and updated.
“The launch of our Musahama Local Content Program and Supplier Development Program is a major step forward in our efforts to drive the growth of local content in the Kingdom. Both of these programs will ensure that PIF and its portfolio companies embed local content considerations in our activities and operations which will contribute directly towards developing local industries and building long-term supplier and vendor partnerships, thereby strengthening local capabilities, enhancing the competitiveness of local players, improving supply chain resilience, and stimulating innovation in the Saudi economy,” Todd added.
The initiatives were unveiled at PIF’s inaugural Private Sector Forum on Tuesday.
The forum and the three new initiatives are in line with PIF’s aim to increase its contribution to local content to 60 per cent by 2025, support the private sector in increasing its contribution to GDP by up to 65 per cent by 2030, create job opportunities, localise technology, and drive the transfer of technology and knowledge to Saudi Arabia.
