How Can the Cultural Development Fund Empower You in the Fashion Sector?
The Cultural Development Fund is a government entity established to grow the cultural sector and create diverse opportunities for creatives and entrepreneurs. Through its support, they can develop their creativity and transform it into full-fledged projects capable of competing and reaching global markets. With this empowerment, the sector becomes prepared and attractive for both local and international investment, driving further growth and contributing to the goals of Saudi Vision 2030.

How Does the Cultural Development Fund Support the Cultural Sectors?
If you are an entrepreneur or own a cultural enterprise, the Fund provides financial services to help you expand your project or start a new one. And if you are a creative, the Fund offers developmental services to help you build your skills and prepare to launch your own business. These services are designed for all beneficiaries including entrepreneurs and enterprises but it is generally recommended to start with the developmental services in order to build a strong business foundation. Examples of these services include:

Free Consultations
The Fund provides a consultation service that you can request directly through its official website. This service is highly valuable as it gives you access to specialized business experts who can help you organize and structure your ideas whether you want to start a new project or further develop an existing one.

Free Grants
The Fund currently offers four free grants designed to help cultural projects start with a strong foundation and proper planning, while easing their financial burden. These include:
Website Development: Designing a bilingual website (Arabic and English) to showcase your services and creativity, with training included on how to use the control panel.
Financial Statement Auditing: Covering the costs of obtaining audited financial statements to help you better organize your financial side.
Legal Support: Providing access to legal services and guidance on regulations related to cultural projects.
Workspace: Offering office space in co-working environments, reducing operational costs and providing a suitable work atmosphere. These spaces are available in Riyadh, Jeddah, and Dammam.

Now that we’ve covered the developmental services, it’s time to look at the financial services, most importantly, the Cultural Financing program that was recently announced.

Imagine a financing program that is the first of its kind in Saudi Arabia, offered by the Fund in partnership with several leading banks. What makes this financing unique are its flexible solutions, such as long repayment periods with monthly installments, in addition to competitive interest rates that vary from project to project depending on the size of the enterprise. Another key advantage is that it supports all cultural sectors.

The first initiative of this financing program in the fashion sector was providing over 30 million SAR in financing to four leading Saudi fashion companies. These companies are:
1886
Femi9
Jawaher Saudi Arabia
Blooming

So, How Can Financing Benefit My Brand?
Financing from the Cultural Development Fund can be a turning point for your brand, helping you accelerate your growth significantly.
Imagine you want to produce larger quantities of your products, but the manufacturer requires a minimum order that you can’t afford at the moment. This is where financing steps in to cover the costs. Or perhaps you already have a collection ready but need a strong push in marketing to reach more customers. Financing can also help you distribute your products to new retailers and expand your market reach.

It doesn’t stop there. Financing can support the development of your team, whether through training or by hiring new talent that adds value to your brand. All of this becomes possible through financing, enabling your brand to grow and evolve at a much faster pace.

But Is Financing Only for Fashion Brands?
No. The Cultural Development Fund supports activities across the entire value chain of the fashion sector as well as the other 16 cultural sectors. What does “value chain” mean? It refers to all the stages a product goes through before becoming a final product. This includes all fashion-related projects that provide services or complementary products such as initiatives supporting education, design, and production (like small factories), as well as digital transformation, marketing, management, and customer experience development. It also covers companies seeking financial support to launch initiatives that promote sustainability and social responsibility in fashion.

I Applied but My Request Was Rejected, What’s Next?
The Fund places great importance on ensuring that the projects it supports have a solid foundation and a well-thought-out plan that enables them to grow, evolve, and compete both locally and globally, while also meeting the goals of financing. For this reason, applications that do not meet the criteria and requirements are given feedback highlighting their weaknesses. It’s then your role to work on those areas and strengthen them. And don’t forget, the developmental services we mentioned earlier can help you along the way.

What’s the Goal Behind All This? And What’s the Expected Return?
The Fund has an ambitious vision: to cement Saudi Arabia’s global leadership in culture.
How? By empowering you to launch and expand your project, achieve your goals, and ultimately help position the Kingdom as a global cultural destination that showcases the richness and diversity of our heritage. By growing and diversifying the cultural sector, creativity multiplies, job opportunities increase for Saudi men and women, and the value of our culture rises.

Another key objective of the Fund is to attract investment into the cultural sector, an area that was not previously appealing to investors. Why? Because many creative entrepreneurs often lacked either the full-time dedication or the managerial and financial expertise that investors look for, making them hesitant to invest. That’s why the Fund steps in to support cultural projects through development and financial assistance, ensuring that cultural sectors become far more attractive to future investments.

As a result, these sectors contribute more strongly to the Kingdom’s economy. For example, in the fashion sector, its contribution to GDP rose to 2.5% in 2023, compared to 1.4% in 2021 to 2022, with the goal of increasing this share even further in the coming years.

So what’s the first step to benefit from these services?
Start by clearly defining your vision and objectives for the project, whether it’s a fashion brand or a company providing supporting services. Prepare your commercial registration, your financials, a description of the project, the purpose of the financing, how you plan to spend it, and the expected return. You don’t have to do this alone. Make use of the Fund’s developmental services, their experts will guide you step by step.