Managing Director visits Saudi Arabia
Ambassador Sheikh Mohammed Belal, Managing Director of the CFC, met with Messrs. Saeid M. Alkahtani, Alternate Governor of CFC for Saudi Arabia and General Director Financial Operations, and Abdulaziz Alturki, Chief Financial Officer (CFO), of The Saudi Fund for Development (SDF), to apprise them on the ongoing and future activities of the CFC for the alleviation of poverty.
The visit provided an opportunity, while sharing the basics of the CFC’s structure and working process, to learn more about The Saudi Fund for Development, exploring possible avenues for closer cooperation and to exchange views on recent developments regarding commodities. Ambassador Belal also shared stories from CFC’s projects where new innovations have been incorporated to bring higher productivity. Ambassador Belal also elaborated on how a Kenyan female led business of fortified vitamin rich food was made to grow with CFC funds and eventually thriving in their business, with no further funding except from their local bank. This is where CFC is so unique as it funds projects to those “missing middle” enterprises, where even the local banks keep their doors closed. The realization of nutrition security is perhaps a stark lesson of the Covid pandemic and recent conflicts that we all have been sadly going through. They also discussed other innovations that CFC is either implementing or contemplating to implement in the near future.
Ambassador Belal also briefed Messrs. Alkahtani and Alturki on the ongoing initiative on the formulation of a fund titled Agricultural Commodity Transformation Fund (ACT Fund) (formerly referred to as CIIF (Commodity Impact Investment Facility). The fund, which is now undergoing the legal process, will be a public-private partnership fund to invest in commodity value chains in developing countries for advancing the sustainable development goals. Once formed, ACT Fund could also be an avenue for Saudi Arabia to join this impact investment fund as an anchor investor. With a fund like this, CFC is working to scale up its good work of the last 33 years to liberate more people from the chains of poverty.
In addition, Ambassador Belal paid a visit to the Saudi Development and Reconstruction Program for Yemen (SDRPY), to learn more about the activities of the SDRPY and its impact on the ground. There he met a team of Executives led by Eng. Hasan M Alattas, Assistant Supervisor General. After witnessing a presentation highlighting the works of SDRPY in Yemen, Ambassador Belal expressed his deep appreciation for their outstanding work to help a neighbour in need. Again, the importance of the involvement of smallholders and SMEs (small and medium enterprises) to create a lasting effect was stated. As both the organizations are aimed at the same target group, both the SDRPY and the CFC are perhaps partners in waiting and could in future join forces to do more. Ambassador Belal highlighted CFC’s sustained effort to restore hope and dignity, instead of despair and gloom, in the regions in conflict.
During his visits, Ambassador Belal registered his deep appreciation to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for the generous support for not only to Yemen, but also for all those in hardship and necessity. Saudi Arabia has been a strong supporter of CFC and stands to upgrade this cooperation along the commodity value chains so that smallholders and SMEs could earn enough for themselves thus paving the way out from poverty and hunger. Ambassador Belal assured to pursue more innovative outreaches in the days to come to make the services of CFC available to as many people as possible in the commodity dependent developing world, with a heightened sense of innovations and creativity.