Misk Foundation, Bloomberg partner to provide financial training in Saudi Arabia

Bader Al Asaker, Chairman of the Board of Misk Initiatives Center and Joshua L. Steiner, Head of Industry Verticals, Bloomberg L.P., after signing a memo of understanding at Bloomberg L.P. Headquarters in New York. March 27, 2018. (Photo credit: MiskKSA)

LONDON: The financial information provider Bloomberg is set to provide financial training to young Saudis in universities as well as those already employed in companies.
The training program was announced on Tuesday following a meeting between Michael Bloomberg, the founder of Bloomberg LP, and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in New York.
It will be delivered in partnership with the Misk Foundation, a not-for-profit organization founded by the crown prince to help develop Saudi youth in order for them to play an active role in the Kingdom’s so-called “knowledge economy,” based on education, creative and digital media, technology, culture and arts.
The training will also help to fulfill the Kingdom’s Vision 2030, which aims to build a diversified economy and reduce the country’s reliance on oil.
Bloomberg will be working with 30 Saudi universities aiming to provide financial training for 262,000 students, which will include providing Bloomberg terminals as well as support for professors and staff to integrate capital markets content into their educational material.
Under a memorandum of understanding between Bloomberg and the Misk Foundation, the partnership will also work with 250 Saudi companies to help them understand and connect to global financial markets.
It will provide investor relations professionals, CFOs, treasury and finance departments at corporations with hands-on training and access to Bloomberg terminals.
“I applaud the vision of the crown prince and the Misk Foundation for taking concrete actions to diversify and further grow their economy,” said Michael Bloomberg.
“Saudi Arabia is the first country in the world to create a top-down, country-wide financial training program that fully leverages Bloomberg’s resources, and I’m confident it will empower the region and advance Saudi Arabia’s global competitiveness.”
Bader Al-Asaker, chairman of the Misk Initiatives Center, said: “Bloomberg has already been a dedicated partner on this journey by helping educate young Saudis about economics and finance and we are thrilled to be deepening our partnership with a true leader in world business and financial information.”
“Through the projects mentioned in this MoU, we can build capabilities, better link our universities and corporations, and ultimately accelerate the growth opportunities across the Kingdom. This will help our young people lead our economic development and meet the challenge of change,” he said.
In January, Bloomberg and the Misk Foundation also hosted a week-long financial journalism training program in Dubai for 30 Saudi Arabia-based students.