Riyali program to educate Saudis on financial literacy

Major wealth management company, SEDCO Holding, has launched its flagship Riyali CSR program that addresses the need to educate the Saudi population on financial literacy and empower people with the personal financial skills required to achieve a desirable standard of living. The first phase of this program targets college students.
Announcing the launch, Adnan A. Soufi, CEO of SEDCO Holding, said, "SEDCO is a corporation that believes in CSR as one of its core values. Drawing on our 35 years of CSR experience and extensive financial expertise, we have selected financial literacy as our flagship social responsibility initiative. The program aims to enable upcoming generations with crucial skills to manage their personal income.
"In this regard, SEDCO conducted a nationwide survey involving a thousand young Saudi nationals to determine the market needs. Results showed only 11 percent keep track of their spending, although 75 percent thought they understood the basics of money management," Soufi added.
An in-depth analysis of SEDCO Holding's survey revealed that 45 percent of youngsters do not save any money at all, while only 20 percent save 10 percent of their monthly income. In terms of spending habits, the study indicated that items such as mobile phones and travel account for nearly 80 percent of purchases. Regarding financing their lifestyle, 46 percent of youth rely on their parents to fund big ticket items. Fortunately, 90 percent of the respondents stated that they are interested in increasing their financial knowledge.
Riyali will reach 50,000 beneficiaries over the next five years, aiming to impact 15,000 university students in its first phase.
Hasan Al-Jabri, CEO of SEDCO Capital and SEDCO board member, said: "We here at SEDCO Capital believe that the value of any economy is the individual and he alone is able to extract the wealth of the land and use its resources to supplement technologies, industry, agriculture and various aspects of science and the arts."