RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority has helped provide SR70 million ($18.6 million) to small- and medium-sized enterprises in the entertainment sector since the inception of the Financing Guarantee Program, also known as Kafala, in July 2022.

As of the end of June 2023, the initiative has backed 16 SMEs, with the value of financial guarantees amounting to SR31.3 million, according to GEA’s website.   

The program aims to accelerate the growth of SMEs in the entertainment field, positioning them among the sector’s crucial enterprises.   

It also focuses on furnishing requisite guarantees to financing institutions and increasing the funding for facilities and services related to the entertainment sector’s supply chains and infrastructure in the Kingdom.  

The initiative is all part of the broader strategy to boost investments in the industry, in coordination with the Quality-of-Life Program and in line with the Kingdom’s Vision 2030.  

The selection of establishments for the initiative’s support is based on the criteria established by the Kafala program.   

This initiative is among several financing solutions provided by GEA to businesses in the entertainment sector, in association with various banks and financial bodies within the Kingdom.  

With a targeted and strategic investment, the initiative not only aims to foster growth in the entertainment sector but also to advance Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 objectives by contributing to economic diversification.  

Vision 2030 is driving specific support measures for the entertainment sector, with a goal of contributing over $23 billion, or 3 percent, of the gross domestic product and creating more than 100,000 jobs by 2030.  

It also has a $64 billion investment plan to further bolster the industry’s growth.  

One standout project is Saudi Entertainment Ventures, known as Seven, which recently announced a $346 million amusement destination.   

The company, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Public Investment Fund, has begun construction work on its SR1.3 billion entertainment destination in Madinah.