Cultural Development Fund
The Cultural Development Fund is a Saudi public financing body, founded in 2021 and linked to the National Development Fund, that provides financing and anchors investment funds for the cultural sector.
Industry: Cultural sector financing | Location: Riyadh, Saudi Arabia | Founded: 2021
About Cultural Development Fund
The Cultural Development Fund is a Saudi Arabian public financing body for the cultural sector. Arab News describes it as founded in 2021 and linked to the National Development Fund, and it is based in Riyadh. Its stated mandate is to support cultural activities and projects, facilitate investment in them and improve the sector's profitability, in line with the National Culture Strategy and Saudi Vision 2030.
Majed bin Abdulmohsen Al-Hugail is chief executive. Before joining the fund he was chief of staff at the Vice Minister's Executive Office at the Ministry of Culture, and he spent more than 13 years at SAB, a Saudi bank, according to a Bridge Middle East profile.
In August 2024 the fund launched what Arab News called the first cultural financing programme of its kind in the Kingdom. It finances micro, small and medium-sized enterprises in the sector through short-term and long-term products, delivered with partner banks. Agreements were signed with Al-Rajhi Bank, Alinma Bank, BSF, Arab National Bank and Bank AlJazira. TechScoop reported in June 2026 that a Film Sector Financing Program offers financing across pre-production, production, post-production and distribution, and that the fund has sponsored the Saudi Film Festival for several years.
On 8 October 2025, at the first Cultural Investment Conference organised by the Ministry of Culture, the fund announced 28 agreements and announcements worth more than SAR 3 billion, about 933 million US dollars. They included the Saudi Film Fund of SAR 375 million, with the fund as anchor investor alongside BSF Capital, and a SAR 300 million fashion fund with Merak Capital. A third fund of SAR 850 million was launched by the Cultural Assets Group, to which the fund contributed SAR 200 million. TechScoop reported that the fashion fund was later renamed ZYA Fund and that the fund holds 40 percent of it.
In August 2026 the fund opened the first track of its Nama Incentives programme, offering non-repayable grants of up to SAR 500,000 per project for up to 20 projects that use artificial intelligence in cultural enterprises. Applications closed on 29 September 2026.