Saudi Cultural Development Fund Highlights Economic Potential Of Saudi Culture In Davos

The Cultural Development Fund is using its presence at the World Economic Forum 2026 to underline Saudi culture’s economic impact. At the Saudi House pavilion in Davos, the fund seeks to draw global attention to culture as a driver of growth, investment, and quality of life under Saudi Vision 2030.

The Saudi House initiative is led by the Ministry of Economy and Planning and runs from 19 to 23 January 2026 in Davos, Switzerland. Within this national platform, the Cultural Development Fund is working to attract international capital to Saudi cultural projects and to highlight opportunities for global partners in the Kingdom’s creative economy.

During the forum, the Cultural Development Fund plans several activities to clarify how culture supports economic diversification. The fund aims to show that Saudi culture contributes to non-oil GDP, strengthens the knowledge economy, and improves daily life in cities and regions across the Kingdom, while also presenting culture as an investable sector for institutional and private investors.

A core element of the Cultural Development Fund programme is a networking breakfast hosted at the Saudi House pavilion. This event will gather international economic leaders, investors, and representatives of financial institutions from different countries. Participants will examine the role of Saudi culture as an economic force and discuss investment frameworks that align with the broader objectives of Saudi Vision 2030.

The Cultural Development Fund will also organise a panel titled "Investing in Culture as an Economic Engine". The session will bring together CEO of the Cultural Development Fund Majed bin Abdulmohsen Al-Hugail and Deputy Minister of Cultural Strategies and Policies at the Ministry of Culture Albara Al-Auhali, who will discuss how culture generates income and supports sustainable development.

Speakers at the Cultural Development Fund panel will look at global and local data on cultural value creation. The discussion will explain how the fund designs financial solutions for cultural enterprises, supports their scalability, and helps them increase their contribution to GDP and quality of life, while examining cultural policies that can expand the sector’s economic and investment capacity.

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Cultural Development Fund support for entrepreneurs and cultural projects

As part of the NextOn dialogue series at Saudi House in Davos, the Cultural Development Fund will showcase supported projects that illustrate how creative initiatives can generate measurable economic returns. These projects are expected to share detailed experiences on improving cultural production, building audiences, and turning cultural activities into viable business models.

Entrepreneurs joining the Cultural Development Fund sessions include Co-Founder of AlMashtal Creative Incubator Princess Noura bint Saud bin Naif and CEO of Arabian Housing and Building company Khalid Henaidy. They will outline how entrepreneurship contributes to shaping the Kingdom’s future cultural economy and how cultural ventures can align commercial success with social and cultural impact.

This participation highlights the Cultural Development Fund position as a financial enabler and technical reference point for Saudi Arabia’s cultural sector. The presence in Davos supports the fund’s goals to increase the sector’s economic and social returns, raise its share in national GDP, enhance quality of life, and reinforce Saudi cultural presence on the global stage in line with Saudi Vision 2030.

With inputs from SPA