Riyali Program Launches Ashbal Riyali Competition In Partnership With Ministry Of Education

Riyali, SEDCO Holding’s financial literacy program, has launched Ashbal Riyali Competition for primary school students in collaboration with the Ministry of Education. Taking place from January to April 2020, the competition aims to spread financial awareness among students and elevate financial literacy within the Saudi community

Primary school students from 47 education administrations will participate in the competition, which is broken down into three stages. The first is a financial educational stage that includes watching videos on the competition’s website; followed by the second stage, Riyali Challenge, where students will upload a short video clip that demonstrates the skills that they have acquired in money management. During the final stage, evaluation and voting will take place to determine the winners of the contest. 

The General Director of the Students Activity Programs at the Ministry of Education stressed the importance of the competition in promoting positive and healthy financial habits, highlighting the link between financial literacy and quality of life, as well as fostering a sense of citizenship, and raising awareness of economic changes. These will provide students a fair understanding of the basics of financial literacy and planning on an individual level and help them become smart and well-informed members of the society. He also expressed his happiness on the success of the program within the extra-curricular subjects, pointing out that the ministry will continue to work on strengthening partnerships with Riyali in line with the objectives of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030. 

According to Khalid Al Abd Al Salam, Head of Programs and Students Training at the Ministry of Education, schools have been notified about all the aspects of the contest including the conditions and participation procedures. The schools will announce the stages of the competition, as well as its prizes and expected benefits, while students’ parents will also be notified to register on the online platform.

Hasan Al Jabri, CEO of SEDCO Holding, said: “Hosting this important competition is the culmination of the joint efforts between SEDCO Holding and the Ministry of Education, we are focused on raising financial literacy among students by leveraging digital programs and interactive platforms. The aim of these initiatives is to involve various segments of society to contribute to spreading the culture of financial literacy. We hope to witness the exchange of experiences, financial literacy skills and success stories among schools and education departments”.

The competition’s rewards make up a sum of more than SAR 100,000 and are divided into two stages. During the first, a winner from both genders will be chosen from each education administration with a total of 94 winners, each of whom will receive SAR 1,000. The final stage includes a vote to select three male and three female winners from across the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, with the first winner from each gender receiving SAR 5,000 and the second and third winners receiving SAR 3,000 and SAR 1,500 respectively. The schools of the first three winners in both categories will be honored. To sign up for the competition, please visit win.riyali.com.

Riyali has reached over 1.2 million students through its partnership with the Ministry of Education, while the number of ambassadors reached more than five thousand teachers. The program also conducted a study involving more than 24,000 beneficiaries of students in 16 cities in the Kingdom to measure the program’s impact and change in behaviorwhen dealing with money. The study confirmed that 86% of those surveyed have started saving after joining Riyali program.

Riyali Financial Literacy Program is one of the most important CSR programs launched by SEDCO Holding. The program aims to promote financial literacy among different segments of society to develop their skills and equip them with the knowledge to carry out their financial responsibilities effectively. The program is accredited by the Ministry of Education in schools and universities and has several strategic agreements, most prominently with the Ministry of Education and the Saudi British Bank (SABB). Riyali has successfully reached more than 1.2 million beneficiaries and seeks to reach two million by the end of 2020.