SAUDI ARABIA: CORPORATE DONOR TAKES PROGRESSIVE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 JEDDAH 000224

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

RIYADH, PLEASE PASS TO DHAHRAN; PARIS FOR ZEYA; LONDON FOR
TSOU; DEPARTMENT FOR NEA/ARPI AND MEPI

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/18/2016
TAGS: EAID ECON EFIN ELAB PGOV SA SOCI KMPI
SUBJECT: SAUDI ARABIA: CORPORATE DONOR TAKES PROGRESSIVE
APPROACH TO COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT

REF: A. 05 JEDDAH 03712

B. JEDDAH 00199

C. JEDDAH 00216

Classified By: Consul General Tatiana C. Gfoeller for reasons 1.4 (b) a
nd (d).


1. (C) SUMMARY: This is the second in a series of cables
profiling community service activities funded within the
Kingdom by Saudi corporations. These programs are both
indicative of the country's emerging civil society and
illustrative of the challenges facing Saudi Arabia, including
unemployment, the disenfranchisement of women, and the weak
educational infrastructure. This cable focuses on the Savola
Group's holistic and progressive approach to community
assistance, involving local stakeholders to affect change in
youth education, the lives of the disabled, and the
employment opportunities for disadvantaged families. END
SUMMARY


2. (C) The Savola Group is Saudi Arabia's second largest
industrial enterprise with assets of over 2.2 billion USD
(see reftel A). The Group established its Corporate Social
Responsibility (CSR) division in 2004 at the urging of
chairman Adel Fakeih and is overseen by a four-member board,
including Savola CEO Abdulraouf Mannaa and Vice President
Mahmoud Abdul Ghaffar. CSR is responsible both for
implementing a company-wide code of ethics derived from
Islamic traditions (see reftel B) and for a series of
community development projects. (NOTE: Company
representatives would not disclose CSR's overall budget,
though they said it was a set percentage of annual profits.)
In contrast to the Abdul Latif Jameel Company (ALJ),which
Savola representatives admit is the most well-known community
development funder in the country, the Group strives to take
a more comprehensive approach by involving local stakeholders
and partners to affect change (see reftel C). Savola calls
this the Bridges Program.


3. (C) The company uses a quote from the "Hadith" (the
sayings of the Prophet Muhammad) to serve as the overarching
message for this campaign: "None of you truly believes until
he wishes for his brother what he wishes for himself." The
Bridges Program is comprised of nine core areas: training new
graduates, service learning, assisting special needs,
micro-financing, social education, professor sponsorship,
civil servant education, ethics and values training, and
national employment. According to CSR manager Mazen Redwan,
the program concentrated on the first four areas during its
inaugural year. "Each project in the Bridges Program must
meet three criteria," explained Redwan in a recent meeting
with ConGenoff. "It must be innovative; it must result in
what we call 'self-help,' meaning that it helps people become
independent in the long-term; and it must be wide-reaching."
Savola uses a mixture of trainers for each project, including
those already employed by its internal training department
and outside experts who undergo a Savola skills course.

TRAINING NEW PROFESSIONALS


4. (U) Savola acknowledges the pressing challenge of
unemployment presented by the country's demography.
According to the company's figures, 40 percent of the
Kingdom's population was born after the first Gulf War, and
two million jobs will need to be created over the next 10
years to compensate for this. Under the Bridges Program,
Savola has launched a series of training courses to develop
professional skills among young men and women. In
cooperation with the Saida Khadija Center at the Jeddah
Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI),Savola has trained
100 recent female graduates in leadership, time and project
management, business writing, and presentation skills to
better prepare them for the work place. Under the "Pioneers
Program," the Group has also partnered with the college of
business administration at Jeddah's King Abdulaziz University
to train 40 new male graduates in similar skills but with
more emphasis on team-work. That project will begin at the
end of March.


5. (U) Savola orchestrated a third program with the World
Islamic Organization that focused on mentoring 20 male
orphans to help them to identify strengths and weaknesses, to
build self-confidence, and to anticipate and overcome
obstacles. Ranging in age from 17 to 22, the participants
were recruited out of foster homes and orphanages. Though

JEDDAH 00000224 002 OF 003


many had dropped out of school, the majority hoped to return.
The second phase of the program will begin in mid-March,
when the previous participants are given aptitude tests.
Afterward, Savola will offer guidance as to what educational,
professional, or vocational field to pursue.

AT SCHOOL BUT ON THE JOB


6. (U) Though related to skills training, Savola's Service
Learning Program partners private enterprise with the public
education system. In cooperation with King Abdulaziz
University's women's section, Savola has created a series of
projects that soon-to-be graduates can undertake as part of
their course work yet give them practical exposure to the
"real world." Students in the computer science department,
for example, recently designed Savola's new Website in
coordination with its IT and marketing managers. A similar
program with the department of research had students
documenting the "best practices" of international companies,
while another with the department of art allowed a group of
young women to re-design Savola's headquarters. In each,
Savola experts mentored the students and provided a structure
for their ideas. The participants ultimately received
letters of recommendation signed by the Group's CEO for use
in job applications, and the top three students in each
department were given cash awards.

AIDING THE DISABLED


7. (U) Savola operates two special needs projects under the
Bridges Program to assist physically-challenged people in the
community. The first project gives seed funding to the Ebsar
Foundation, a non-profit group that aims to improve the
self-sufficiency of the blind. Sixteen men and 16 women are
currently enrolled in courses to enhance mobility and develop
computer skills. The most successful students are then given
a software package worth several thousand dollars that
facilitates the use of computers for employment. Savola
conducts an assessment of the program's effectiveness each
quarter, and based on previous results, the Group plans to
continue funding Ebsar until it can operate on its own.


8. (C) The second project is a plan to open a special needs
help desk in partnership with JCCI. Two operators with
access to a jobs database will staff the desk and guide
callers to positions that meet their particular strengths.
Redwan asserted that most physically-challenged people are
currently unable to find work, and if they are, it is usually
only to fill new quotas established under the Saudization
campaign. The goal of Savola's program is to match workers
with employers in environments where they can excel. Redwan
explained, for example, that autistic people tend to remain
committed to repetitive tasks over the long-term, making them
perfect for factory work when they may ordinarily not be
employed at all. To lay the groundwork for this project,
Savola will soon launch a public awareness campaign to
educate human resource managers on special needs employees
and dispel fears of hiring them.

BUILDING OPPORTUNITIES FOR FAMILIES


9. (U) The Productive Families Program, which shares a name
with its ALJ counterpart (see reftel A),is nearly identical
in its design. The micro-financing projects give small loans
to disadvantaged families, particularly those with single
mothers. Savola works with the Prince Majid bin Abdulaziz
Center for Social Services to identify participants from poor
communities, who use the money to start small, home-based
businesses following a training course. Savola and the
Prince Majid Center regularly guide the families, whose
enterprises center on handicrafts, in marketing and selling
their products.


10. (C) COMMENT: Savola Group has taken a progressive
approach to being a "good corporate citizen" by addressing
social issues such as orphans and the physically-handicapped
that are not often discussed in this conservative country.
By including other stakeholders and thus lending them
credibility, Savola is creating a multiplier effect that is a
tentative step toward greater empowerment of civil society in
Saudi Arabia. Having focused on the four areas detailed
above, Redwan indicated that the Group will focus on
environmental protection and the professionalization of civil
servants in 2006, both of which could have a significant
influence on the interplay between government and society. END

JEDDAH 00000224 003 OF 003


Gfoeller