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, �00A;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