Saudi Awwal Bank has signed a memorandum of understanding with Playbook to advance collaboration in women’s entrepreneurship, knowledge sharing and financial services innovation.
The MoU was signed on Sept. 29 during the Women Shaping Wealth Summit in Riyadh, organized by Playbook in strategic partnership with the Ministry of Investment through Invest Saudi, with SAB participating as a knowledge partner. The summit brought together more than 3,000 investors, entrepreneurs and business leaders from across the region and around the world to discuss women’s growing role in business, investment and wealth creation.
Areas of collaboration include exploring opportunities for joint initiatives, events and sessions to exchange insights and expertise on women’s entrepreneurship and equal opportunities. The collaboration also covers exchanging knowledge and best practices on emerging technologies in the financial sector, including digital payments and fintech services.
Lama Ghazzaoui, chief financial officer at SAB, said: “At SAB, we believe that investing in women’s potential is an investment in the future of the national economy. Through our collaboration with Playbook, we look forward to bringing together banking expertise, knowledge and professional networks to support women as business leaders, investors and wealth creators. In doing so, we aim to contribute to Saudi Vision 2030 by helping women turn their ambitions into growing businesses, investments that create value, and leadership that helps shape the future of the economy.”
Wafa Al-Obaidat, founder and chief executive of Playbook, said: “The Women Shaping Wealth Summit was established to give women greater access to the knowledge, networks and opportunities that help shape their financial futures. Our MoU with SAB builds on this mission by connecting the Playbook community with one of the Kingdom’s leading financial institutions. Together, we will organize joint events and exchange knowledge and expertise on women’s leadership, digital payments, and the use of financial technology in wealth management and growth.”
The MoU reinforces SAB’s commitment to supporting initiatives that foster business growth, expand investment opportunities and enable Playbook members to make more informed financial and investment decisions. The collaboration also reflects SAB’s broader efforts to support women’s participation and empowerment in business and investment.
Playbook is a platform dedicated to helping women build and grow their wealth through learning, expanding their professional and investment networks, and accessing financial experts and opportunities.
SLSV Analysis and Insights
1. Best Practice – Ecosystem Banking:
SAB is plugging into Playbook’s 11K-member network across 120 countries. Best practice is moving beyond loans to a full stack – mentorship, network and fintech enablement like digital payments and wealth-tech. Playbook’s AI app model with 100+ mentors and 330+ deals shows how to scale this.
2. Strategic Alignment:
Signed at the Women Shaping Wealth Summit with 3,000+ investors and backed by Ministry of Investment / Invest Saudi, the MoU aligns with Vision 2030 – converting female entrepreneurship into measurable deal flow from its 39 Power Pitch startups.
3. Future Trend – Beyond CSR to Investable Impact:
Future banking will retire checkbox CSR. The trend is from sponsorship to platform economics where knowledge + capital are bundled and ROI is tracked in funded startups and women transitioning from savers to investors.
Article Credit: arabnews