The Misk Foundation and Bloomberg L.P., the global business and financial information leader, announced a partnership to enhance the financial and market capabilities in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

It will advance Saudi Arabia's efforts to develop robust finance courses, attract foreign capital, and help Saudi companies compete internationally, which are key components of the Kingdom's Vision 2030 plan to establish a thriving economy.

Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Foundation (the MiSK Foundation) is a nonprofit foundation established by H.R.H. Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman to discover, develop, and empower Saudi youth to become active participants in the knowledge economy.

The partnership between the Misk Foundation and Bloomberg includes two key areas of collaboration: Providing financial training and technology at Saudi universities, and supporting Saudi corporations with training, tools and resources.

Bloomberg will work with 30 Saudi Arabian universities on a comprehensive financial training effort targeting 262,000 students. This will include dedicated trainings for each university, support for faculty staff and professors to integrate capital markets content into their curricula, Bloomberg terminals at each university and networks to establish a bridge between universities and the professional world.

As Saudi markets expand and more state-owned enterprises are privatized, corporations will need professionals who understand and connect to global financial markets. The Bloomberg-Misk Foundation partnership will provide investor relations professionals, CFOs, treasury and finance departments at Saudi corporations with a suite of hands-on training and Bloomberg terminal access, as well as access to Bloomberg's market specialists, economists and events.

His Excellency Bader Al Asaker, chairman of the board of Misk Initiatives Center said: "His Royal Highness Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman founded Misk with a mission to empower young Saudis to become active participants in the knowledge economy. To help achieve this vital work, we partner with international organizations to equip Saudi youth with the skills they need and we work to create the enabling ecosystem that entrepreneurs as well as more established businesses need to thrive.” He explained that Bloomberg has already been a dedicated partner on this journey by helping educate young Saudis about economics and finance. In January, Bloomberg and the Misk Foundation hosted an intensive, week-long financial journalism training program in Dubai for 30 Saudi-based students. The interactive course, led by Matthew Winkler, editor-in-chief Emeritus and over 20 Bloomberg reporters and analysts, focused on the importance of data-driven journalism.

“Through the projects mentioned in this MoU, we can build capabilities, better link our universities and corporations, and ultimately accelerate the growth opportunities across the Kingdom. This will help our young people lead our economic development and meet the challenge of change,”he said.

Michael R. Bloomberg, founder of Bloomberg L.P. and Bloomberg Philanthropies said: “Saudi Arabia is the first country in the world to create a top-down, country-wide financial training program that fully leverages Bloomberg's resources, and I'm confident it will empower the region and advance Saudi Arabia's global competitiveness.”