The map·Saudi Arabia·Grants & prizes

Cultural Development Fund (CDF)

Saudi Arabia’s government fund financing the cultural sector.

Closes
29 Sep 2026apply by this date
What
Up to SAR 500,000 non-repayable per project, capped at 20 projects total.
Who
Saudi-registered micro, small or medium cultural-sector enterprises owning the project IP.
Cost
No equity — grant
From abroad
Not stated on the programme’s site (checked September 2026) All programmes open to founders from abroad →
Status
Open · taking applications

Checked · September 2026 · cdf.gov.sa · How we check ↗

Apply →Website ↗Add deadline to calendarOn the map →

In detail

Cultural Development Fund (CDF) is a government cultural fund in Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia’s government fund financing the cultural sector. In August 2026 it launched Nama’ Incentives — the track “AI Incentives for Cultural Projects”, funded in partnership with the Quality of Life Program, offers non-repayable grants of up to SAR 500,000 for up to 20 MSME projects adopting or building AI in culture.

Amount
  • Up to SAR 500,000 non-repayable per project
  • max 20 projects
  • one project per company
Terms
No — grants and financing
Eligibility
  • Saudi citizens only — the fund states Nāma’ Incentives are available exclusively to Saudi citizens
  • micro, small or medium enterprise (technology companies included) owning or building a project that serves the cultural sector
  • sectors: film, fashion, culinary arts, literature/publishing/translation, architecture and design, music, theatre and performing arts, visual arts, museums, libraries, heritage
  • one project per enterprise
  • no enterprise that has already received a financial incentive from the fund or another entity
Sectors
Creative Production, Heritage Tech, Content & Media, Cultural Experiences, AI, GovTech/IP
Benefits
Funded in partnership with the Quality of Life Program · paid in instalments against project milestones
Status
Open — “AI Incentives for Cultural Projects” track: applications close 29 September 2026

Closing soon on the map

Finspire

Accelerator · Saudi Arabia
SAR 100,000 development funding, earmarked rather than paid as cash.
Equity via SAFE, capped at 5%
4 Oct 2026closes

QSTP Incubation

Accelerator · Qatar
In-kind support: Doha workspace and housing for a four-week Sprint, talent and investor access.
Equity — 1.5% deferred SAFE-style stake
1 Nov 2026closes

Omantel Innovation Labs

Accelerator · Oman
Programme support plus potential investment.
Equity — varies
9 Jan 2027closes

All published deadlines →

More grants & prizes in Saudi Arabia

RDIA — Saudi Innovation Grants

Grant · Saudi Arabia
Innovation grants of up to SAR 4 million per project (Saudi Innovation Grants Program).
No equity — ownership retained
—

Misk Foundation

Grant · Saudi Arabia
Zero-equity grants up to SAR 1M through the Challenge for Change programme.
No equity — grant
—

NTDP — National Tech Dev Program

Grant · Saudi Arabia
Non-dilutive grants and debt from a SAR 2.5B programme; LendTech loans up to SAR 8.5M.
No equity — grant
—

All grants & prizes in Saudi Arabia →  ·  Across the Gulf →

More programmes that take no equity →

Sources

Primary source · cdf.gov.sa · Checked September 2026

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