National Developmental Housing Corporation (Sakan) has announced that it has secured over SR1 billion ($266 million) through the Jood Eskan Charitable Campaign within 13 days of its launch. 

 

The Jood Eskan platform is one of the initiatives of Sakan, a non-profit arm of the Ministry of Municipal, Rural Affairs and Housing, which aims to engage society members in community development programmes and achieve social solidarity, based on a mechanism that ensures the delivery of charitable donations to those who need them.

 

Through this charity IPO-style campaign, Sakan aims to provide residences to 3,500 needy Saudi families.

 

Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and Crown Prince and Prime Minister HRH Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz had kicked off the Jood Eskan Housing Charity IPO-Style Campaign on the first day of Ramadan with SR150 million donation, said a statement from Sakan.  

 

These initial contributions, given through the Jood Eskan platform, further demonstrate the leadership’s commitment to supporting all efforts and initiatives that provide housing for needy families, it stated.

 

Soon leading Saudi organisations including the General Authority of Awqaf, the National Housing Company, Al Rajhi Bank, stc group, mbc group, Al Arabiya channel, Ajlan & Brothers Group, Sumou Real Estate Company, Khuzam Real Estate Company and Al Arabiya Outdoor Solutions Provider lent their support to this not-for-profit endeavour.

 

The campaign also witnessed remarkable interaction from government officials, business community as well the locals in addition to both the main stream media and social media platforms, said the statement. 

 

It featured a dedicated location hosting a nightly event welcoming all visitors to witness the daily progress of the campaign, it added.

 

Sakan said the "Evergreen Stock", Jood Eskan's charitable creative campaign, was an IPO simulation that targets Saudi Arabia's most prominent corporations, institutions, individual investors and the public.

 

Inspired by the financial markets, the campaign's creative concept turns on the IPO fundraising method by selling "stocks" through goodwill and charitable contributions, to encourage community members and private sector players to "invest" in their community. 

 

The "Evergreen Stock" campaign began on the first day of Ramadan, offering 100 million stocks at SR10 per share; it is designed to raise awareness about the importance of investing in community-driven social initiatives, it added.

 

On the overwhelming response, Minister of Municipal and Rural Affairs and Housing and Sakan Board Chairman Sakan Majid bin Abdullah Al Hogail said: "We, in KSA, are grateful for the Saudi leadership’s generous sponsorship for the IPO-Style campaign, and for the donations of the campaign partners and community members, which played a key role in achieving this record amount."

 

This noble getsure will help bring a major change in the lives of these Saudi families and we are moving forward aspiring to achieve higher targets by the end of Ramadan, he added.-TradeArabia News Service