Case Study: Saudi Agricultural Development Fund achieves rapid, Sharia-compliant digital access to credit with Finastra Essence

Empowering the Saudi agricultural industry with rapid, reliable financial support

The Saudi Agricultural Development Fund (ADF) is a government institution headquartered in Riyadh that supports farmers, companies, cooperatives and foreign investors across Saudi Arabia. Facing a largely manual, paper‑based lending process that imposed long travel and heavy administrative burdens on applicants, ADF needed a scalable, Sharia‑compliant digital lending solution to speed access to credit, support Saudi Vision 2030 and better serve its 400,000+ fund recipients and more than 60 offices. ADF selected Finastra and its Essence platform to meet these requirements.

Finastra implemented Essence to streamline end‑to‑end, Sharia‑compliant lending workflows, integrate with national services such as SADAD and digital ID verification, and replace paper applications with rapid online registration. Delivered on time and on budget, the solution has automated most transactional processes, driven operational efficiency and is expected to produce significant cost savings while improving customer experience; ADF now reports faster access to credit for farmers, scalability for future growth, and improved national rankings (fifth in its sector and 18th for integration excellence).

Saudi Agricultural Development Fund

Muhammad S. Al-Dhuwaiyan

Chief Information Officer