Riyadh - Sharikat Mubasher: The Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Institute plans to expand its membership network in the Middle East, with a key focus on Saudi Arabia, President and CEO Marg Franklin unveiled.

The institute targets doubling the number of members in the Kingdom to around 1,000 over the upcoming three years while raising the pool of candidates by 20% annually, as reported by Bloomberg.

The official noted that the decision came following the Kingdom’s financial reforms and efforts to advance the banking and insurance sectors, grow its capital markets, and foster more startups.

She affirmed that there is a unique opportunity in the Kingdom as it aims to draw more women into the workforce, in line with Vision 2030.

“As they are beginning efforts to have a more inclusive workplace with regards to the type of talent and the inclusion of more women, we think there’s quite a bit we can do,” Franklin stated.

On the other side, Fahad Kordi, CFA Board Member and Head of Investments and Structured Finance at Banque Saudi Fransi, stated that the Kingdom currently has 520 CFA members, of whom about 12% are female.