First Saudi Bank, one of the leading banks in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, has been awarded the 7-star Leadership in Innovation certification, the highest level of certification for innovative organizations (CinOrg®️) awarded by the Global Innovation Institute (GInI), becoming the first bank in the region to achieve this recognition.
This certification constitutes a qualitative leap in the Bank’s innovation journey, following a previous assessment conducted in December 2023 and a comprehensive assessment of innovation maturity conducted by the Global Innovation Institute in December 2025. This rating raises the bank’s classification from “Pioneer” to “Leader” in this field. This reflects the organizational innovation model adopted by the Bank, its impact across institutional levels and its ability to achieve concrete and sustainable results. In this way, ‘Alawwal’ became the first bank in the region to achieve the highest rating for innovation maturity, confirming its position as a regional model for innovation and leadership in future banking services.
In 2025, the Bank launched the “First Innovation Center” and received six international innovation awards in addition to the international standard laboratory accreditation certificate. This strengthens the Bank’s strategic focus on building a sustainable innovation culture and developing an advanced banking system for the future. The Innovation Center played a pivotal role in accelerating the adoption of advanced technologies, enabling cooperation between different sectors, and strengthening the Bank’s position as a leading regional model for financial innovation.
In this regard, Saeed Asiri, CEO of Innovation Banking at Alawal, commented, “This certification reflects the achievements of many years of systematic organizational efforts to establish a sustainable innovation system at Alawal.” We were keen to invest in the bank’s culture, strengthen its governance framework and develop national capacity because we believe that innovation makes us better prepared for the future. This achievement embodies our commitment to supporting the process of financial innovation in Saudi Arabia and our ambition to achieve sustainable value for our customers. ”
This certification marks another step in Alawal’s continued innovation efforts as the bank continues to develop its capabilities to support the development of the banking sector in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
