The Saudi Government’s 2030 Vision directs local banks to increase and improve credit for the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) of the economy (Jadwa, 2017). Banks are, however, still finding it difficult to provide credit for small businesses that meet Basel’s capital requirements. Most of the current credit-risk models only apply to large corporations with little constructed for SMEs applications (Altman and Sabato, 2007). This study fills this gap by focusing on the Saudi SMEs perspective. My empirical work constructs a bankruptcy prediction model based on logistic regressions that cover 14,727 firm-year observations for an 11-year period between 2001 and 2011. I use the first eight years data (2001-2008) to build the model and use it to predict the last three years (2009-2011) of the sample, i.e. conducting an out-of-sample test. This approach yields a highly accurate model with great prediction power, though the results are partially influenced by the external economic and geopolitical volatilities that took place during the period of 2009-2010 (the world financial crisis). To avoid making predictions in such a volatile period, I rebuild the model based on 2003-2010 data, and use it to predict the default events for 2011. The new model is highly consistent and accurate. My model suggests that, from an academic perspective, some key quantitative variables, such as gross profit margin, days inventory, revenues, days payable and age of the entity, have a significant power in predicting the default probability of an entity. I further price the risks of the SMEs by using a credit-risk pricing model similar to Bauer and Agarwal (2014), which enables us to determine the risk-return tradeoffs on Saudi’s SMEs.

The aim of this diploma thesis is to describe historical development of Kenya, analyze its current socioeconomic and political situation and characterize major problems and comparative advantages, which are crucial for its future development. The main contribution of the thesis are my own findings and experience gained during cultural internship in Kenya. The first chapter describes historical development from the beginning of the first settlement on its territory to post colonial era. The second part focuses on demographic indicators, sectorial economic structure, development of macroeconomic indicators in the context of east Africa, political situation and on governmental program called Vision 2030. The last part characterizes key Kenyan advantages and problems with focus on tourism, education and political and religious conflicts. The thesis is closed with future economic prognoses for Kenya.

Recent literature has shown a close correlation between economic prosperity and the intensity of energy use in a country. In this study, an investigation to determine the extent of evolution of the concept of sustainability in the energy industry to realise the aim of Kenya Vision 2030 development blueprint is presented. In this study, journals, government reports, statutes and policies dating back to the end of the eighteenth century were reviewed to establish the research gap. Interviewing of key stakeholders in the energy industry a survey of rural, peri-urban and urban households on energy use and supply in the country and a geographical information system were methods used for data analysis. The study findings revealed that; the current energy policies are a legacy of colonial policies which benefit the urban and commercial centres along the railway line; the current policies are skewed to promoting electricity and petroleum sectors in energy industry and; biomass is the main source of fuel for rural and peri-urban households and, increased household energy demand has a negative impact on environment. In light of these findings, the practice of energy use and policies have to evolve significantly so that the aim of the Vision 2030 has to be realised. Therefore, this study is an innovative, analytical and methodological approach to sustainable energy use and policy assessment for developing countries. The study also makes contribution to the body of knowledge in the field of sustainable energy use and policies for developing countries by literature publication.

Saudi Arabia is progressing with Vision 2030, an ambitious blueprint for economic variation, global connection, and improved quality of life. The Hajj pilgrimage is addressed by the Doyof Al Rahman Program (DARP), one of the vision's programs aiming to enhance the Hajj experience. The Hajj pilgrimage is one of the world's largest annual massive gatherings and it has already received increased attention from researchers combining elements of pilgrimage and tourism. This dissertation aims to explore Hajj service quality and pilgrims' satisfaction. To attain this objective, a narrative and systematic literature review was conducted to develop a framework with standardized dimensions for Hajj with the consideration of Vision's 2030 PEP program objectives. The conducted literature review considered 157 sources following the PRISMA review protocol in the analysis. A Delphi study distributed among fifteen experts processed the literature review findings to confirm the research instrument dimensions' priority, applicability, and clarity. The proposed dimensions were Hospitality, Guidance, Transportation, Hajj Facilities, Safety and security, and Healthcare. Those dimensions are dedicated to exploring Hajj Service Quality (HSQ) performance and its impact on the Hajj's overall satisfaction and willingness to extend visits to heritage sites. The dissertation connected a confirmatory mixed research method in the Delphi study and data collection phases. The research survey contained 83 items distributed through the Qualtrics platform and yielded 149 valid responses from 17 U.S. states. After the data preparation, a Partial Least Square Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) analytical approach was deployed. First, the measurement model inspected the reliability and validity of the model constructs. Second is the structural model that tested the study hypothesis with path analysis a regression-based technique. The findings showed a significant impact from all the applied HSQ dimensions on Hajj overall satisfaction and a significant impact from Hajj facilities on the willingness to extend the visit to heritage sites.

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This study examined the satisfaction with and use of technology infrastructure by students and faculty across a sample of five universities in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Overall, the findings indicated that both faculty and students were relatively satisfied with the information technology (IT) infrastructure at their respective campuses, although they tend to report satisfaction levels more than faculty or students in the United States. The study also revealed several areas of improvement, including the need for more reliable Wi-Fi networks on campuses and for the use of Learning Management Systems (LMS) and other digital technologies by the instructors. The analysis uncovered disparities in the overall experience of faculty and students with IT between universities located in the capital city and universities outside the capital city.

Saudi Arabia faces a universally acknowledged need to diversify beyond hydrocarbons. The Saudi Arabian government has outlined a strategy to achieve diversification through its Vision 2030 reform plan. Contrary to the Vision 2030 plan, the Saudi government should allow for entrepreneurs and market signals to determine diversification when considering what sectors should receive investment, with the exception of broad infrastructure investments contributing to the overall enabling environment. Government lending for private-sector investments need to have plausibly high projected rates of return, and meet minimum standards of environmental and social responsibility, requiring participation by multiple government ministries sufficiently insulated from the government.

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Previous research on framing has proved its strong effects on the social perception and political preferences of individuals. Therefore, the aim of this research is to explore how Saudi women's issues have been framed in a sample of United States and Saudi newspapers. Saudi Vision 2030 is the post-oil plan for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia that was announced on April 25, 2016. The sample of this thesis was 300 news stories from eight newspapers. The U.S. newspapers were the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, and the Los Angeles Times. The Saudi newspapers were Al Riyadh, Okaz, Al Jazirah, and Al Watan. This thesis explores how these issues have been covered before and after Saudi Vision 2030 by answering five basic questions. Quantitative and qualitative methods were used to analyze the news stories. For the quantitative analysis, five pre-defined generic frames from Semetko and Valkenburg were adopted: conflict frame, human interest frame, morality frame, economic consequences frame, and responsibility frame. An inductive approach to find the new frames was used for the qualitative analysis. Moreover, this thesis looked at how U.S. and Saudi newspapers have visually framed Saudi women through an analysis of the types of images used in the news stories related to Saudi women's issues. The main finding suggests that within the used frames in the newspapers, the U.S. newspapers focused more on the human-interest frame, while the Saudi newspapers mostly used the economic frame. Furthermore, the types of issues covered are discussed.