Empowering Development Programs' Implementation through the "Nine Boxes" Strategy
At Kingdom Investment Corporation Limited (KICL), we are redefining how business contributes to inclusive and sustainable global development. At the heart of our approach lies the Nine Box Operational Strategy—an innovative framework that integrates investment, implementation, and long-term operation into a coherent and efficient process.
The Nine Box Strategy organizes KICL’s activities into three strategic dimensions. The first is KICL Resource, which encompasses our work in energy, banking, and trading—core sectors that anchor financial strength and market presence. The second is KICL Development, focusing on construction, technology, and culture—areas through which we shape environments, build digital and physical infrastructure, and foster identity and innovation. The third is KICL Impact, which drives our efforts in health, environment, and empowerment—ensuring that our work leads to tangible social and ecological progress.
More than just a framework, the Nine Box Strategy reflects our ambition to build KICL’s operational capacity from within. Through mergers, acquisitions, and strategic partnerships, we aim to develop the internal strength needed not only to invest in projects, but also to implement and operate them directly. This model enables KICL to deliver integrated solutions—linking capital with execution and long-term delivery—particularly in complex and fast-changing environments across the Global South.
By aligning structure with purpose, and strategy with execution, the Nine Box Strategy positions KICL as a new kind of investment company: one that transforms capital into capability, and vision into results.
M&A and JV: Building Internal Capacity Across All Sectors
At Kingdom Investment Corporation Limited (KICL), our ambition is not only to invest in development—but to operate it. Through our Nine Box Strategy, we are laying the foundation to become a fully integrated company, capable of managing both capital and execution across all nine sectors. This transformation will ensure that our values and vision are carried through from idea to delivery.
KICL is not a financial investor in the conventional sense. We do not believe in generating returns through passive speculation or profit from interest-based instruments. Instead, we are guided by the principles of Islamic finance, which emphasize equity, partnership, and shared responsibility. In this spirit, we aim to form joint ventures with our project partners—sharing both risk and reward—and ensuring that our capital is tied to real, productive assets and services.
To realize this vision, KICL is preparing to invest between USD 10 to 20 billion over the next three years to build its internal operational capacity. This first phase targets an estimated USD 2 billion per sector, strategically allocated through mergers and acquisitions (M&A). Our research, supported by case studies of companies with similar models, has shown that a strong M&A strategy can rapidly build service capacity, attract top-tier professionals, and generate substantial contract volumes—while maintaining high standards of delivery.
This approach allows KICL to not only oversee projects but to actively shape them—ensuring alignment with ethical mandates, operational excellence, and the long-term needs of the communities we serve.
