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Kuwait: Zain, the leading digital service provider in Kuwait, announced the names of the finalists who will take part in the second phase of the Zain Great Idea (ZGI) tech startup accelerator program in its fifth edition during the Super Saturday pitch event held at Four Seasons Hotel Kuwait last weekend.
Nearly 100 participants who took part in the first phase of the program – the ZGI boot camp – pitched their projects and ideas to the judging panel, who in return selected 10 finalists that will take part in the second phase, the international accelerator program in San Francisco.
Zain announced the 10 finalists: Faisal Al Basri – Mezan, Yousef Al Husainy – Baims, Abdulwahab Al Refaei – Cybersys, Reem Al Farhan – CTC, Rawan Al Sabah – The Capital, Mishari Ameen – Touch point, Dalal Al Qattan – That Designs, Fahad Al Baghli – The Wish List, Majed Al Hamlan – Blue Outdoors, Mohamed Al Raqem – WellbiiON.
The judging panel consisted of 9 experts and specialists of various business fields, including Abdullah Al Hassawi, Asset management, Portfolio management, Financial modeling, Technical analysis, and equity reports specialist, Hisham Al Bosaty, Startups Investor and Group Treasurer at EFG Hermes Holding, Maryam Saif, Chief Inclusion and Diversity Officer at Zain Group, Abdulaziz Hayat, Angel Investor, Former Associate Venture Capital at Faith Capital, Board Member at Harvard Business School Club Kuwait Chapter, Atef Abdulmajeed, Private Equity and Venture Capital Specialist at KFH Capital, Saud Al Subaie, Chief Operating Officer at AlSayer Facilities Company, Sadegh Zobeidi - CPLP, MBA, Director of the Center for Professional Advancement & Continuing Education (PACE) at Gulf University for Science & Technology (GUST), Saleh Al Shaya, Startups Investor and Alternative Investment at Rasameel Investment Company, Dakheel Al Dakheel, Executive Vice President Alternative Investment at Rasameel Investment Company.
The first phase of the program, the ZGI boot camp, lasted for 4 weeks at the company’s main headquarters, where the participants learned about the tech startup culture and workings from leading mentors from Stanford University, IE Business school, entrepreneurs and regional and international venture capital firms. Speakers included Abdulaziz Al Loughani,– cofounder and Managing Partner at Faith Capital, Pedram Mokrian – professor at Stanford University, Al Harith Al Atawi – cofounder and Chief Executive Officer of onegcc, Paris de L’Etraz – Director Venture Lab, IE Business School, Dr Naif Al Mutawa – Founder and Clinical Director of Soor Center for Professional Therapy and Assessment, Dr Abdullah Al Mutawa – owner of Rijeemy for food and nutrition consulting company, Khaled Al Mutawa – owner of Pogi for coding, Samer Baqer – Ghalia Tech company for advertising, Atef Abdulmajeed – Private Equity and Venture Capital specialist at KFH Capital, Saud Al Subaie – Chief Operating Officer at AlSayer Facilities Company.
ZGI was first launched in 2010 as a Corporate Social Responsibility initiative designed to support the youth into making their entrepreneurial dreams come true. Zain was the first in the region to launch such a comprehensive program of this kind. Then, throughout nearly 10 wonderful years, the company embraced over 500 entrepreneurs, travelled to 4 countries, and helped nearly 70 of the brightest Kuwaiti minds accelerate their ideas into active and thriving SMEs in the market.
Throughout four successful past editions, ZGI empowered, trained, and invested in hundreds of creative and driven Kuwaiti youth, of which many now own thriving and active Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) to this day. Encouraging and providing the proper resources for the local entrepreneurial community is a top priority for Zain, as the company is keen on contributing to the further progress of Kuwait’s economic and national development. ZGI is established by Zain in association with Brilliant Lab, a startup Accelerator Service from Kuwait, and Mind The Bridge, a global organization bridging the world through entrepreneurship education for startups, enterprises and investors to succeed in global markets. Mind The Bridge is based in Silicon Valley with offices in San Francisco and London.
The latest edition of the program features an all-new phase to the program: Co-developing. After Zain Great Idea is over, finalists will get full access to Zain’s cross-functional team to help them get the most out of their newly accelerated startup. ZGI’s entrepreneurs will be able to get consultations, mentoring, deals, tactics/strategies, and more from Zain specialists in various areas that are essential to any business, including sales, marketing, communications, legal, networks, IT, and more.
Zain is well aware of the crucial role played by private sector organizations in supporting social and economic sustainability projects. Springing from its growing commitment towards practicing its social responsibility, the company is committed to printing a positive print through all its activities. This has led Zain to embrace the most influential issues in the community, including the support of youth, entrepreneurship, and innovation.
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