Kuwait
Kuwait: Zain, the leading digital service provider in Kuwait, announced its strategic sponsorship of the inaugural venture competition with the London Business School (LBS) MENA Startup Competition.
Zain’s support for this unique competition – launched by one of the world’s top academic business institutions – reflects the company’s ongoing efforts to enrich the regional tech startup ecosystem. Zain is committed to supporting entrepreneurship and innovation, not only in Kuwait but across the entire region to make an impact.
Zain understands the crucial role played by private sector organizations in supporting social and economic sustainability projects. Social responsibility leads Zain to embrace the most influential issues in communities, including supporting youth, entrepreneurship, and innovation.
Many entrepreneurs and startup owners from across MENA took part in the startups pitching event held at the LBS Campus in the Dubai International Financial Center.
The event featured 12 finalists with promising startups, spanning different industries like Fintech, AgriTech, e-Commerce, Healthtech, and other emerging sectors. The finalists represented nations from across MENA, including UAE, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Jordan, and Turkey. The 12 front-runners qualified from over 70 submissions and underwent rigorous one-on-one mentoring sessions and workshops facilitated by individual and institutional mentors.
As a strategic sponsor, Zain was part of the judges’ panel represented by the company’s Innovation and Entrepreneurship Expert Haya Al Mana, who joined in to select first and second-place winners based on criteria set by LBS.
The competition was supported by the Institute of Entrepreneurship and Private Capital (IEPC) and is considered one of the most-reputed startup competitions to connect aspiring entrepreneurs with venture capitalists and investors in the MENA region.
Zain has a long list of efforts and initiatives to support entrepreneurs and startup owners. One of the most successful projects under the company’s Innovation and Entrepreneurship strategy is its Zain Great Idea (ZGI) tech startup accelerator program, in its seventh season, which aims to guide entrepreneurs towards the best experiences to realize sustainable growth and leverage by connecting them with venture capital firms and business partners to steadily guide their first step into the business world.
Investments in ZGI startups are well over KWD 6 million ($20m) to this date. Thiry percent of ZGI alumni now own thriving and active businesses across local and regional markets, and 40% of these businesses have raised capital.
Continue Reading: https://www.gccstartup.news/gcc/saudi/saudi-venture-capital-svc-invests-10-million-in-tvm-capital/
