ShareKUWAIT: In a new step that reflects their unwavering efforts to support and grow the innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystems in the community, Zain and the Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences (KFAS) have announced signing a memorandum of understanding. The two organizations are joining forces to accelerate capacity building, upskill national talents in the private sector, grow research & development in innovation, enable social enterprises, and empower local entrepreneurs.
The MoU was signed at KFAS headquarters in Kuwait City, attended by Zain Kuwait CEO Eaman Al-Roudhan, KFAS Director General Dr Ameenah Farhan, and top executives and officials from both sides. This partnership embodies Zain and KFAS’ joint vision to foster innovation and promote entrepreneurship in Kuwait, continuing their long-term missions to upskill national talents in science and technology and empower local startups, who form a vibrant part of the nation’s economy.
Under this partnership, Zain and KFAS will join their expertise and resources to present several development programs and community initiatives that upskill national talents, empowering them to enter the highly competitive market. The programs are designed to tackle the needs and requirements of the Kuwaiti private sector, with key topics like leadership skills, digital competencies, management and business skills, and sustainable strategies. The two organizations will also host programs for capacity building in innovation and technology, targeting various age groups with a special focus on young people. Such programs will feature unique training sessions and interactive workshops that cover technical and digital skills to cultivate the youth’s creativity, support their talents, and embrace their passions.
The agreement also explores means to enrich research & development for innovation, with the aim of promoting sustainable corporate practices and transforming traditional workflows. By having innovation as the main drive for corporate strategies, organizations can contribute to achieving the nation’s developmental goals. One of the key topics covered by the MoU focuses on empowering entrepreneurs and supporting local startups. Certified trainers and experts from KFAS will join in facilitating highly specialized sessions and workshops for entrepreneurs under Zain’s award-winning tech startup accelerator program, Zain Great Idea.
This agreement goes in line with Zain’s Innovation Nation initiative, under which all of Zain’s innovation and entrepreneurship programs fall, especially within science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) areas. The initiative mainly targets the youth, and centers around a number of pillars, including entrepreneurship, investment, startup acceleration, supporting inventors, fostering innovation, and more. In a previous step to support the growth of innovation in Kuwait, Zain signed an MoU with Sabah Al-Ahmad Center for Giftedness and Creativity (SACGC), a KFAS center. The agreement built a new strategic partnership that focused on elevating the digital literacy of the youth, empowering creativity and innovation, and enhancing the local startup ecosystem in the community.
The partnership resulted in many successful programs and initiatives, most notably a summer bootcamp that upskilled over 800 children and young people through 130 courses and workshops that covered the fundamentals of electronics, robotics, 3D printers, programming, artificial intelligence, and more.
The MoU fostered a joint collaboration between the two partners to elevate digital literacy, develop digital competencies, support the local startups ecosystem, empower Kuwaiti inventors and innovators to excel, and more to serve the nation’s developmental, economic, and social goals.
Through its journey that started over 46 years ago, the Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences seeks to harness science, technology and innovation in Kuwait, as well as to promote modernization, a better quality of life, and a sustainable future for the Kuwaiti people.
KFAS continues to achieve its mission through many of its centers, including the Scientific Center, Dasman Diabetes Center, and Sabah Al-Ahmad Center for Giftedness and Creativity (SACGC). Zain has had many successful and fruitful partnerships with these centers.
