KUWAIT: Zain announces 10 Kuwait-based tech startups selected by the judges panel to advance to the next phase of Zain Great Idea (ZGI) — the International Accelerator Program in Palo Alto, California, specifically in Silicon Valley, the global center of innovation, technology, and entrepreneurship. The following startups and founders have qualified: Lama Aloraiman and Ksenia Ozkokfrom BLU DOT — the platform that transforms access to space, Dalal Thani from Akrem — the app that enables secure and easy tipping to service providers, Raghad AlZamel from MAWADA — the ultimate gifting platform, Hamad AlThunayan, Nasser AlQimlas, and Ryan Dougherty from DAWRATY — the quality education platform, and Abdulrahman AlHamdan from Nextbite — the platform that revolutionize the dining and hospitality experiences.

Also joining the program are Faisal Tawfiqi, Fahad Alzuabi and Maxime Rousselet from USim — the seamless Internet roaming app, Eissa Alloughani from STAX — the app that offers one membership to access the best gyms in Kuwait, Abdullah Albusairi from EYON — the Arab live streaming platform, Abdullah Shaban from Mawqif — the ultimate parking app, and Talal Alzafiri from Q8MAPS — the e-mapping and GIS solutions app.

The announcement came after the ZGI participants joined Super Saturday, where they utilized the expertise and skills they acquired in the first phase, the ZGI Bootcamp, to prepare the final business pitches of their startups and present them to the judges panel. The 10 finalists were then selected based on a set of criteria that took into account several key aspects of the business.

Photo taken from the ZGI Super Saturday event.

The judges panel featured executives, experts, and investors, including Volkan Sen, Digital Investment Director of Zain Ventures; Dakhil Al Dakhil, CEO of Rasameel Investment; Abdulaziz Al Marzouq, Assistant Manager for Business Development at Rasameel; Abdulaziz Al Dhubaib, CEO and Managing Partner at NIZEK; Seham Al Husaini, General Manager at Deliveroo; Omar Al Mandani, CTO of Dars Learning; Saud Ak Subaie, COO Al Sayer Facilities and founder of CUARDO; Sohail Ladha, CEO Asiya Investments; and Saleh Al Tunaib, CEO and co-founder of Btr.tech.

The finalists will join the ZGI International Accelerator Program in Palo Alto, California, specifically in Silicon Valley, the global center of innovation, technology, and entrepreneurship. The program is offered in collaboration with Vibranium VC, a Silicon Valley-based venture capital firm specializing in startup investments. The program offers an invaluable opportunity for finalists to learn about business dynamics first-hand in the heart of Silicon Valley. Participants will attend workshops, connect with startup founders, visit major accelerators and tech companies, pitch their ideas to investment funds, build relationships, and gain a deep understanding of the global entrepreneurship ecosystem.

The program will include field visits and insightful talks in collaboration with major tech companies and prestigious universities and accelerators in Silicon Valley, including Amazon, Nvidia, Stanford University, Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), 500 Startups, and more. The first phase, the ZGI Bootcamp, recently concluded, with over 70 aspiring entrepreneurs joining to learn the most essential business and startup management skills through intensive workshops, training programs, and one-on-one mentoring sessions.

The bootcamp was facilitated by a group of local, regional, and international experts, like Prof Paris de I’Etraz from IE Business School, Prof Mike Grandinetti from Harvard, MIT, and Brown universities, Ramesh Chander from Google for Startups, and Gaelle Bou Abdo from IE Business School. In addition, the bootcamp featured Sahar Albaharna from IMPACTIQUE, Noorhan Al-Zan from Noor Coaching, Abdullah Saleem from Mushtari, Abdullah Al Mutawa from Cari, Abdulaziz Al Marzouq from Rasameel Investment and Yousef Alhusaini from Baims.

In the last week of the Bootcamp, ZGI participants worked on developing multiple aspects of their startups by joining extensive one-on-one sessions with experts and business owners from various industries, including Ahmad Marafi from CODED Academy, Najlaa Al Rumaih from Zain Group Branding and Advertising, Sulaiman Al Tunaib & Abdulrahman Al Sadoun from Waves, Naser Al Qatami from Jahez, Eid Al Mujaibel from Tenmeya, Faisal Al Kuraibi from Enabill, and Rawan Alotair from Octopus AI.