Zain introduces its virtual Zain Great Idea accelerator program
KUWAIT: Zain, the leading digital service provider in Kuwait, announced the launch of the sixth edition of its Zain Great Idea (ZGI) tech startup accelerator program, which comes this year in an all-virtual format to adhere to the health guidelines posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Eaman Al-Roudhan, Al-Khashti and Al-Mana with ZGI entrepreneurs during a previous event
The program comes in joint collaboration with Brilliant Lab, a startup Accelerator Service from Kuwait, and Mind the Bridge, a global organization based in Silicon Valley that bridges the world through entrepreneurship education for startups, enterprises, and investors to succeed in global markets.
Commenting on the program’s launch, Zain Kuwait’s Chief Corporate Communications and Relations Officer Waleed Al-Khashti said: “We are delighted to announce the official launch of the sixth edition of our Zain Great Idea tech startup accelerator program. This year’s edition comes in an all-virtual format in an effort to abide by health guidelines and restrictions posed by the COVID-19 pandemic”.
Al-Khashti explained: “The pandemic was not a barrier that prevented us from renewing our commitment to Kuwait’s entrepreneurial community. On the contrary, we took it as a challenge to reintroduce the program more exceptionally than ever. We at Zain are the first to believe in technology’s excellence as an effective and high-efficient tool to develop skills and train talents”.
Al-Khashti unveiled: “In this virtual edition, all participants will have a chance to receive a cash investment of $50K to fund their tech startups’ operational and commercial costs. Participants will be able to apply for this funding by pitching their startups to the investment committee we created along with our partners at Rasameel Investment Company and Brilliant Lab”.
Al-Khashti expressed his appreciation to the teams at Zain, Brilliant Lab, and ZGI partners who work tirelessly and around the clock to make this initiative a success amid exceptional circumstances to redesign the entire program in an all-virtual format while maintaining the program’s known high-quality level.
Zain Kuwait’s Sustainability, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship Department Manager Haya Al-Mana said: “Our ZGI finalists will be able to benefit from Zain’s leading experiences across many areas that are essential to any startup, including marketing, advertising, customer care, public relations, digital partnerships, business/consultancy/legal services, and much more”.
Al-Mana continued: “Any entrepreneur who gets accepted into the program’s first phase will join our bootcamp, which will be completely virtual this year and will continue for four weeks. The bootcamp will feature workshops, training sessions, panel discussions, and more, facilitated by world-class experts, academics, and trainers from top international educational institutions such as IE Business School, MIT, Stanford, and more. In addition, we will offer one-to-one sessions with top experts in various fields for every finalist”.
