Program includes workshops and classes to accelerate tech ideas

Zain Great Idea entrepreneurs pose with company officials.

KUWAIT: Zain, the leading telecommunications company in Kuwait, announced the arrival of the Zain Great Idea (ZGI) entrepreneurs to San Francisco to take part in the second phase, the international accelerator program in San Francisco and London with Brilliant Lab and Mind The Bridge in the presence of Zain Kuwait CEO Eaman Al-Roudhan.

ZGI is a Zain initiative launched in partnership with Brilliant Lab, a startup accelerator service from Kuwait, and Mind The Bridge, a Silicon Valley-based organization specializing in entrepreneurship education for startups, enterprises and investors. The previous three successful programs has seen the empowerment, training, and investment in hundreds of creative and driven young Kuwaitis, of which many now own thriving Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs).

The ten entrepreneurs will be staying at San Francisco, specifically Silicon Valley - the international capital of technology and startup businesses - for two weeks, where they will be mentored by Mind The Bridge. The entrepreneurs showcased their tech projects to MIB's management as well as Zain Kuwait's Chief Executive Officer Eaman Al-Roudhan, who in return shared their business strategies and experiences with them. The ZGI participants also met a number of local entrepreneurs and discussed founder and success stories together.

The program also included classes and workshop with Orrick legal advisory firm, which is the leading legal firm in San Francisco and is considered the second oldest company in the city. Orrick is known for providing world-class legal advisory services to the biggest tech companies around the world, including Facebook.

The first phase of the program, the ZGI boot camp, lasted for over two 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 Fadi Ghandour - Founder of Aramex, Mohammad Al-Hajeri - Chief Investment Officer at Impulse International, Abdulaziz Al-Loughani - cofounder and Managing Partner at Faith Capital, Hasan Zainal - Partner at Arzan Venture Capital, Abdulhameed Shararah - Founder and CEO of RiseUp, Malek Osseiran - head of LinkedIn GCC, Matea Malokanovic - Head of Marketing, Careem GCC, Sammi Hasaan - Assistant General Manager at Careem, Aby Sam Thomas - Editor in Chief of Entrepreneur ME, as well as representatives from the Kuwait National Fund For Small And Medium Enterprise Development, and more.