KUWAIT: Bader Al-Kharafi shakes hands with Erada’s Talal Al-Ajeel and Mohammed Al-Roumi

KUWAIT: Coinciding with the launch of the Zain Innovation Center (ZINC) at Zain's head office on Sunday, Zain Group announced partnering with Erada Business Incubators, fully licensed and accredited by the Kuwait National Fund (NF) for Small and Medium Sized Enterprises. The initiative is aimed at preparing and building a thriving ecosystem for the startup community, through private and public-sector collaboration.

Launched in Kuwait, Erada combines the best of Silicon Valley's long-heralded incubator nurturing approach and international best practice with local expertise to help budding entrepreneurs kick-start their journeys. Erada cooperates with multiple leading entities in Kuwait with expertise in various industries including design, talent development, sales strategies, payment solutions, financial modelling, and legal structuring, to ensure the growth and success of startups.

Through the partnership and incubator program, Zain will support Erada and the startups on multiple fronts including in the provision of space for startups to work at ZINC; Zain personnel, associated technology and other partners providing advisory services; and by offering startups special prices on Zain voice and data services.

Bader Nasser Al-Kharafi, Zain Vice-Chairman and Group CEO stated, "Erada is the first-of-its- kind in the country, and we are delighted to be working with them as an essential partner in this endeavor to empower and promote aspiring Kuwaiti entrepreneurs. Zain has a long history of supporting the youth of Kuwait and this strategic partnership bolsters our efforts in the development of a diversified and sustainable economy. At Zain, we hope and look forward to having other leading Kuwait entities join the Erada initiative and be part of its future success."

Al-Kharafi added, "This partnership supports the future prosperity of the Zain Innovation Center (ZINC) and also offers Zain a prime opportunity to capitalize on the most promising innovative ideas in the regional digital space with the aim of investing in or partnering with these entities to offer our customers unique life-enriching services."

Erada Founding Directors, Talal Al-Ajeel and Mohammed Al-Roumi see the empowerment of Kuwait's young population as a vital part of their responsibility as community leaders. With two-thirds of Kuwaitis currently under the age of 30, preparing the local youth for the challenges of the 21st century is crucial. "We are very proud to launch Erada Business Incubators in partnership with Zain, as we strongly believe in the potential of the Kuwaiti youth and are dedicated to building an ecosystem that enables them to bring their business ideas to life."