KUWAIT: Zain, Kuwait's leading digital service provider, announced it successfully sponsored the special gala dinner organized by Al-Qabas newspaper and Forbes Middle East Magazine to announce the 'Kuwait Top 20 Entrepreneurs' list. The event, attended by private sector executives, media figures, and the local business community, celebrated young entrepreneurs and SME owners who contributed to enriching the nation's tech and digital startups scenes.

Zain's support to this initiative, which was hosted by two prestigious media organizations on the local and regional levels, came in continuation of the company's efforts to enrich the local tech startups ecosystem. Zain is committed to making an impactful contribution to support entrepreneurship and innovation in the nation.

During the gala dinner, Zain joined in recognizing the winners on-stage. The 20 winners were selected from a pool of 100 entrepreneurs who were nominated in Al-Qabas and Forbes Middle East's list to celebrate the top startup and SME owners based on several international standards, such as innovation, scalability, size, track record, and more. The winners were selected from five categories: e-commerce, edtech, fintech, energy, and incubators.

Al-Khashti awarding some of the winners.

Zain also sponsored the Kuwait Top Entrepreneurs Forum 2023, organized by Al-Qabas and Forbes Middle East, and hosted by the American University in the Middle East. The forum featured three panel discussions that discussed several crucial topics related to the local entrepreneurial scene, the sector's tech and digital transformation journeys, and the challenges faced by entrepreneurs in Kuwait. The event was attended by academics, economists, entrepreneurs, and private sector executives.

Zain has a long list of efforts and initiatives to support entrepreneurs and startup owners, most notably its Zain Great Idea tech startup accelerator program. The company recently launched ZGI's seventh season, aiming to entrepreneurs towards the best experiences that bring them sustainable growth and leverage on its partners ecosystem to connect them with venture capital firms and business partners to help them put a steady first step in the business world..

Al-Khashti awarding some of the winners.

Zain Great Idea is one of the most successful projects under the company's Innovation and Entrepreneurship strategy. The program, which started over 10 years ago, has empowered, trained, and invested in over 1,500 passionate Kuwaiti and Arab young people.

Investments in ZGI startups have reached nearly KD 30 million ($100 million) to this date. 30 percent of ZGI alumni now own thriving and active businesses to this day across local and regional markets, and 40 percent of these businesses have raised capital. Zain Great Idea was recently recognized with the E-Business Award from the prestigious Entrepreneur Middle East magazine. Zain's program was awarded 'Ecosystem Enabler of the Year' during a recent awards ceremony in Dubai acknowledging the company's ever-growing endeavors in accelerating the regional tech startups ecosystem and empowering entrepreneurs in Kuwait and the region.