- ZGI program successfully closes the round of Arab initiators with major technology companies in Silicon Valley
- ZGI, the digital bridge between local innovations in the region and technology giants in the world
- The latest edition of ZGI witnessed a strong regional representation of young initiators from 6 markets in the region
- Arab initiators underwent development and training pathways to implement market strategies and build investment partnerships
Khaberni - Zain Group revealed that its regional program Zain Great Idea successfully closed the international round for (11 startups) in Silicon Valley after a series of meetings and sessions with several major global technology companies that spanned over two weeks.
The group clarified that its ZGI business acceleration program brought together influential leaders in technological innovations from 6 markets of its operations in the region, aiming to gain technical knowledge, practice strategic thinking, interact with global experts, exchange experiences, build flexible business structures, and focus on how to foresee challenges and opportunities.
Zain mentioned that the current edition of its ZGI program has gained the characteristic of regional business accelerators after extensive participation by several emerging Arab companies, turning the program into a regional platform that creates opportunities and opens up growth horizons for entrepreneurs.
The group explained that this expansion phase of the program was driven by the advisory and technical support provided by Zain Ventures - the investing arm of the group specialized in emerging technologies – and by ZainTECH – the regional arm of the group in telecommunications solutions, cloud services, and cybersecurity - to mobilize the internal capabilities and potentials of its operations to enhance digital transformation supported by artificial intelligence.
Zain confirmed that the program, since its first launch in Kuwait, has succeeded in making positive impacts on the business environment of startups, indicating that the current edition has made it a digital bridge between local innovations of the markets in the region and global technology companies, as investing in creative energies and minds is the primary goal to drive the knowledge economy forward.
It is worth mentioning that this regional participation included initiators from 11 emerging technology companies chosen from Kuwait, Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE, where the initiators participated in a carefully designed program in Palo Alto, California, aimed at refining the operational foundations of businesses, enhancing their readiness for investment, and expanding their networks globally.
This phase relied on the rich legacy of ZGI in enabling initiators with access, guidance, financing, and global experiences, and it reflects Zain's strategic role in building entrepreneurial ecosystems by opening pathways that help entrepreneurs expand sustainable business models, and explore new partnerships regionally and beyond.
Four tracks
These companies participated over two weeks in a comprehensive program that combined academic learning, exposure to experiences and interaction, where these tracks included intensive sessions, organized training camps to accelerate the core capabilities of the startups, field visits to major technology companies, and finally the innovation centers track to translate knowledge into actual practice, along with panel discussions and dialogue sessions about emerging trends with opportunities to build relationships with investors and innovators, in addition to the main event, the Demo Day, which allowed initiators to test their platforms, expand their relationships, and build rich experiences from the heart of Silicon Valley.
Training camps
The acceleration station began in collaboration with Vibranium VC, a leading venture capital fund specialized in investing in startups and headquartered in Silicon Valley, where the initiators engaged in a series of intensive sessions and training camps that addressed the competitive requirements in Silicon Valley, starting from a deep understanding of the mechanisms there, and how entrepreneurs can build close relationships with investors and business partners among other essentials.
The initiators accelerated the building pillars of startups through practical workshops and individual guidance sessions including the entrepreneurial mindset, developing the value proposition and building personas, engineering business models, implementing market entry strategies, alongside practical guidelines for building products according to modern methods, including building applications without coding through artificial intelligence, linking product decisions to interface and user experience foundations, and development based on customer needs.
The program strongly focused on readiness to raise funds and understanding investment deals, through topics that included raising funding, the most common legal mistakes and how to avoid them, investors' rights and pricing rounds, financial modeling, mastering the preparation of investor presentations, to ensure the initiators' capability to deal confidently with the investment environment.
The learning journey concluded with strategic insights on expansion and creating long-term value, and exit paths through merger or acquisition, to help participants connect daily implementation with founders' decisions that shape long-term outcomes.
Technology giants
This round included visits to technology landmarks and innovation centers in the tech capital, where initiators explored experiences of innovation in advanced computing and artificial intelligence within a rich research environment through visiting Jensen Huang Center for Engineering at Stanford University, which helped them link advanced research with product capabilities and long-term distinction, and the experience was completed with a rich tour at Stanford University facilities, highlighting how universities can act as engines for startups through the flow of talent and marketing research and intensifying networks of initiators.
At Google's headquarters in Mountain View, participants learned how platform giant companies enhance innovation through experimentation, systemic thinking, and rapid product development, while the visit to Apple's headquarters emphasized the importance of product craftsmanship and user experience as a competitive edge.
The initiators' tour also included a visit to Tesla, which featured a presentation of the electric Cybertruck and a driving experience, providing a close look at how the bold vision for the product is coupled with strict implementation, and how engineering, storytelling, and user excitement can unite to maximize impact.
The participants experienced understanding how global technology leaders operate their businesses on an exceptional scale, as the visit to Amazon's Order Execution Center embodied the concept of operational excellence practically, translating into lessons in procedural discipline, system design, and customer experience based on execution.
