Zain Group’s startup accelerator program, Zain Great Idea (ZGI), has been named a Corporate Rising Star for 2025 at the Corporate Startup Stars Awards in Paris. The award, presented by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and innovation advisory firm Mind the Bridge, recognizes companies that demonstrate leadership and structured approaches to open innovation and startup acceleration.
The ceremony took place at the ICC headquarters in Paris. Nawaf Al-Gharabally, CEO of Zain Kuwait, accepted the award from Marco Marinucci, CEO of Mind the Bridge.
The Corporate Startup Stars Awards are now in their tenth year and highlight global corporations that integrate open innovation into their business strategies. These companies often engage with startups through accelerators, venture builders, investment funds, internal entrepreneurship programs, and procurement initiatives.
The Corporate Rising Star category honors five companies each year for their commitment to working with startups and supporting new innovation ecosystems.
ZGI began in 2010 as a Kuwait-focused initiative but has expanded over time to include participants from Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE. It is now a group-wide platform providing mentorship and connecting founders with access to capital and regional scaling opportunities within Zain’s enterprise and consumer businesses.
Supported by Zain Ventures—the group’s investment arm—and ZainTECH—its digital solutions provider—ZGI offers startups support across areas such as cloud computing, cybersecurity, data analytics, artificial intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT), and robotics. Startups are matched with technical teams from Zain to explore pilot projects and commercial partnerships across eight markets.
In November 2025, leading entrepreneurs from the latest ZGI cohort participated in an international accelerator program in Silicon Valley. This experience allowed them to test their business models with industry leaders globally—a practice that has been part of the program since its inception.
Over its 15-year history, ZGI has trained more than 7,000 entrepreneurs through over 110 bootcamps. Alumni have raised more than $135 million from regional investors in the past five years. The program supports broader ecosystem development through long-term collaboration with regional entrepreneurship platforms that have helped launch hundreds of startups across MENA.
According to Zain Group: “The announcement underlines Zain’s commitment to open innovation as a strategic discipline rather than a stand-alone initiative. It reinforces the company’s role as an active partner to founders, investors, and ecosystem builders,” adding that “ZGI has become a platform for regional startup acceleration and scaling that is tightly connected to Zain’s technology infrastructure and commercial capabilities.”
In 2023, Entrepreneur Middle East recognized ZGI as “Ecosystem Enabler of the Year” at its E-Business Awards for accelerating growth in the regional tech startup sector.
