Zain Group has announced that 13 technology startups from across the Middle East have been selected to participate in the next phase of its accelerator initiative, Zain Great Idea. The chosen founders will join the Global Acceleration program held in Palo Alto, California, located in Silicon Valley.
The selection process involved judging panels from six of Zain’s operating companies and subsidiaries in the region. Startups advancing to this flagship phase represent Kuwait, Jordan, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and Iraq.
Startups from Kuwait include Farah (wedding planning platform), LumenPro (AI tools hub), Playbook (kids’ party booking platform), Provis Management (culinary talent recruitment), Tenmeya (Arabic content monetization platform), and theQA (research platform for brands). Other regional participants are Avancer.AI from Jordan; FortyGuard from UAE; Wajba from Bahrain; WePay from Saudi Arabia; and Andalusi, Jaamila, and Saleem from Iraq.
In addition to finalists, six runners-up were named from Kuwait: Actly (AI agents platform), QETAE (automotive services app), Athletes Elevator (sports talent platform), Go Tickets! (ticketing solution), Outing (holiday accommodation booking service), and Vehab (VR rehabilitation application).
Finalists were selected after Super Saturday events held in each market. These events allowed participants to present their business concepts following an intensive bootcamp phase. Judging panels included executives such as Malek Hammoud of Zain Group and Volkan Sen of Zain Ventures.
The upcoming Global Acceleration program is organized in collaboration with Vibranium VC, a venture capital fund based in Silicon Valley. The program will offer workshops, networking opportunities with startup founders, visits to major accelerators and technology firms, pitching sessions to venture capital funds, and engagement with the global entrepreneurship ecosystem.
According to Zain Group’s announcement: “The finalists will now head to the Global Acceleration program in Palo Alto, California in Silicon Valley, offering an exceptional opportunity to experience business dynamics up close. The program comes in collaboration with Vibranium VC, a Silicon Valley-based venture capital fund specializing in startup investments.”
This year marks a significant expansion for Zain Great Idea. For the first time since its launch over 15 years ago, applications were open beyond Kuwait to include Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and UAE. This broader scope aims to provide greater mentorship opportunities and international exposure for participating startups.
Zain Ventures plans to identify investment prospects among these startups while ZainTECH will support them by providing expertise on cloud computing, artificial intelligence solutions, analytics tools, robotics technologies and more.
As stated by Zain Group: “The expansion marks a major milestone for ZGI as previous editions focused on the Kuwaiti market. The new regional launch underscores Zain’s long-term commitment to advancing technological innovation and entrepreneurship across the region.”
Participants recently completed an intensive bootcamp covering areas such as marketing strategy development finance operations management digital transformation one-to-one mentoring sessions designed accelerate growth prepare entry into wider markets strengthen business foundations.
