Saleh Fareed
Saudi Gazette
JEDDAH – Six Saudi technology enabled start-ups impressed the minister of labor with their educational and career guidance programs, recruitment platforms, recycling and advertising solutions, localized gaming platforms, online cultural platforms and finally, cloud-based software solutions.
The impressive programs were showcased during Flat6Labs Jeddah second Demo Day event held in Jeddah on Saturday with the attendance of Eng. Adel Fakieh, the Minister of Labor.
Commenting on the Demo Day, Fakieh said “as Saudi Arabia’s leading private sector company, that is building sustainable entrepreneurship in the Kingdom, Qotuf not only founded Flat6Labs Jeddah, the first of its kind business accelerator program in the Kingdom, it graduated 11 Saudi technology-enabled start-up teams in less than 9 months. In total SR4 million were invested in addition to office space, company formation, legal advice, professional and technical advisory services and the provisioning of $170,000 in perks through its Global Accelerator Network, GAN partnership, whose membership includes the top 50 accelerators in the world.
Supported by Arabian Cement’s and IKEA’s Corporate Entrepreneurship Responsibility, CER Program, Flat6Labs Jeddah’s ‘Business Accelerator’ was able to invest and mentor the Saudi teams, through a Silicon Valley style 90-day comprehensive entrepreneurship start-up program that was developed with their partners Flat6Labs Cairo.
The start-up businesses included a well-diversified group of Saudi entrepreneurs, whose offering and services includes the delivery of educational and career guidance programs, recruitment platforms, recycling and advertising solutions, localized gaming platforms, online cultural platforms and finally, cloud-based software solutions.
In addition to the seed investment, technology perks and entrepreneurship-focused business training, Flat6Labs Jeddah provided over 120 hours of startup training in various business disciplines through its 20 mentors, who are accomplished Saudi businessmen and senior executives, with a varied and rich corporate background.
Highlighting the success of Flat6labs Jeddah, Tuba Terekli, Co-founder and CEO, Qotuf, said “in order for entrepreneurship to grow, momentum needs to be created, stakeholders need to be aligned and resources must be made available. These are the building blocks that will support Saudi entrepreneurs to launch their businesses and which will lead to the creation of skilled and high quality job opportunities in the Saudi market. All these elements came together through Arabian Cement and IKEA’s CER program and Qotuf’s Flat6labs Jeddah, with the outcome being 11 Saudi founded, technology-enabled companies in less than 9 months”.
The six projects were: Aya Games is a mobile, social gaming studio that serves the Arab world with games tailored to the region’s language and culture. DDC provides solutions that educate the public about their environment and utilizes recyclable waste from the source in order to simplify waste collection and direct it to the right recycling company. Ejadah Soft is on a mission to support Arab economies by providing a world-class software service to small and medium enterprises in all Arab countries. IRTH offers cultural exchange programs, joining leisure and knowledge-building, for the individual interested in historically, architecturally, or artistically significant and unique travel. Nujeed is the first Saudi online platform to bridge the gap between local private companies and employable Saudi talent through a matching service that maximizes employee retention. SmartAble resolves the stigmas surrounding educational counseling and guidance within Saudi Arabia and the region by ‘gamifying’ the high school and college education and guidance approach.
