Riyadh, Saudi Arabia – The Entrepreneurship World Cup National Finals recently took place in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, showcasing the innovative talents of aspiring entrepreneurs from across the country. The National Finals were organized by the Small and Medium Enterprises General Authority of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (Monsha'at).
After a rigorous selection process of around 500 applicants, the following individuals and teams have been named as winners in the competition for both early and growth stages, which were run in separate groups:
- 1st place from the early stage group: WhiteHelmet provides Artificial Intelligence solutions for progress tracking, inspection, and digital documentation of construction sites.
- 1st place from the growth stage group: Algooru provides a digital platform that matches students with a 1:1 tutor. The platform provides students with one step to match with qualified & vetted tutors for +200 subjects. Students can receive a personalized plan tailored by academic experts.
- 2nd place from early stage: Queed provides an automated auditor for households which provides visibility around how efficient their appliances are. Queed uses the data of installed smart meters to determine the efficiency status.
- 3rd place from early stage: Wateen, a platform that addresses gaps in the blood donation space. It connects blood, platelet donors, blood banks and blood types through customized blood groups, in an automated system. The features help to retain permanent voluntary donors.
- 2nd place from growth stage: Eirq Althahab produces a diversity of eco-friendly materials and products that have agricultural and construction applications, like volcanic stones and soil sponge.
- 3rd place from growth stage: Cashin provides a one stop shop, POS and payment solutions, using fintech and supply chain models that fit with small and large business. It also facilitates receiving payments and managing sales with immediate bank settlements.
The six winners will now go on to represent Saudi Arabia in the Entrepreneurship World Cup (EWC) Global Finals, which is one of the biggest and most diverse startup pitch competitions and support programs of its kind. There, they will compete against national winners from 200 countries around the world for the chance to win a share of USD 1 million in cash prizes, and support from service providers such as AWS, Freshworks, Oracle, Hubspot, Stripe and Segment.
This year’s EWC Global Finals will be hosted at Biban 23, the Kingdom’s flagship start-up, SME and entrepreneurship forum, which is dedicated to fostering tangible opportunities.
Judges for the national competition were:
- Maha Taiba, Senior Strategy Advisor, Saudi Arabia
- Omar Kutbi, SME Innovation Services Manager, Saudi Arabia
- Riyadh Alzamil, Founder & Chairman, Saudi Arabia
- Waleed Alballaa, Investor, Saudi Arabia
- Mazin Alzaidi, General Partner, Saudi Arabia
Congratulations to all the winners and participants in this year's Entrepreneurship World Cup National Finals. We look forward to seeing the impact these innovative entrepreneurs will have on the world in the coming years.