Zain Great Idea named 'Corporate Rising Star'

04/12/2025 08:22 AST

Zain Group, a leading provider of innovative ICT and digital lifestyle communications operating in eight markets across the Middle East and Africa, announced that its flagship startup accelerator, Zain Great Idea (ZGI), was recognized as one of the Corporate Rising Stars for 2025 at the Corporate Startup Stars Awards in Paris. The recognition highlights Zain's leadership and structured approach to open innovation and startup acceleration for over 15 years in the region.

The announcement took place at a gala event hosted at the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) headquarters in Paris, co-organized with global innovation advisory firm Mind the Bridge. Nawaf Al-Gharabally, CEO of Zain Kuwait, received the award from Marco Marinucci, CEO of Mind the Bridge.

Now in their tenth edition, the Corporate Startup Stars Awards spotlight corporations worldwide that embed open innovation into their strategy and build robust pipelines of startup collaboration through initiatives such as accelerators, venture builders, venture capital funds, intrapreneurship programs and procurement fast tracks. The Corporate Rising Star category specifically celebrated five high-potential companies that demonstrated an outstanding commitment to working with startups and nurturing emerging innovation ecosystems.

ZGI is Zain's regional tech startup accelerator, designed to turn promising startups into investable, scalable ventures. Launched in 2010 as a Kuwait-focused initiative, the program has steadily evolved and, in 2025, opened applications to innovators in Kuwait, Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Today it operates as a Group-wide platform that identifies, mentors, and connects founders with routes to capital, pilots, and regional scale through Zain's enterprise and consumer businesses.

Powered by Zain Ventures, the Group's investment arm, and ZainTECH, its regional digital solutions provider, ZGI combines strategic governance with practical market access. Startups receive hands-on support across cloud, cybersecurity, data, AI, IoT, and robotics, and are matched with Zain's technical, enterprise, and commercial teams to explore proof-of-concepts and commercial partnerships in eight markets.

In November 2025, top entrepreneurs from the ZGI 2025 edition joined an international accelerator program in Silicon Valley to stress-test their business models with global operators, investors and industry leaders, further strengthening Zain's role as a bridge between regional founders and global innovation hubs. Trips to Silicon Valley for the top startups have been undertaken since 2010.

Over 15 years, ZGI has upskilled more than 7,000 entrepreneurs through over 110 bootcamps, while alumni have raised more than $135 million from regional investors over the last five years. The program also builds on Zain's broader ecosystem work, including long-term collaboration with regional entrepreneurship platforms that have trained thousands of founders and helped launch hundreds of startups across MENA. These outcomes position ZGI as a core pillar of Zain's '4WARD-Progress with Purpose' strategy, integrating innovation and AI-enabled digital transformation with a clear path from initiation to investment.

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, and reflects how ZGI has become a platform for regional startup acceleration and scaling that is tightly connected to Zain's technology infrastructure and commercial capabilities. This latest recognition builds on Zain Great Idea's track record of regional and international accolades. In 2023, Entrepreneur Middle East's E-Business Awards named ZGI "Ecosystem Enabler of the Year", honoring its role in accelerating the regional tech startup ecosystem.

Global recognition at an awards ceremony in Paris highlights ZGI's role in driving innovation and startup acceleration for 15+ years across the region.

Kuwait Times