The Small and Medium Enterprises General Authority “Monsha’at”, in cooperation with the Ministry of Education, launched the University Startups Initiative today at its headquarters in Riyadh, under the patronage of His Excellency the Deputy Minister of Education for Universities, Doctor Hatem bin Hassan Al-Marzouki, His Excellency the Deputy Minister of Commerce and Investment, Engineer Majid bin Abdullah Al-Bawardi, and the Governor of Monsha’at, Engineer Saleh bin Ibrahim Al-Rasheed.
The University Startups Initiative aims to create startups originating from universities across all regions of the Kingdom by providing opportunities for practical entrepreneurial application and the commercialization of graduation projects, providing financing opportunities, giving students and university staff the chance to turn their ideas and projects into startups, enabling cooperation among university staff from different specialties to develop entrepreneurial solutions, and creating an entrepreneurial environment that encourages knowledge exchange and the sharing of success stories and contributes to creating new enterprises in the future.
The initiative targets university students, faculty members, and administrative staff, who go through several stages, from prototype development to startup growth, interspersed with several workshops, training courses, and specialized bootcamps in entrepreneurship. Those interested can register for the University Startups Initiative.
The initiative has benefited more than 600 university students and staff, while 54 prototypes ready to be presented to investors were developed as part of its outputs. In addition, 13 training programs were organized, focusing on 4 key aspects of founding entrepreneurial projects: the personal aspect, building entrepreneurial capabilities, and prototype development.