1.4.1: Local Start-Up Assistance

KAU provides assistance in its local community, to support the start-up of sustainable businesses through relevant education, consulting, guiding, mentorship programmes, training workshops, as well access to university facilities, like educational resources, laboratories, Libraries, and others.

The Business Incubator and Accelerator

One other significant program in KAU, is the Business Incubator and Accelerator Programme which supports sustainable startups. This year, the fifth Session was launched.

The Fifth Session of the Business Incubator and Accelerator (2021-2022)

The Vice Rector for Business and Knowledge Creativity, Prof. Dr. Tawfiq bin Abdul Mohsen Al Khayal, sponsored the closing ceremony of the Center for Creativity and Entrepreneurship, as well as the launch of start-ups for business acceleration and entrepreneurial projects for the business incubator, on 4-7-2021, at the hall University Council.

The ceremony witnessed a documentary presentation on the event and presentations for startups and pioneering projects, in addition to honoring the winners of the President's Award for Entrepreneurship. The other winners received a prize of 5,000 riyals, and they are a hardware project, a Alsun project, a Noor cube project, and a Smart Fitting project.

The Vice Rector for Business and Knowledge Creativity explained that the Center for Creativity and Entrepreneurship carried out a number of activities and events that contribute to awareness efforts and spread the culture of entrepreneurship. In this fifth cycle, the business incubator and accelerator provided its services to more than 50 entrepreneurs who worked on more than 26 startups and entrepreneurial projects. The fifth cycle included a number of programs and services provided by a group of reputable and accomplished specialists with scientific and practical experience, in order to assist the pioneers in developing their entrepreneurial ideas and projects and accelerating the growth of their startups, which included: training courses in the fields of establishing startups, product development, and market analysis, Accounting and finance, marketing, application and website development, graphic design, technical and technical support, financial and legal advice, training for presentation to investors, providing guidance and expert advice, building a network of relationships, providing facilities, in addition to providing work spaces, and other courses and programs and the services that contributed to preparing the pioneers for the maturation of their ideas and projects, preparing to break into the commercial markets, presenting their projects to investors, and obtaining the financing required for the growth and success of their start-up companies.

The Fourth Session of the Business Incubator and Accelerator (2020-2021)

Sample Startups of the 4th Edition of the Programme.