Entrepreneurs bag over $186m through stc’s InspireU accelerator program
As part of stc Group’s commitment to enabling innovation and advancing the Kingdom’s digital economy, entrepreneurs have obtained over SR700 million ($186.6 million) in investments via its InspireU accelerator.
During the graduation of InspireU’s ninth batch, the group announced the accelerator’s expansion with a new program to support emerging technologies, according to the Saudi Press Agency.
At the ceremony, stc Group Chief Investment Officer Moataz Al-Anqari commended the accelerator’s role in enhancing entrepreneurship in the Kingdom, citing it as a crucial part of the company’s strategy.
“Since the program’s inception, the InspireU accelerator has supported over 90 digital projects in various domains, with investments and financial transactions hitting a market value of SR12 billion ($3.1 billion). Moreover, over 40 million users have benefited from InspireU’s projects,” Al-Anqari noted.
He further stated that the new program to be launched under InspireU aims to empower businesses further by augmenting their revenue and market competitiveness.
Mohammed Al-Faisal, chairman of stc Group, Group CEO Olayan Al-Wetaid and Haytham Al-Ohali, vice minister of communications and information technology, attended the ceremony.
“InspireU projects have generated more than 600,000 job opportunities, underscoring stc’s commitment to fostering the digital economy, creating jobs and supporting local content by transforming entrepreneurial ideas into successful projects,” Al-Anqari added.
The company’s efforts in supporting the digital economy go beyond accelerator programs, as the group announced on Wednesday the construction of a new set of data cables.
Through its subsidiary center3, stc Group signed a supplier’s contract to construct two subsea and terrestrial data cables with Alcatel Submarine Networks that is set to connect the Kingdom with Europe under the East to Med Corridor project.
The EMC is a new submarine and terrestrial cable data transmission system connecting Europe with Asia via Greece and Saudi Arabia. This project will enable the Kingdom, Greece and Cyprus to capitalize on their geographic position to establish a digital connectivity infrastructure.
The project would transform the Kingdom into a digital hub linking Asia, Europe and Africa upon completion.
The finalization of EMC Global, the EMC’s second phase connecting Saudi Arabia with Asia, will be announced soon, according to a press release.