KPMG ties up with Saudi SMEs Authority for Global Tech Innovator competition

KPMG in Saudi Arabia has partnered with the General Authority for SMEs (Monsha’at) as it launches the third annual Global Tech Innovator (GTI) competition. This competition is set out to recognize leading tech innovators in the Kingdom, allow them to pitch their ideas in front of a panel of judges, enable them to get global exposure and the chance to pitch against tech innovators across the globe.

The winner of the finals in Saudi Arabia will get the chance to compete against the winners from more than 25 countries present at the Web Summit in Lisbon, Portugal.

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The partnership between the two organizations reflects KPMG’s commitment to supporting the development of Saudi Arabia's innovation ecosystem, and Monsha’at's dedication to fostering the growth of the country’s start-ups and entrepreneurs.

“This competition comes as part of our global strategy to empower and support entrepreneurs and technology pioneers to scale their ideas and innovations into success stories,” commented Khalil Ibrahim Al Sedais, Regional Managing Partner – Riyadh at KPMG in Saudi Arabia. “We are proud to partner with Monsha’at as this really helps to spread the word among the entrepreneurial community for entrepreneurs to apply to our competition and put our Saudi startups in the spotlight.”

Saud Alsabhan, Vice Governor, Entrepreneurship at Monsha’at, commented: “We are happy to see initiatives launched by the private sector that support and help develop our entrepreneurial ecosystem. The partnership is very much aligned with Vision 2030, which aims to support entrepreneurship and innovation in the Kingdom and will leverage the expertise and resources of both organizations to provide aspiring entrepreneurs and start-ups with the right exposure, guidance and mentorship.”

The competition is now open and the last date for submitting the online application form is June 30, 2023. Local finals will be held on August 30 in KPMG’s Insights Center in its Riyadh head office in front of a panel of judges that will be announced over the coming months.
In 2022, OTO, a provider of innovative e-commerce delivery management technologies, won the second GTI competition in Saudi Arabia.
“Regardless of whether a business is a pure technology company, tech-enabled, tech-led, or tech-driven, we acknowledge the potential of these entities to shape the future. With the GTI initiative, we invite entrepreneurs to showcase and pitch their ideas, opening doors to becoming tomorrow's success story,” according to Dr. Samer Abdallah, Head of ICT Sector at KPMG in Saudi Arabia, and a judge on the panel.

“Each pitching competition will be judged by a panel consisting of investors, industry experts, entrepreneurs, and KPMG professionals, who will assign a score to each application based on six equally weighted criteria. These criteria include disruption and innovation, market potential, customer adoption, market traction and marketing, long-term potential, and pitch quality.”

Start-ups with a foundation in tech and strong societal impact are especially invited to participate. In 2022, HiiROC, the UK-based start-up and developer of a system to produce low-cost, zero-emission hydrogen, was crowned the global GIT winner. They managed to win and overcome fierce competition from over 1,100 applicants across 22 countries and jurisdictions during the national stages.

The countries/regions/jurisdictions participating in the 2023 competition include Australia, Brazil, China, Colombia, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Ghana, India, Ireland, Japan, Kenya, Mexico, Netherlands, Nigeria, Portugal, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, South Africa, Sweden, Taiwan, United Kingdom, United States, and Vietnam.

Read more: UAE’s Funding Souq on track to finance its 100th SME loan this year