The Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT) launched Sunday the 2nd edition of the Technology Pioneers program, which is held virtually to target male and female entrepreneurs in all regions of the Kingdom. The program aims to enhance the role of entrepreneurs in the field of technology to contribute to the development of their business models and enable them to find innovative markets that can adopt their ideas and turn them into real pioneering projects by providing them with a package of quality tools and solutions, and support them technically, administratively and financially. In its first version, the program succeeded in engaging 50 leading new technology companies in the field of innovative solutions and applications in the competition market, in cooperation with more than 50 partners in the public and private sectors in support of Saudi entrepreneurs. The support was through offering financial and technical packages equivalent to SR150,000 per project via organizing several activities such as training camps, counseling sessions, and other services to facilitate market penetration, targeting several vital and important sectors. The second edition, however, covers different sectors including culture, sports, Awqaf, and financial technology, in cooperation with the Ministry of Culture, the Ministry of Sports, the General Authority for Awqaf, and Fintech Saudi to support emerging projects in the program tracks. Furthermore, the second edition of the program is a strategic initiative that seeks to meet the challenges of the targeted sectors and digitize the services provided to develop a digital economy based on a solid digital structure, aiming to keep pace with the fourth industrial revolution so that the Kingdom continues its path of achievements and successes at the technical and economic levels. The program also seeks to empower all sectors and non-profit organizations and support entrepreneurs in the technical field to gain experience and develop the skills necessary for the success of their projects, access to data and information, benefit from guidance services and specialists in the sector, open investment horizons, benefit from business accelerators, in addition to the allocation of valuable prizes which will be offered to the winning projects. The participants will choose one of the program's two tracks, namely the business incubator for projects in the idea stage, and the business accelerator for existing projects. The business incubator track consists of two phases and aims to attract and offer participants with new ideas that cover one of the challenges of the targeted sectors a one-month of training and mentoring whereas the best 32 distinguished ideas will be able to enroll in a 3-month program of support, training and guidance delivered by the most famous local and international technology business experts. In addition, 12 emerging projects will have the opportunity to participate in the business accelerator track to obtain intensive training and valuable advice, and the opportunity to gain experiences from leaders in local and international technical fields during the 3 months of the program. The innovations in both tracks will enjoy financial rewards amounting to SR1 million and include the latest developments in the rapidly growing world of technology. The winning ideas will be honored at the conclusion of the program. Interested parties can apply to participate in the program by uploading their projects or promising ideas to the initiative's website (https://www.techchampions.sa/). The deadline for submission is April 25, 2021. The website offers all resources and data that the applicants need, and it also allows them to communicate with the program's management team. Registration, submission and evaluation of the projects will be electronic and through the program's website. The ministry had held more than 40 partnerships with major local and international companies working in the field of technology and business management to ensure the provision of intensive technical training programs to provide the Kingdom's participants with the technical and entrepreneurial skills necessary to meet the challenges of the field, and to create technical solutions that can meet the requirements of the future. — SPA
