Zoho Corp., a global technology company, signed an MoU with the Saudi-based Falak Investment Hub to work together to digitally empower youth and startups in Saudi Arabia, and support them in their digital transformation journey.
As per the MoU, Zoho will provide startups associated with the Falak Investment Hub network wallet credit worth $2,500, an initiative by the “Zoho for Startups” program. The wallet credit can be used for accessing any of its 50+ products. In addition, members of the Falak Investment Hub will get access to learning resources and training workshops by Zoho’s team to help them digitize their business.
The MoU was signed by Adwa Al-Dakheel, founder and CEO at Falak Investment Hub, and Hyther Nizam, president Middle East and Africa at Zoho Corp.
“With a booming ecosystem, a young and ambitious population, and a rising talent landscape, Saudi Arabia is on the forefront of innovation and startup ecosystems in the MENA — and such ecosystems are worthy of local and global partnerships to elevate benchmarks, cultivate entrepreneurial thinking, and inspire greatness from every existing founder and future founder. As long-term users of Zoho’s superior tools, we’re proud to formalize and scale this partnership for the betterment of Saudi Arabia’s local ecosystem,” Al-Dakheel said.
Falak and Zoho are also jointly conducting a series of bootcamp sessions, which will offer hands-on training on low-code, using the platform Zoho Creator, for university students in the Kingdom who aspire to test their ideas and hone their entrepreneurship skills. This comes as part of Falak’s Future Founders Program.
The first bootcamp took place from June 26-30 at the Falak Investment Hub, which was attended by students from the Prince Sultan University.
Nizam said: “We are pleased to collaborate with Falak Investment Hub to provide an added value to the developers, startup and the entrepreneurship community in Saudi through our unique business offerings. By coming together with a leading partner such as Falak, we aim to train and enable young talents and budding entrepreneurs with the tools needed to stay ahead of the curve.”
This partnership is part of Zoho’s continued efforts to expand operations in the Kingdom and extend its 50+ digital offerings to the business community as well as embed digital literacy skills within the academic curriculum, in line with the nation’s digital transformation aspirations.”
Founded in 2018 by Aldakheel, Falak is a unique hybrid of a business hub, an angel investors network and an investment-backed accelerator program for MENA-based tech startups with a focus on Saudi Arabia.