JEDDAH: Two Saudi startups will get the chance to travel to Silicon Valley in California, where they will meet with officials from several of the world’s biggest tech companies, having won a contest run by Saudi female startup group Blossom.
The Swish Basketball Academy, which started life as a series of basketball training camps, and the Sticky Mobile App, a photography program for phones, were the two successful startups.
The pair succeeded from a shortlist of five, narrowed down from an original list of over 100 applicants. They will now spend time in the US, where they will interact with officials from firms such as Google, Facebook and Uber, and get the chance to sit on Blossom’s panel at its annual event on June 26, previously opened by the new Saudi ambassador to the US, Princess Reema Bint Bandar, in San Francisco.
Blossom, Saudi Arabia’s first female-focused startup accelerator, spent four months screening the applicants.
Its founder and CEO, Emon Shakoor, told Arab News that during the process, the shortlisted applicants had taken part in mentoring sessions, workshops and pitching sessions, and attended lectures on an array of topics from digital marketing to business modeling.
“The five startups accepted into Blossom’s accredited accelerator for this year were: Ghaliah, a plant food alternative for providing non-dairy products; Homegrown Market, a concept store housing over 135 brands; Swish, the leading Saudi basketball academy; Sticky, an iOS mobile application and photo printing service; and the Jeddah Ballet Academy and Motion Boutique, a performing arts school,” Shakoor said.
Swish launched in October 2017 with a program called “MoHandles Basketball Camps,” aimed at teaching basketball enthusiasts the basics of the game. The founding coach of the academy, Mohanned Shobain, a Saudi professional basketball player, has been coaching for 10 years and holds a master’s degree in sports business from Cleveland State University, Ohio.
Shobain said that it was an amazing feeling to have been recognized by Blossom. “Our plan is to expand and be able to reach more communities in order to raise awareness of sports, for men and women of all ages.”
The Sticky App, meanwhile, is an app for taking and then printing photographs digitally. Sticky co-founder Albatool Misky said: “In the future, we plan to introduce new sizes and expand to the rest of the Middle East and North Africa.
“Also, we plan to keep innovating and introducing new smart, simple and contemporary photography products. Our goal at Sticky is to help people elevate their space with their beautiful memories.”
2 Saudi entrepreneurs to meet with Facebook, Uber and Google officials
2 Saudi entrepreneurs to meet with Facebook, Uber and Google officials
- Swish launched in October 2017 with a program called “MoHandles Basketball Camps,” aimed at teaching basketball enthusiasts the basics of the game
SDAIA president says Saudi Arabia is building an integrated AI ecosystem
RIYADH: Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority President Abdullah Al-Ghamdi says that Saudi Arabia is moving steadily to establish artificial intelligence as a trusted national capability, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
Guided by the objectives of Saudi Vision 2030, Al-Ghamdi said the goal is to use AI to help develop government services, enhance competitiveness, build human capacity and improve quality of life through a comprehensive strategy based on three main pillars that unlock the potential of this technology and achieve sustainable developmental impact.
“The first pillar focuses on building human capacity and enhancing readiness to engage with AI technologies,” he said.
The second pillar is building an integrated national AI ecosystem that drives expansion and innovation by developing advanced digital infrastructure that enables various sectors to adopt AI applications efficiently, consistently and with effective governance, Al-Ghamdi said.
The third pillar, he said, is governance that ensures responsible and measurable AI through a national framework aligned with international standards.
This came during Al-Ghamdi’s speech at a high-level ministerial session held on Thursday on the sidelines of the AI Impact Summit 2026 in New Delhi.
He is heading the Saudi delegation, and the session saw broad participation from heads of state, decision-makers and technology leaders from around the world.
Al-Ghamdi also had a meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday evening, discussed AI cooperation and expressed his gratitude for hosting the summit and for the hospitality extended to the participants.
