Empowering Entrepreneurs: TAQADAM’s Seventh Cohort Prepares to Pitch | KAUST Innovation
Summary
Twenty-four startups from the seventh TAQADAM cohort at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology are gearing up to pitch their business ideas to investors at the final showcase taking place on March 3, 2024. he said.Based in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, BuildBench (formerly ProTenders) uses digital e-tendering processes to help connect construction companies at all stages in the industry from developers and architects to contractors and suppliers while helping them to find new deals, access project data, streamline their work and manage bidding activities across the Middle East.With US$5.3 million (SAR 20 million) in seed funding raised across five funding rounds, BuildBench is expanding operations in the Kingdom and is poised to onboard some 9,000 Saudi companies to its platform in the next two years. With so much construction comes the opportunity for BuildBench to empower local businesses to thrive, open doors to foreign enterprise and contribute to the Kingdoms economic diversification.BuildBench emerged from the TAQADAM marketing workshops with a clear outline of how it intends to leverage its in-depth knowledge of the construction landscape in the Middle East to attract new clients and increase team productivity and sales activities.Co-founder and CEO Karim Helal said: With its well-structured sessions and wide array of relevant mentors, TAQADAM has been extremely instrumental in helping us better understand the nuances of Saudi Arabia and has prepared us for our expansion into the KSA market with the ambitious goal of becoming the first construction-tech unicorn to emerge from the region.For companies that need help hiring the right talent for the job, Talents Arena offers advanced matchmaking solutions. The journey is exceptionally designed to assist us in refining our products, market positioning, pricing and strategies to effectively cater to the dynamic Saudi market.Trh Capital, based in Riyadh, contributes to the economic development of the Kingdom by providing Shariah-compliant financing and investment avenues to companies and individuals through Sukuk a type of Islamic bond with ownership in financial assets. According to Khalid Alhindi, Chief Technology Officer at Trh, ease of financing is designed to help enterprises of all sizes borrow and move money, which will hopefully yield lucrative results and stimulate the economy.KAUST is proud of all the startups that joined the 7th Cohort of TAQADAM.