Riyadh - Sharikat Mubasher: The Saudi National Technology Development Program (NTDP) unveiled five initiatives at LEAP 2024 to support digital entrepreneurship.

The Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT), the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA), and King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) announced the AIM Initiative which targets building a platform to stimulate innovation in artificial intelligence (AI) and provide access to research and development (R&D) infrastructure.

The second initiative, named Fuel Initiative, was announced by the Saudi Venture Capital Company (SVC) to support VC funds investing in pre-seed and pre-IPO startups in the field of emerging and deep technologies.

Furthermore, the Social Development Bank (SDB) revealed the FundSwift Initiative to provide financial support for startups that have secured early-stage investments, enabling them to expand their businesses.

The MCIT launched the SourceTech Initiative to grant financial support to stimulate technology outsourcing companies to establish and expand their services in the Kingdom.

Another initiative launched by the MCIT was the Transform+ Initiative which targets providing financial grants to fill the technological gap for startups and incentivize them to adopt cloud computing.

LEAP 2024, the most-attended tech event in the world, takes place in Riyadh from 4 to 7 March to showcase government AI initiatives and the latest innovations.

Over 1,600 investors from more than 72 countries with combined assets under management (AUM) of $4.89 trillion are expected to participate in LEAP 2024.