Riyadh - Sharikat Mubasher: RLC Global Forum, a leading gathering for the world’s most influential retail leaders, innovators, and policymakers, launched the NextGen Retail Challenge, the first industry-led national initiative, to strengthen Saudi Arabia’s retail sector.

The initiative provides a structured national platform to shape the industry’s future workforce and leadership pipeline, filling a growing gap between the sector’s expanding scale and complexity and the availability of skilled talent, according to a recent official statement.

The NextGen Retail Challenge initiative is developed and governed by RLC Global Forum in partnership with the Saudi Small and Medium Enterprises General Authority (Monsha’at) and the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center at Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University (PNU). It aims to reinforce retail’s role as a leading driver of private-sector growth, innovation, and employment in Saudi Arabia.

Panos Linardos, Chairman of RLC Global Forum, said: “The NextGen Retail Challenge reflects a shared commitment by the industry to treat retail as a national economic system and to ensure that future leaders are prepared for its scale, complexity, and strategic importance.”

In turn, Maram Sabri, Director of Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center at PNU, stated that as part of the initiative, the university positions academic talent at the center of retail transformation. “By fostering innovation, strengthening entrepreneurial capabilities, and translating knowledge into practical solutions, we support the development of future-ready leaders that advance national priorities and champion an entrepreneurial mindset as a catalyst for the evolution of Saudi Arabia’s retail sector.”

The NextGen Retail Challenge underscores RLC Global Forum’s broader industry-led efforts to support structured dialogue, talent engagement, and long-term ecosystem development across the retail sector in Saudi Arabia.