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His Royal Highness Prince Andrew, the Duke of York, made a special visit to King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC) to participate in the inauguration of the entrepreneurship program “KAEC Startups” in collaboration with HRH the Duke of York’s entrepreneurship platform “Pitch on Tour”. HRH was received by Mr. Mohanud Helal, Secretary General of the Economic Cities Authority (ECA) and Mr. Fahd Al-Rasheed, Group CEO and MD of KAEC, as well as senior executives from both sides. The event was attended by more than 130 guests including entrepreneurship thought leaders, financiers, incubators, accelerators and industry experts.

The visit started with an overview of KAEC’s Master Plan accompanied by a documentary film and followed by a tour of The World Academy, the first school in KAEC, where the launch of an entrepreneurship program titled ‘Dragons Den’ kicked off for students that allows them to pitch their business plans to a panel of judges. Following the school visit, HRH visited the Bay La Sun Hotel and Marina where lunch was served, followed by speeches and a series of pitches by entrepreneurs from Saudi Arabia and the UK, each entrepreneur presented their business ideas.

The key focus of the Royal visit was; “Education and young entrepreneurs”, HRH Prince Andrew applauded KAEC Startups entrepreneurship program, and said: “There is one thing that I noticed in the UK, many who have the experience want to help others to be successful. We have to encourage the young business to grow as fast as possible, and there is a huge potential in KSA, during my visit I noticed the government is encouraging entrepreneurship, and the young people to get skilled, as skills can make the difference.” HRH concluded:” I believe that the entrepreneurs can impact positively and make a huge change across the whole world, and KAEC’s vision can be the great start and support for these entrepreneurs.”

Commenting on the Duke of York’s visit, Mr. Mohanud Helal, said: “We are honoured by the interest shown by HRH in King Abdullah Economic City. The high profile nature of his visit will be invaluable not only in establishing KAEC as the gateway for British enterprises entering the kingdom, but also as the launch pad for Saudi entrepreneurs to enter the global business arena.”

After thanking HRH for visiting King Abdullah Economic City and his initiative in proposing entrepreneurship as the theme of the event, Mr. Al-Rasheed said: “We are honored to host HRH The Duke of York in KAEC for this strategic launch of our entrepreneurship platform. Today’s event marks the start of a new direction that complements our strategy in attracting large companies by empowering and incubating entrepreneurs.” Al-Rasheed continued: “Furthermore, this event has rightfully positioned KAEC as an ecosystem that brings together the best entrepreneurial support organizations in Saudi Arabia and the UK including strategic partners such as Saudi Aramco, KAUST, BADIR, and Qutoof to participate with us in this event. We are excited about the future prospects for these entrepreneurial ventures and we are keen to glue this ecosystem together by providing the necessary support to these entrepreneurs.

KAEC will sponsor the best of these Saudi entrepreneurs on a learning trip to the UK where they will develop their skill sets and leverage the British entrepreneurial ecosystem.