As part of their mission to diversify the national economy away from a reliance on oil, authorities in Saudi Arabia are actively encouraging a spirit of entrepreneurism among the youth of the country, particularly those interested in working in the Kingdom’s burgeoning tourism and hospitality sector.
To drive this agenda forward, academic institutions are teaming up with the private sector to organize events and activities that will help to incubate a start-up culture and develop homegrown industries.
One example of this partnership is a new collaboration between Saudi Arabia’s Effat University and Kerten Hospitality that aims to offer young people a chance to take part in mentoring sessions and hackathons, social coding events that bring computer programmers and other developers together to improve upon or build new software systems, while also providing support to students who want to start their own businesses.
“As a lifestyle, ESG, mixed-use operator, we are going to remain focused on our key areas — support for the local community and the young generation of hospitality players — and focus on locality in all its spheres, such as hiring and upskilling local talent, and driving innovation,” Marloes Knippenberg, CEO of Kerten Hospitality, told Arab News.
ESG refers to the non-financial environmental, social and governance factors and goals that influence corporate decisions.
Read the article published in Arab News here
