• The Saudi Arabia Future Hospitality Summit reintroduces its ‘Startup Den,’ offering exposure, mentorship, funding, and incubation support for entrepreneurs.
• Ten finalists will pitch their business ideas to a panel of expert judges, with winners announced during the summit.
• The initiative targets young hospitality businesses under 3 years old, with a focus on Saudi startups and global participants.

FHS

What happened? The Saudi Arabia Future Hospitality Summit announced the return of its ‘Startup Den.’ This program offers opportunities for hospitality entrepreneurs to secure exposure, mentorship, potential funding and prizes such as incubation support.

As part of the events on the FHS Saudi Arabia agenda, it is an opportunity for the region’s hospitality entrepreneurs to present their business model to an esteemed panel of judges and investors.

Who are they? Based in Riyadh, FHS Saudi Arabia seeks to attract investors, hotel owners, operators and leading C-level executives from the hospitality industry. The summit features panel discussions, workshops and networking opportunities aiming to foster the region’s hospitality sector.

Hospitality 

What is in it for participants?  Ten finalists will be selected to make their business case to the panel. This panel consists of  Fahad Al Obailan, Group CEO, BAAN Holding, and Khalid Alsatti, Senior Specialists, UN Tourism, In addition to, Sundip Patel, CEO Ezdaher Financing Company and Ahmad Arab, Founding Partner, Horwath HTL Saudi.

Each finalist will have five minutes to present their concept, business model, and supporting data to the judges. There will also be two minutes for the judges’ questions. Additionally, the winners will be announced during the FHS summit. 

Who is eligible? The Startup Den is available to young businesses in the hospitality sector with a viable product or service. Companies must be less than three years old, have an annual revenue of under USD 1 million, employ between 2 and 30 people. In addition, they are required to have raised between USD 450,000 to USD 500,000 through seed or early stage funding. Although the focus is on Saudi businesses, companies from elsewhere are also welcome.

Why does this matter? This comes amid tourism surging in Saudi as part of their Vision 2030.

“With KSA’s unprecedented tourism transformation as part of Vision 30 well under way and major events like Expo 2030 and FIFA World Cup 2034 drawing near, entrepreneurship is fundamental to the continued success and evolution of the country’s hospitality and tourism sector,” said Jonathan Worsley, Chairman of FHS organiser The Bench.