FII Institute signs agreement with Saudi British Joint Business Council to become a founding partner of the Saudi/UK Tech Hub
The Future Investment Initiative (FII) Institute has agreed to become a founding partner of the Saudi/UK Tech Hub and contribute to the project’s start-up costs.
The agreement with the Saudi British Joint Business Council (SBJBC UK) was signed at the 5th Anniversary FII in Riyadh on 27 October by Richard Attias, CEO of the FII Institute and Chris Innes-Hopkins, Executive Director of SBJBC UK.
The Saudi/UK Tech Hub will link Saudi and UK tech-entrepreneurs and innovation hubs with potential partners and investors through a virtual platform, joint events and a business growth programme. It will help to connect Saudi and British start-ups and scale-ups in key sectors, promote knowledge sharing and increase deal flow.
A Joint Technology Council representing Saudi and British founding partners will be established to give strategic direction to the project. The Saudi Ministry of Communications & IT (MCIT) and the British Government’s Science & Innovation Network have pledged their support along with a number of UK and Saudi public and private sector stakeholders.
Speaking at the signing ceremony, Chris Innes-Hopkins (Executive Director, SBJBC UK) said:
“SBJBC is delighted to welcome the FII Institute as a founding partner. The Saudi/UK Tech Hub builds on great opportunities for collaboration between the UK and Saudi technology sectors including fintech, cleantech and healthtech. We look forward to working closely with the FII on implementation.”
Richard Attias, CEO of the FII Institute said:
“The United Kingdom – home to many of humanity’s greatest inventions – will bring the best of what it knows to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia”
“The challenges we face are too large for any single entity acting alone, too large for any government or a single company. These challenges require public private partnership. This is the spirit of the Saudi-UK Tech Hub – it is a modest and practical step in that direction.”
