Nawaf Al-Sahhaf, chief executive officer of Badir.

:: King Abdul Aziz City for Science and Technology (KACST) through the Badir program is seeking to establish more than 600 additional companies that would contribute to the creation of 3,600 jobs.

Nawaf Al-Sahhaf, chief executive officer of Badir, said here that the program has incubated 127 technical projects through its five incubators, generating a market value of SR331 million ($88.26 million) for 34 of these projects alone.

He added that some 786 jobs for young Saudis were created as a result. Also, the program is in the process of opening new incubators in the cities of Abha, Buraida, Dammam, and other cities around the Kingdom by 2020.

KACST is seeking to promote incubators and accelerators, and expand activities into nine regions, in line with the Kingdom’s vision at the technical level, and help stimulate the national economy and development.

This plan falls within KACST’s policy to encourage, support and promote the cognitive economy and entrepreneurship. It is a step in the government’s efforts to diversify economic sources by developing non-oil technical industries and promoting innovations and creations.

“Saudis and Saudi companies, when properly empowered, can deliver extraordinary innovative solutions to local and regional problems. We foresee further innovation in solving issues in the fields of medicine and energy, with the use of IT applications to innovate solutions that further streamline the everyday tasks that we do,” Al-Sahhaf said.