Riyadh - Sharikat Mubasher: Saudi Arabia’s Tourism Development Fund (TDF) celebrated the graduation of 15 startups from the first cohort of the TDF Grow Accelerator program that aims to enhance innovation and sustainability in the Saudi tourism sector.

In a statement, the TDF revealed that the accelerator program helped startups collect investments exceeding SAR 18 million to date.

The 15 startups are FlyAkeed, Eilago, Darent, Jaras, Hido, H2O Hospitality, GuestNa, FoodiZone, Rehla, Murshdk, Mabaat, inHovate, Verofax Limited, The Digital Hotelier, and Spiders.

The fund organized the demo day and the accompanying exhibition for the graduates in the KAFD Conference Center in Riyadh, in the presence of key investment leaders, entrepreneurs, and several stakeholders interested in tourism investments.

Throughout the past few months, the accelerator program provided more than 20 training and guidance sessions to empower participant startups to enrich the tourism sector in the Kingdom.

Saud Mohammed, Executive Director of TDF Grow, delivered a speech on behalf of TDF’s CEO Qusai Al-Fakhri where he emphasized the importance of the TDF's programs in promoting innovation and sustainable development of the Saudi tourism sector.

“This success reflects our ongoing commitment to supporting entrepreneurial ideas and promising initiatives that contribute to efficiently implementing the national tourism strategy and reinforcing the Kingdom’s standing as a global tourism destination,” the official added.

The TDF Grow Accelerator program is an initiative by the TDF Grow Center that aims to empower entrepreneurs in the tourism sector by providing the support they need to develop innovative tech solutions, facilitate communication with investors and sector leaders, and encourage promising tourism startups to contribute to realizing the objectives of the national tourism strategy.