Abdul Latif Jameel Japan signs MoU with KACST’s ‘The Garage’

Abdul Latif Jameel’s corporate office in Japan (Abdul Latif Jameel General Trading), announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with ‘The Garage’ – a start-up district of King Abdulaziz City for Science & Technology (KACST) in Saudi Arabia. The partnership is aimed at promoting large-scale business and commercial development in the Kingdom. Abdul Latif Jameel Japan has been actively fostering East-to-East trade and business since 1996. The firm specializes in bringing Japanese companies and their products and services to the world, whilst maintaining a core focus on the Middle East and Africa.

Through this MoU agreement, Abdul Latif Jameel Japan and ‘The Garage’ will actively collaborate to support and engage promising innovative Japanese start-ups, enabling them to conduct competitive product development, pilot studies, full-scale commercialization, and fundraising activity across the fields of Life Sciences, Metaverse, and Industry 4.0. The agreement will also include a range of promotional activities to increase the number of Japanese applicants for The Garage’s incubation program in line with Abdul Latif Jameel Japan’s aim to support cross-market business alliances.

Announced in February 2022, as part of Saudi Arabia’s US$ 6.4 billion in technology and startup investment at LEAP22 (the biggest tech conference the Kingdom has ever held), ‘The Garage’ is a start-up district of KACST, established to attract innovators, start-ups and disruptors from all over the world to Saudi Arabia and build a pioneering ecosystem as an international incubation hub.  

The Garage brings together multiple stakeholders including KACST, the Ministry of Communications & Information Technology (MCIT), and the Saudi Federation for Cybersecurity, Programming and Drones (SAFCSP) to support entrepreneurs, whilst also strengthening the new Saudi tech scene. It has been designed to be a hybrid model that combines business incubators and startup accelerators within an open workspace. It supports business development by providing a wide range of matching events, acceleration support, and a corporate license in Saudi Arabia.

The MoU was signed in Tokyo by the President and CEO of Abdul Latif Jameel Japan, Shigeki Enami and CEO of The Garage, Omar Al Shabaan. The President of KACST, Dr. Mounir bin Mahmoud El Desouky, also attended the signing ceremony.

Shigeki Enami, President and CEO of Abdul Latif Jameel Japan said: “The Garage project is a perfect bridge to connect innovative technology start-ups with both expertise and ultimately, potential investors, to help realize their ideas commercially.”

“With over three quarters of a century of commercial success and a long history of supporting entrepreneurs in Saudi Arabia and beyond, Abdul Latif Jameel Japan is proud to support Vision 2030’s focus on innovation in this way whilst helping promising Japanese start-ups to gain access to the support and services that they need to thrive,” he continued.

Omar Al Shabaan, CEO of The Garage, said: “The Garage was inspired by the origin stories of some of the world’s most successful tech companies like Apple, Google and Amazon, which famously launched their businesses from the inside of a garage.  Our aim is to create an environment that pays homage to this inspirational culture, which is synonymous with innovation. Through our partnership with Abdul Latif Jameel Japan, we hope to provide the perfect place for promising Japanese entrepreneurs and start-ups to turn their dreams into realities, and their ideas into innovations that can make untold contributions to Saudi Arabia and the realization of its ambitious plans for the future.”

Established in 1996, Abdul Latif Jameel Japan was initially focused on the exporting of vehicles manufactured by the Toyota Group to the Middle East.  Whilst vehicles and related exports remain the core business, the firm now operates across a diverse range of sectors including renewable energy and water management, healthcare, fintech, and edtech. The agreement with The Garage forms an important part of Abdul Latif Jameel Japan’s commitment to supporting Japanese start-ups that are making vital technological advances across these key industries,

 About Abdul Latif Jameel General Trading Co. Ltd.

Abdul Latif Jameel General Trading Co. Ltd. was established in 1996, as a Japanese corporate office of Abdul Latif Jameel.  Our business domain focuses on a range of industry sectors including Mobility, Energy & Environmental Services and Health.  Abdul Latif Jameel General Trading aims to become a leading exporter of a wide range of Japanese products and technologies to the Middle East, North Africa, Turkey, and across the Asia-Pacific region.

About Abdul Latif Jameel

Founded in 1945, and celebrating its 75th Anniversary in 2020, Abdul Latif Jameel is a private family-owned global investor and diversified business with interests that include investments, transportation and mobility, financial services, land and real estate, energy, and environmental services, health, consumer products, and advertising and media. 

The business has an operational presence in around 30 countries on six continents and employs some 11,000 people of over 40 nationalities. 

About King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST)

King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology, (KACST), is a public and scientific research institution and established in 1977, to promote domestic science and technology in Saudi Arabia. 

KACST involves science and technology policy making, data collection, funding of external research, and services such as the patent office.

About The Garage – A Start-up District of KACST

The Garage is a start-up district of King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology,(KACST), established to attract innovators, start-ups and disruptors from all over the world to Saudi Arabia to build a pioneering ecosystem as an international incubation hub.  

The Garage brings together multiple stakeholders including KACST, the Ministry of Communications & Information Technology, and SAFCSP to support entrepreneurs, to strengthen the Saudi tech scene.  

The Garage is designed to be a hybrid model that combines business incubators and startup accelerators within an open workspace. supporting business development by providing a wide range of matching events, acceleration support, and a corporate license in Saudi Arabia.