Zain partners with 'Itlaq' to empower business owners and executives in the digital economy

- Partnership with the Communications Authority and the US Embassy to enhance productivity and innovation

- Khaled Al-Zamil: Local capacity building must be accompanied by clear mandates and data privacy protection

- Nawaf Al-Gharbali: Zain’s ambition goes beyond adopting technologies to leveraging them to create real value

- Stephen Butler: The program is a direct investment in Kuwait’s talents and the future of its economy

- Khaled Al-Anqi: The experience transitions participants from understanding the potential of AI agents to deploying them for clear objectives

- Nida Al-Daihani: Empowering innovators to transform knowledge into practical solutions contributes to building Kuwait’s future

Zain Kuwait announced its strategic partnership with “Iltiqaa” to introduce “The Agentic AI Experience” in Kuwait, a joint initiative aimed at supporting the adoption of emerging technologies and transforming artificial intelligence potential into practical capabilities that serve the business sector and contribute to enhancing the innovation ecosystem and digital economy in Kuwait. The experience, created and organized by “Iltiqaa,” empowers business owners, executives, and leaders to build teams of AI agents and deploy them practically in alignment with their business needs.

The announcement came during an event hosted by Zain at its headquarters in Shuwaikh, attended by Dr. Khaled Al-Zamil, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Public Authority for Communications and Information Technology (PACIT); Nawaf Al-Gharbali, CEO of Zain Kuwait; Stephen Butler, Chargé d’Affaires of the US Embassy in Kuwait; Khaled Al-Anqi, Founder and CEO of Iltiqaa Consulting; and Nida Al-Daihani, General Manager of the Sabah Al-Ahmad Center for Talent and Creativity.

The intensive training program will be held at the Gulf University for Science and Technology (GUST) from November 2 to December 2, 2026. Sessions will take place on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays from 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM Kuwait time. These hours refer specifically to the intensive training sessions and do not represent the full duration of the experience, which includes all its components. Registration is available via the link: https://www.theagenticaiexperience.com. The experience begins with participants’ business needs and connects them to practical applications of Agentic AI—systems that enable AI agents to execute specific tasks and coordinate work under human supervision. The goal is to empower each participant to build a team of agents that serves those needs, within clear responsibilities, mandates, and specific checkpoints for obtaining human approval, without requiring a technical background.

In his remarks, Al-Zamil said, “Our ambition is to see local talent build solutions that serve our community and carry Kuwait’s name to broader competitive horizons. Every skill our youth acquire today expands what they can achieve tomorrow. The Authority’s role in the field of Agentic AI relates to regulating information technology services and protecting users and their data privacy. Given the ability of these systems to perform actions on behalf of users, defining their mandates and assigning responsibility for their actions becomes a fundamental requirement.”

For his part, Al-Gharbali stated, “Artificial intelligence is undergoing rapid development that is reshaping the business environment and granting institutions new capabilities for innovation and growth. Agentic AI represents a crucial stage in this new transition. At Zain, our ambition is not limited to keeping pace with and adopting new technologies, but rather leveraging them to create real value within a framework that preserves the role of human decision-making and enhances accountability, security, and responsible governance.”

He added: “Our strategic partnership with the Agentic AI Experience initiative extends our role in supporting Kuwait’s innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem, empowering entrepreneurs and startups to access modern technologies, knowledge, and practical skills that help them develop, grow, and contribute effectively to the digital economy. As Zain continues its transformation from a telecommunications company into an integrated technology company, we continue leveraging technology to create tangible impact and build an integrated digital ecosystem that balances innovation and growth on one hand, with security, governance, and responsibility on the other.”

For his part, Butler said: “The U.S. Embassy is proud to support this program as a direct investment in Kuwait’s talented youth and in the future of the Kuwaiti economy. We are living through an exceptional moment in the technology world, as today’s technologies far surpass anything previously imaginable. As former U.S. President Donald Trump stated, ‘Leading technological systems today amplify human ingenuity and open doors to new forms of creativity, making the impossible possible in science, medicine, and virtually every other field.’”

Al-Zanqi said: “The Agentic AI Experience combines my background in computer engineering with my more than two decades of experience in entrepreneurship and the business sector. This experience is designed to support business owners and non-technical leaders in applying AI agents within their organizations and daily activities. It begins by identifying business needs, then bridges technology with practical application. The goal is to help participants transition from understanding the capabilities of AI agents to actively using them to achieve specific objectives under human supervision.”

Al-Daihani said: “Our participation in the Agentic AI Experience reflects the Sabah Al-Ahmad Center for Giftedness and Creativity’s commitment to empowering youth and innovators to explore AI applications and transform knowledge into practical solutions that contribute to building Kuwait’s future.”

In addition to the intensive training program, the experience combines mentoring, dialogue sessions, project showcases, and membership opportunities, thereby enhancing continuous learning, practical application, and knowledge exchange, and helping participants convert acquired knowledge into actionable capabilities within their business environments.

This methodology contributes to strengthening digital and economic capacity building in Kuwait by assisting business decision-makers in transforming emerging technologies into practical tools that address real needs. Moreover, empowering business owners, executives, and leaders to deploy AI agents in specific areas of their operations will boost productivity, contribute to the development of new services, and enhance the private sector’s capacity for innovation and growth.

This direction aligns with the priorities of Kuwait Vision 2035 in developing human capital, increasing productivity, and enhancing the role of the private sector in building a diversified, knowledge- and innovation-based economy. In this context, the initiative focuses on building practical capabilities that enable participants to develop and responsibly guide effective teams of AI agents, ensuring that technology serves as a means to achieve tangible value and impact, rather than an end in itself.

The initiative brings together entities from the business, technology, education, innovation, and community sectors. Zain Kuwait participates as the strategic partner, while the Public Authority for Communications and Information Technology (CITRA) takes part as the digital trust partner. Launch and the U.S. Embassy in Kuwait join as Launch partners, and GUST Startup Lab and the Sabah Al-Ahmad Center for Talent and Creativity are also involved. Kuwait Cinema Company and BPG participate as media and creativity partners, while the American Chamber of Commerce in Kuwait, the Kuwait Economic Association, the Kuwait Engineers Association, and the Kuwait Association for Small and Medium Enterprises serve as community sponsors.

Through these partnerships, Zain continues to support initiatives that contribute to building and developing digital capabilities, fostering entrepreneurship, encouraging responsible technology adoption, and linking emerging technologies to the real needs of the business sector. This effort aligns with its strategy to strengthen the innovation ecosystem, support competitiveness in the private sector, and contribute to the development of Kuwait’s digital economy.