'Irbak' will showcase some of the Arab world’s rising and most promising entrepreneurs and startup owners.
MBC Group and its in-house commercial advertising and sales unit MBC Media Solutions have partnered with Saudi Federation for Cybersecurity, Programming, and Drones to launch a reality entrepreneurship competition series titled Irbak for Arab youth.
Irbak is one of the initiatives and programmes announced by Saudi Arabia’s government during the recent #LaunchKSA event—the largest technological launch of its kind in the Middle East and North Africa region.
The move follows the directives of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to achieve the goals of Vision 2030 by seizing the opportunities of the digital economy.
Speaking about the new initiative, Ahmed Al Sahhaf, CEO of MMS, said: “MMS looks forward to sharing its expertise in making Irbak; a success be it in the conceptualisation process of the show or the marketing and sales process that comes afterwards. We are happy to partner with the SAFCSP to launch Irbak, which will hopefully have a great impact in inspiring future generations to come in the Arab world.”
Faisal Al Khamis, Chairman of the SAFCSP added: “The federation takes pride in this partnership as it is considered an important step in supporting and empowering Arab youth in general and Saudi youth especially — who are passionate about technology, programming and entrepreneurship— to utilise their capabilities in supporting their country and the world. The world’s largest tech companies are founded by programmers; therefore, we believe that programming is the future, especially when it comes to the digital economy of Saudi Arabia, and the Arab world. Irbak aims to shed light on tech startups companies that have transformed the way sectors operate. We hope that the future generation of the Arab world gets inspired by the show, having them follow the example of the Arab programmers and entrepreneurs as the solution is not find a job but create jobs for everyone.”
Irbak will showcase some of the Arab world’s rising and most promising entrepreneurs and startup owners, offering insights into the region’s burgeoning tech sector, in addition to a number of other industries where young business owners are creating change.
Al-Khamis pointed out that “Irbak” aimed to shed light on tech startup companies that had transformed the way sectors operated.
The original TV concept will see more than 50 companies across different sectors compete in on-the-spot challenges and real-life scenarios, with expert mentors and consultants judging each startup and a winner being announced at the end of every episode.
As part of the partnership, MBC Group will air Irbak across three of its TV channels, while its MMS unit will provide the SAFCSP with expertise and consultation on creative conceptualisation, distribution, and marketing support.
Irbak’s ten episodes will air on MBC1, MBC IRAQ, and MBC Masr in Q1 2022.
