The new Wadi Jeddah Innovation Hub has officially opened in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia and joins the CIC Global Network. Over the past several years, Saudi Arabia has pursued an ambitious agenda to modernize its economy and diversify beyond energy, with a key part of this effort being the creation of innovation districts—referred locally as techno valleys—across the country.
After meeting at a national conference focused on innovation districts in Saudi Arabia, CIC and Wadi Jeddah began exploring how CIC could meaningfully support their ambition to develop a startup ecosystem in Jeddah. This resulted in CIC partnering with Waddi Jeddah to develop a new 10,000-square-foot innovation center, intended to serve as a hub for startup activity emerging from both the university and the broader city.
“Our work with Wadi Jeddah has focused on transferring our knowledge on how to launch and operate a world-class innovation hub, while connecting university talent and founders in Jeddah to a truly global ecosystem,” said Dougan Sherwood, Partner, CIC Catalyst. “The opening of the Wadi Jeddah Innovation Hub is an exciting milestone and a powerful first step in building a durable, locally rooted platform for innovation.”
Wadi Jeddah Techno Valley is a nascent innovation district located on Saudi Arabia’s west coast along the Red Sea, in the city of Jeddah. Like many innovation districts, Wadi Jeddah is anchored by a strong university partner—King Abdulaziz University, the largest university in Saudi Arabia. Jeddah itself is the Kingdom’s second-largest city after Riyadh and plays a critical economic and cultural role.
The Wadi Jeddah Innovation Hub is intentionally positioned as Phase One of a larger, long-term strategy to establish Jeddah as a global innovation city. The strategic verticals for the Wadi Jeddah innovation district will focus on four areas: healthtech & biotech, smart cities & mobility, food tech & manufacturing, and advanced materials & manufacturing.
Drawing on more than 26 years of experience operating global innovation campuses, CIC’s role in this partnership has been to advise Wadi Jeddah on how to both plan, program and launch, as well as operate, an innovation center. This includes guidance on staffing, training, day-to-day operations, programming, community building, and sales—areas where CIC has developed deep expertise. Rather than operating the center directly, CIC is transferring knowledge, tools, and best practices to enable long-term local success.
“Through our partnership with CIC, Wadi Jeddah Innovation Hub (WJIH) is enabling a new model of collaboration that transforms research and talent into market-ready solutions, supporting Saudi Arabia’s innovation and economic diversification goals,” said Dr. Majid Nour, General Director, Innovation & Entrepreneurship Department, Wadi Jeddah.
The Wadi Jeddah Innovation Hub joining the CIC Global Network reflects a shared commitment to collaboration and community.
The Wadi Jeddah Innovation Hub is scheduled to host its formal launch on February 1, 2026.
