The final chapter of the NextGen Retail Challenge unfolded on the main stage of the 2026 RLC Global Forum, marking the culmination of months of preparation, collaboration, and structured industry engagement. What began as Saudi Arabia’s first industry-led national initiative dedicated to retail talent development has now delivered measurable outcomes and, more importantly, market-ready ideas.
Launched by RLC Global Forum in partnership with the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center at Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University (PNU) AND Monsha’at, and supported by Tamara, the initiative was designed to strengthen Saudi Arabia’s future retail workforce and leadership pipeline. It aligns directly with Vision 2030 priorities, reinforcing retail’s role as a strategic economic engine within the Kingdom’s private-sector growth agenda.
But beyond policy alignment and institutional backing, the Challenge became something more dynamic: a working laboratory for the future of retail.
80 participants. 16 ideas. 5 intensive days.
The journey reached its most intensive phase during the NextGen Retail Hackathon, held from 18–22 January 2026. Over five immersive days—totaling more than 30 hours of workshops, mentoring, validation sessions, and field visits—80 participants transformed early-stage ideas into structured business models designed to operate in real market conditions.
Sixteen teams tackled pressing retail challenges, supported by industry experts from leading organizations including Tamara, Domino’s, Alshaya, and other sector partners. The program combined:
- Intensive learning workshops
- Expert-led mentoring
- Real-world validation sessions
- On-site retail visits bridging theory with practice
Participants stepped beyond the classroom to experience retail environments firsthand. Site visits included Wingstop (Apparel Group), Tamimi Market, and Riyadh Park Mall, exposing teams to operational realities across restaurants, supermarkets, pharmacies, cafés, and fashion retail spaces. These visits ensured that solutions were grounded in execution, scalability, and commercial viability.
The result: concepts that reflected operational awareness, technology integration, and an understanding of customer behavior within Saudi Arabia’s evolving retail ecosystem.
The final showcase at the 2026 RLC Global Forum
The Challenge culminated on 3–4 February at the 2026 RLC Global Forum at the Fairmont Riyadh, where finalist teams presented their refined concepts to senior industry leaders and stakeholders.
The final showcase demonstrated the maturity of the ideas developed during the NextGen Retail Hackathon; solutions designed to address real inefficiencies and growth opportunities within the sector.
Winning teams
- Mersad – A smart branch operating system enabling real-time retail execution and performance visibility
- BiteBox – Secure, temperature-controlled workplace food delivery hubs addressing last-mile efficiency
- Riyal – An AI-powered unified retail intelligence platform providing consolidated performance insights
Each project demonstrated strong commercial logic, operational feasibility, and sector relevance, qualities emphasized throughout the Challenge’s structured mentoring process.
Industry leaders at the table
The judging panel reflected the initiative’s high-level industry commitment. Senior executives included:
- Salman S. Bahabri, Chief Operating Officer, Domino’s KSA
- Nizar Bayech, Head of Strategy, Tamara
- Fawaz Altamimi, Director of the Social Entrepreneurship Department, Monsha’at
- Filippo Sgattoni, Group CEO, Alamar Food Company
- Mahmoud Mazi, General Manager of Retail, Monsha’at
- Panos Linardos, Chairman, RLC Global Forum
Their presence underscored the seriousness of the initiative. The Challenge was not positioned as a student competition, but as an industry-level dialogue about talent, innovation, and system-wide retail development.
Mentorship sessions leading up to the final presentations provided hands-on strategic feedback, elevating both execution clarity and commercial readiness.
A national platform for retail talent development
The NextGen Retail Challenge was developed and led by RLC Global Forum as part of its broader commitment to structured dialogue and long-term ecosystem growth within Saudi Arabia’s retail sector.
As Panos Linardos, Chairman of RLC Global Forum, previously emphasized, retail is one of the Kingdom’s most important economic engines. Υet, its workforce pipeline requires deliberate, industry-led action. The initiative directly addresses the widening gap between the sector’s growing scale and complexity and the availability of specialized talent.
Dr. Maram Sabri, Director of the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center at PNU, highlighted the importance of positioning academic talent at the center of retail transformation: fostering innovation, strengthening entrepreneurial capability, and translating knowledge into practical solutions aligned with national priorities.
Tamara’s support further strengthened the ecosystem dimension of the initiative, reflecting the increasing integration of fintech within retail strategy across the Kingdom.
The beginning of a long-term commitment
The energy on stage at the 2026 RLC Global Forum was unmistakable. The competition was strong. The scrutiny was rigorous. But the most important takeaway was clear: the ideas were viable and ready to move forward.
The NextGen Retail Challenge has established a replicable model for industry–academia collaboration in Saudi Arabia. It demonstrates how structured engagement, mentorship, and real-world validation can convert emerging talent into future sector leaders. More than a one-off initiative, it marks the foundation of a long-term national platform designed to shape the next generation of Saudi retail innovation.
