The new company — called Saudi Aramco Entrepreneurship Center Co. Ltd. or “Wa’ed” — is wholly-owned by Saudi Aramco.

According to a report on the company’s website, the new company will be a major financer and incubator of new businesses in the Kingdom. It will contribute to spreading a culture of entrepreneurship and will help introduce the entrepreneurial eco-system in the Kingdom.

In addition to creating job opportunities for Saudis, the indirect benefits of the entities to be financed by Wa’ed will be significant as well. For example, these projects are expected to promote development, innovation and contribute to the diversity of the national economy.

Wa’ed Managing Director Fahd Al-Semari has announced a plan to create an economic group — in cooperation with King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals — to establish a project incubator in the university in 2012 and 2013.

The plan comes as a testament to the existence of many patents and innovations — the creations of promising university students — that are diverse and capable of producing investment entities that will spur and support the Kingdom’s economy.

Moutassim Al-Ma’shouq, vice president of new business development at Saudi Aramco, said: “The new company’s success will encourage young Saudis to submit ideas and get supported by Wa’ed in formalizing the business plans and obtain funding. The competencies and resources resulting from the projects will be re-invested in the next generation of new projects, which will further enhance entrepreneurship in the Kingdom.”

This initiative comes from Saudi Aramco’s conviction that in the 21st century, economic success requires creative and ambitious investment strategies. “This is where Saudi Aramco plays a multi-faceted role by providing the environment for projects to prosper,” said Al-Ma’shouq.

Wa’ed will continue to build on these pillars by nurturing entrepreneurship to support the growth and diversification of the national economy.

Saudi Aramco’s board of directors approved the formation of Wa’ed in the beginning of this year to become an independent company fully owned by Saudi Aramco based on the success of its pilot project that was started in 2010.

The pilot project resulted in financing various projects in the fields of storage of chemical materials, mechanical technology, material recycling, and interactive learning.

Wa’ed has already held training sessions in Dammam, Riyadh and Jeddah that were attended by more than 250 young entrepreneurs.

By the end of December, the interactive website of Wa’ed company (www.waed.net) will be launched. The modern site is designed to be easy to access and used by entrepreneurs. It will be an electronic cooperative portal with advanced electronic tools to link entrepreneurs with various tools and multimedia on a single interactive website that contains training materials on a variety of subjects.