Talabat Champions Kuwait’s Digital Future at Influential Leadership Roundtable

Talabat has been back in the spotlight in Kuwait this week, taking on the role of Executive Sponsor for the latest roundtable in the Thought Leadership Circle series, hosted by the Kuwait Direct Investment Promotion Authority and organised by The Business Year. The session, held at the Chairman’s Club in KIPCO Tower, carried the theme “Reshaping the Digital Landscape” and gathered an interesting mix of public and private‑sector voices under the patronage of Omar Saud Al‑Omar, the Minister of State for Communication Affairs.

From what was shared, the aim was clear enough: push Kuwait closer to its goal of becoming a regional hub for digital innovation and AI, in line with the country’s Vision 2035 strategy. Talabat’s presence fits neatly into that picture. The company has long been cited as one of Kuwait’s most recognisable tech success stories, and its leadership seems keen on underlining how digital partnerships, new technologies and talent development all tie together.

Representing the company, Bader Al‑Ghanim, its Vice President and Managing Director in Kuwait, spoke about Talabat’s evolution through what he described as a digital‑first, people‑centric approach. One comment of his stuck with me: “It’s fascinating what a company can achieve when different parties collaborate, each contributing a different strength and perspective.” Spot on, really. Anyone who has spent time around startups in the region—like many of us at Arageek have—will know how those unexpected alliances often push things forward faster than anything else. Of course, as Al‑Ghanim pointed out, it only works if there’s a smart, reliable infrastructure behind it.

Throughout the roundtable, he also broke the company’s growth down into four pillars: building a regional digital hub, developing strategic collaborations, strengthening cybersecurity, and investing in human capital. I reckon that last point is the one many companies talk about but don’t always follow through on. Talabat appears intent on proving the opposite, arguing that its people‑centric culture has been core to its success—even back when on‑demand e‑commerce felt like a bit of a gamble in Kuwait.

Al‑Ghanim went on to explain how the company uses AI tools and data insights to keep improving services for customers, riders and partners. These insights, he noted, also help identify which skills employees need, guiding the internal learning and talent development teams to update their programmes. On the flip side, none of this digital progress comes without risk, and he stressed the importance of a strong cybersecurity framework supported by a wider culture of cyber awareness. With new fraud schemes appearing almost every time a fresh technology emerges, it’s hardly a surpirse that this has become a priority across the ecosystem.

The discussion circled back to Kuwait’s broader ambitions and the progress already made on digital infrastructure, particularly the shift away from siloed work and towards partnerships—something that Talabat credits as part of its own regional expansion story. And believe it or not, these partnerships stretch even further than the delivery app’s core business. The company continues to support Academy X, known as Kuwait’s largest initiative for empowering women in technology and entrepreneurship.

Listening to all this, I couldn’t help thinking how the landscape here has changed over the years. When I first met founders in Kuwait, many were still wrestling with basic digital adoption. Now we’re talking AI ecosystems and national digital hubs. Quite a journey, really, and events like this roundtable show how many pieces need to come together to keep that momentum going.

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