We’re excited to launch the first interview in our Inspiring Saudi Women Entrepreneurs series, created in partnership with the National Technology Development Program (NTDP). This series celebrates visionary Saudi women who are reshaping industries, inspiring others, and driving the Kingdom’s innovation forward.

Our first conversation features Heba Mohammed Atyah, the founder and CEO of Gameit, an AI-powered gaming platform helping children build cognitive and life skills through play. Heba’s journey began in the healthcare field, where her work with children facing developmental challenges sparked a mission to combine learning, technology, and social impact.

With the support of NTDP, Heba and her team gained valuable opportunities that accelerated Gameit’s growth and reach. Through the “Connect” program, Gameit became the first Saudi startup to partner with Microsoft and was later published on the Azure Marketplace, opening doors to global exposure. The “Boost” program, through the Code Entrepreneur Incubator, helped strengthen Gameit’s foundation and business development. Finally, the “Tech Founder” program took Heba to Berkeley and Palo Alto, California, where she explored innovation and leadership in the heart of the global tech ecosystem.

Heba’s story sets the tone for our series, a story of purpose, persistence, and how Saudi women entrepreneurs are transforming ideas into impact.

Can you share your journey into entrepreneurship and what motivated you to start your business in Saudi Arabia?

My path into entrepreneurship began when I started my professional life at King Faisal Specialist Hospital in Jeddah, in my clinic, where I worked closely with parents and their children who had speech problems and developmental challenges. Early on, I clearly witnessed the gap in support services available to children in schools to help them overcome these challenges. The matter needed innovation, but I did not know how back then.

During my clinical work at King Faisal Specialist Hospital & Research Centre in Jeddah, I started an outreach program to establish the first early intervention centers for children in the Makkah region of Saudi Arabia, in collaboration with private and public partners and the Ministry of Education. We trained specialists and teachers and provided rehabilitation services to many children for more than two years before it became a national program across KSA. That experience taught me how impactful the right systems and partnerships can be when they come together and join efforts. After that, I spent six years with the Dubai Government, contributing to their national strategy and community development. It was an incredible period of growth and learning dynamic management on a strategic level.

The real turning point came when I found myself marginalized within my department. Instead of letting that discourage me, I chose to use the situation as an opportunity to grow. I immersed myself in learning about technology, artificial intelligence, and innovation. Though it was a challenging period, it completely transformed how I viewed the world, myself, and the potential of technology to drive meaningful social impact. During that time, I created my first invention, a small MVP game designed to enhance children’s neurocognitive skills. Six months later, I was promoted to a higher position with greater responsibilities, which temporarily delayed the start of my entrepreneurial journey. However, I continued developing my innovation on the side.

In 2021, after COVID, I made the bold decision to leave my high-paying job, return home to Saudi Arabia, and start Gameit, an AI-powered gaming platform that stimulates and trains cognitive and life skills for school children while providing analytical insights to support teachers, parents, and educators. Since then, it has been an unbelievable ride, like a fast train that keeps accelerating. Every day brings something new and exciting that reminds me how grateful I am for taking that leap.

When it comes to support from the community, incubators, or accelerators, what kind of help have you received that contributed to your success as a startup founder in Saudi Arabia?

First, I have to thank my husband and my kids. They have been incredibly supportive and encouraging since I started. That has been a huge backbone for me.

When I started Gameit, it was completely self-funded from my savings. In addition, I did not know much about the business and financial world, so I had to rely on myself to learn and advance to achieve the Gameit mission. Just six months in, Gameit won the LEAP Aviatrics Award as the most innovative startup pioneered by women in 2022, which gave us a significant investment of SAR 150,000 to continue. I always say, “That was the best investment I ever made. I paid $1,500 for a booth at LEAP and walked away with $150,000 in investment!” That recognition came as validation from Allah that we were on the right path. NTDP’s support has been instrumental in sustaining our journey over the past three years. I truly believe that NTDP is an exceptional entity dedicated to empowering entrepreneurs with the right resources at the right time. Their impactful initiatives, such as “Connect” and their grant programs, have created real value for Gameit. Through their support, we were able to connect with Microsoft and establish a strategic partnership to advance our technology. In fact, Gameit became the first Saudi startup to be published on the Microsoft Azure Marketplace, opening the door to global markets and recognition.

We are still bootstrapping, yet we have successfully generated revenue by selling games that align with our mission to empower children through learning essential life skills using AI-powered immersive games. Most recently, we developed a game focused on digital citizenship, designed to teach children how to protect themselves from cyber risks and navigate the online world safely and responsibly. It will soon be rolled out in Saudi schools.

How do you define your industry? Gameit seems to sit at the intersection of several fields

Excellent question. I do not consider Gameit part of the traditional EdTech sector because we are not curriculum-based. We target cognitive skills such as attention, memory, auditory processing, and language, which are the essential abilities that shape future learning. We use RPG-style adventure games powered by AI tools to train children in these important skills, positioning us at the intersection of entertainment, health, and wellbeing technology. Our customers are mainly schools and clinics, as we offer games designed for classroom use. That is what makes our offering unique. Our SaaS platform can be expanded endlessly to teach unlimited skills to children through games because kids will always play. The idea is to harness play to build their futures. That is the magic of Gameit.

What opportunities or challenges do you see in your industry within Saudi Arabia?

To be honest, what we are doing is new, and not everyone understands it yet. I see a big gap between innovation and adoption. When I present our solution at schools, they often love the idea but tell me, “We do not have labs or infrastructure.” On the other hand, at conferences with officials discussing digital transformation in education, I see how far apart those two worlds still are.

It can be frustrating to bridge this gap as an entrepreneur. You bring innovative solutions yet face a market that is not fully ready to adopt them. This also frustrates investors who expect quick returns. As a result, many founders turn away from innovation toward safer, conventional ideas that are easier to apply. I believe that, in time, this will change, and Gameit will stand as a pioneer not only in digital but in real intelligent transformation. Until then, we will keep doing our best.

Looking ahead, what are your aspirations for Gameit in the next five to ten years?

Gameit is the future of learning, even if people are not fully ready for it yet. We are perfecting our games with AI technologies to give real insight into children’s cognitive abilities so we can help them more effectively. We are part of the growing digital content sector, which is challenging but rewarding. Here comes the great support from NTDP, the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT), and the Ministry of Education, who together empower startups like Gameit not only financially but also through policies and enablement.

Alhamdulillah, through our team’s hard work, Gameit has gained the trust of MCIT, who asked us to develop more games aligned with our mission, national-level games to be distributed across Saudi schools. We are also recognized as part of Saudi-made digital content, a huge achievement for us.

Our goal is to empower children with skills and teachers with data insights so they can regain students’ trust in the classroom. When teachers are supported by technology and analytics, they can make better decisions and reconnect with students to help them learn.

We are also preparing for global expansion, and we believe international markets, especially in places like Finland and Sweden, are ready for Gameit’s technology as well. But we will always be proud to say that Gameit is a Saudi innovation going global.

What advice would you give to other women in Saudi Arabia or around the world who aspire to become entrepreneurs?

Let me start with one challenge, access. Many women, not just in Saudi Arabia but globally, lack access to information and networks, especially in male-dominated fields like technology.

Men naturally exchange information when they meet, but women are often left out. My advice to Saudi women: Do not be shy. Show up. Ask questions. Seek access. Do not worry about what others might think. Focus on your goal and mission, that is what will carry you through challenging times.

We have brilliant Saudi women, educated, capable, and ambitious. People abroad often hold outdated stereotypes about us, but Saudi women have been educated since the 1950s and 1960s. My own mother had a PhD. Alhamdulillah, we have great leaders who believe in empowering women, and when the time came, we were ready. That is why we are moving fast. I see amazing young women at every conference, and I believe we will go even further. With our leadership and government’s support, the future for Saudi women is bright.