It’s a market worth billions and it is growing every day – the UAE’s digital economy – with the Emirates focused on creating wealth and prosperity through this ever-expanding opportunity.
In recent weeks, the UAE has announced initiatives to bring 100,000 of the world’s best coders to the country, plus Dubai has created both the Dubai Digital Authority and the Digital Chamber of Commerce.
To help businesses and entrepreneurs grab the digital tiger by the tail Arabian Business is hosting its latest live forum – the AB Technology Forum: Embracing the Digital Economy – which will bring regulators, thought leaders and enterprise experts together to discuss the size of the prize, and how to win it. The event takes place at Dubai’s JW Marriott – Marquis Hotel on August 25.
Moza Suwaidan, director of strategy and innovation of Dubai Digital will be joined by Akef Alaqrabawi, the CEO of Injaz Al Arab and Thibault Werlé, the managing director and partner for technology, media and telecommunications and emerging technologies with BCG, to unpack how smart cities and government initiatives can grow digital economies plus explore the skills needed within young talent coming in the market to help them capture that value.
Then we get granular on the tools entrepreneurs need with speakers such as Sumanta Roy, Head of Middle East and Africa at Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Genny Ghanimeh, the well-known UAE entrepreneur and founder of the Mind Cloud Tribe and Mind Academy, and recent golden visa recipient Bilal Sabouni, managing director, Middle East, North Africa and Turkey, at Guidepoint.
In a fascinating case study of digital transformation, Group CEO HE Khaled Al Huraimel of Bee’ah will discuss how the company went from trash to Tesla trucks, evolving for a new sustainable age by becoming a digitally-focused sustainability company with an AI-powered headquarters inspired by science fiction stories using the very latest in technology designed by the famed architect Dame Zaha Hadid.
And the team from Kitopi will join us for a special session to answer the question ‘How does a digital company become a unicorn?’ The company should have some of the secrets of success having just crossed the $1 billion valuation mark.
According to figures from digital payment company Stripe, there are currently more than 9.7 million active internet users in the UAE alone out of a total population of 9.83 million, making the UAE the number one country worldwide with the highest global internet penetration at 99 percent, up from just 78 percent a decade ago.
Eileen O’Mara, Head of EMEA Growth at Stripe, wrote in Arabian Business: “The UAE has the ideal conditions for significant growth in its internet economy, with the potential to leapfrog other markets around the world.
“Boasting the highest mobile penetration globally (the UAE is 92 percent, compared with the global average of 66 percent), increasingly discerning consumers and a willingness to experiment with new technologies, has seen e-commerce adoption rise sharper than ever before in the region.
“The total value of digital payments in the UAE reached $18.5bn in 2020, a staggering $10bn more than in 2018 – and when we consider that’s in the context of only 4.2 percent of retail sales coming from online purchases, it’s clear to see we have barely scratched the surface of the value that can be unlocked. The opportunity is now and businesses must move fast to capitalise on it.”
So unlock the future register for your place today at the AB Technology Forum. Register below
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