Business & Money | Friday 30 September, 2016 6:37 am |

Saudi Arabia has become the official country partner for the Gitex Technology Week, which begins in Dubai on Oct. 16. 
This follows an agreement signed between Abdullah Al-Ghamdi, deputy director for technical affairs at the National Information Center, and Ahmed Al-Khaja, senior vice president, Dubai World Trade Center, in Riyadh. 
“Saudi startups and entrepreneurs will drive Saudi Vision 2030 and Digital Economy competitiveness,” Al-Ghamdi said following the signing ceremony, adding that the Kingdom has been named GITEX Technology Week’s official country partner for the second consecutive year.
​Supporting ICT talent development, the Kingdom is set to have its largest-ever GITEX Technology Week presence. Half of Saudi exhibitors will be new. 
Top exhibitors will include the Ministry of Justice, Al-Elm Information Security, Mobily, the Saudi Export Development Authority, Saudi Telecom Co. (STC) and TAQNIA, the technology arm of the Saudi Public Investment Fund.
Saudi Vision 2030 and the National Transformation Program 2020 call on supporting new business ventures, enhancing digital infrastructure and increasing non-oil exports to raise the Kingdom from the world’s top 20 economies to the top 15 economies.
Digital transformation of key industry verticals such as education, health care, oil and gas, and smart cities are expected to accelerate, driving Saudi ICT spending to reach a record high of $35 billion in 2016, according to IDC, a technology research firm.
The Kingdom also hosts the world’s third-highest smartphone penetration rate at 72 percent, and the world’s highest YouTube usage, according to the communications company, STC.
“Now, the challenge is transforming Saudi technology users into technology innovators,” Al-Ghamdi said. 
“Official Country Partner to GITEX Technology Week demonstrates the Saudi government’s commitment to nationwide digital transformation and entrepreneurs,” said Ahmed Al-Khaja, senior vice president, Dubai World Trade Center, which hosts GITEX Technology Week.
“GITEX Technology Week will play an important role in connecting the Kingdom’s emerging technology sector to international markets, and driving foreign direct investment into the Kingdom’s rapidly growing technology sector,” Al-Khaja added.
“Today’s Saudi entrepreneurs are the best educated and most digitally savvy, and will lead public and private sector digital transformation, from connected classrooms and hospitals to smart city innovations,” said Mohammed Al-Asiri, official spokesperson of the National Information Center from the Saudi Ministry of Interior.
“As the official country partner for GITEX Technology Week, the Saudi government is ensuring that its organizations and entrepreneurs will further drive our knowledge-based economy and Saudi Vision 2030 goals,” Al-Asiri noted, adding that accelerators and incubators support Saudi innovators
Accelerators and incubators are fostering a Saudi startup culture. The King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology’s (KACST) Badir Program for Technology Incubators and STC’s InspireU are supporting digital startups and signing international partnerships for global impact.
Both will be major participants at the GITEX Startup Movement, a dedicated exhibition, conference, and networking program. 
It aims to be the most global startup event in 2016, with 350 entrepreneurs and 250 investors from 55 countries set to participate.
Increasingly, Saudi university graduates are choosing the technology sector, with half wanting to be entrepreneurs and innovators, according to a recent report by employment consultancy Universum. 
The majority of engineering and IT graduates (61 percent) prefer ICT careers.
Global tech companies — including Apple, Google, and Microsoft — are among the top 10 most attractive employers for Saudi business and IT graduates, according to Universum.
GITEX is the largest technology exchange and marketplace for the Middle East and Africa. Held annually in October at the Dubai World Trade Center, the five-day show comprises an exhibition covering over 110,000 sqm, a technology leaders conference, the GITEX Startup Movement and many other show features.
GITEX, which attracts over 150,000 technology professionals, enterprise leaders, public sector officials and entrepreneurs from over 140 countries, is focused on showcasing the latest innovative technologies, providing high ROI on business opportunities and is considered the region’s leading platform for technology and business.
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