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IDC To Explore Future Of Saudi Digital Economy At CIO Summit
The event will take place at the Fairmont Riyadh on September 13-14 and bring together IT and telecom leaders, digital pioneers, and industry thought leaders.
Spurred by an influx of foreign investment and a $7 trillion development plan for Saudi Arabia’s giga projects, ICT spending in the Kingdom is set to top $34.5 billion this year. The government sector will be the country’s largest IT spender in 2023, with the budget for AI, IoT, cybersecurity, and data analytics exceeding $574 million.
These issues will sit at the heart of this year’s IDC Saudi Arabia CIO Summit, taking place at the Fairmont Riyadh on September 13-14. Under the theme of “Enabling the Digital Economy’s Leaders”, the event will bring together IT and telecom leaders, digital pioneers, regulators, and industry thought leaders. A panel of expert speakers will discuss the current state of the Saudi digital economy, assessing its impact on citizens, customers, and employees while outlining best practices and strategies to drive future success.
“To harness the full potential and widespread benefits of the digital economy, governments and businesses must implement strategies to measure and cultivate it,” said Jyoti Lalchandani, IDC’s group vice president and regional managing director for the Middle East, Turkey, and Africa. “Creating regulatory environments and nurturing talent will be critical to success. Today, technology plays an ever-increasing role in enabling, measuring, and reporting on sustainability initiatives and diversity and inclusion drives, with government and business leaders prioritizing these issues on their digital agendas”.
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IDC chief research officer, Meredith Whalen, will open the summit with a keynote titled “Strategies for the CIO and Enterprise Innovation”, where she will highlight IDC’s latest research on the move toward industry ecosystem innovation and tech decentralization.
“CIOs are no longer just technology leaders,” says Whalen. “They are strategic partners who have a critical role to play in driving enterprise-wide growth, and it is important that they fully understand what needs to be done now and in the future to create an environment for long-term sustainable innovation. The IDC Saudi Arabia CIO Summit is the perfect place for CIOs to learn from their peers, network with industry leaders, and get the insights they need to succeed in the digital age”.
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Lebanon Ministers Meet Visa Over National Digital Payment Platform
Finance and technology ministers say a comparative study and roadmap will follow before any decision on adopting a model.
Lebanon’s finance and technology ministers met representatives from Visa last week to discuss a proposed unified national digital payment platform for government services, according to a readout from the Ministry of Finance.
The meeting brought together Finance Minister Yassin Jaber, Minister of State for Technology and Artificial Intelligence Kamal Shehadeh, a Visa delegation, and experts from both ministries. Discussion focused on whether Lebanon could establish a single platform through which citizens and institutions would pay taxes, fees, fines and other official transactions electronically, using mobile phones and other digital channels.
The Visa delegation presented examples from countries that have adopted unified government payment platforms, including the United Arab Emirates, Singapore, Estonia and Jordan. According to the readout, the examples were presented as having increased collection rates and expanded financial inclusion.
Talks covered settlement mechanisms, direct transfer to the treasury account, financial reconciliation, risk management, cybersecurity, fees, and an operational model that would involve the private sector. The parties agreed to continue technical and institutional consultations, prepare a comparative study, and develop an implementation roadmap before any decision on adopting a model for Lebanon.
Jaber said the Ministry of Finance had already enabled citizens to pay using credit cards and e-wallets through transfer companies, but described the proposed platform as a further step. He framed the development of electronic payment and collection systems as a priority within the ministry’s modernization plan.
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Shehadeh outlined the citizen-facing concept as a single mobile application through which users could settle obligations to ministries, government institutions and other bodies.
“The idea, in short, is that any citizen downloads an application on their mobile phone, through which they can pay all service obligations for all ministries, government institutions, or those owned by the Lebanese state, and others as well, as the platform is not limited only to state institutions,” he said.
Shehadeh added that the platform would not displace banks and money transfer companies that currently provide collection services to the state, calling it complementary to their work.
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