EMEA FINANCE
Trade digitisation could trigger economic diversity in the MENA region Anyone spending time in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) realises that digitisation is very high on the agenda for significant organisations in trade, finance and government. Optimists quote double-digit predictions for the rate at which the region’s market for digital transformation will expand, as the Gulf states in particular try to use their oil-wealth to reorient their economies towards a more broadbased future. Large parts of the region enjoy near 100 per cent rates of smartphone-use, and the consequences of this enthusiasm for digital devices translates into business and trade, where younger executives and government leaders understand the opportunities that arise when trade infrastructures are integrated into the wider digital world. Digital strategies are already in place With ever-growing emphasis on the
126 | Issue 12
importance of reducing dependency on oil export revenues, the Gulf states in particular have responded by compiling digital strategies, setting themselves ambitious targets. Saudi Arabia and Qatar, for example, have Vision 2030 masterplans, while the UAE has Vision 2021. Egypt and Jordan too have their digital strategies. Dubai and the UAE are generally thought to be at the forefront of digitisation, showing considerable interest in smart city technologies, artificial intelligence and semiconductors. The aim in Dubai is for all government transactions, where possible, to be digital by 2020. Saudi Arabia’s vision includes the National Transformation Program, which places digital transformation as one of the Kingdom’s four main objectives. It may be true that these countries’ digital economies remain proportionately very small when set against the G7 nations, but the Gulf states are not hampered by inadequate broadband connectivity or lack of ICT talent.
