Technology & IT | Thursday 17 December, 2015 4:17 am |

The Minister of Telecommunications and Information Technology Mohammed Al-Suwaiyel has proposed setting up a giant company that can provide high-speed Internet to 80 percent of the country, as part of efforts to develop a knowledge economy.

Al-Suwaiyel revealed this information at the Arabnet conference here on Tuesday, saying that the country needs to move away from its dependence on oil, as outlined by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman in his Vision 2030 document.
In a pre-recorded video address to the conference, Al-Suwaiyel said: “If the company succeeds in covering 80 percent of the Kingdom, then that will fulfill one of the most essential requirements for a knowledge-based economy.”
He said high-speed Internet access would help small and medium businesses operate more effectively and efficiently, thus contributing to the growth of the economy.
Other requirements needed for the development of a knowledge economy is for information communication devices to be manufactured locally. Over 60 percent of these devices are imported, he said.
In addition, Al-Suwaiyel said that the country needs 80 percent of its own citizens working in the sector. It is estimated that the country would have a shortage of 40,000 of these workers by 2020, so “we need to work hard on this,” he said.
Meanwhile, Prince Turki bin Saud bin Muhammad Al-Saud, president of King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology, who opened the two-day conference here Tuesday, said his organization was taking measures to promote entrepreneurship and innovation.
“Of these measures is a new SR500 million venture capital fund named Riyadh Capital, which will be launched next week, to finance promising entrepreneurial digital initiatives and projects,” he said. 
“Another measure is directing 85 percent of research funds toward applied research, especially at higher education institutions, which eventually will turn into entrepreneurship projects that can yield income-generating activities and products. The remaining 15 percent will be kept to support serious research projects,” he said.
Topics discussed at the conference include digital commercial businesses, Internet of Things, and emerging digital companies and their brands. Over 60 top Saudi, regional and international experts in the sector and social media, mostly young, have been participating as speakers, lecturers and session mediators. The conference is considered one of the largest digital gatherings in the Kingdom. 
Top speakers include the Minister of Labor Mufarrej Al-Haqbani and the Chief Executive Officer of STC Khalid Al-Biyari. Also, around 1,000 people are participating, including young people involved in reinventing digital media through new shows on YouTube and creating Arabic content for online or mobile devices.