The LEAP 23 conference returned this year for four days, attracting over 100,000 tech innovators and leading experts from around the world. The largest global gathering for technology and digitization developments took place from February 6 to 9 at the Riyadh International Convention and Exhibition Center in Saudi Arabia’s capital.

More than 700 experts, scientists, and specialized companies from around the world discuss the latest developments in virtual reality, creative economy, edutech, retail, Fourth Industrial Revolution, future energy, smart cities, fintech, and health tech. LEAP 2023 was organized by the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT) in cooperation with the Saudi Federation for Cyber Security and Programming and Tahaluf.

LEAP 23 announced $9 Billion Investment

During the tech gathering, funding programs and investments worth 9 billion dollars were announced to support future technologies and emerging companies. A data centre and two academies to develop technology talents and equip them with futuristic tech know-how are also about to be launched.

Amazon announced its plans to establish its first academy in the MENA region, aiming to develop and train more than 30.000 talents. The academy will also provide more than 35.000 professional certificates in the fields of cloud computing and artificial intelligence.

Microsoft announced its intention to expand cloud regions through a data centre in the Kingdom. According to the company, the new cloud data centre region will provide high performance and reliability at the enterprise level while preserving customer privacy and data location.

The Deputy Minister of Communications and Information Technology, Engineer Haitham bin Abdul Rahman Al-Ohali, said that “this important step is in line with the steps taken by the Kingdom to accelerate its digital transformation and enhance its position as a center for innovation,” noting that the data centre will provide enormous opportunities for startups and small and medium enterprises.

During the LEAP 2023, it was announced the first Metaverse Academy in the MENA region by Meta, headquartered in Saudi Arabia.

The largest digital economy

During his keynote speech at the LEAP 2023, Abdullah Alsawaha, Saudi Minister of Communications and Information Technology, announced various investments to support future technologies, digital entrepreneurship, and tech startups. As he pointed out, the aim is to enhance the Kingdom’s position as the largest digital economy in the Middle East and North Africa region.

Alsawaha highlighted the tech giants about to invest more in Saudi Arabia, including Huawei, Oracle, Zoom, Microsoft, and Amazon. He also pointed to global and local investments of $4.5 billion in various fields. The Saudi minister said he hoped that the conference’s outputs would enhance the diversification of the economy and the localization of technology and advanced industries.

A critical question that remains to be answered is whether foreign investment will benefit small local businesses in the long run, which are at risk of being bypassed by larger technological firms.
However, the organizers believe the LEAP conference has become one of the most important annual global technological events that gather stakeholders, entrepreneurs, and venture capital funds to open new horizons in new investment fields and launch qualitative partnerships.