Arabnet Partners with Smart Dubai to Highlight Smart Economy and Digital Business Transformation

UAE, May 23, 2016 - For the second year in a row, Smart Dubai Office is partnering with the ArabNet Digital Summit to highlight digital transformation in the public and private sector and the potential for the Smart Economy. “We believe what we are doing today in Dubai will be the platform other cities will learn from,” declared H.E. Dr. Aisha Bin Bishr, Director General of Smart Dubai Office, during last year’s ArabNet Digital Summit 2015. The partnership will shed light on Dubai’s ambitious plan to deliver government-as-a-platform, which will open up the city’s connectivity and data and allow government, businesses and entrepreneurs to create innovative services on top of this platform.

The private sector is expected to provide up to 80% of smart services, and the ArabNet Summit will gather these diverse stakeholders to connect and exchange ideas on how to leverage technology to drive business growth and improve quality of life.

“And this is where ArabNet comes in, providing the platform for all involved digital players to connect across the UAE and abroad” says Omar Christidis, CEO and Founder of ArabNet.

The Strategic Partners of Smart Dubai Office, which include 11 Dubai Government entities across, will be participating in the event, including RTA, DEWA, Dubai Police, DED, DHA, Dubai Data Establishment, DSO and many more.  Confirmed speakers include H.E. Dr. Aisha Bin Bishr, Director General of Smart Dubai Office, Mr. Younus Al Nasser, CEO, Dubai Data Establishment, Mr. Mohammed Abdulla Shael AlSaadi, CEO, Business Development & Strategy Sector, Department of Economic Development; Mr. Abdulla Ali Al Madani, CEO, Corporate Technology Support Services, Roads & Transport Authority; Colonel Khalid Al Razooqi, General Director, Smart Services Department, Dubai Police, amongst others.  Speaking of the accomplishments of Dubai Police, Colonel AlRazooqi stated: “Today, all of Dubai Police services are accessible via mobile. Dubai Police mobility strategy ensured a unique and innovative mobile app that has over 1 million downloads from both Apple Store & Google Play.”

In partnership with Smart Dubai Office, the ArabNet Digital Summit 2016 will feature a Smart Economy Track, which will cover a range of topics including smart cities, machine learning, Internet of Things, big data, corporate investment in innovation, and much more. It will also host two exclusive invitation-only roundtables, each focused on a specific part of the smart economy – namely digital payment & open data.

The ArabNet Summit will also host the inaugural edition of the Smartpreneur competition, where entrepreneurs will pitch their business ideas for supporting the smart city transformation of Dubai. The competition is organized by the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and the final pitches will take place at the Summit, with the winners announced at the closing ceremony of the event on May 31st.

The ArabNet Digital Summit 2016 will be held on May 30-31 at the Madinat Jumeirah Conference and Events Centre in Dubai, and is expected to be one of the most exclusive ArabNet events yet.  Past ArabNet events have notably attracted top speakers, participants, and partners from corporations such as Smart Dubai, Souq.com, Du, Touch, Alfa, TBWA, Facebook, DMS, Majid Al Futtaim, JWT, STC, Twitter, Starcom, Criteo, SkyNews, VISA, Leo Burnett, Deloitte, LBC, Microsoft, Uber, Vivaki, GE, MakerStudios (Disney), FP7, 500Startups, OMD, International New York Times, and many more.