Dubai Silicon Oasis 19th TechForum to Focus on Islamic Digital Economy

Dubai-UAE: 08 March, 2015 – Dubai Silicon Oasis Authority (DSOA), the regulatory body of Dubai Silicon Oasis (DSO), the integrated free zone technology park, is set to spot the light on the Islamic Digital Economy and its contribution to Dubai’s broader Islamic economy vision and the global opportunities it presents during its 19th TechForum initiative.

To be held at the DSO headquarters on 10 March, from 6:30pm to 9:30pm, the thought session aims to host finance professionals, Islamic economy experts and entrepreneurs with a view to promoting Islamic finance and raising awareness on the significant potential that Islamic economy presents.

The 19th TechForum initiative will be headlined by Saeed Mubarak Kharbash, Projects Manager at Dubai Islamic Economy Development Centre, Dr Sayd Farook, Global Head of Islamic Capital Markets at Thomson Reuters, and Mohammad Chbib, Founder and CEO of Citra Style FZE.

Saeed Kharbash will shed light on the importance of the Islamic digital economy in shaping Dubai as the ‘Capital of Islamic Economy’, while Dr Sayd Farook will examine how best to capitalize on the US$8 trillion global opportunity represented by Muslim consumers. For his part, Mohammad Chbib will evaluate how tech entrepreneurs can leverage the opportunities that the Islamic economy domain offers.

Bader Buhannad, Senior VP Audit & Risk Management and Project Leader – Digital Islamic Economy at DSOA, said: "At DSOA, we take pride in hosting this ongoing forum that serves to inform and educate the public of the latest advances within key technology sectors. We are happy to turn the spotlight for the second TechForum of 2015 on a subject that has stirred the interest of various international financial houses and has been central to generating healthy competition among multiple businesses - the digital Islamic economy and its unlimited potential.”

Bader added: “Last year, DSOA had announced its support to the ‘Islamic Economy Initiative’ and stressed its commitment to focus on Islamic digital and Arabic content. We are confident this forum will contribute to the vision of the emirate’s leadership in transforming Dubai into a global Islamic economy hub."

Speaking ahead of the event, Saeed Kharbash explained: “The Islamic economy sector has gained increasing significance over the past few years due to the increasing demand on sharia-compliant services. Through our participation at such forums, we seek to highlight the opportunities that this sector holds, as well as to increase awareness on the industry’s potential growth – not only in Muslim countries but in significant non-Muslim parts of the world as well.”

“We commend DSOA’s commitment to the Islamic Economy initiative that has crossed the awareness phase into implementation. This can be clearly witnessed in the recently launched Tech Terms initiatives by DSOA; which is compliant with the Digital Arabic content initiatives” Saeed concluded.

A wholly-owned entity of the government of Dubai, DSO operates as a free zone technology park for large enterprises, medium and small companies looking to set up their offices in Dubai.