MANAMA: Bahrain needs to start creating technology breakthroughs to truly become a knowledge-based digital economy, Transportation and Telecommunications Minister Kamal Ahmed has said.
“We have always been good at importing ideas and adopting latest technology, now it is time for us to start creating ‘world’s first’ innovative digital products and services,” he said yesterday during the BBK Digital Economy Forum and Expo 2020 at the Four Seasons Hotel Bahrain Bay.
According to him, there needs to be qualitative improvement in higher education outcomes, specially in areas like science, technology, engineering and mathematics, collectively known as STEM.
Bahrain, like other Mena countries, has been lagging behind in research and development, an area where the private sector needs to collaborate with universities and colleges in developing human capital to have a problem-solving approach, said Mr Ahmed.
The minister was speaking in a panel discussion during the forum, on the current state of the digital economy in Bahrain and the future potential that can be realised to enhance businesses.
Also participating was Industry, Commerce and Tourism Minister Zayed Alzayani who said it is now vital to emphasise how the entire economy can benefit from digital transformation, as it can have significant competitiveness and productivity-boosting opportunities related to access to digital products and services.
In his keynote, Wired magazine UK executive editor Jeremy White provided a glimpse into future technologies used to propagate economies.
Taking place under the patronage of the Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB), the two-day forum is organised by BBK in collaboration with the Bahrain Institute of Banking and Finance as knowledge partner.
CBB Governor Rasheed Al Maraj said, “Bahrain has recently rolled out regulations that support digital transformation including a Personal Data Protection Law. Our role as regulator is to inspire, lead and overcome challenges to innovation, and to foster the growth of the digital economy and fintech ecosystem in Bahrain.”
Explaining the bank’s approach to digital, BBK chairman Murad Ali Murad said, “It is a way of life for us at BBK to continuously enhance products and other functionalities to further contribute towards the digital transformation journey.”
He said the bank has been taking a leading role in deploying technology-enabled services by understanding how imperative it is to have a digital environment that supports innovative, customisable and rapidly deployed products with the aim of enhancing customer experience.
The forum also highlighted various sectors that have a direct impact on the economy, including health, banking, financial services, government, education, oil and gas, telecom and architecture.
Commenting, BBK Group chief executive Reyadh Sater said, “The launch of this forum with the participation of a number of high-profile figures reflects the strong belief in the importance of a digital economy in optimising processes and production, reducing transaction costs and transforming supply chains and presenting new opportunities for entrepreneurship and job creation.”
He added, “The backbone of the digital economy is hyper-connectivity which means growing interconnectedness of people, organisations and machines that results from transactions run over the Internet and mobile technology.”
Alongside the main event, an international expo is also being held to showcase digital applications and solutions by international providers from various sectors.
More than 500 senior representatives from various sectors took part on the first day of the forum.
avinash@gdn.com.bh
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