Technology & IT | Tuesday 3 December, 2019 12:19 pm |

 

Arabnet Riyadh, the Kingdom’s largest technology event, kicks off next week at the Riyadh International Convention and Exhibition Center, and will bring together over 6,000 attendees, 150+ investors, and 300+ exhibiting startups in the Kingdom's largest tech entrepreneurship showcase.  Held in Strategic Partnership with Monsha’at - the General Authority for Small and Medium Enterprises - the 8th edition of Arabnet Riyadh also features top sponsorship from Saudi Telecom Company (STC), Seera (AlTayyar Group), Mastercard, Saudi Fransi Bank, Digital Marketing Services (Choueiri Group), Riyad Bank, AlKhaleejiah (Saudi Research and Marketing Group), TikTok, SAMBA, Meem Bank, Dawiyat (Saudi Electricity Company), Teads and many more.  

 

Arabnet Riyadh will bring together 250+ experts and speakers from around the world, with full tracks of programming covering a range of topics.  

 

The Inspire Saudi track will focus on startups and investing in tech companies, featuring top global investors from Silicon Valley, the United Kingdom, Singapore, Hong Kong, France, Austria, Mexico, and around the MENA region. Inspire Saudi will also feature inspirational Saudi leaders including HRH Prince Faisal bin Bandar bin Sultan bin Abdulaziz, President of the Saudi Arabian Federation for Electronic and Intellectual Sports (SAFEIS) and the Arab eSports Federation.

 

The Ad/Edge track will delve into digital media and advertising, with top speakers from MBC Group, Snap, Facebook, TikTok, Choueiri Group, Vice Media, Chalhoub Group, OMD, DMS, Starzplay, and others.  

 

The Finverse track will tackle digital banking and fintech, with confirmed speakers including Rayan Fayez, CEO and MD of Saudi Fransi Bank; Sami Al-Rowaithey, Chief Digital Officer of SAMBA, Stephen Monaghan, EVP - Digital Banking at Riyad Bank, and Andreas Skopal, Group Chief Digital Officer at Gulf International Bank.  

 

Finally, the CIO Forum will dive into best practices for digital transformation across government and enterprise, and will feature top CTOs and CIOs from the National Water Company, Alamar Foods, Arab National Bank, as well as experts from IBM, Mastercard and others.

 

This year’s program is also packed with various initiatives and activations bringing together inspirational and successful leaders and entrepreneurs through: The Academy, workshops on entrepreneurship, marketing and e-commerce; Pioneering Women, featuring talks and mentorship sessions by successful female executives, including Amal Dokhan, the CEO of Saudi Arabia at Global Entrepreneurship Network, Adwa AlDakheel, Founder of AlFalak Business Hub, and Walaa Nahas, VP of Marketing at Yesser; the Investor Lounge, a series of one-on-one meetings between startups and top business executives; Sawalif Riyadiya, gathering successful Saudi and GCC entrepreneurs to share their journey and experience, including the Founders of Noon Academy, Mrsool, UnitX, and Qoyod, all of which have raised funding rounds in the millions of dollars.