Page 76 - SAMENA Trends - March-April 2023

ARTICLE SAMENA TRENDS

archetype, governments must address East have liberalized telecommunications to monetize more of the value from the
policy and regulatory issues relating to industries in recent years and adopted digital economy, whether through digital
broadband, spectrum, cybersecurity, data business friendly policies, but more should start-ups, SMEs or established large
protection & privacy, and cloud computing. be done to support vibrant start-ups and enterprises.
Hence all countries in the Middle East SME businesses that are the engine of
should emphasize on these further. growth in digital economies. Opening up to • Industry
international players can also be a source Digital Patrons have used e-government
A best-practice 5G strategy is essential of much needed private sector investment strategies to kick-start digital capability
to support the introduction of new in infrastructure and can be a valuable building and increase awareness and digi-
applications and services that need source of talent. talization in other industry sectors. E-gov-
higher communication speeds and lower ernment is also critical for Digital Novices
latencies. This is critical for all archetypes • Capability to stimulate digital services demand in the
except for Digital Novices, whose primary Improving capabilities is the first critical economy by familiarizing society with digi-
focus should be on deploying mature challenge to be addressed if the potential tal tools and content. Sectoral digitalization
communication infrastructure. Similarly, of the digital economy is to be realized by policies are important to industry compet-
national AI policies, emerging technology economies in the region. itiveness and should focus on respective
development policies, IP rights regimes, dominant industries.
science and technology policies focused Policies for developing digital foundational
on cutting-edge technologies, and IP skills, digital higher education, digital Conclusion
generation and commercialization are all workforce education and specialized skills The importance of digital economy policies
critical for Innovation Hubs. are important for the region as a whole. vary fundamentally between archetypes.
Digital Novices must first focus their Different combinations of policies should
• Ecosystem resources on improving digital awareness be considered for different countries
Digital business funding support policies among both individuals and businesses based on their archetype. This does not
and ease-of-doing-business (EoDB) to meet basic requirements to uplift the mean countries should disregard other
reforms and emerging technology digital economy. Priorities should include policies, but instead they should ensure
regulation are critical to attract private improving literacy, establishing digital that policies critical to their archetypes are
sector investments, particularly in domains courses within universities and improving given due resources, budget and attention
that support their archetype strategies and access to established technologies. For first. Tailored “recipes for success” should
offer conducive environments for digital Digital Patrons, the focus should be on shape the strategy each country deploys to
businesses to test new technologies and developing the digital skills and capabilities maximise the value creation from its own
innovate. Many countries in the Middle of graduates and employees of businesses digital economy.
Policies for developing digital foundational skills, digital In summary, the incentive for digital

higher education, digital workforce education and transformation is clear – and the need to
specialized skills are important for the region as a whole. embrace change has never been greater.
However, nations will only realize the full
Digital Novices must first focus their resources on improving benefits of this transformation if their
digital awareness among both individuals and businesses digital strategies are built on their own
strengths, and their digital policies are
to meet basic requirements to uplift the digital economy. prioritized and focused.

76 MARCH-APRIL 2023