A stronger and more effective digital economy will be a cornerstone of MENA (Middle East and North Africa) economic growth and development for the future, said Dr. Raymond Khoury, Executive Vice President at Booz Allen Hamilton, MENA. He noted that in a region where approximately 60% of the population is under the age of 25 and increasingly tech savvy, "you already have an enormous number of people who have a powerful online and digital mindset." He added the digital world is where many of them learn and educate themselves, entertain themselves, socialize and get the drive to develop successful businesses – actively grasping the enormous potential of a digital life. And in a region where oil-dominated economies are now actively diversifying, embracing the digital age will prove a powerful driver of growth, Khoury pointed out, saying that "digitization supports job creation, lower costs and efficiencies, enhanced services and a stimulus for social prosperity and economic growth." He further said a digital economy requires both a clear strategic direction allied with flexible thinking and policies to stay up to date with the constantly evolving digital landscape. In the case of Saudi Arabia, he said today's digital economy will not look anything like that of 2030. There will undoubtedly be newer innovative digital solutions and services to harness on the supply side and more intuitive digital usage requirements to address on the demand side. "An enormous amount of work is already underway by the Saudi government and the private sector to enhance digital enablement that is closely aligned with the country's 2030 vision. However, we believe that to ensure that momentum is maintained and continues successfully there is a requirement to develop a ‘Saudi Digital Acceleration Plan'. This plan needs to be based on a clear and adaptive digital economy reference framework that focuses on those who will benefit and has clearly identified building blocks and digital foundations. In order for the maximum national and social impact to happen, these building blocks should enable national sectors (the demand side), allow for the development of the digital sector (the supply side), and include multiple digital access channels and robust digital foundations," Khoury noted. He suggested that for the government to realize a fully liberalized digital economy, it "should continue its work and put in place a set of regulations that properly govern digital enablement and service provisioning, secure them and foster an environment that protects digital innovation." "Regulation that protects intellectual property (copyrights or trademarks) is needed, along with regulation that protects digital transactions and ensures that digital user data and information are protected when it comes to privacy, authenticity, integrity, and non-repudiation of these assets. We also see a role for stronger and more robust cyber security regulations to provide greater digital security," he averred. Moreover, he emphasized that investment in a digital economy should be geared to national initiatives that foster sustainable social and economic development and prosperity for the society. Khoury stressed that it is essential to benefit from the latest innovative technologies while targeting investment towards initiatives that can, for example, have direct socio-economic impact (innovative government service leading to better wellbeing) or indirect impact (national digital wired or wireless infrastructure to enable innovative digital services). "Through different public-private-partnership (PPP) models, ranging for build-operate-transfer to build-operate-own to build-operate-co-own, different investment or even self-sustained financing scenarios can be delineated. For example, digital platforms for the government in their entirety could be built, operated and maintained by the private sector based on a services fee-sharing scheme," he remarked.
