Saeed Al Khotani Saudi Gazette RIYADH – Prince Turki Bin Saud Bin Mohammad Al Saud, Vice President of King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology and Chairman of Taqnia (Technology in Arabic), will inaugurate today (Tuesday) the two-day event of Arab Net at Four Season Hotel Riyadh, Omar Christidism, ArabNet Founder and CEO, said. He told Saudi Gazette that the event, that will run until Dec. 4, will attract more than 800 attendees, mainly digital CEOs and executives, entrepreneurs, investors, and agencies across different sectors in the digital domain, including e-commerce, social media, digital media & advertising, and mobile apps and telecom operators. "The goal of the event is to grow the digital sector in Saudi Arabia by helping businesses build new relationships to increase their revenues, and by giving entrepreneurs a platform to present their innovative ideas and products and meet investors and new clients," he said "It will highlight the newest trends in the market that businesses need to be aware of, and it will also help traditional businesses understand how they can use digital and social media to market and their products, reach their consumers, and deliver better customer service," he added. Highlighting the achievements of Arab Net, Christidis said last year the event brought together more than 600 attendees and 60 experts and featured presentations from 20 promising entrepreneurs from Saudi Arabia and beyond. In the opening ceremony of the event, Prince Turki announced the establishment of Taqnia, with $500 million fund to invest in technology and entrepreneurship in the Kingdom. ArabNet recently conducted a survey of all of the entrepreneurs who have presented at our events over the past 4 years. The findings of the survey demonstrate the tremendous impact of ArabNet for entrepreneurs – 40 percent of the startups said that ArabNet helped them meet investors; 50 percent said ArabNet helped them meet clients; and 75 percent said that ArabNet had helped them get media exposure. In addition, the startups that have pitched at ArabNet have created more than 260 jobs across the Middle East.
