![Qiwa CTO highlights Saudi Arabia's Digital Labor Market Transformation at London's International Finance Forum[AA1]](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fsaudigazette.com.sa%2Fuploads%2Fimages%2F2025%2F05%2F14%2F2524285.jpg&w=3840&q=100)
Qiwa CTO highlights Saudi Arabia's Digital Labor Market Transformation at London's International Finance Forum[AA1]
Haytham AlQadheeb, Chief Technology Officer of Qiwa at Takamol Holding, commanded attention at London's 4th International Finance Forum (IFF25), [AA2] where he outlined Saudi Arabia's digital transformation to global finance and technology leaders. His presentation detailed the Kingdom's strategic advances in labor market digitization and emphasized how digital infrastructure drives economic growth and capital efficiency across Africa and the MENA region.
Participating in a high-level panel discussion titled "Digital Oases: Financing the Next Generation of Africa and MENA's Internet Infrastructure," AlQadheeb underscored how digital transformation is not merely a technological upgrade but a fundamental strategic enabler for national development. He emphasized that Qiwa, Saudi Arabia's national platform for labor-related services, is at the forefront of this transformation, unlocking significant capital through its comprehensive suite of subscription-based services that span various sectors. This, in turn, allows for strategic capital reallocation towards critical cloud infrastructure and advanced Artificial Intelligence (AI) platforms.
The International Finance Forum, a flagship event by The Tech Capital, convened over 400 leaders from data centers, fiber, edge computing, AI, finance, and investment from more than 35 nations. AlQadheeb's participation highlighted Saudi Arabia's commitment to leveraging digital innovation to build a resilient and future-proof economy, positioning the Kingdom as a leading digital hub in the region and beyond.
"The digitization of our labor market through platforms like Qiwa is a cornerstone of Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030," AlQadheeb stated. "We are creating a dynamic digital ecosystem that not only accelerates business formation and readiness by simplifying company setup, licensing, and workforce onboarding but also significantly reduces time-to-market for new ventures, thereby boosting investor confidence."
He elaborated on Qiwa's foundational role in the national digital transformation agenda, acting as the backbone for labor-related digital services and enabling seamless integration with other national platforms. This integrated approach ensures a cohesive and efficient digital experience for businesses and individuals alike.
A key theme of AlQadheeb's address was the critical importance of skills development in the digital era. "Skills are the currency of future innovation," he asserted. "As we accelerate the adoption of cloud and AI technologies, a digitally fluent and agile workforce is not just an advantage but a prerequisite. Qiwa is strategically positioned to map and close skill gaps on a national scale."
To this end, Qiwa is actively working on introducing structured incentives and policy requirements for companies to invest in employee development, intrinsically linking compliance with future-readiness. Furthermore, AlQadheeb announced the forthcoming launch of a national Technology Excellence Program. This ambitious initiative, driven by real-time labor market insights, will focus on cultivating expertise in emerging technology fields such as cloud computing, AI, and cybersecurity, ensuring the Saudi workforce is prepared for the jobs of tomorrow.
Highlighting the platform's analytical capabilities, AlQadheeb explained how Qiwa is revolutionizing labor analytics. "We are turning vast amounts of workforce data into actionable strategic insights," he noted. "This empowers policymakers and businesses to make informed, data-driven decisions regarding labor trends, skills demand, and sectoral shifts. By aligning these analytics with educational and training institutions, we can synchronize talent supply with evolving industry needs, ensuring that our significant investments in technology and infrastructure are robustly supported by a prepared and capable workforce."
Concluding his remarks, the Qiwa CTO addressed Saudi Arabia's ambitious cloud enablement strategy. He stressed the necessity of creating an attractive environment for global hyperscalers and fostering local cloud champions. "Cloud readiness begins with the right incentives," AlQadheeb argued. "This includes establishing Special Economic Zones tailored to cloud providers, offering distinct advantages in taxation, regulation, and connectivity." He also emphasized the paramount importance of securing national sovereignty within the cloud strategy, ensuring data localization, robust cybersecurity, and the scalability of cloud infrastructure to support the digital backbone of the Kingdom's labor market.
[AA1]أفضل نكتبه زي ما هو:
4th International Finance Forum (IFF25) at London
[AA2]أفضل نكتبه زي ما هو:
4th International Finance Forum (IFF25) at London
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Arab News
2 days ago
- Arab News
What is the ‘New Middle East' ... the real one this time?
There is hardly a journalist or political analyst, or even an amateur posing as either, in the Arab world who has not, at some point in recent decades, written or spoken at length about the 'New Middle East.' And yet, the Middle East we see today is something altogether different from what we were told to expect, both in substance and in the circumstances surrounding it. Our region has become, much like our lives and our sociopolitical imaginaries, untethered from familiar coordinates. One could even say it is now open to all possibilities. To be clear, this is not a veiled swipe at our political elites, nor at the political consciousness of our peoples or their capacity to learn from past mistakes and, from there, to choose a better path forward. Not in the slightest. Today, we are in the same boat with the most politically sophisticated and institutionally entrenched societies on Earth. We are all grappling with similar complexities and facing threats that do not discriminate by region or political tradition. There is no longer any guarantee that words like 'democracy' or 'good governance,' even in countries with rooted democratic traditions, will mean much if they are voided. Thus, such concepts will not, on their own, save societies from the turmoil they now face or the turmoil we will face. Just yesterday, I heard a leading expert say that the widespread use of artificial intelligence in the basic, everyday infrastructures of human life is now only a few months away. That is on the technological front. On the political front, Portugal has just joined a growing list of European countries betting, through the ballot box, on the radical far right. In last month's snap election, the populist, quasi-fascist Chega party surged to second place, just behind the center-right Democratic Alliance and ahead of the formerly ruling Socialist Party. Chega's recent rise in Portugal will embolden the broader spread of neofascist populists across Western Europe: the likes of National Rally in France, Vox in Spain, the Brothers of Italy, Reform UK, the Freedom Party in the Netherlands and Alternative for Germany. But this is no longer merely a Western European problem. Far-right populism is now well entrenched in countries across Northern and Eastern Europe, most prominently Hungary. Of course, of all Western democracies, the US presents the bleakest example. A historical rupture with few parallels anywhere else is underway in Washington, and it threatens not only the two-party system that has long been the pillar of American representative politics, but also the very principle of the separation of powers. The same single popular and populist political movement has taken control of all three branches of government: executive, legislative and judicial. To this, we can add the unofficial 'fourth branch,' the media. While it was once largely free of partisanship, the media has now become a central weapon in the ruling movement's arsenal thanks to the rise of new media: online platforms, AI and the oligarch-owned newspapers and television networks, not to mention the suspension of public funding for state media. We may be faced with even graver challenges than others amid Washington's shifting definitions of its allies and enemies. Eyad Abu Shakra There is no doubt that the institutions owned by figures like Rupert Murdoch (Fox News), Elon Musk (X), Mark Zuckerberg (Meta) and Jeff Bezos (The Washington Post) are shaping what may become America's new (and perhaps enduring) political culture. It speaks volumes that nearly every one of the 30 members of President Donald Trump's administration were in Fox News' orbit. Meanwhile, the world apprehensively follows the sweeping shifts underway in the US landscape. Economic wars are no trivial matter, nor is the fact that the man in the White House has upended notions of who is a US ally or an enemy and who its partners or competitors are. However, in light of the rapid and ongoing developments, it has become increasingly difficult for any single country to directly influence the global economic players or military and political forces. As a result, everyone is watching, hoping, anticipating — quietly, of course — either searching for alternatives or trying to limit the damage. As for the Middle East and the Arab world, we may be faced with even graver challenges than others amid Washington's shifting definitions of its allies and enemies. The US is a global power with interests and priorities everywhere. Accordingly, there is little room for sentimentality. There are no permanent interests in a world whose rules are evolving and being redefined. In our region, Washington maintains a strong strategic relationship with Israel, which is widely regarded as the most influential foreign actor in the halls of American politics. Its lobby groups fund many key figures in Congress and exert a lot of political influence. Then there is Turkiye, a pivotal NATO member and a regional power with immense religious, ethnic and geographic clout, allowing it to shape US decisions. And last but not least, Iran also has a significant say in American policy circles. Like Turkiye, it is seen as a crucial link in the Middle Eastern chain. In every round, experience suggests, Washington's goal is to win over Iran, not destroy it. In this landscape of uncertainty and rapid change, one must ask: Are we, as Arabs, still capable of influencing the regional climate and shaping the priorities of major players?
Asharq Al-Awsat
3 days ago
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Microsoft to Invest $400 Million in Switzerland on AI, Cloud Computing
Microsoft will invest $400 million in Switzerland, the company said on Monday, with the money going towards developing its cloud computing and artificial intelligence infrastructure. The US tech company announced the investment at a meeting of Swiss Economy Minister Guy Parmelin and its vice chair Brad Smith in Bern. Microsoft, which employs 1,000 people in Switzerland, did not give details on how many jobs the investment would create, Reuters said. The money will be used to expand and upgrade its four data centers near Geneva and Zurich, responding to increased demand for AI and cloud computing services in Switzerland, it said. The expansion will serve existing and new customers and allow data to remain within Swiss borders - an important requirement for sectors like healthcare, finance and government. Microsoft will also expand its partnership work with small and medium-sized companies and step up training efforts to help people use AI and digital tools. "Switzerland has created one of the world's leading innovation ecosystems, blending world-class research with real-world applications," Smith said in a statement.
Asharq Al-Awsat
6 days ago
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Judge in Google case questions future of search amid rise of AI
A judge asked the US Department of Justice on Friday how much room there would be for new search engines to emerge given the rise of artificial intelligence, as antitrust enforcers press for Alphabet's Google to take dramatic measures to restore competition in online search. US District Judge Amit Mehta is overseeing the trial over proposals to remedy Google's search monopoly. If he approves the DOJ proposals, artificial intelligence companies could get a boost after already rattling Google's status as the go-to tool to find information online. Mehta asked DOJ attorney David Dahlquist during closing arguments in Washington whether AI should be considered a way to access search, or as a kind of competing technology, Reuters reported. "Do you think someone is going to come off the sidelines and build a new general search engine in light of what we are seeing?" Mehta asked. Dahlquist replied that search isn't going away, and that the DOJ's proposed remedies are designed to keep Google from blocking AI-based competitors. A witness from OpenAI testified in the case that the ChatGPT creator is years away from its goal of being able to use its own search technology to answer 80% of queries. The DOJ and a coalition of states are pressing to make Google sell its Chrome browser, share search data and cease multibillion-dollar payments to Apple and other smartphone makers and wireless carriers that set Google as the default search engine on new devices. Dahlquist said that the remedies are designed to pry open markets for online search engines and related advertising as well as restore competition that Google's conduct has "fundamentally broken." The trial on the proposals began in April. Mehta has said he aims to rule on the proposals by August. If the judge does require Google to sell off Chrome, OpenAI would be interested in buying it, Nick Turley, OpenAI's product head for ChatGPT, said at the trial. OpenAI would also benefit from access to Google's search data, which would help it make responses to user inquiries more accurate and up to date, Turley said. Google says the proposals go far beyond what is legally justified by the court's ruling, and would give away its technology to competitors. The company has already begun loosening agreements with smartphone makers including Samsung Electronics to allow them to load rival search and AI products. The DOJ wants the judge to go farther, banning Google from making lucrative payments in exchange for installation of its search app.
