TECHx Vision 2030

Khaled Almaeena, A political, social and media analyst and a former editor, was interviewed by TP Sharafudheen, Director – Editorial & Business Strategy at TECHx, in the context of his taking over as Chairman of the Executive Board of TECHx. After dedicating his life to journalism for over 4 decades, Khaled Almaeena is now working for the upliftment of youth in the Middle East and Africa through technology, which he has often referred to as his “Life Mission.”

I would like to start our conversation by asking you to share the details of TECHx’s new direction “TECHx Vision 2030” as you join the Executive Board; our readers would love to hear more about it from the Chairman himself.

Thank you for the warm welcome and kind words, Sharaf. As much as I’m excited to tell you about “TECHx Vision 2030,” I’m even more excited to be a part of this young team. I mean, after nearly 35 years in various capacities in the media world; as editor-in-chief for the Arab News and Saudi Gazette, and Chairman of Al Bilad for Journalism & Publishing, I’ve seen journalism change at an unprecedented pace and into new realms that no one could have predicted a decade ago.

As Chairman of the Executive Board of TECHx, I am thrilled to be a part of this young new generation media brand, especially one that is so focused on technology, the most influential domain of our time. 

In one line, the “TECHx Vision 2030” is the ambitious aspiration to play a vital role in the region’s digital transformation, working with and for a diverse range of agencies who are critical to the execution of this epic transformation of the region through technology.

And how is TECHx going to accomplish this? Well, TECHx strives to serve multiple stakeholders in the MEA (Middle East and Africa) region. We have technology professionals, governments, academia in the technology domain, non-profits working for technology, technology startups, businesses in the technology domain including big tech brands, their distributors, and all other players in the ICT value-chain who make technology deployment possible, and not to forget the emerging gig economy in tech or the numerous tech freelancers offering services.

Even though TECHx is focused on technology and MEA; that is a very versatile and diverse stakeholder ecosystem with which we want to collaborate. “TECHx Vision 2030” is the blueprint for TECHx to attract or bring together various stakeholders of the technology ecosystem in a single platform “TECHx”; and how do we bring them all to a single platform? Our news media services, various online and offline value-added products and services, and other non-profit initiatives all benefit our stakeholder communities. This will have numerous advantages for businesses, universities, and government agencies. As part of this master plan, TECHx will launch a number of initiatives over the next five years, including a job portal, a gig portal, an OTT platform, and much more.

TECHx’s vision is to expand beyond news media; as I previously stated, TECHx aspires to play a critical role in the region’s digital transformation, particularly through collaboration with various regional governments.

TECHx, the Middle East and Africa region’s youngest yet fastest growing technology media agency has already carved out a niche in the news media segment with its domain-specific expertise in the technology landscape and, in particular, its unique identity as a technology news content creator in Arabic over the last two and a half years. How do you see this TECHx initiative leveraging Arab youth’s technological aspirations and their new cultural journey in technology? Do you believe TECHx can create or act as a gravity force of technology happenings in the heart of the Arab land; that is, another “Silicon Valley” story will emerge from here?

It’s an interesting question. There’s a trend that’s pretty obvious these days, especially among the Arab youth in Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, and pretty much everywhere in the GCC region, as well as some prominent hubs in the African continent. I’m referring to the youth’s growing interest in technology, not only in their business aspirations but also in their academic preferences. It is also worth noting that in the next 5 years or so, these young Arab students of technology will be becoming the leaders of various government digital transformation missions, technology initiatives, and other private sector projects. In addition to this positive transition, the major cities of the Middle East region are becoming hubs attracting technology startups from all over the world; of course, the government agencies working on this mission deserve credit for this.

So, analyzing this scenario, we have an emerging youth who understand the sophisticated language of technology and are ready to take leadership of world-class technology projects in both the public and private sectors, supported by investments from around the world and government policies attracting technology startups who can contribute to the region’s digital economy.

In poetic terms, I can state that this sounds just like the period of time immediately before a “Silicon Valley” spring. However, to support governments in promoting this opportunity and vision, coordinating these trends through various platforms, maintaining their momentum through ongoing engagements and events, and ensuring that there is an integrated action towards this mission, we need a highly influential agency that amplifies the voices of the region’s leaders at the grassroots level. Over time, that will be TECHx.

TECHx is entering this space to connect and integrate these young leaders, and I believe that I and many other veterans in our ecosystem can help them with our decades of experience in the region’s socio-political dynamics. This is a huge responsibility, and how can we make an impact of this scale without understanding the cultural dynamics of this region, which revolve around the spirit of the Arabic language? If we are to serve the people of this region at the grassroots level, we must speak and think in Arabic. I’m proud that TECHx is one of the few successful pioneers in Arabic journalism that focuses solely on technology.

As you mentioned, TECHx is focusing on the Middle East and Africa; how important are these two markets? How will the digital transformation and new-age digital economy impact these two regions? Could you provide a comparison of these regions to the European and American markets, particularly in terms of technology trends and macroeconomics?

In comparison to European or American markets, the MEA region as a whole is still in its early stages when it comes to global technology initiatives and game-changing innovations on a global scale. America’s and Europe’s contributions to technology have not only resulted in great brands or stories but have also served as their soft power in the global political and economic landscape.

America has a “Silicon Valley” story, with Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg, and now Elon Musk. Every major city or capital city in Europe, be it London, Paris, or Berlin, has its own unique story in technology and hegemony in how it creates an impact in the global market. So, in comparison to those markets, this region has a long way to go, but we have a speed advantage due to a variety of factors. The MEA economy is transitioning to a post-oil economy, and the GCC region benefits from a migrant economy, as well as a large number of HNIs (High Net Worth Individuals), not to mention the region’s SWF and institutional investment capabilities.

So, taking into account the following factors: the desire to transition from an oil-based economy to a digital economy, the ability to attract top talent from around the world, the ease with which investments for infrastructure development for technological innovations can be made, and, most importantly, the enormous support from various governments, we can confidently predict that the MEA region will soon catch up with the American and European markets.

This is due to the fact that what we have now, these blessings, are similar to what America had a few decades ago in order to create their Silicon Valley. This is not just my observation; the governments in the region are also heading in the same direction, as evidenced by their proclaimed visions such as Saudi Arabia’s “Vision 2030” or the UAE’s “UAE Centennial Plan 2071,” which are all in favor of this agenda, and TECHx is taking place at this point and has a responsibility to play in amplifying the nations’ visionary voices across the region.

When you spoke earlier about “TECHx Vision 2030,” you mentioned that you will work closely with governments in the region, which includes 50+ governments, and it is also briefly mentioned in “TECHx Vision 2030” that TECHx will emerge as an advocate of these governments’ technology policies in the Middle East and Africa. Could you please share your action plan and the main agenda for this remarkable program?

Speaking of technology policy advocacy, we will see that, unlike in the past, technology is now instrumental in defining social-cultural-political aspects of any community; thus, citizens of every nation must be aware of the government’s initiative in technology and its policies to ensure a safe and peaceful socio-cultural and political environment.

As much as technology provides enormous opportunities for human life, it also poses threats ranging from personal to national in scope. In this context, it is critical for the public to understand the government’s policies, whether they are technology startup acceleration packages, data residency policies, cyber security initiatives, or public awareness programs for digital well-being, so that the public can effectively participate in making its deployment faster and smoother.

TECHx will serve as a “platform” for various governments’ technology policies in order to contribute to public welfare and society. As we work at the grass-roots level, we provide a platform for the public to respond to these government initiatives in order to make them more effective. TECHx will serve as a bridge between the government and the public, a noble responsibility for any news organization, and we have already begun working with various ministers in the region on this remarkable program, for which we are grateful.

TECHx has stated in multiple statements that it has special programs in collaboration with the region’s universities and other academic communities and a few of other non-profit initiatives from TECHx. Could you please elaborate on these noble ideas, which I believe will leave historical imprints in the region’s socio-cultural areas and will be well received by students, academic communities, and even regional governments?

Before I answer your question, I’d like to explain why TECHx has so many non-profit initiatives. This will allow me to better answer your question.

As we enter the third decade of the twenty-first century, the goal of news media is more than just the dissemination of news; while we have a huge responsibility to address misinformation, disinformation, and misrepresentation, the pressing challenges within the news segment, we also feel responsible as an organization to take initiatives that have a greater impact on the lives of our stakeholders than what news media has done thus far.

How can we not? We have better ideas and action plans for various solutions for society through technology because we are at the center of information about what is going on in the technology world, and we can also make predictions or create intelligence for the benefit of the technology industry. So, either we will inspire our stakeholders to act on these ideas, action plans, and intelligence, or we will pioneer and set the track for better societal benefit through technology. One such initiative is the TECHx Sustainability & Security Projects, a non-profit initiative attempting to develop solutions to climate change, cyber security, and e-waste management issues in collaboration with various stakeholders in the technology industry and academia.

TECHx non-profit initiatives are strategic programs designed to accelerate the region’s digital transformation. For example, TECHx’ “Alif Va Laila” project aims to massively develop digital content in Arabic language in various forms such as websites and more, as well as to support Arabic speakers with Arabic tools enabling them to create digital content; this helps to overcome the linguistic barrier in the execution of our vision to make every person in the region a participant rather than a consumer of technology transformation.

Each of our non-profit initiatives is aimed specifically at our stakeholders, such as the “International Students’ Forum” project, which aims to prepare technology students to be future-ready as soon as they graduate from educational institutions, and the “Indusmia” project, which aims to bridge the gap between academia and the technology industry in order to boost innovation, and my personal favorite, the “Arab Student Coders & Developers” project, which aims to train 1000+ Arab coders and developers in two years.

As an impact organization, TECHx feels obligated to give back to the region, and TECHx is proud of its vision of making a modest contribution to the development of the Arabic language and its cultural values. As part of this agenda, one of our initiatives is attempting to develop a new cutting-edge programming language in Arabic using Arabic syntaxes.

Now, returning to your question, I believe it is clear from what I have said that the “historical signatures” of TECHx, as you mentioned, will have a significant impact on the socio-cultural areas of the region. And why a special emphasis on academia and universities? Because we want to target where the expertise and aspiration in technology are developing, in the young minds, as they are the leaders of the future. We would see remarkable innovations for the benefit of the public if we could simply effectively connect academia and industry, if not “bridge the gap.”

TECHx, like our fellow domain organizations, is dedicated to contributing to this noble cause. And the rest is up to history to decide whether we made it or not!

I’d like to thank you from the bottom of my heart for such an insightful and comprehensive visionary discussion about TECHx. Your voice is filled with passion and energy, and it is clear that, as Chairman of TECHx, you have already made the upliftment of youth in the Middle East and Africa region through technology a “life mission.” TECHx is proud to be the reason or carrier of your life purpose, and with your clear vision for TECHx, there is no doubt that history and a healthy generation will be defined by time. Thank you very much!