Amman hosts World Bank’s digital economy forum Saturday

AMMAN — The Amman-hosted Digital Mashreq Forum, a high-level conference on Digital Economy and Entrepreneurship Development in Mashreq countries, is scheduled to kick off on Saturday.

Minister of Digital Economy and Entrepreneurship Muthanna Gharaibeh told The Jordan Times in a phone call that "it is the first time the World Bank Group [WBG] holds such an event in the region".

The Kingdom and the WBG invited Iraqi and Lebanese governments to take part, he added, noting that some 20 global investment funds, some of which are visiting the Kingdom for the first time, in addition to investors from Silicon Valley in the US, the UK, and Gulf states including Saudi Arabia, are participating.

The conference on digital policy and infrastructure will be an opportunity for the Kingdom to be exposed to new types of investments, Gharaibeh stressed.

The gathering would also contribute to showcasing Jordan as a hub for outsourcing businesses, and allow it to explore the “mutual benefits” of working with Iraq and Lebanon, he added.

Commenting on the forum's expected outcomes, Gharaibeh said that it would serve in introducing the Kingdom as a competitive option for digital sector investors. 

The two-day forum will bring together some 400 representatives from the public and private sectors of Jordan, Lebanon, and Iraq, as well as executives from international and regional businesses, startups and investors to discuss the role of digitisation in shaping the region’s future form their perspectives. 

The conference’s agenda will focus on trends in digital economy in the Middle East and North Africa, factors for achieving Mashreq’s digital economy development targets and the potential role global technology companies could play in supporting governments’ development plans.

Discussions will also cover means to better position the region as a favourable destination for global technology companies, to provide technical support and development services to regional and global markets.

The conference is expected to present the findings and recommendations of the World Bank’s report “Mashreq 2.0: Digital Transformation for Inclusive Growth and Jobs”, and pre-requisites to achieve the digital connectivity targets in the Mashreq (see story on page 2).

Also on the event’s schedule is a panel discussion on regional trends in entrepreneurship development, with ecosystem players and entrepreneurs from the Mashreq region sharing their experiences and discussing challenges and opportunities in their home countries.

The conference will also witness the launch of the “Amman Communique”, which outlines a new approach to be adopted by countries in the Mashreq region seeking to support the development of digital economies in the region, in addition to the launch of the World Bank’s “Skilling Up Mashreq” (SUM) initiative. 

Throughout the event, discussions will be held with government players and the private sector on innovative approaches to increase access to financial services in Mashreq countries at a lower cost; shedding light on the needed legal and regulatory reforms to enable financial technology activities.