AI could generate $11 billion for Qatar's economy by 2030
$2.5 billion push into AI and data transformation to drive new opportunity
#Qatar #economy - Invest Qatar and global consulting firm Accenture have published a report on the transformative potential of artificial intelligence and data analytics on Qatar’s economy. Presented during the inaugural World Summit AI - Qatar 2024, Data & AI: Redefining the Growth Frontier in Qatar explores the Qatari government’s $2.5 billion investment in data and AI, and outlines its ambition to generate $11 billion for the national economy, creating 26,000 jobs, and aiming to rank among the top 10 globally on the Digital Competitiveness Index by 2030.
SO WHAT? - This year Qatar has announced plans to invest about $14.5 billion across a variety of sectors locally and globally, with a focus on technology, innovation and R&D. Earlier this month the government announced a a £1 billion plan to invest in UK technology sectors, focused on climate tech. Qatar’s Digital Agenda 2030 is a strategy for comprehensive digital transformation addressing six pillars: digital infrastructure, digital government, digital economy, digital technologies, digital innovation and digital society. Therefore AI’s role in enabling change is well supported by transformation across sectors and industries, and by global partnerships and initiatives that will encourage technology transfer.
Here is some more information, plus highlights from the new report
Invest Qatar and Accenture have published a new report: Data & AI: Redefining the Growth Frontier in Qatar. Announced at the World Summit AI - Qatar 2024, the report reviews the transformative potential of artificial intelligence and data analytics on Qatar’s economy.
The Invest in Qatar report forecasts that AI will add $11 billion to Qatar’s national economy by the year 2030.
Qatar’s AI strategy focuses on diversifying its economy beyond hydrocarbons, aligning with the Qatar National Vision 2030 and backed by $2.5 billion in incentives.
Objectives for the country’s Digital Agenda 2030 include creating 26,000 new jobs, advancing digital inclusion, and placing Qatar in the top 10 on the Digital Competitiveness Index.
Qatar’s $1 billion Venture Capital Fund of Funds targets tech innovation, while government entities such as the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology foster generative AI applications.
Qatar ranks first in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) for digital governance and mobile internet speeds, supported by Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud.
AI-driven advancements in healthcare, energy, and finance are key areas of focus, with the government and private sector collaborating on transformative initiatives.
Qatar has launched AI-specific education programs and research initiatives, aiming to increase the percentage of highly skilled workers to over 46% by 2030.
WORLD SUMMIT AI - The new report from Invest Qatar and Accenture was announced a the inaugural World Summit AI - Qatar, which is sponsored by the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT). Also launched at the Summit was Qatar’s first national large language model. Called Fanar (tr. lighthouse), the LLM was developed by the Qatar Computing Research Institute (QCRI) of Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU) to provide Arabic users with high quality Arabic language GenAI. The Fanar platform launched with six Generative AI apps, including a text and voice chatbot which is able to produce multimodal outputs,
LINKS
Read more about AI in Qatar;
Qatar launches Fanar sovereign large language model (Middle East AI News)
Qatar & UK form new commission to drive mutual AI R&D (Middle East AI News)
Ooredoo secures $549m to build out AI infrastructure (Middle East AI News)