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| Riyadh hosts Leap Tech conference |
As part of its continued progress towards Vision 2030, Saudi Arabia will host the Leap event, which brings the global technology community together under one roof to address the world's greatest social and cultural challenges.
LEAP was held in Riyadh from February 1-3, with more than 350 experts providing expert insights and cutting-edge content at six conferences ranging from health technologies to artificial intelligence.
The conference is a global platform and special event that brings together promising future technologists and exceptional technologies from around the world. It is also a platform that continues to accelerate progress and adoption of the latest technologies.
According to the conference website, it attracts the world's smartest minds from leading technology companies. It also attracts inspiring pioneers from among the global startups and venture capitalists who provide funds to realize the dreams of entrepreneurs.
LEAP will be unlike any other technology event where the community, stakeholders and project teams will be challenged to do something very creative and daring every day. This reflects the progress in technology adoption that we are seeing in Saudi Arabia.
The Kingdom’s digital economy will contribute 3% to the GDP, not oil, and the kingdom hopes to increase this number through Vision 2030.
Unique collaboration between the private sector and government ensures that LEAP exceeds your expectations for technology events. Exhibitions provide an opportunity to fund ideas and bring to life the ideas of participants. It also supports the growth of participating startups around the world, from Saudi Arabia to San Francisco.
A number of high-profile speakers from around the world attended the LEAP program, including Eugene Kaspersky, Commercial Director and Co-Founder of Kaspersky, and Borhei Ekholm, CEO of Ericsson.
LEAP brings together the best minds in technology
Also invited were Peggy Johnson, CEO of Magic Leap, Raghu Raghuram, CEO of VMware, Macazio Mandela, founder of the Mandela Family Foundation, and Mile Gavett, CEO of Techstar.
They were joined by experts from the region, including Saudi Telecom CEO Olayan Al-Wated and Mobily CEO Salman Al-Badran.
LEAP also features inspiring stories from people like famed entrepreneur Stephen Bartlett. Along with football legend Roberto Carlos and Luis Figo.
Eng. Abdullah Al-Sawaha, the Saudi Minister of Communications and Information Technology, said: “Technology and innovation have tremendous potential to transform economies and societies. As we live in a rapidly changing society today, you have to keep up with this rapid development or be left behind. We are proud and honored to host the LEAP Conference to help lead the region and keep pace with technology and innovation.
Regional Executive Vice President, Informa Markets, said: “Informa is very excited about the launch of LEAP in Saudi Arabia. With the rise of technology projects in the country, there is no better place on earth to host such an amazing event.
He added that in its first year, LEAP will be the largest technology event in history for the first time. There is no better evidence that Saudi Arabia is the global technology hub of the future.
With global tech giants ready to participate, more than 700 tech startups are gearing up to showcase their solutions to the world.
LEAP is organized and produced by Informa Markets. LEAP is sponsored by leading domestic and international companies including Microsoft, Cisco, Ericsson, Zain, STC and Mobily.
The conference was supported by the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, and the Saudi Federation for Cyber Security, Programming, Drones and Information Technology.
You can use the LEAP apps for Android and iPhone to customize your account, plan your schedule, and connect with other attendees before, during and after the event.