By Hamad al-Kuwari/Doha
MBC’s immensely popular Stars of Science show has reportedly received 28,000 submissions from young Arab innovators to date. Many alumni of the show have gone on to file patents and start successful companies in the region.
More and more research originating from Arab institutions is published in leading journals and the number of organisations supporting entrepreneurs is skyrocketing.
Tech startups that grab global headlines for multi-million and billion dollar exits resonate and inspire young people. There is no question that the level of entrepreneurial enthusiasm in the Gulf is at an all-time high.
Turning a technological or scientific idea into a product for the market does not come in a quick moment of brilliance, however. If we want this kind of innovation to happen on a large enough scale to change our economies, it needs to be the product of tireless work, new policies, risk-taking and constant collaboration between universities, laboratories and industry – all in support of the great thinkers and innovators in our communities.
For us, step one was establishing science and technology parks, innovation hubs and economic clusters, which come in many models, shapes and sizes across the region. Though science and technology parks have been around since the 1950’s in places like the US and Japan, they are still relatively new in the GCC.
Now that we have built the basic infrastructure for innovation, it’s time to focus on growing the programmes offered at these places.
We need to bridge the gap between the laboratory and the marketplace. This means doing more to help science and technology entrepreneurs at key points in the innovation value chain. Those hubs offering next-level commercialisation support like early stage prototype production, market evaluation and business modelling services will win in the race to nurture tech businesses and intellectual property that can outlive the region’s natural resources.
In Qatar and around the GCC, we’re already starting to see the payoff of more targeted and sophisticated support for tech startups. Local companies like iHorizons – with the support of our innovative Proof of Concept funding programme – is developing an Arabic language social media analytics application and there are countless other examples from the GCC.
Though GCC countries relatively have high rankings in the latest Global Innovation Index, the challenge ahead is clear: to not only keep pace with the world’s most tech-savvy generation of innovators, but to support them further.
This month, for the first time, the International Association of Science Parks and Areas of Innovation - an important international body of government officials, CEOs and decision makers who set the agenda for innovation hubs around the world - will host its annual summit in the Arab world.
Officials from Kuwait Industrial Technology Park, Knowledge Oasis Muscat and Riyadh Techno Valley will come together at Qatar Science and Technology Park for IASP 2014 Doha to chart a course forward, share ideas, take on challenges and seize opportunities in the entrepreneurial ecosystems of the GCC and across the globe.
I see this not only as symbol of the great strides we have made in the region but an indicator of the bright future ahead.
- Hamad al-Kuwari is the head of the IASP 2014 Doha Organising Committee and managing director of Qatar Science & Technology Park.
