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Ready to explore ‘Saudi Arabia this week’ by Analytix, with the latest weekly news updates and business insights from Saudi Arabia. Here we go!
From 15th September to 22nd September 2024
Saudi Arabia’s 94th National Day celebrated with breathtaking fireworks show
RIYADH: The 94th National Day of Saudi Arabia is being celebrated with firework displays, organised by the General Entertainment Authority (GEA). The event will happen in various regions throughout the kingdom lighting up the sky with fireworks.
Riyadh will have the fireworks show at Umm Ajlan Park, starting at 9 pm and lasting for seven minutes. In Jeddah, residents can enjoy the show at Jeddah Promenade and in Al-Khobar the fireworks can be seen from the northern Khobar Corniche.
Other cities such as Buraidah, Tabuk, Abha, Najran, Hail, Madinah, Arar, Al-Baha, Al-Jouf and Jazan are putting the firework show at specific locations to celebrate.
The Saudia Channel and Saudia Alaan will broadcast streaming footage of the fireworks from various Saudi cities.
Leading Female Entrepreneurs discuss growth and challenges in Saudi Arabia
RIYADH: The “Empower Me” panel discussion, which the Atlantic Council Middle East Initiatives organized in Riyadh, focused on female entrepreneurship in Saudi Arabia. Notable speakers, such as Amal Dokhan, who is the managing partner at MENA 500 Global; Wafa Obaidat, founder and CEO of edtech company Playbook; as well as Afnan Ababtain, director of innovation and entrepreneurship at the Ministry of Investment, all took the stage. The session was moderated by Noor Nugali, acting deputy editor-in-chief of Arab News.
The event showcased the Atlantic Council’s Women Innovators Fellowship, a year-long program that promotes the business skills and relationships of Saudi female entrepreneurs. The cohort for 2024-25 includes 20 female leaders functioning in different areas like technology, healthcare, and climate sustainability.
In a virtual address by US Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Michael Ratney praised the initiative and its supporters. The discussion focused on how female entrepreneurs support Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 and promoting economic growth particularly in small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Since 2016, women’s involvement in SMEs have grown from 21% to over 45%.
Dokhan motivated women to pursue entrepreneurship and to face the challenges by venture capital. Obaidat talked about her experiences with Playbook, an edtech platform established to foster women into leadership positions.
Playbook rose to 6,000 members, boasting major diversity in leadership roles. The panel discussion was jointly led by the Atlantic Council, American Chamber of Commerce, US Embassy and PepsiCo.
Saudi Arabia launches extensive AI Training Drive
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia has put forth a major initiative to train one million of their citizens in artificial intelligence (AI) in order to prepare them for a future driven by AI technology. Announced at Global AI Summit (GAIN Summit 2024) in Riyadh, this programme is the largest of its type in the country.
The initiative “One Million Saudi in AI” was launched by Minister of Education Yousef bin Abdullah Al-Benyan and Saudi Data and AI Authority (SDAIA) President Abdullah bin Sharaf Alghamdi. According to the Saudi Press Agency (SPA), it is being carried out jointly with the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development.
The training aims to teach participants the actual applications of AI, AI ethics, as well as the required skills for implementing AI into businesses and daily life. Both male and female citizens can participate in the programme, which also focuses on safe and reliable AI usage.
This initiative is just another step to adopt AI and technology with an aim to get its citizens well prepared for the forthcoming opportunities in the digital economy.
Saudi Arabia records 73% rise in international tourist arrivals
RIYADH: According to the UN’s World Tourism Barometer, Saudi Arabia has seen a 73% rise in international tourist arrivals in combination with a 207% growth in international tourism revenues. According to the Saudi Press Agency (SPA), the Kingdom leads G20 countries in terms of the growth of international tourist numbers and tourism revenue based on the first seven months of 2024 compared to the same period in 2019.
The tourism boom in the Kingdom has resulted in 17.5 million international tourists visiting in the first seven months of 2024. In 2023, Saudi Arabia saw an increase of 56% in international tourist arrivals, reaching 27.4 million visitors, compared to 2019. This positioned the country at the top in the UN Tourism Data Dashboard for growth among major tourist hotspots.
In 2023, the travel account in balance of payments saw a rise of 48 billion riyals, marking a 38% increase from the previous year.
