Forum explores role of advanced technology in transforming business

The Dubai Business Forum, a transformative two-day event powered by Dubai Chambers, on Thursday highlighted the impact of advanced technologies on businesses and how the workforce can prepare for a future driven by digital transformation and Artificial Intelligence (AI).

The morning sessions on day two of the forum kicked off with a talk by Ted Souder, a former Senior Executive at Google. Souder stated that “Dubai is a place where the future happens” and spoke extensively about how businesses can capitalise on AI by maximising opportunities and minimising the risks involved. “AI itself is not new. Artificial intelligence has been around for 50-plus years. For the past 25 or 30 years, it has been powering some of our favourite tools and platforms,” he said.

Souder underlined the power of generative AI to scale up businesses, stating, “AI is going to unleash an entirely new generation of entrepreneurs, who will build high-impact businesses that will drive economic vitality and job creation for years to come.” This was followed by a panel discussion titled “Investing in the Future of Prosperity” featuring Noor Sweid, Managing Partner at Global Ventures; Ronaldo Mouchawar, Vice President of Amazon Middle East and North Africa; and Kathy Xiaosi Gong, Co-Founder and CEO of Oneness Labs. The panellists discussed the need for the digitalisation of companies and delved into the causes of the digital divide while elaborating on possible solutions to bring about digital equity in businesses.

Sweid said that disruption in fintech, agritech, and food tech was already underway, stating, “Education can benefit immensely from digitalisation and new technologies, and food security could be tackled efficiently with the help of AI and other disruptive technologies such as blockchain and the metaverse.” Ronaldo Mouchawar cited the example of small businesses selling on Amazon and how they can leverage AI to scale up in basic traditional commerce, adding: “Dubai offers a very conducive environment for growth, given its focus on new technology, innovation, and entrepreneurship.” Speaking about the business environment in Dubai, Gong said she was very optimistic about the emirate’s future and believes it is a great place for entrepreneurs and startups to thrive. “Dubai and the Mena market remind me of China, the China story and the economic miracle it created,” she asserted.

The morning sessions concluded with a discussion featuring Issam Kazim, CEO of the Dubai Corporation for Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DCTCM), and Brett Armitage, Chief Commercial Officer of Kerzner International.

Kazim and Armitage spoke about the tourism sector’s role as an important revenue generator. The session focused on how Dubai can serve as an example for economies around the world due to its success in creating a sustainable tourism industry that has emerged as a powerhouse for its economy.

Highlighting Dubai’s example as a playbook for the world, Kazim attributed the emirate’s success to the visionary leadership of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, as well as the spirit of collaboration between the public and private sectors.

He highlighted Dubai’s approach of embracing a modern approach to architecture while keeping the city’s heritage alive as a key element of the emirate’s ambitious agenda. “Our aim is to become one of the top three most-visited destinations in the world. Dubai is a place for leisure, business, and health for people from around the world,” he said.

Armitage emphasised the importance of maintaining a balance in the hospitality landscape, stating, “We don’t want everything to be five-star, we want diversity. We have launched four-star properties like Bab Al Shams as well as five-star offerings like Atlantis the Palm.”

The Dubai Business Forum brings together key stakeholders from the government and private sectors across the globe to explore strategic economic partnerships, develop international networks, and open new horizons for business, trade, and investments.

Hosted under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, the Dubai Business Forum convened international business leaders and key economic figures for a two-day event that represents a key moment in the region’s annual business calendar to discuss the trends and solutions shaping deal-making today.

The two-day event welcomed hundreds of global changemakers and industry experts for an array of engaging high-level plenaries and sessions with a focus on “getting business done” by driving crucial conversations and facilitating pivotal partnerships to transform the future of business.

The event featured a variety of high profile keynote speakers including Abdullah bin Touq Al Marri, Minister of Economy; Abdul-Aziz Abdulla Al Ghurair, Chairman, Dubai Chambers; Helal Saeed Al Marri, Director-General, Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism; Saeed Al Tayer; MD & CEO, Dubai Electricity & Water Authority; Khalfan Belhoul, CEO, Dubai Future Foundation; Badr Jafar, COP28 Special Representative for Business and Philanthropy.

This year’s Forum also addressed the critical topic of climate action and the role that businesses and the broader private sector has to play in meeting climate and nature goals ahead of the United Nations Climate Change Conference hosted by the UAE, COP28, that runs from 30th November to 12ht December.

In a plenary interview titled “Catalyzing Climate Action through Business & Philanthropy” between David Eades, BBC journalist, and Badr Jafar, COP28 Special Representative for Business and Philanthropy and CEO of Cresent Enterprises, Mr Jafar addressed how global business and philanthropic leaders can better engage in the global efforts to combat climate change and nature degradation, and crucially address the financing gap of the $4 trillion estimated annually to achieve net-zero emissions, support climate adaptation, and reverse nature loss.

With COP28 only a few weeks away, Jafar said, “In a first for COP, the COP28 Presidency will be hosting the COP28 Business & Climate Forum to galvanise the ingenuity and capacity of the private sector. His Excellency Dr Sultan Al Jaber has called for a new paradigm of ‘actionism’, which embraces the dynamism, capital, and action networks that business and philanthropy must bring to the table if we are to move from pledges and announcements, to action and implementation.” Badr Jafar, a staunch advocate of strategic philanthropy and Founding Patron of the Centre for Strategic Philanthropy at the University of Cambridge, and the NYU-Abu Dhabi Strategic Philanthropy Initiative, went on to explain how philanthropy can be the glue that binds business, government, and civil society together in concerted, consistent action - that has been lacking so far, and that has stymied progress on the climate agenda. “Strategic climate and nature philanthropy has the ability to deploy flexible, risk-tolerant, and patient capital in ways that uniquely leverage business and government capital and create that multiplier effect we need if we are to move from billions to trillions towards climate solutions,” Jafar explained.

Addressing the energy transition, a central pillar of the COP28 Action Agenda, Jafar added, “If the first UN Sustainable Development Goal is to eradicate extreme poverty by 2030, we must look at both energy and society’s challenges through a single lens. By thinking about society and energy as two sides of the same coin, countries can fully evaluate smart energy policies as enablers of development, especially in the regions like Mena where supporting a fair and just energy evolution must also facilitate economic growth and resultant critical jobs.” The COP28 Business and Philanthropy Climate Forum will be hosted by the COP28 Presidency on the 1st and 2nd of December, and attendees will look at calculated solutions for accelerating tech transfer, de-risking green investments, enhancing nature capital, boosting green SMEs and start-ups, and investing in mitigation and adaptation tactics to support the most vulnerable.