Forty Pakistani tech firms including 15 start-ups will participate in the mega IT event, LEAP, to be held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia from Feb. 1 to Feb. 3, minister for trade and investment Azhar Ali Dahar revealed on Sunday.
Addressing a gathering at the Pakistan Embassy in Riyadh, Dahar told that the Pakistani firms will set up two pavilions at the event.
“This is the first time Pakistani companies will be arriving in Saudi Arabia in a big way since the focus of these firms has traditionally remained on Europe, the United States and Canada.”
He said the trade ministry wants Pakistani tech firms participating in the global technology conference to explore huge opportunities in the IT sector of Saudi Arabia, which is expected to exhibit huge growth under Saudi Vision 2030.
Ambassador to the Saudi Arabia Lt Gen (retd) Bilal Akbar will inaugurate the Pakistani portion of the exhibition, according to the trade and investment minister.
Collaborators
The Pakistani firms will setup pavilions in the global technology conference in collaboration with:
- The Pakistan Software Houses Association
- Pakistan Software Export Board
- Ministry of IT & Telecom, and
- Trade Development Authority of Pakistan
NIC startups participating in LEAP
The 12 National Incubation Centre (NIC) startups participating in LEAP in Riyadh include:
- ExpertFlow (Healthtech)
- Mapalytics (AR/VR)
- Stech (AI)
- Exbid (Shared economy)
- Student1stop (Edtech)
- TB-AI (Healthtech)
- BizB (Ecommerce)
- Smart Helmet (Cleantech)
- Asani.io (AI/Big data)
- Hukum Janab (Services)
- Mytm (Fintech)
- Arm Rehab Technologies (Healthtech)
Pakistani startups participating in IT sector is encouraging
Dahar said it is encouraging to see Pakistani firms stepping out of traditional lines and participating in tech-related global events.
“We have been seeking Pakistani companies, other than those selling food and traditional items, to target the Saudi market, and information technology was always considered to be one of the potential sectors,” Dahar said. “We are confident that Pakistani IT firms will benefit from Saudi Vision 2030 which will allow the kingdom to invest more than $400 billion in various sectors.”
Trade mission, Riyadh Chamber of Commerce meeting
The trade mission is also planning to organize a networking meet-up at the Riyadh Chamber of Commerce in collaboration with Pakistani and Saudi companies, industry leaders, and investors to engage in information exchange and business matchmaking.
The Riyadh LEAP:
The global technology conference will see participation from
- About 350 speakers from 80 countries
- 700 innovators and start-ups from all over the world
- 40,000 local and international visitors
The event will also host “The Rocket Fuel Startup Competition” where startups will exhibit & pitch their ideas to a panel of judges, angels, VCs and government stakeholders.
The participating startups can win awards worth $1 million.