LIKE other Gulf countries, Oman is embarking on a remarkable journey of economic transformation. This transformation, encapsulated in Vision 2040, signifies a monumental shift from an oil-dependent economy to a diversified and sustainable one.
When we say “digital economy,” we mean not only the digital transformation of all spheres of life - from business to public services but also the creation of our own IT sector with its startups, universities, and a developed segment for the provision of digital services.
Such a transformation does not happen overnight and requires not only political will, the presence of which was outlined by His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tarik and which is reflected in Vision 2040, but also daily painstaking work aimed at increasing digital expertise within the country, developing investment attractiveness, innovative entrepreneurship, and reinvestment of local capital in intellectual capital and much more.
All processes in our time have become so fleeting that to close the gap, organically growing in the right direction is not sufficient, and out-of-the-box solutions to leapfrog are required. Such not ordinary solution would be digital integration of the Gulf region and, in particular, Oman with the Central Asian and Caucasus regions in Eurasia.
The Caucasus and Central Asian countries took good care of their intellectual potential. They arranged ideal conditions to create an IT industry that was initially based on outsourcing, then – on Western orders for more complex engineering solutions, and finally, on their technological products. At the initiative of governments or non-governmental organizations, IT parks were created, in which companies working for export received special tax and legal preferences. Taxes for such companies have been reduced to a single-digit number, companies have been freed from the region-wide registration bureaucracy and the currency regulation hassle, and, in some countries, and such companies have even been able to conclude contracts in accordance with British law.
The IT education system was not only restored and modernized but also expanded; working developers from global engineering companies were involved as mentors. Graduates of such training became the primary source for the growth of international companies that opened their regional offices and attracted new ones, both engineering and product.
The IT ecosystem was created in the region by the joint efforts of not only local governments and local and global IT companies but also international financial institutions and development agencies such as the World Bank, EBRD, USAID, and others.
Today, the IT ecosystem of the Central Asian and Caucasian countries is a well-tuned, modern, dynamically developing mechanism that needs only one component – foreign orders and investments.
As the digital miracle of Eurasia is blooming, the GCC region, located almost in the same time zone as the bearer of a similar cultural code, is showing outstanding leadership ambitions in the knowledge economy. Historical experience shows that the most ambitious projects were awarded with success only in the case of mutually beneficial collaboration between the most gifted stakeholders. The Gulf countries are undoubtedly capable of joining forces and forming a coalition for digital cooperation with the Caucasus and Central Asia in order to become a single digital market and a global digital hub.
Initially, such cooperation should be based on three components. The first one is providing digital services by engineering companies with offices in the Caucasus and Central Asia to the traditional business and public sector of the Gulf countries. The second is the participation of venture capital from the Gulf countries in the development of the startup ecosystem of the Caucasus and Central Asia. The third is the regional knowledge partnership.
For the systematic implementation of this initiative in Oman, local government and businesses should work in 7 main areas:
Attraction of large international engineering companies
Large international engineering companies have R&D offices in several countries, employing thousands or tens of thousands of coders and providing digital services to global corporations. Such companies can quickly transfer assignments between their offices, as well as relocate their employees. That type of companies will enable Oman to increase production, including export-oriented quickly. This can be implemented within the framework of the Vision 2040 program The National Program for Investment and Exports Development (Nazdaher)
Development of a local startup ecosystem
Oman should attract leading mentors and experts from Silicon Valley and the EU to accelerate and promote local startups and to develop entrepreneurial skills, attract the world's best venture funds to cooperate with the park, develop local angel investors pipeline, and create local venture funds in Oman. These activities will fulfill Innovation Dynamics, Innovation Capacity, Ecosystem knowledge sharing, and other Strategic Priorities in short-term and medium-term timeframes within Economic Leadership and Management as well as Economic Diversification and Fiscal Sustainability Key Performance Indicators.
Promotion of the international reputation of Oman as a technologically advanced country
That will ensure the representation of Oman's IT industry at the prime international venues and also will hold its own international forums and events, establishing a globally-accepted Innovation Forum to support events, conferences, and seminars for innovators, startups, and SMEs throughout the country and to attract global stakeholders, accomplishing the priority recommendation Ecosystem Knowledge Sharing 1 advised in the Digital innovation profile of Oman.
National Employment Program Tashgheel
For the accelerated growth of Oman's IT industry, it will be necessary to train a significant number of local talent. They will be trained within special training programs organized by large international engineering companies. Over time, such programs will be embedded into the formal curriculum of local universities; joint programs with the leading international universities, such as Berkeley, Stanford and others, which, except for the main target of local talent development, will also support emphasized Strategic Priorities focused on Innovation Capacity increase aligning Education, Learning, Scientific Research and National Capabilities Key Performance Indicator.
AI-cloud-blockchain technologies
To be in line with the most cutting-edge technologies, the training of Omani specialists should focus on AI, cloud, and blockchain in collaboration with the global leaders, fulfilling the Artificial Intelligence & Advanced Technologies focus of the priorities set by the country.
Relationships with the world’s largest technology corporations
Such global giants as Google, Microsoft, and Amazon are at the first stage of providing the backbone services - cloud and other technologies, in order to further attract them to work in Oman. This will allow reaching goals for Ecosystem knowledge sharing, Ecosystem partnership, and governance Strategic Priorities, simultaneously promoting data centers and cloud services supporting the Focus Area for up to 2025.
Issues of regional and transnational collaboration
Cooperation with similar parks in the Gulf countries, countries of Central Asia, and the Caucasus will facilitate the implementation of the joint startup acceleration programs, organize transnational venture funds, and eventually support the development of a regional digital hub in Oman.
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