RIYADH: In the halls of the Misk Foundation’s City Hub in Riyadh, voices echoed in anticipation ahead of last night’s celebration of World Entrepreneurship Day.
The buzz of excitement was rewarded, with valuable experience handed down by leading experts and specialists in various entrepreneurial fields, alongside networking sessions, creativity-enhancing events and idea-building tasks.
The first speaker, 25-year-old Abdullah Alalshaikh, spoke about his 10-year journey to establishing and becoming the CEO of Watan First Digital in October 2020. The company is a customized digital solutions company that caters to the needs of businesses using digital technologies and artificial intelligence (AI) solutions.
Alalshaikh shared his journey from becoming the youngest Saudi photographer to join Sabq Online Newspaper at 15-years-old in 2011, his many successes and failed business attempts, reaching the forefront of ticket sales within the entertainment revolution in the Kingdom, and then the launch of his company, Watan.
He later launched the commerce app “Tshtri” and car maintenance app “Warshati,” and other digital businesses in the last two years.
His main takeaway from his decade-long experience is simple: “A technical project idea doesn’t require you to be a programmer or have great knowledge in the tech field. All you need is the idea.”
The night continued with various interactive activities, including a coffee section, a lego-building station, where ideators can practice bringing an abstract idea to life, and an art section, where event-goers generate ideas and apply their passion into profitable plans.
Attendees also participated in a networking session, where thinkers, investors, and aspiring entrepreneurs got to know each other and exchanged ideas.
“We only hear about success stories and only about failures after our successes. Abdullah’s story was very inspirational. How he built things and didn’t mind destroying them,” one event attendee, Abdulaziz, told Arab News.
“I’m hoping to learn what’s in the market if there are new technologies coming out, if there are new methodologies. The great thing about these events is that they raise awareness,” he said.
Manale Reslan, a program coordinator at Lebanese education technology company Pioneers Gate, told Arab News that the company relocated to the Kingdom because of the fruitful opportunities that have recently surfaced.
“It’s impressive… It gave me and (my business partner) some positive impact, especially when we talked to Abdullah,” she said.
The company provides technology, STEM education, robotics, and AI solutions through educational institutions.
“I didn’t expect that here in Saudi Arabia and Riyadh that there’s this much interest… We are now starting to see that the Kingdom is booming in the digital world, and that’s what made us come here to open our business here,” Reslan said, adding: “Maybe it could be a chance for us to add to this community.”
The eventful night culminated with Web3 strategist and entrepreneur Omar Aridi’s talk focusing on demystifying the concept of NFTs and unlocking the truth behind the new technology.
Aridi is the founder of XGUARD, an emerging company based in the Arab region, aiming to help organizations and individuals navigate Web3 and the virtual space — one block at a time.
“We hope to_ remove the misconception around all these new buzzwords like NFTs, metaverse, blockchain, because the technology behind all these assets is quite massive. I do believe that moving into a digital transformation, you really need to adopt such technology as infrastructure,” he told Arab News.
Aridi’s talk highlighted the development of this new web platform, starting from the early emergence of the dial-up Internet to the creation of the metaverse. He demonstrated its significance, various utilizations, regulations, and its ongoing evolution.
The entrepreneur hopes to bridge the gap between these new technologies and the general public through his company’s work, which centers on consulting and education.
“I do see a lot of entrepreneurs moving into the tech industry. This is mainly one of the biggest industries that are capturing a lot of interest from the young … what we’re trying to do (today) is have people know more about this technology and see how they can incorporate such technologies into their business,” he said.
In 2021, Saudi Arabia ranked first globally out of 45 counties by the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor Index as the best country with good opportunities to start a business and the ease of starting a business. The Kingdom ranked second by the National Center for Performance Measurement for individual skills and knowledge, and infrastructure.