Dubai – Masaader News
The sixth edition of ArabNet Digital Summit –the MENA’s largest gathering of leaders and experts in the digital business– kicked off on Monday, 30 April, 2018, at Madinat Jumeirah Conference and Events Center in Dubai. The summit has already set new records with the presence of over 1,800 attendees, 115 speakers, 75 exhibitors, as well as more than 100 investors and venture capital firms who gathered under one umbrella to discuss the latest digital trends and opportunities in the UAE and the wider region. Featuring a packed agenda, the two-day event also brought together high-level sponsors, including Du, OMD, Gulf Capital, Emirates NBD, IDAL, Bayt and Dubai Chamber.
In his opening speech, Omar Christidis, Founder and CEO of ArabNet, noted, “As the digital market in MENA continues to expand and evolve from a trend to a fundamental part of business strategies, industry leaders are looking for specialized knowledge and connections to stay ahead. And therefore, ArabNet conference offers a holistic experience that caters to the diverse audience of business professionals.”
The conference kicked off with the AdTech Forum, with OMD as Strategic Sponsor and Maddict as Knowledge Partner, featuring two full tracks: Media and Adtech. The two tracks hosted keynote speakers from leading agencies and platforms, including OMD, Brightcove, Twitter and Charming Robot. The tracks also covered the latest trends in digital media and advertising through seven panels that included experts from Google, Buzzeff Middle East, Nissan Motor Co., L’Oreal, Facebook, General Motors and Ford.
On the same day, the Money Forum – Powered by NextMoney brought together diverse stakeholders, who included banks, regulators, fintech startups and investors. The forum hosted Fadi Hindi, CEO of Takaful Emarat as part of the CEO Series where he discussed his organisation-wide transformation strategy to embrace innovation and disruptive technologies. The forum also featured five content-packed panels that discussed a range of topics, from blockchain and cryptocurrency to artificial intelligence and the bank of the future. These panels included thought leaders from Bahrain Economic Development Board, Emirates Islamic Bank, Active.AI, Level39-FinTech London, Rainmaking Innovations among others.
On the sidelines of the summit, ArabNet hosted government and corporate leaders in the Digital Policy Forum, which included policy roundtables and one-on-one meetings that help build meaningful bilateral government relationships leading to fruitful collaborations. This invitation-only forum will spread across the two-day conference.
The ArabNet Digital Summit will continue on Tuesday, 1 May, 2018, featuring the newly-introduced Real Estate Tech Forum, the Smart Economy Forum, the Investment Forum, the second roundtable of the Digital Policy Forum as well as the Startup Championship and Smartpreneur competitions.