Arab governments need to collaborate to boost digital growth

Countries in the Arab region have been focused on developing their startup ecosystem, primarily in the tech space. With the success of Souq.com and Careem, we know that the region has the potential for tech companies to give stiff competition to their foreign counterparts. However, one of the key aspects to boost their growth is more governmental collaboration.

The World Economic Forum noted that outdated policies and restrictive regulations pose barriers when it comes to visas, licenses and the basic groundwork involved in setting up innovative tech startups. This also impedes expansion within the region. While governments are continually introducing new regulations and sandbox environments to help the set-up and growth of such companies, together they can do a lot more to ease their pain points.

It is critical that the MENA governments collaborate and learn from each other. Complicated customs procedures and regional frictions have seen low intra-regional trade compared to other regions of the world. Technology can help the region collaborate more, to boost the growth of startups in the region and strengthen the economy in its vision to diversify from the oil sector.

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