While much of the world has focused on radical proposals by the US president to change the Middle East, a group of Silicon Valley entrepreneurs and technical leaders headed to Damascus for a unique event last weekend. We gathered. For the first time in 50 years, free Syria held an independent technical conference. This is because conflict-injured countries are trying to restructure their economy and infrastructure from the devastation of a 13-year civil war.
I wanted to take Silicon Valley to Damascus.
The two-day 25-day conference, hosted by a group of Syrian-Americans working in Syrian Valley, included workshops and discussions on artificial intelligence and data security, among other technology-related topics. The program is intended to connect Silicon Valley with the emerging technology ecosystem in Syria.
“We wanted to take Silicon Valley to Damascus,” said Bassel Ogier, co-founder and CEO of Palo Alto-based Rigadata, who was one of the organizers of the 25th class, and was CEO of Rigadata. told the Rest of World. “We wanted to connect with entrepreneurs, industry leaders and change makers, exchange expertise and form strategic partnerships.”
Sync 25’s organizational group, including Silicon Valley entrepreneurs and Syrian investors, aims to create 25,000 new jobs in the Syrian technology sector over the next five years, Ojjeh said.
The high-tech entrepreneurs who attended the conference hope that the event will be a starting point to help Syrian investors build better infrastructure. “We need to consider employment and improve our internet infrastructure,” Yazan Enayeh, founder of Switzerland-based watch company L’Orloger, told Lest of World .
The meeting, in December, calls for support and reestablish diplomatic relations after expelling former President Bashar al-Assad in December, amid a positive outreach to regional authority It was done. Last month, Syrian interim leader Ahmed Alshara met with Turkish President Recept Tayyip Erdogan of Ankara and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman of Riyadh. The Saudi Arabian News Agency said, among other things, the two leaders discussed future plans in the field of energy and technology.
The event came together less than a month later, Ojjeh said. “We moved quickly and tried to reach out and talk about the Syrian people’s disease tech industry,” he said. “The peers are like puzzles that still find themselves. The fact that they were able to hold this meeting (this fully booked meeting) just a month after the collapse of the administration, is what people are saying. It is a proof of hope and dreams.
Ali Haji Suleiman is for the rest of the world
Syrian economy is in chaos. Although Western sanctions imposed during former President Bashar al-Assad’s administration are slowly lifted, the country is still dealing with a lack of international trust.
Earlier this month, Ayman Hamawier, head of the Syrian Investment Agency, told Reuters that western sanctions on the country’s banks were preventing them from receiving significant investments from Arab and European companies. He said he defended dozens of requests from investors who wanted to support projects such as building hospitals, developing real estate, and establishing wind power facilities in Syria every day.
There is a lack of basic amenities within Syria. There is a shortage of electricity, the internet is slow, and the communications infrastructure is outdated. The country also needs to urgently update laws and regulations regarding the technology sector.
“It is essential to reconsider foreign and public trust in Syria’s economy right now,” said MTN, a global brand and one of Syria’s mobile telecom provider in South Africa and one of Syria’s two major telecom operators. Sponsored Senior Senior Manager Nour Al-Khatib spoke to the rest of the world. “These types of meetings are distant in terms of building trust and regaining trust among people and foreign investors to close the gap between knowledge and capabilities.”
Syria introduced mobile phone services only in 2000 after the government approved the two private companies, Syriater and Areba. The Syriater was owned by Assad’s cousin, Rami Mahulhu. Areba later merged with the South African MTN group. However, the domestic communications sector was operated under excessive state control through Assad’s control.
“We need to have an initial assessment of the reality of infrastructure,” said Al-Khatib. “We need people and skills. We need people who are trying to drive what technology is coming. Human resources are the main component of this challenge.”
Despite the challenges, Syria has a fledgling high-tech industry. According to data and research platform Tracxn, an average of two new high-tech companies have launched in the country each year over the past decade.
Syria has said, “strong software that is highly resilient, productive with two hours of power a day while dealing with awful internet systems, allowing you to compete with your international counterparts. There is an engineer’s pool.
Ojjeh, a bystander at the conference, met Syrian interim president, Alshara, at his residence, to discuss the future of Syrian high-tech industry, along with the group of representatives who organized the event.
“The new authorities are very keen to continue these types of meetings and workshops, and are driving the economy in the tech sector,” Ojjeh said after the meeting.
