Tejari, the leading online B2B marketplace for global emerging markets, recently hosted a panel discussion on the future of the internet in the Middle East. The panel resulted in a five-point action plan to be presented to the Government of Dubai, in preparation for World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2009 in Davos, Switzerland.

The meeting saw prominent technology leaders come together at Jumeirah Beach Hotel, Dubai to shape the information and communication technology infrastructure within the Middle East. The discussion focussed on the role of emerging markets as the new light in the global economy and how this region will impact the future of the Internet.

Emerging markets are the fastest growing globally, at nearly twice the rate of developed economies. The former ‘developing world’ is set to re-emerge as a dominant force, particularly in commerce, with over 10% of the Fortune 500 global corporations already headquartered in emerging markets

Facilitating the discussions Omar Hijazi, CEO of Tejari, said, “Today’s emerging markets are shaping the World’s economic future and they clearly comprehend their economic potential will be determined by the sophistication of their technology. This presents a huge opportunity for Dubai to export its sophisticated ICT infrastructure, innovation, and entrepreneurship to become a significant factor in shaping commerce and society on a global scale.”

Hijazi added: “In today’s dialogue, joined by friends and colleagues comprising the most influential minds in the ICT industry, we took a concrete step forward to ensure the Arab World has a voice in shaping the future of the Internet.

The first panel including CEO of Du, Osman Sultan, Founder and CEO of Zawya.com, Ihsan Jawad, Edward Zheng CEO of Sparkice, China and President of MADAR Research, Abdul Kader Kamli explored several significant issues facing the Arab ICT industry today.

Osman Sultan, CEO of Du commented, “In the UAE we have the broadband infrastructure but this is not necessarily the case in the rest of the Arab World. Then again, mobile penetration is one of the highest globally and the mobile phone could quickly become the dominant Internet platform.”

A second panel representing the consumer market comprised Ahmed Shabib, CEO of Brownbag.ae, Rani Dola, CEO of Arabian Interactive, Ronaldo Mouchawar, CEO Souq.com and Charbel Fakhoury, General Manager of Microsoft Arabian Gulf looked at consumer barriers to adoption and lack of Arabic content on the Internet.

Ahmed Shabib from Brownbag.ae made a strong appeal for the need for Dubai to create an ICT environment which encourages innovation and fosters a spirit of entrepreneurship: “The internet should be seen as a platform that promotes young aspiring entrepreneurs.”

Important issues were put to the floor including those concerning the development of more sophisticated ICT infrastructure, affordability of the Internet broadband, education, e-literacy and government policy. With a diverse group of industry leaders discussing the future of the internet in emerging economies, empowerment through connectivity was a recurring theme.

The eeminent thought leaders representing regional and international businesses also included additional executives from Omania E-commerce, DubaiTrade.ae, Simsari.com, B2B Buyer Digest, the British University of Dubai and the Dubai School of Government.

A key topic discussed was the new strength of global Internet users, who today total approximately 1.5 billion, distributed evenly between emerging markets and developed economies. Current projections estimate that in 10 years emerging markets’ Internet user population will be as high as 90% of the total online user base. A new online population has already surfaced with an estimate of over 100 million Muslim users now on the Internet, majority of which are based in the emerging markets. These indicators are testimony to the fact that the region can play a key role in paving the way for the Internet in the emerging markets.

The private roundtable dialogue developed an action plan on how the vision and resources of Dubai can contribute towards shaping a better future for Internet. The outcome was the collaborative effort of all industry leaders who participated at the conference. The five-point plan of action included; building ICT infrastructure, the long term goal to position Dubai as a global hub for multi cultural language, the importance of Arabic generated content, the need to more access to venture capital and foster a culture of entrepreneurship amongst the young and the importance of e-literacy in education and a unanimous need for an internet policy to protect the privacy, safety and rights of users.

This plan of action will be subsequently presented to the Government of Dubai, as part of a wider plan to advance solutions to the most critical challenges facing humanity. The outcomes from the Summit will be presented at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2009 in Davos, Switzerland, for further discussion and action.

Tejari is a perfect example of the innovative spirit of Dubai. The company, launched by the Government of Dubai, is one of the most successful units of Dubai World, a holding company that is responsible for much of the emirate's phenomenal economic growth. The online trading portal helps facilitate trade between companies and geographies through the largest buyer network in the Middle East thereby ensuring that more and more businesses in the UAE and emerging markets are becoming "e-ready”.