Lord Stephen Carter CBE, the Group Chief Executive of Informa PLC, has praised the ‘leadership’ and ‘enabler’ roles that LEAP 2024 – the world’s most-attended tech event – is playing in championing Saudi Arabia’s mega, technology-driven economic and societal change agendas.
Speaking on the first day of LEAP 2024, which runs at Riyadh Exhibition & Conference Centre, Malham, until March 7, Lord Carter reflected on the event’s four-year journey from concept to reality during a keynote address.
Recalling initial discussions four years ago with the Saudi Federation for Cybersecurity, Programming and Drones (SAFCSP) and Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT), Lord Carter effused over the show’s rapid birth and sharp evolution into what he dubbed a ‘world event’.
“It’s remarkable to consider that it’s only been four years since we first had the conversation about creating LEAP. Since those early days, the event has grown from conceptual idea, to event, to genuine world event,” said Lord Carter.
“One must only look at today’s multi-billion-dollar announcements by global technology giants including Amazon Web Services (AWS), IBM, Service Now, DataVolt – not to mention the domestic investment by the likes of ARAMCO – to understand that LEAP is now a world event in Riyadh; a city which is now a world location for meetings, and a city which is progressively and successfully engaging global technology players.
“Having already achieved a litany of significant milestones, we are left to wonder where LEAP could be in another three, six, or nine years. Where Riyadh, and Saudi Arabia, will be. And, excitingly, that is the principle behind LEAP – expand, scale and surprise -and it perfectly befits this city and country so well.”
With LEAP 2024 co-organised by Tahaluf – a strategic joint venture between Informa PLC, the Kingdom’s Events Investment Fund (EIF), MCIT and SAFCSP – Lord Carter lauded the vision and ‘can-do, will-do’ mindset of the event’s stakeholders.
“Partnership is easy to say, but hard to live and breathe,” he continued. “True partnerships are where different people with different skills come together to create new, and real, opportunities. Part of our job is to serve as the enabler, the provider; our job is to make it work for the investors, innovators, and stakeholders. That’s why we have constantly sought to ensure that LEAP embodies this ethos as it has evolved from startup to scaleup. It is impossible not to feel the essence, energy, and unlimited ambition behind the event.”
Lord Carter was also quick to highlight the event’s commitment to accelerating technology infrastructure growth, upskilling the domestic workforce for future tech careers, spearheading major investment across the industry ecosystem, and championing innovation across Saudi Arabia, and the wider Middle East region.
“The projections are that 200,000 people will come to LEAP 2024, which is simply staggering,” said Lord Carter. “The event’s visitors will see 1,800 exhibitors – of which 50 per cent are international companies – bringing innovation, expertise, and employment opportunities to Riyadh; 800 start-up innovators trying to bring their ideas and creations to the next stage of commercial development; 600 investors eager to explore where they can fix their financial commitments, and much, much more.
“There’s big tech and established tech – the household names – but we are urging visitors to take the time to visit the investment, startup, and innovation halls too, because those companies will form the giants of LEAP 2034 in a decade’s time.”
LEAP 2024 runs at Riyadh Exhibition & Conference Centre, Malham, until March 7.
