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Tribune News Network
Doha
The Middle East has become an ‘active innovation centre’ and companies are pursuing new technologies, such as artificial intelligence and machine learning, outside of their traditional areas of strength, according to the Boston Consulting Group.
Nearly 58 percent of Middle East companies are ‘committed innovators’, compared with 45 percent globally, the consultancy’s 2020 global innovation survey, released this month, said.
Almost 63 per cent of regional firms consider innovation as a top three priority, compared with a global average of 66 per cent, and close to 57 percent of local companies plan to invest more in innovation activities in the coming years, according to the report.
Of the 2,500 global innovation executives interviewed in the survey, 63 per cent were top senior executives in a company and 37 per cent were at senior vice-president or vice-president levels. The consultancy assessed the performance of companies according to four criteria: industry disruption, value creation, peer views and global mindshare.
Middle East markets are “newer, re-energised and motivated players” in the innovation game, it added.
The region is “home to some of the most committed innovators in the world” and is emerging as a “melting pot for multinational corporations and leading global academic institutions”.
“Middle Eastern governments and private institutions have established global partnerships that serve the innovation agenda.”
Executives from the Middle East said they follow established global best practices to pursue innovation at their workplaces.
They scored their own firms’ innovation maturity at 71 per cent, which is nearly as high as that of Chinese respondents (72 per cent) and seven points higher than Germany, 10 points higher than the US and 12 points higher than Japan and the UK.
BCG said innovators in the Middle East have significant resources they can leverage.
The report said the region’s large young population is accelerating the adoption of new work models and advanced technologies, such as machine learning and AI.
“Another advantage is that Middle Eastern companies are good at marrying global innovations with local knowledge and experience to create new markets and substantial value … and then attracting global interest to the region,” it added.
BCG highlighted the $3 billion acquisition of Careem by Uber last year and the buyout of local e-commerce site Souq by tech giant Amazon for $580m in 2017 as examples of the region making headway on the innovation front.
Doha
The Middle East has become an ‘active innovation centre’ and companies are pursuing new technologies, such as artificial intelligence and machine learning, outside of their traditional areas of strength, according to the Boston Consulting Group.
Nearly 58 percent of Middle East companies are ‘committed innovators’, compared with 45 percent globally, the consultancy’s 2020 global innovation survey, released this month, said.
Almost 63 per cent of regional firms consider innovation as a top three priority, compared with a global average of 66 per cent, and close to 57 percent of local companies plan to invest more in innovation activities in the coming years, according to the report.
Of the 2,500 global innovation executives interviewed in the survey, 63 per cent were top senior executives in a company and 37 per cent were at senior vice-president or vice-president levels. The consultancy assessed the performance of companies according to four criteria: industry disruption, value creation, peer views and global mindshare.
Middle East markets are “newer, re-energised and motivated players” in the innovation game, it added.
The region is “home to some of the most committed innovators in the world” and is emerging as a “melting pot for multinational corporations and leading global academic institutions”.
“Middle Eastern governments and private institutions have established global partnerships that serve the innovation agenda.”
Executives from the Middle East said they follow established global best practices to pursue innovation at their workplaces.
They scored their own firms’ innovation maturity at 71 per cent, which is nearly as high as that of Chinese respondents (72 per cent) and seven points higher than Germany, 10 points higher than the US and 12 points higher than Japan and the UK.
BCG said innovators in the Middle East have significant resources they can leverage.
The report said the region’s large young population is accelerating the adoption of new work models and advanced technologies, such as machine learning and AI.
“Another advantage is that Middle Eastern companies are good at marrying global innovations with local knowledge and experience to create new markets and substantial value … and then attracting global interest to the region,” it added.
BCG highlighted the $3 billion acquisition of Careem by Uber last year and the buyout of local e-commerce site Souq by tech giant Amazon for $580m in 2017 as examples of the region making headway on the innovation front.
