Knowledge Economic City CEO Tahir Bawazir, left, and Khalid Al-Dhaher, general manager of Microsoft Saudi Arabia, speaking at the press conference in Jeddah on Monday. (AN photo by Hasan Hatrash)

JEDDAH, 26 February 2008 — Young Saudis may soon be knocking at the gates of the IT world as a result of a strategic partnership agreement signed yesterday between the Knowledge Economic City in Madinah (KEC) and Microsoft Saudi Arabia.

“Young Saudis will soon be knocking at the gates of the IT world as a result of this strategic partnership,” Tahir Bawazir, CEO of KEC, told reporters at a press conference following the signing of the agreement at the Jeddah Hilton Hotel.

The highlights of the partnership include establishing a Microsoft academy to train Saudis in the use of information technology, he said. The academy will be complimented with the establishment of a Microsoft Library, trial software and other learning material.

He added that the agreement would also drive the formation of incubators to provide young entrepreneurs with an encouraging environment to establish healthy and promising businesses and thrive within a knowledge economy.

The objective of incubators is to help young Saudis gain employment and contribute to the economic and technological growth of the Kingdom, he said, adding that young Saudis who have an entrepreneurial spirit, who are excited by research and development, who have a passion for using technology as a business base, will have the sky as their limit.

“With the help of Microsoft, KEC will become a new hub where future innovators will be able to develop their ideas, grow and become tomorrow’s scientists and technology leaders of the Islamic world,” Bawazir said.

Khalid Al-Dhaher, general manager of Microsoft, Saudi Arabia, said that this strategic partnership with KEC would help propel local scientific and technological innovation as new ideas create new businesses and new jobs, improve productivity and enhance human welfare.

“Building local capacity for innovation and entrepreneurship is essential for the people of Saudi Arabia to participate in the success of a knowledge economy,” Al-Dhaher said.

The Microsoft Academy will comprise experts made available through Microsoft’s access to experts and a network of partners that they would be able to bring to operate the academy, he said.

KEC Madinah is one of four economic cities being developed in Saudi Arabia to boost regional development and provide employment for the country’s growing population by focusing on intellectual property, knowledge-based industries, medicine, hospitality, tourism and multi-media.

The Knowledge Economic City is designed as a project that will position Saudi Arabia and young Saudi Arabian entrepreneurs as internationally respected leaders in knowledge-based industries. It also aims to attract and develop talent from around the world, providing them with opportunities on a global scale while providing investors and entrepreneurs with infrastructure, opportunity, a unique pool of talent and the potential for a healthy return on investment.

More than 20,000 jobs and accommodation for about 150,000 people will be created by the project, which will have an aggregated investment of more than SR30 billion and take up to 12 years to complete. KEC will include the Taiba Technological and Economic Information Center, an interactive museum on the Prophet’s (peace be upon him) life as well as a center for medical studies, biosciences and integrated medical services.