Dubai Internet City's Executive Director calls for support to boost entrepreneurship in region

As the leader of one of the world's largest managed ICT clusters, Al Malek said the promotion of entrepreneurship in the region is vital to maintain the forward momentum the IT sector has acquired in recent years.

"To boost entrepreneurship, it is important strong ties are developed between IT companies and universities across the globe so that they can work together to strengthen business relationships. It is also critical that closer links are built between local universities and leading international academic institutions,"

Al Malek said.

Al Malek told delegates it was critical to sustain investment in innovation, even in tough economic times. He said that while the current economic climate poses tough challenges for start-up companies, venture capital must continue to play a key role as a creative driver for the region's IT industry, which is expected to be worth almost $80bn by the end of 2012.

A recent ICT White Paper report on the Middle East, commissioned by Dubai Internet City showed that Middle East countries were on target to spend $13bn on IT related products, services and infrastructure, in 2008. This he said would provide a proliferation of opportunities for entrepreneurs who are in the forefront of the diversification of the region's economies away from oil.

With many of the world's leading IT companies represented at the event, Al Malek called on delegates to continue to play a positive role in developing the Middle East's IT sector by building IT capability into the region's leading businesses.

Fifty new business partners joined Dubai Internet City in the last quarter of 2008, a 100% increase year on year.