As Arab states look to diversify beyond oil, they face a classic challenge: global tech firms seek established clusters before committing, but clusters don’t emerge without those firms. A Chinese perspective highlights a policy magnet approach—designing an ecosystem that makes market entry the path of least resistance. Here are six strategic moves:
1. Treat time saved as a subsidy. Beyond cash incentives, accelerating processes—think half-day licensing like in Hangzhou—builds confidence among founders. Quick approvals for bank accounts, loans, and utilities signal that critical steps move in days, not months.
2. Act as an enterprise concierge. Assign a single government counterpart to handle land allocation, visas, customs, bank accounts, and local hiring. In Hangzhou, this hands-on support from day one ensures outcomes—factories power up, first hires happen, initial invoices are issued—rather than endless meetings.
3. Make finance a bridge, not a moat. Integrate financial support into public services by connecting firms with investors, guiding targeted loans, co-investing, or providing direct capital. Hefei’s model of milestone-based city investments demonstrates how strategic backing helps companies navigate early-stage hurdles and scale.
4. Use land and space as strategic levers. Develop industrial parks that colocate suppliers, labs, testing centers, and universities to boost collaboration. Subsidized or rent-free plots can anchor high-priority firms, turning physical space into a policy instrument that drives efficiency and innovation.
5. Make procurement the first market. Structured government procurement acts as a reliable reference customer. Even modest initial orders can validate products, signal credibility, and encourage broader commercial adoption within and beyond the region.
6. Regulate through sandboxes, not slogans. For emerging fields like AI safety, health data, or advanced robotics, bounded regulatory sandboxes with clear metrics and sunset clauses foster real-world experimentation. This balanced framework avoids stifling early innovation while preventing regulatory chaos.
By adopting these policy magnet strategies, Arab states can build an environment that naturally attracts global tech players. With the right support structures, the path to market becomes the easiest path forward, sparking new clusters and diversifying the economy beyond oil.
Reference(s):
How Arab states can land global tech firms: A Chinese perspective
cgtn.com
