Haytham AlQadheeb, Chief Technology Officer of Qiwa at Takamol Holding, commanded attention at London's 4th International Finance Forum (IFF25), [AA2] where he outlined Saudi Arabia's digital transformation to global finance and technology leaders. His presentation detailed the Kingdom's strategic advances in labor market digitization and emphasized how digital infrastructure drives economic growth and capital efficiency across Africa and the MENA region.

Participating in a high-level panel discussion titled "Digital Oases: Financing the Next Generation of Africa and MENA's Internet Infrastructure," AlQadheeb underscored how digital transformation is not merely a technological upgrade but a fundamental strategic enabler for national development. He emphasized that Qiwa, Saudi Arabia's national platform for labor-related services, is at the forefront of this transformation, unlocking significant capital through its comprehensive suite of subscription-based services that span various sectors. This, in turn, allows for strategic capital reallocation towards critical cloud infrastructure and advanced Artificial Intelligence (AI) platforms.

The International Finance Forum, a flagship event by The Tech Capital, convened over 400 leaders from data centers, fiber, edge computing, AI, finance, and investment from more than 35 nations. AlQadheeb's participation highlighted Saudi Arabia's commitment to leveraging digital innovation to build a resilient and future-proof economy, positioning the Kingdom as a leading digital hub in the region and beyond.

"The digitization of our labor market through platforms like Qiwa is a cornerstone of Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030," AlQadheeb stated. "We are creating a dynamic digital ecosystem that not only accelerates business formation and readiness by simplifying company setup, licensing, and workforce onboarding but also significantly reduces time-to-market for new ventures, thereby boosting investor confidence."

He elaborated on Qiwa's foundational role in the national digital transformation agenda, acting as the backbone for labor-related digital services and enabling seamless integration with other national platforms. This integrated approach ensures a cohesive and efficient digital experience for businesses and individuals alike.

A key theme of AlQadheeb's address was the critical importance of skills development in the digital era. "Skills are the currency of future innovation," he asserted. "As we accelerate the adoption of cloud and AI technologies, a digitally fluent and agile workforce is not just an advantage but a prerequisite. Qiwa is strategically positioned to map and close skill gaps on a national scale."

To this end, Qiwa is actively working on introducing structured incentives and policy requirements for companies to invest in employee development, intrinsically linking compliance with future-readiness. Furthermore, AlQadheeb announced the forthcoming launch of a national Technology Excellence Program. This ambitious initiative, driven by real-time labor market insights, will focus on cultivating expertise in emerging technology fields such as cloud computing, AI, and cybersecurity, ensuring the Saudi workforce is prepared for the jobs of tomorrow.

Highlighting the platform's analytical capabilities, AlQadheeb explained how Qiwa is revolutionizing labor analytics. "We are turning vast amounts of workforce data into actionable strategic insights," he noted. "This empowers policymakers and businesses to make informed, data-driven decisions regarding labor trends, skills demand, and sectoral shifts. By aligning these analytics with educational and training institutions, we can synchronize talent supply with evolving industry needs, ensuring that our significant investments in technology and infrastructure are robustly supported by a prepared and capable workforce."

Concluding his remarks, the Qiwa CTO addressed Saudi Arabia's ambitious cloud enablement strategy. He stressed the necessity of creating an attractive environment for global hyperscalers and fostering local cloud champions. "Cloud readiness begins with the right incentives," AlQadheeb argued. "This includes establishing Special Economic Zones tailored to cloud providers, offering distinct advantages in taxation, regulation, and connectivity." He also emphasized the paramount importance of securing national sovereignty within the cloud strategy, ensuring data localization, robust cybersecurity, and the scalability of cloud infrastructure to support the digital backbone of the Kingdom's labor market.