The UAE Ministry of Economy in partnership with the Minister of State for Government Development and the future has commenced application for the top 100 future enterprises including blockchain startups. The initiative which was launched in December 2022 aims to accelerate the growth of promising UAE ‘Future Economy’ SMEs, encourage investment in ‘Future Economy’ companies in the UAE, strengthen UAE’s position as the start-up and scale-up nation and support the continued sustainable growth of the ‘Future Economy’ ecosystem. 100 startups based out of the UAE and utilizing technologies such as Blockchain, AI, Web3, robotics, IoT, 3D printing, working in sectors such as renewable energy, agritech, space, advance manufacturing, biotech, creative industries, sustainability, healthtech and cybersecurity will be able to participate in the competitionad be awarded Future 100 Label with various perks and benefits. The chosen startups will have fast Access to Investors, Regulators A

  Saudi Arabian unified national platform for government services recently carried out an interesting survey on twitter . It posted a general consultation request by the Ministry of telecom, Space and IT with regards to which emerging technology would citizens of Saudi Arabia like to see implemented in KSA. People were asked to choose between IoT (internet of things), Blockchain, 3D printing and VR/AR/XR. 7895 votes were casted with 49 percent of them choosing IoT, with 10 percent choosing blockchain, 16 percent choosing 3D printing and 24 percent choosing VR/AR/XR. This is interesting and shows that Internet of things and AR are the most popular emerging technologies among those who voted. In addition it seems that the Saudi government is interested in these four technologies. This comes at a time when the Saudi Central Bank is moving forward to CBDCs, digital assets, and more. In addition recently many blockchain use cases have been launched in KSA. But more eye opening is

  The recent YouGov Survey in the UAE on the opinions of UAE residents about 16 emerging technologies had some very interesting findings. The survey highlighted the responses of those surveyed on their opinions about the future and impact of these technologies on society. Interestingly awareness about a technology did not necessarily correlate with acceptance or feeling this technology was important or should be invested in. So while crypto took top spot in terms of awareness, it didn’t continue to take the lead when it came to which technologies would become widespread or which technologies are good or which technologies should governments invest in. Cryptocurrency as a term topped the list of technologies that UAE residents have heard about. 50 percent of the 1005 residents surveyed have heard a lot about crypto, 36 percent have heard about it a little and only 14 percent have not heard about it at all. This of course is not surprising given all the recent endeavors the UAE gove