JEDDAH: Saudi Arabia will allocate SR4.2 billion ($1.2 billion) to develop local digital content industry.
The decision follows the Cabinet’s approval of establishment of the Digital Content Council on Tuesday.
The new entity will be responsible for taking initiatives to promote the fast-growing digital content industry of the Kingdom.
The council will receive funding for 36 initiatives aimed at developing skills and creating more jobs in areas such as video gaming, video production and digital advertising, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
Saudi Arabia’s Digital Government Authority has launched a new policy initiative aimed at simplifying the digital transformation for the public sector. The plan was unveiled at a ceremony on Wednesday, and focuses on four pillars: Engagement, digital transformation, capabilities and governance.
“The digital government authority issued the new policy to provide a comprehensive governmental system that focuses on beneficiaries and simplifies digital transformation for the public sector,” said Ahmed Al-Soyan, governor of the Digital Government Authority.
Projection
Saudi Arabia’s digital content market is expected to grow between SR16 and SR20 billion ($5.3 billion) by 2030, according to a recent report by the Trend Corporation in cooperation with the Riyadh Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
An initiative to invest in video content creation aims to attract major companies specialized in visual content, and the investment rate in video in Saudi Arabia is expected to reach SR1 billion to SR1.2 billion.
Videos make up 79 percent of the global internet traffic. In the Middle East and Africa, video traffic has grown eight-fold, and the region is estimated to have created 169 billion minutes of video content every month by the end of 2020.
Regulatory framework
In August, Saudi Arabia approved the first regulatory framework of the digital government.
“The regulatory framework developed by DGA for the digital government will be the basis on which the authority will develop future regulations for the digital government,” DGA Gov. Ahmed Mohammed Al-Soyyan said in a statement. “The framework includes a set of principles, policies, standards, and user guides.”
The framework is based on eight essential principles, including the “Once-Only Principle,” “Digital by Design,” and the “Mobile First.” In addition, it encompasses the Digital Government Policy, which enables and accelerates the sustainable digital transformation of the government sector and enables the successful implementation of the strategic directions of the digital government, DGA chief said in the statement.
