Dubai data strategy policy expected to generate economic impact of $2.6 bln

Smart Dubai announced the Dubai Data Private Sector Strategy and Policy on Tuesday, designed to enable a data ecosystem and foster stronger collaboration between the public and private sectors.

The implementation of Dubai Data Policies is expected to generate an economic impact of $2.6 billion (Dh 9.6 billion).

The emirate’s data initiative as part of its journey towards becoming a data-driven smart city, working together with stakeholders from both the private and public sectors.

The launch ceremony brought together local and international senior executives and leaders from across the private and public sectors to discuss opportunities in the four dimensions of a fully optimized, data-driven ecosystem: Governance and Regulation; Technology and Operations; Commercialization; and People and Engagement.

Dr. Aisha Bint Butti Bin Bishr, Director General of Smart Dubai, said: “Data is the true wealth of communities; it is an exceptionally effective instrument to achieve sustainable development and serves as a solid foundation for decision-making.”

Younus Al Nasser, Assistant Director General at Smart Dubai, and CEO of the Dubai Data Establishment, said: “Following the successful implementation of the Dubai Data Policies in government entities, we take yet another bold step today, as we prepare to apply these policies to the private sector.”

“This initiative helps engage the private sector in Dubai’s citywide smart transformation, and further strengthens public-private partnership and collaboration in the emirate, ” he said.

The event shed light on initiatives, policies, and partnerships launched under each of the initiative’s dimensions and in line with Smart Dubai’s role as a regulator in the data ecosystem.

Under Governance and Regulation, Smart Dubai has recently inaugurated the AI Ethics Board for Dubai to help the private sector develop AI systems that balance innovation with social service.

Meanwhile, under Technology and Operations, Smart Dubai is gearing up to explore decentralized data exchange and the prospects of forming a data market to encourage a value-based and secure flow of data between private-sector organizations.

Commercialization

Under Commercialization, Smart Dubai has expressed a commitment to develop monetizable use cases between key retail partners; and finally, under People and Engagement, Smart Dubai has partnered with Property Finder to create new data products for a vital economic segment, in addition to launching the Data Science Lab, which seeks to develop data science skills in Dubai and foster collaboration among the data science community in the emirate to identify and explore opportunities that will support the creation of a data ecosystem.

Hazem Galal, Partner and Global Leader for PwC’s Cities and Local Government Sector, said: “According to our estimates implementing the Dubai Data Policies will generate a combined economic impact of Dh9.6 billion. We have identified four priority sectors – Retail, Hospitality and Tourism, Real Estate, and Financial Services – to define the requirements of a private, data-driven ecosystem and how to address the gaps through strategy, policies, and use cases in alignment with Dubai Data’s plans to pursue the role of an enabling regulator in the ecosystem.”