Ibtechar held a roundtable on localising emerging technologies

Ibtechar, leading innovation management and consultancy firm, held a roundtable discussion on localising emerging technologies. The panelists included Abdullah Al-Khater, Vice-President of Barzan Holdings, Mourad Al-Maalaoui, Chief Technology Officer of Rheinmetall Barzan Advanced Technologies QSTP-LLC (RBAT), Soubhi Chebib, General Manager of GBM Qatar, and Nayef Mohamed Al-Ibrahim, a Qatari entrepreneur and the CEO and founding partner of Ibtechar.
Many important points were covered on the sessions agenda, including: (1) leveraging technology to build a knowledge-based economy in Qatar; (2) the challenges face the development of emerging technologies; (3) the private sector’s role in localizing and deploying new technologies; and (4) aspects of a thriving innovation/technology ecosystem.
With its keenness to develop indigenous research and development (R&D) capabilities in Qatar, Barzan Holdings has R&D as an integral part of its operations, under the supervision of a specialized team. Through its joint ventures with specialist defense and security companies around the world, the company helps Qatar to develop its own indigenous R&D capabilities to build a secure future for the country.
Al-Khater commented, “At the forefront of Barzan Holdings’ operations is its commitment to revolutionizing the State’s defense and security sectors by leveraging the best emerging technologies available globally and localizing them within the Qatar context.
“These technologies are key to a thriving technological ecosystem and capacity-building, which are required to create a sustainable knowledge-based economy”.
“The deployment of emerging technologies brings with it an unprecedented level of opportunities and challenges,” he added. “Barzan Holdings’ close work with the private sector both within Qatar and internationally ensures that the technology localization process is smooth and stable, creating lasting value and strengthening Qatar’s sovereignty and long-term development.
“One of these collaborations is with Ibtechar. We work closely with them to develop sustainable solutions for drone tracking systems, helping us to ensure the safety and security of critical infrastructure and leveraging emerging technologies to benefit the country and community.”