Create Apps in Dubai launches, aims to triple number of app creators by 2025

Create Apps in Dubai, an initiative of the Higher Committee of Future Technology Development and Digital Economy, aimed at boosting the ecosystem for digital applications in the emirate, was announced on March 29.

Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of Dubai Executive Council launched the initiative, which is aimed at turning Dubai into one of the world’s most attractive destinations for business opportunities by 2025, reported the state news agency, WAM.

The Create Apps in Dubai initiative, overseen by the Dubai Chamber for Digital Economy with the support of government entities and technology companies, will train a group of 1,000 UAE nationals in partnership with the private sector in Dubai.

The initiative will identify key areas and support development plans aimed at supporting and enabling these UAE nationals to play vital roles in realising the country’s digital vision.

It also aims to triple the number of app creators by 2025 and support 100 new national projects for developing apps that will be made available in digital app stores over the next 24 months, reported WAM.

Growing market

With global smartphone sales revenues crossing $448bn and two million new applications and games created in 2021, growth and innovation in the sector have been steadily gathering momentum.

Users spent more than $160bnn on applications while the number of downloads of applications hit 230 billion in 2021, creating vast new opportunities for investors, entrepreneurs and technology professionals.

The number of financial and business applications downloaded in the Middle East and Africa region exceeded 157 million in 2021, an increase of 182 per cent since 2018, while user spending in the top 25 electronic apps increased by 6.5 times compared to 2018.

Dubai is looking to leverage new growth opportunities in the sector by creating a strong digital infrastructure, developing a legislative framework that supports the development of apps, and introducing government incentives to accelerate the sector’s economic growth.

Read: UAE’s digital economy to reach $140bn in 2031: Dubai Chamber of Digital Economy

We launched ‘Create Apps in Dubai’, an initiative of the Higher Committee of Future Technology Development and Digital Economy, aimed at fostering new opportunities & equipping 1,000 Emirati nationals with the skills needed to develop apps that will have a global impact pic.twitter.com/FquXD8FyQ0

— Hamdan bin Mohammed (@HamdanMohammed) March 29, 2023

Create Apps in Dubai: Shaping Dubai’s digital transformation

Sheikh Hamdan said the launch of Create Apps in Dubai would transform Dubai into a leader in the global digital sector and create a new future shaped by advanced technologies and sciences.

Since launching Dubai Internet City, the emirate’s strategic investments in the digital sector have seen it becoming an important player in the global technological landscape, he said.

Sheikh Hamdan stated, “The digital transformation sweeping the world and the exponential growth of cutting-edge digital applications and platforms have created a new global competition for technological leadership. Dubai seeks to be at the forefront of this global race by providing a platform for fostering the development of 1,000 highly-skilled UAE nationals whose ideas and innovation will create a vibrant applications sector in Dubai.”

At the launch, Dubai’s  Crown Prince met with developers of apps targeted at the global market in the fields of healthcare, education, entrepreneurship and others.

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