Welcome to another episode of Economic Impact, conversations from Emirates Development Bank (EDB), the key financial engine for economic development and industrial advancement of the UAE. In each instalment CEO Ahmed Al Naqbi leads insightful discussions with change-makers and thought-leaders in the UAE to learn how they’re contributing to the nation’s economy and realising the UAE’s economic ambitions.
Welcome back to season two of Economic Impact: Conversations from EDB’.
This time, in episode five, we’re joined by a person who “strongly believes that knowledge (and the knowledge economy) is a prerequisite for growth, and it is something that we should all undoubtedly invest in”.
His Excellency, Hussain Al Mahmoudi is the chief executive officer of ‘SRTIP’, Sharjah Research Technology and Innovation Park.
You can listen to 'Economic Impact' wherever you get your podcasts. Plus, you can watch ‘Economic Impact’ on the EDB website, edb.gov.ae, and on Youtube. Subscribe and like us on Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn - and let us know what you think…
To find out more, just look for ‘Economic Impact, Conversations from Emirates Development Bank'.
Speaker 1: HOST
Speaker 2: GUEST
00:00:00 INTRO V/O
“This is Economic Impact...Conversations from Emirates Development Bank”.
00:00:01 Speaker 1
A’Salaam A’laikoom and welcome to Economic Impact. This time, I'm honored to say that we're joined by the Chief Executive Officer of Sharjah Research Technology and Innovation Park, SRT IP. He's also a board member and investor and an advisor. And he is a person who strongly believes that knowledge and the knowledge economy itself is a prerequisite for growth and it’s something that we should all undoubtedly invest in.
00:00:29 Speaker 1
Your Excellency, Mr. Hussein Al Mahmoudi. It's a pleasure to welcome you to Economic Impact.
00:00:34 Speaker 2
Thank you very much Ahmed for giving me this opportunity and it's really great to be with you here.
00:00:39 Speaker 1
Thank you so much. Appreciate having you. If I could start by asking you a bit about your background, a bit about and the journey of your career and, and, work. It's an incredibly interesting organization that you're currently heading and it's very interesting for us to hear how did this evolve and how did you get to this point of where you are today?
00:00:56 Speaker 2
For today my name is Hussein Al Mahmoudi. I've been very fortunate to be born and grown in Sharjah in the UAE. My background is as a normal in Emirati background. I went to school here. I grew up in our neighborhood and seeing the growth of the country. I always say I'm very proud that I was born in 1972.
00:01:20 Speaker 2
Because this is when the country also started almost, and my age is the age of the country. So, I've seen the growth of the country and I've been part of, you know, each period.
00:01:33 Speaker 2
I did my studies in the U.S. I did the double major in Economics and Communication. I did a Masters as well at the American University of Sharjah. My career started within Oil and Gas. I was part of the Emirates National Oil Company and been involved in the downstream business of oil and gas and also the upstream business.
00:01:56 Speaker 2
And at some point in 2000, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed announced the Dubai Internet City project. So, I thought Oil and Gas was a boring industry and I decided to join Dubai Internet City. So, I was part of the team that started that project in 2000.
00:02:13 Speaker 2
Of course, it was an exciting project because it really presented, the new economy…
00:02:19 Speaker 1
Right.
00:02:18 Speaker 2
…in the UAE. So, we started with Dubai Internet City and then there was a Dubai Media City and then also the Knowledge Hub…
00:02:27 Speaker 1
Right.
00:02:28 Speaker 2
In two years I thought Technology is too volatile and I decided to go back to Oil and Gas. So, I was part of the Royal Dutch Shell, spent eight years there doing different type of work from health, safety, security and environment to…
00:02:43 Speaker 2
…business development for both upstream and downstream business, of course, part of our being part of our global company gave me a global perspective and working with different stakeholders. And from there I was asked to join the Chamber of Commerce in Sharjah. So, I was Director General of the Chamber of Commerce in Sharjah for nearly eight years…
00:03:08 Speaker 2
…developing different initiatives, small and medium acts, Sharjah Export Center, Arbitration Center, International Trade Center for different countries and also, of course, serving the big size community of the Chamber of Commerce.
00:03:29 Speaker 2
Following my experience with the Chamber, I was tasked with starting this project, this exciting project with Sharjah Research and Technology Park…
00:03:38 Speaker 1
And what year was that?
00:03:38 Speaker 2
This was in 2016.
00:03:41 Speaker 1
2016.
00:03:39 Speaker 2
Yes, and this was a part of a bigger picture that His Highness, the ruler of Sharjah, had for the education sector in Sharjah, the research sector in Sharjah and the innovation sector in Sharjah.
00:03:51 Speaker 1
Right.
00:03:51 Speaker 2
So, in 2016 there was a separation that we wanted to transform the universities in Sharjah from education only to research-based universities…
00:04:08 Speaker 1
Right.
00:04:08 Speaker 2
…to do that, we had to do three things. One of them is to create also, in addition to this transformation within the education sector, to create a platform.
00:04:16 Speaker 1
Mm-hmm.
00:04:16 Speaker 2
…Where this innovation and research will take place. So, we created Sharjah Research and Technology Park.
00:04:23 Speaker 1
Right.
00:04:24 Speaker 2
So, the park is really a platform where private sector, government sector, academia and non-government sector can join and co-create and co-invent.
00:04:34 Speaker 2
And the last one, of course, we created also the AUS Enterprise, which is the commercial vehicle to allow innovation and company and enterprise to be created…
00:04:45 Speaker 1
Mmmm.
00:04:46 Speaker 2
…so, this is started in 2016. We moved into this beautiful building in, I think, 2001…
00:04:55 Speaker 1
OK.
00:04:55 Speaker 2
…so nearly with a…
00:04:57 Speaker 1
And 21 you mean?
00:04:58 Speaker 2
And 21, exactly. And 2021. Yes, exactly. So, so this has been the journey in a nutshell.
00:05:03 Speaker 1
Right.
00:05:03 Speaker 2
Yeah
00:05:04 Speaker 1
Fantastic. Such an interesting organization and to have something like that here in the US, something we really should take pride in.
00:05:10 Speaker 1
I'm very interested because it's a public private partnership to work with the university, as you mentioned, to become not just a teaching university but a research and development university…
00:05:20 Speaker 2
Yes.
00:05:20 Speaker 1
…um, that of course also I'm sure the benefits are it attracts fantastic minds from around the region and the world to come and work and live in Sharjah. Can you give me some of the interesting stories or interesting successes of some of the IP or projects have the developed and built here?
00:05:39 Speaker 2
Yeah. So, since our inception, we've always focused on four main driver, objectives.
00:05:48 Speaker 2
Number one, we wanted to create the best ecosystem that allow technology enterprises, start-ups to thrive and we wanted to create a holistic infrastructure which not only just focuses on the hard infrastructure of the building and the lab and, but also the soft infrastructure including policies, legislation that are fit for purpose. So, that was the first driver. The second was talent.
00:06:08 Speaker 2
We were lucky to be part of the largest university city in the region…
00:06:12 Speaker 1
Right.
00:06:12 Speaker 1
…er, we have more than 20 universities and education institution in this place and this for us was a big, big, big opportunity to leverage this. So, talent development, human capital is a key driver, a key focus for us.
00:06:26 Speaker 2
The third driver is really development of technology…
00:06:28 Speaker 1
Mmm-hmm.
00:06:28 Speaker 2
…and we do this by either commercializing the IP from the universities…
00:06:33 Speaker 1
Right.
00:06:33 Speaker 2
…or by attracting companies with IP that we can grow up. And, last but not least, creating enterprises. So, some of the examples that we are very proud of, for example in the field of, let's say, special conductive concrete, this is a special type of concrete that prevents any Electro-Wave attack…
00:06:48 Speaker 1
Conductive concrete?
00:06:49 Speaker 2
Exactly, on your critical facility. So, this is an IP that we basically developed at the university,
00:06:57 Speaker 2
commercializing and being commercialized at the park and hopefully sold to the private sector. It was developed by our professors at universities and students and commercialized at the park here. So, this is one example….
00:07:13 Speaker 2
Another example, of course, the additive manufacturing and 3D we are very proud to say that we have probably the largest additive manufacturing and 3D facilities in the country…
00:07:21 Speaker 1
3D printing.
00:07:22 Speaker 2
Exactly. So, under the umbrella of the park, we can print…
00:07:25 Speaker 2
…Metal; Plastic; Titanium; Concrete - all under one umbrella. So, our lives basically spread all over this 20 million square piece of land. With this, of course, when we do these things, we develop the four elements I was talking to you. So, we make sure that we have the right environment and ecosystem to allow this type of technology to flourish. We make sure that we also develop talents…
00:07:49 Speaker 2
…because one of the challenges, as you appreciate and this is everywhere, is the availability of skilled talent. We are talking about cutting-edge technology. We're talking about emerging technologies that you will not necessarily have them. So, part of whatever we do, we try to create those four elements - Ecosystem; Policy; Talent; the Technology and making sure that we try to commercialize those technologies…
00:08:13 Speaker 2
Er, we also are very proud to properly we have one of the largest transport and logistics hubs in the region. We managed to attract major investments here on one of the biggest investments here was almost $80 million investment in transport logistics. Basically, the new USKY train.
00:08:30 Speaker 1
OK, so the creation of new solutions for transport and logistics, OK.
00:08:33 Speaker 2
Absolutely, absolutely and sustainable solution as well. So, so most of all projects you will see you know always include an element of sustainability…
00:08:42 Speaker 1
Right.
00:08:42 Speaker 2
…and so, so the transport and logistics focus is also big, but we do have USKY, we've hosted also one of the star startups, which is the first solar car in the world…
00:08:58 Speaker 1
Ma’ashallah…
00:08:58 Speaker 2
which is…
00:09:00 Speaker 1
…I think I read about that in the news.
00:09:02 Speaker 2
Yes. Right here, we created through our labs the first E-bike in the UAE - designed, developed by an Emirati. So, wherever we focus, we made sure that we had those. So, these are some of the examples I wanted to share with you.
00:09:17 Speaker 1
That's amazing. I have so many questions, but I'm gonna start with two.
00:09:20 Speaker 2
Sure.
00:09:20 Speaker 1
First, because you touched on a couple of times the policies…
00:09:24 Speaker 2
Yes.
00:09:25 Speaker 1
…and you're absolutely right, you need to create the right policies in order to create an environment that is fit for purpose but also can thrive.
00:09:31 Speaker 1
Anything special that you want to mention about those policies that were created specifically for Sharjah and the UAE?
00:09:37 Speaker 2
Yes. So, so just an example of our own part because I think it's part of it. But I think we are very lucky to have a policy that fits our purpose. We, you know, there's no textbook that you can learn how to develop innovation ecosystem. Because each city, each country is different…
00:09:55 Speaker 1
Right.
00:09:56 Speaker 2
…so for us, we do this from day one that I cannot cut and paste what is happening in Boston or Shanghai or Kochin or Singapore or Hong Kong. I have to develop my own policies and legislation.
00:10:16 Speaker 2
The good thing about what we do here is the speed of taking decisions and the involvement of the top leadership…
00:10:22 Speaker 1
Right.
00:10:23 Speaker 2
…that gives us a big advantage. We wanted to create a fund that supports the development of our ecosystem. In six months, we managed to introduce a new tax basically called an Innovation Dirham Tax that will allow, promote and enable startups and R&D activities to happen here.
00:10:49 Speaker 2
So, we changed the whole policy, the registration of companies…
00:10:52
Mm-hmm.
00:10:52 Speaker 2
…And the way that we do them here is, is very fast, the whole incubation ecosystem and the policies we have supports the drive that we're trying to achieve.
00:11:05 Speaker 1
Amazing. And then you touched on talent and the attraction of talent. So, I'm assuming business owners, entrepreneurs.
00:11:11 Speaker 2
Yes.
00:11:12 Speaker 1
The people with the ideas…
00:11:12 Speaker 2
Yes.
00:11:13 Speaker 1
How do people like that approach you? I'm just curious, you know, if I had a friend…
00:11:16 Speaker 2
Yes.
00:11:16 Speaker 1
…if someone I knew had some kind of an innovative concept, what would they do with that concept? Would they come and approach you directly?
00:11:23
Would they go to a website? Would they meet with someone…
00:11:24 Speaker 1
Yeah
00:11:25 Speaker 2
How does that work?
00:11:26 Speaker 2
Yeah. Yeah. So, so basically we have today, for example, Sharjah Open Innovation Lab…
00:11:33 Speaker 1
Mmm-hmm.
00:11:33 Speaker 2
…which is something very unique. I think we are where we probably have the largest…
00:11:41 Speaker 2
…vocational training labs in the country. It's three floors in this building and this is a place where everybody comes and engage - whether you’re faculty or as startups or businessmen or women or an investor or government, they all come and engage in this open innovation environment. So, there are people, professional people, there who can help…
00:12:02
startups or people who are trying to, you know, develop their business, especially in, in deep tech. So, this is one way…
00:12:11 Speaker 2
The other way is also we go and identify those people. Of course, we run different programs like our Sharjah Advanced Industry Accelerator has been running for the past now four years. We are very proud of it. We get almost 5,000 applicants every year. We have presidents of countries that spoke about it. The Brazilian President actually you know tweeted about
00:12:31 Speaker 2
our accelerator, so it's been a source of success and a source of…
00:12:37 Speaker 2
…an opportunity to identify, you know, start up with technologies. Of course, once we identify them, we work with partners like you at Emirates Development Bank to also see how we can support those startups? How can we build opportunities and new opportunities? So there's you know different activities that we run to basically attract those people here.
00:12:57 Speaker 2
Of course, the university is a big source for us, so we also engage with universities…
00:13:02 Speaker 1
Right.
00:13:02 Speaker 2
…through different hackathons and different activities to basically try to attract startups as well and talent.
00:13:09 Speaker 1
Would you say that as a percentage of the people that work, or let's say the companies that are attracted to work within the research park,
00:13:19 Speaker 1
…the research innovation park, how many are fresh graduate university students and how many are, let's say, established entrepreneurs that are doing businesses? Is there, is there, a skew towards one segment versus the other?
00:13:29 Speaker 2
I think, I think 90% of those are established companies…
00:13:33 Speaker 1
…are established…
00:13:33 Speaker 2
…are established companies…
00:13:34 Speaker 1
Yeah. OK.
00:13:35 Speaker 2
…and I think 10% are, are our student. However, we are trying to increase that by working with great partners like Sheraa…
00:13:45 Speaker 1
Right.
00:13:45 Speaker 2
…like RUWAD, like Emirates Development Bank…
00:13:47 Speaker 1
Right.
00:13:48 Speaker 2
…and create the framework that will allow more student to take the steps, as you appreciate, there’s a lot of structural environment that we have to create to allow those students, professors to be part of the business community.
00:14:03 Speaker 2
It has to do with their visas has to do with their work. It has to do with their contracts, etcetera, etcetera. But we are working on it now and working with Sheraa on encouraging students to come and make it easier for them to be able to start their businesses as well.
00:14:15 Speaker 2
Yeah.
00:14:15 Speaker 1
Right.
00:14:17 Speaker 1
What about the future? There's so much that's happening today. So much that's been done over the past eight years since your establishment. And it sounds like, you know, some fantastic things have been happening. How do you foresee the future for the Sharjah Research and Technology Innovation Park?
00:14:37 Speaker 1
Do you see more commercialization of the concepts and the businesses? Are you income-generating today, and is there a plan for this to become the development hub of new sectors for Sharjah for the future? It sounds to me very much like the incubation…
00:14:51 Speaker 1
…of these sectors is happening here?
00:14:53 Speaker 2
Sure. We have to remember the Sharjah Research and Technology Park is an integral part of the UAE agenda and UAE vision.
00:15:01 Speaker 1
Right.
00:15:01 Speaker 2
Er, the country has identified innovation as a key driver for its growth and…we can see this in Abu Dhabi. You can see this in Dubai. You can see this in Sharjah and elsewhere. So, we are part of that big picture…
00:15:14 Speaker 1
Mm-hmm
00:15:14 Speaker 2
And the park basically is an economic driver of the new economy.
00:15:22 Speaker 1
Mmm-hmm.
00:15:22 Speaker 2
How do we see this? We are part of the big topics, whether we're talking about artificial intelligence, we have our own AI app here that we are trying to grow. One thing that I - we're very proud - we are probably one of the we host here the first fully sustainable data center and high-performance computing facilities in the region. It's probably the numbers and that's all private investment.
00:15:47 Speaker 1
Mmmm.
00:15:48 Speaker 2
So, how do we see this? We see this by identifying and working with emerging technology, whether we're talking about AI or we're talking about transport and logistics or we're talking about healthcare or advanced manufacturing.
00:16:00 Speaker 1
Mm-hmm.
00:16:00 Speaker 2
And we work by developing a private public partnership, by engaging the private sector. One thing that we are very proud here, is most of what you see is all private sector investments.
00:16:12 Speaker 1
OK.
00:16:13 Speaker 2
So, almost 100% - other than the building - everything you see here…
00:16:16 Speaker 1
Is private sector.
00:16:17 Speaker 1
…is all private sector…
00:16:18 Speaker 2
…whether we're talking about the high-performance computing facility or the 3D printers or the VR, AR mixed reality labs…
00:16:27 Speaker 2
It's all private sector.
00:16:28 Speaker 1
Can you tell us what is that amount over the eight years?
00:16:31 Speaker 2
Almost $100 million dollars…
00:16:32 Speaker 1
OK.
00:16:33 Speaker 2
Almost 100 million dollars - and research activities…
00:16:35 Speaker 1
Research…
00:16:35 Speaker 2
That's the difference. So, the transport hub alone is 80 million dollars.
00:16:38 Speaker 1
OK, wow.
00:16:38 Speaker 2
Testing next generation train technology…
00:16:40 Speaker 1
Mm-hmm.
00:16:41 Speaker 2
In the UAE…
00:16:42 Speaker 1
Hmm.
00:16:42 Speaker 2
Here. So…
00:16:45 Speaker 2
…the, the future is very bright because you know when we see UAE, UAE today is the haven for all technologists in the world. People come here because they know that they can get talents. They know that they are protected. They know that we have policies that are an enabler of big businesses and they know that there's also money here...
00:17:08 Speaker 2
…that they can start their businesses. So, we are creating an environment to basically attract them and grow these companies and take them hopefully to the world.
00:17:16 Speaker 1
Fantastic. And any plans or any major objectives for the future over let's say the next 5-10 year horizon?
00:17:22 Speaker 2
Absolutely. So. So, we have at the moment just actually finalized our, our strategy, I believe 2023 was the end of the first phase of this park.
00:17:34 Speaker 1
Hmm.
00:17:34 Speaker 2
So, we have established the basics - the brand; the community; the ecosystem…
00:17:40 Speaker 2
Going forward, you will see more focus on industries…
00:17:45 Speaker 1
Mmm-hmm.
00:17:45 Speaker 2
…and more interaction with industries. Going forward, you'll see more focused on universities, IP and commercialization…
00:17:54 Speaker 1
Mmm-hmm.
00:17:54 Speaker 2
…and going forward you'll see more, er, focus on making sure that our ecosystem more competitive, whether the availability of funds, working with, with different financial institution like yourself and others, so – and, of course, focus on talent as well.
00:18:11 Speaker 1
Fantastic. Mr. Hussein Al Mahmoudi, thank you so much for your time today. It's much appreciated. We wish you the best of luck on your journey and we will be there, Insha’allah, with you as Emirates Development Bank.
00:18:20 Speaker 2
Insha’allah.
00:18:21 Speaker 1
Steadfast, Insha’allah.
00:18:21 Speaker 2
Thank you, Mr. Ahmed, and congratulations on today's events and, and really, I enjoyed our discussion today and I look forward to also working with you and also working with your audiences and basically building a great future together.
00:18:36 Speaker 1
Insha’allah, Insha’allah, thank you so much
00:18:38 Speaker 2
Thank you very much.
00:17:39 OUTRO V/O
“Economic Impact...Conversations from Emirates Development Bank”.