H.H. Sheikh Hamdan hackathon initiative attracts young app developers

Dubai Chamber of Digital Economy has hosted the "Design Thinking Hackathon", the first one of the "Create Apps in Dubai" initiative launched by His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of The Executive Council of Dubai.

The event welcomed more than 100 young Emiratis, providing them with an opportunity to explore the challenges and opportunities involved in developing smart applications and discuss effective strategies for bringing their business ideas to life.

It featured speeches and a panel session, together with a series of activities introducing design thinking methodologies to help participants identify and develop business ideas for mobile applications.

Targeting fresh graduates and digital entrepreneurs, the workshop was held to strengthen engagement with future business leaders in the digital sector and support them in their journey towards realising the ambitions of the UAE’s Digital Economy Strategy and the Dubai Economic Agenda (D33).

The initiative is aimed at nurturing national digital talent and has set a target to train a select group of 1,000 Emiratis in partnership with the private sector, in line with its goal of tripling the number of app creators in the emirate by 2025.

Create Apps in Dubai also supports 100 new national projects for the development of cutting-edge apps that will be made available in digital app stores over the next two years.

Globally, users spent more than $160 billion (AED587.6 billion) on apps during 2021, while the number of apps downloaded in the same year exceeded $230 billion (AED844.7 billion).

Over 157 million financial and business apps were downloaded in the Middle East and Africa region alone, underlining the exciting opportunities available for investors, entrepreneurs, and talented young app developers.

Held at Dubai Chambers headquarters, the interactive workshop was attended by Omar Sultan Al Olama, Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, Digital Economy and Remote Work Applications, Director-General of the Prime Minister's Office, and Chairman of Dubai Chamber of Digital Economy.

.@DxbChamberDigi hosts the ‘Design Thinking Hackathon’ as the first hackathon of the ‘Create Apps in #Dubai’ initiative launched by @HamdanMohammed. The event welcomed more than 100 young Emiratis, providing them with an opportunity to explore the challenges and opportunities… pic.twitter.com/PYwud7BPHN

— Dubai Media Office (@DXBMediaOffice) July 20, 2023