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SAUDI ARABIA - Telecoms & IT

Ayman Abdullah Alfallaj

CEO, THIQAH

Bio

Ayman Abdullah Alfallaj is an enterprising visionary with a strong entrepreneurial track record at various successful start-ups, with extensive investment banking experience across three continents. He has been with THIQAH since its inception and was a key contributor to the resounding success it has become today while also being a board member of various reputable institutions.

"As our team consists of qualified, competitive, and motivated individuals, that adds the human touch to create value in our partnerships."

2022 marks the 10th anniversary of THIQAH. How would you define the evolution and trajectory of the company?

It has been a tremendous 10 years of growth, value creation, and innovation, as we managed through our innovative business model to successfully become the most reputable and fastest-growing company in the digital market within the region through an innovative business model. In 2022 THIQAH will be celebrating its 10-year anniversary. In the past few years, the Kingdom has made major strides according to various global indicators; it is an honor to be a key contributor to that success. Over 10 years we’ve grown with our partners and clients in both government and the private sector across 27 countries to provide the most suitable and innovative products. As technology makes life easier for everyone and helps grow the economy, we will continue to learn and create value for our partners and customers.

In Arabic, the word THIQAH means confidence or trust. How do you generate trust among your existing and potential partners?

THIQAH has two main pillars, which are its human capital and the development of successful cooperation. As our team consists of qualified, competitive, and motivated individuals, that adds the human touch to create value in our partnerships. At THIQAH we believe that the concept of trust starts from within, as the human element is essential in choosing the best features such as self-confidence, responsibility, and spirit of cooperation. As trust is the basis of any successful partnership, that achieves our common goals and makes a real impact by providing digital and smart solutions.

What role does sustainability play in your daily operations?

Digital transformation and the enablement of technology is one of the main drivers toward more sustainability, and THIQAH as an organization has made that more possible by leveraging technology and creating a more sustainable ecosystem. We also take pride in being an integral part of society as we have been part of many social initiatives that have a great impact on our community.

How do you instill awareness about your services among the community and partners?

As the demand for technology and digital transformation becomes more and more prominent, we try to showcase our value by providing solutions in a unique way that is flexible to meet market changes through innovative business models that are tailored to enable all stakeholders and create exceptional impact. Over the years this competitive advantage, coupled with our knowledge of the sector, have been an attribute that helps us stand out.

Where are you looking at to expand your operations with new partnerships?

Working with our current partners from the government and private sectors in Saudi Arabia has been, and remains, an amazing journey. We have learned a great deal, and we have been doing a great job in delivering value for our clients, partners, and customers. The market is dynamic, demand is evolving quickly, and we will keep growing and dealing with our partners from the public sector. Additionally, we have expanded in two different directions: we started focusing on the private sector within the kingdom, and we also looked at expanding internationally after the success we’ve accomplished locally. We do not look at international opportunities from a general perspective, but rather they are targeted specifically and our impact has reached more than 27 countries around the world.

Recently, you signed different agreements to empower SMEs in the Kingdom. What is your strategy to support them?

We look at SMEs from two different aspects. THIQAH is a growing company, one of the leading players in technology sector in Saudi Arabia, and we believe we can lead the digital transformation in Saudi Arabia. We need a strong SME market within the country so that we can keep growing, and I am pleased that a big part of our projects within THIQAH are in collaboration with SMEs in Saudi as we need a stronger SME market that can support our growth, help us flourish, and achieve our partners’ and clients’ objectives and dreams. We want to bring that quality of life by producing great digital products for everyone, as we have remarkable products that really change the game within the sector. A big part of that is developing products that are tailored for SMEs to help them grow locally and internationally. For example, there is an amazing digital platform called Wathq, an online data platform that gives SMEs the ability and opportunity to integrate their products and services with any data set, whether it is private or public. We have also just received an award for this particular product, as the “best data management solution provider” in the Middle East. Osus, Almwathiq, Maroof, and Etikal are also products that aim to empower the SME market and support them to grow their businesses. These are great examples of how much we pay close attention to SMEs to provide them with the right products to help them flourish.

Consolidating your presence internationally is part of your key priorities. What is your strategy to expand your activity beyond national borders?

In recent years we’ve collaborated with different partners in many different countries across the region to solve key problems with our solutions, where in order to leverage our capabilities we need to understand the many aspects in different countries such as the regulatory environment, market needs, adoption of technology, as well as the government strategy toward digital transformation. We’ve also expanded our horizon through many different initiatives such as the DCO, which allowed us to collaborate and exchange knowledge with many incredible, impactful organizations internationally as we also monitor new trends in technology, business, and digital transformation to help us learn and adapt our business practices in different regions.

What challenges and obstacles do you expect to face while expanding your business?

Different challenges may come in different forms, as we have learned from past years dealing with the pandemic, but what we have always been able to do is stay focused on the value we generate for our partners and users of our platforms. Different political, social, and economic factors have an impact on the market and in order to deal with that our agility and resilience has been key to our success. One key challenge that has always been at the forefront is people’s willingness to change, whereby we have learned in previous years that the market will eventually adapt where the true value of change would be an undeniable proposition to our stakeholders no matter what challenge may occur.

Can you share some of your key priorities set in 2022 agenda?

THIQAH’s vision and long-term goals are important for us, as we value long-term goals over short-term ones. We are constantly learning and making sure we will deliver consistent value to our clients, as in the near future we are making sure we expand locally and internationally. We want to expand the reach of our impact and extend the value to partners who truly want to implement positive change as we have with our current partners in many different sectors. Our aim is to lead the digital movement and provide the right context for positive change in that regard. Today, even locally we have expanded our operations as we have opened the largest tech talent center in Jeddah in order to harness the talent in that area and expand our capability to innovate as we plan to create more centers around the kingdom and internationally.

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