Saudi Arabia Hosts Second Edition of Global Tech Summit LEAP

Saudi Arabia is gearing up to host the second edition of Leap, a major global technology summit, from February 6th to the 9th at the Riyadh Front Exhibition and Conference Centre.

The event will see more than 100,000 tech innovators, disruptors and leading experts from around the world gather to discover and launch new innovations, build new relationships, and ultimately unleash the potential of technology to create a better future.

With over 900 exhibitors confirmed this year, the summit will feature a number of leading international companies, including Snapchat, Google Cloud, Amazon Web Services, Visa, Alibaba Cloud, Ericsson, Huawei, Dell, Nokia, Microsoft, Cisco and IBM amongst others.

“Technology and innovation have enormous potential to transform economies and societies,” Abdullah A. Alswaha, Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Communications Information Technology, tells StartupScene. “We live in a time where you either leap or be left behind. We are proud to host Leap to help the region lead and leapfrog with technology and innovations.”

To help bring new ideas and technologies to life, startups at the summit will have the opportunity to pitch their businesses to a panel of experts at the LEAP Rocket Fuel Competition. An estimated 90 startups will be participating in the competition, with a chance to win awards worth $1,000,000 in prizes.

The summit will feature some 700 expert speakers. From footballer turned venture capitalist, Tim Draper; to Steve Bartlette, entrepreneur, investor and hosts of one of Europe’s biggest podcasts, ‘The Diary of a CEO’; and Susan Kilrain, former NASA astronaut and one of only three women to pilot the space shuttle, the summit promises to include a diverse selection of speakers from across the globe.

Last year’s summit won five Gold Awards at the 19th Annual International Business Awards, which aims to recognize the achievements and contributions of organizations and professionals. Leap22 won the best award for Tech Event, B2B Event, Launch Event, Conference Event, and Exhibition Experience.