Key sessions were held today at the LEAP22 International Technical Conference, discussing the impact of modern technologies in supporting emerging companies, the contribution of technology to the acceleration of business and increased investment opportunities in emerging sectors, and the stages of development witnessed by global markets, and contributed to creating a new generation of smart investments that are efficient and low cost making it the most attractive solution for entrepreneurs and venture capital. A session entitled: "How Can We Create a Stronger and More Sustainable Investment Climate" featured key speakers including John Lilick, an investor and product development consultant, Polygon, Otley Founder Bjorn Usti, CEO of Social Development Bank Ibrahim Al-Rashed, and CEO of Arsenal 2000 JSC Christo Ipuchev. The speakers agreed that the Saudi market represents an attractive destination for smart investments triggered by the Kingdom's leadership and foresight, and flexible legislation and regulations to build financial institutions that adopt technology, led by experts with solutions and national cadres with capabilities who utilize modern technology and represent a basic pillar of an investment environment that attracts entrepreneurs and venture capital. The speakers highlighted several sectors that can advance technology, such as the food sector, which is a key focus for the sustainability of life and can promote the use of solar energy to be a pollution-free and environmentally friendly investment, describing the Saudi market as an open market for global investors to launch smart projects in various sectors in light of huge purchasing power and a society interacting with advanced technologies. The speakers also said that funding gaps are awaiting innovative solutions that create opportunities for investors to support emerging companies, citing the opportunities for cooperation available to financial institutions and commercial banks to launch technical platforms that enable cooperation and provide fast, diversified, and high-quality services products that support emerging companies. As an example of the transformation in smart investments, the speakers said that investing in smartphones in the Kingdom initially faced great challenges that were quickly overtaken by the market due to the entry of government funds, supporting capital, and flexible systems, which led to a revolution in this field that the Kingdom has seen during the past five years. According to the speakers, the mixed capital, which absorbs many capitals, including non-profit capital, for-profit capital, and "patient" capital, is one of the main drivers for building and promoting startups. Meanwhile, the conference also witnessed holding a session entitled: "What do you need to be a successful entrepreneur", moderated by founder Andrew Bloch and Associates Andrew Bloch, and attended by the two entrepreneurs, Baroness Vice-President of West Ham United FC Karen Brady and Kelly Hoppen, recipients of The British Empire Medal, with the rank of Commander, who reviewed their early entrepreneurial careers. Both speakers underlined the need for every female entrepreneur to have the will, integrity, and courage to penetrate jobs occupied by men, be fully determined and develop skills, and not let their failure, in the beginning, drag them down and to show their ability to cope with the challenges and problems that arise, calling on those who are coming and entering the business sphere not to celebrate successes too, but rather to aim for the next successes, and to enjoy responsibility, inspiration, and hope. An innovative session was held on "How Artificial Intelligence and Science Help Mitigating Climate Change", presented by Dr. Simon C., Head of the Artificial Intelligence Technology Center at Nvidia, who started by discussing the climate changes that the world is witnessing due to global warming and carbon emissions, noting that the world over thousands of years has witnessed radical changes, however, in our time it is witnessing changes every two years, pointing out that within 30 years, it will witness high temperatures that will affect many countries, including India and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, with an increase of 2- 3 degrees Celsius, and some countries might be subject to nearly 10 degrees Celsius increase, which in this case would be catastrophic, as some areas might experience droughts, rise in sea levels, increasing the possibility of diseases, storms, fires, and floods. Dr. Simon added that in light of these predictions, modern technologies appeared from afar as a glimmer of hope, explaining that they hold many opportunities, especially artificial intelligence, which falls within the horizontal technologies, which have a great ability to help reduce many emissions that cause global warming, citing several startups and applications that are already using artificial intelligence to address some of these problems that are increasing by the day to make the planet more sustainable, and the future of humanity prosperous.
