Fulfilling the Promise of the Digital Age
Yerevan, Armenia - October 7, 2024 – The World Innovation, Technology and Services Alliance (WITSA) officially launched its Global AI Ecosystem Network (WITSA GAIN) with three distinguished Founding Hub Partners: Sarawak Digital Economy Corporation (SDEC) from Malaysia, Bahrain Technology Companies Society (BTECH) from Bahrain, and Assespro Rio De Janeiro from Brazil, marking a significant milestone in WITSA’s mission to foster an inclusive and innovative global AI ecosystem.
The WITSA Global AI Ecosystem Network aims to foster innovation, ethical AI governance, and talent development while accelerating entrepreneurship and foreign direct investment (FDI). The network provides a platform for AI ecosystem hubs from six continents to collaborate and scale their efforts to meet global challenges in AI.
The founding hub partners will serve as key AI ecosystem hubs within their respective regions—Southeast Asia, the Gulf Country Corporation (GCC), and South America. This collaborative initiative aims to advance artificial intelligence innovation, talent development, and ethical governance across borders.
WITSA Chairman Dato’ Dr. Sean Seah emphasized the significance of this global initiative, said, "The WITSA Global AI Ecosystem Network marks a new era for international AI collaboration. This collaboration will create a powerful platform that nurtures innovation and builds bridges across borders. These hubs are envisioned to play a vital role in developing next-generation AI solutions, talent, and policies that will drive future global growth."
Benefits of being part of the WITSA Global AI Ecosystem Hub Partners include:
WITSA GAIN offers an unparalleled platform for its partners to showcase their technological advancements on the world stage. Each hub partner will gain international exposure, allowing them to highlight their AI achievement, attract foreign investments, become the preferred AI destination, and shine as a beacon of AI innovation.
The collaboration will enable partners access to a global pool of AI talent, accelerate the development of local AI professionals and benefit from cutting-edge training programs and certifications.
WITSA GAIN fosters the growth of AI entrepreneurs by providing mentorship, resources, and support to local SMEs, startups and scaleups, growing a vibrant AI innovation ecosystem and help cultivate AI-driven solutions for the respective regional markets, enabling these regions to play a critical role in global AI development.
WITSA GAIN offers partners access to best practices for AI policy development. Through knowledge-sharing platforms, partners like SDEC Malaysia and Assespro Brazil will gain valuable insights into creating regulatory frameworks that encourage responsible AI innovation and adoption. These insights will help partners build environments that foster both local and global AI solutions.
WITSA GAIN facilitates the creation of public-private partnerships between governments, businesses, industry, academia and society to collectively build the necessary infrastructure for AI development and deployment of AI solutions at scale. The public-private partnership is set to enhance the regions' AI capabilities, growing AI-ready talent, increasing cybersecurity measures, and fostering the ecosystem infrastructure.
The global connectivity that WITSA GAIN provides ensures that ecosystem hubs have access to valuable international networks. This enables the exchange of ideas, access to new markets, and a platform to attract foreign direct investment, positioning regions as preferred AI destinations and foster cross-border investments, boosting economies.
By leveraging AI to boost productivity and stimulate innovation, WITSA GAIN empowers its partners to drive sustainable economic growth. Partners like Assespro Brazil and SDEC Malaysia can harness AI-driven advancements to enhance GDP growth, create new jobs, and position their regions as global leaders in the AI-driven economy.
BTECH's Mr Tareq Fakhroo highlighted the importance of this partnership to Bahrain's future, "BTECH’s role as a founding partner of WITSA GAIN reflects Bahrain’s commitment to becoming a leader in AI across the GCC. By fostering local AI champions and driving FDI in AI-related industries, we aim to accelerate innovation and create jobs that will shape Bahrain’s future economy."
Meanwhile, Assespro RJ’s Robert Janssen mentioned, "WITSA_GAIN@Rio presents Brazil with a unique opportunity to integrate AI more deeply into our economic landscape. This partnership with WITSA will enable Brazil to attract foreign investments, develop local AI talent, and support AI entrepreneurs, positioning us as a leader in South America's AI transformation."
SDEC Chairman, Tan Sri Mohammad Morshidi, expressed his enthusiasm for the partnership, "Sarawak, Malaysia is proud to be part of the WITSA Global AI Ecosystem Network. This partnership will enable us to position Sarawak as a key AI player in South East Asia, drawing global talent, investments, and businesses to our shores. By building an AI-ready workforce and nurturing innovation, we are preparing Sarawak for the future digital economy."
WITSA CEO Dato’ Dan E Khoo further emphasized the global impact of WITSA GAIN, "This launch sets the stage for global collaboration in driving AI inclusivity, encourage ethical AI and drive AI advancements. We look forward to welcoming members from other cities and regions as AI Hub Partners. Together, we can create a global network of thriving tech ecosystems that promote ethical, inclusive, sustainable and innovative development and use of Artificial Intelligence for the betterment of humankind.”
The key objectives of this partnership include establishing AI infrastructure, nurturing local AI entrepreneurs, and creating policy frameworks that promote the ethical use of AI. These hubs will also benefit from WITSA’s extensive global network, which spans over 80 countries, providing opportunities for knowledge exchange, investment, and business growth.
