Entrepreneur who participated in the Davos Desert: Estonians have already discovered the event, now is the time for Lithuania | Business
This year’s event took place in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, on October 25-28. True, in the “Davos Desert” this event is called unofficially, and now the organizers of the intensified conference themselves do not like such a comparison. Of course, the conference and the annual meeting of world political leaders in the Swiss Alpine resort of Davos are still at different levels, but the principle is similar: Saudi Arabia wants to bring cultural and political leaders together and address global challenges or opportunities in the Middle East.
Lithuanian Einar von Gravrock, head of Cujo AI, a company that develops Internet security solutions 15min speak at the event after hearing interesting discussions about today’s trends.
“It is interesting to see that there is a strong emphasis on ecology in the Arab country. This was the main, strongly emphasized topic in which a discussion or business meeting is involved. Of course, for their local reasons, because there must be others, if the use of fossil fuels decreases, they will respond to their economy, “said the businessman.
Another current topic, the current state of the world economy, has not been left untouched. The event also included Larry Fink, CEO of Blackrock, an investment firm in the US, David Solomon, CEO of Goldman Sachs, Ray Dalio, the world’s largest hedge fund manager and founder of Bridgewater Associates, Stephen Schwarzman, CEO and founder of Blackstone, and others. . Discussions focused on the state of the economy over the next 12 months.
“Everyone expects the economy to grow, but to slow down sharply. Dalian said long-term rates will be lower than inflation over the next few years, which is already true. The deficits will be huge, everyone will borrow. But greater availability of money increases motivation to invest. And this is important because someone has to pay for ecological transition, and low interest rates encourage businesses to invest in energy transformation, ”said E. von Gravrock.
“You discovered America, and it turns out the Estonian is already there”
An entrepreneur attending a multi-day event says that I gathered to make decisions I had to get to know on behalf of Estonia. Neo – a delegation of neighbors unnecessarily in panel discussions, and former President Kersti Kaljulaid was given a separate opportunity to present her country.
“Imagine sitting with the heads of Ray Dalio, Goldman sachs, Blackrock and Blackstone, the former Estonian president on stage telling how Estonia is transforming its state and society with digital solutions. She was on stage several times, Estonia, and when the people sitting in the hall, who controlled several trillions, were all strong, ”said E. von Gravrock.
“I sit in a panel discussion and the American billionaire bends Estonia as an example. They make advertisements, have a specific theme and present Estonia as a starter, ”the man added.
The Greeks took advantage of a similar opportunity, and there were only a few Lithuanians at the event – apart from E. von Gravrock, the Lithuanian Robertas Kupstas, a Lithuanian from the United States, whose recent agricultural start-up in the United Arab Emirates received 64.5 million. USD investment. Povilas Joniškis, a partner of the US company Boston Consulting Group (BSG), is also in public discussions.
“We often miss an opportunity. I think that during the Lithuanian prize it is very important to participate here not only because of the local Arab market, but also because all the decisions made from the USA, Europe and China come to this event. It would be useful for Lithuania to dedicate people every year and present what Lithuania is doing, ”E. von Gravrock urged.
According to him, a Lithuanian representative could be invited to such an event than to Davos, but there is a lack of desire.
“If the Estonians got in, we would get in too, we just need to contact the responsible institutions and organizations and want to. It is a high-level event with very influential people in attendance. With an emphasis on estus, we love them, but are tired of them being first everywhere. You discovered America, and it turns out the Estonian is already there, ”joked the head of Cujo AI.
According to him, when the countries of the Middle East open up to the world, Lithuanians can use all their strengths for their weakness. “The digital transformation is not yet understood by them, but they have a huge need, huge markets, a huge desire for companies from Europe to come and do something. Specifically in agriculture, in the digital transformation, this is where we are strong as a country, ”said the person.
Another area to which Lithuania can be – fintech sector. 33 million Saudi Arabia ‘s population has a strong interest in digital finance, including cryptocurrencies and fintech. However, so far there is not so much knowledge and capacity – there are only about 150 thousand. programmers. Given that the country is 11 times larger than Lithuania, this is a very small number.
“They are now developing an open banking license in Saudi Arabia, looking west and trying to learn how to create fintech industry. This is just the beginning of such companies and here is an opportunity for Lithuanian business. The market, and office salaries are high, higher than in Lithuania, ”said E. von Gravrock.
Saudi Arabia wants to attract Western businesses
One of the richest countries in the world, Saudi Arabia has recently wanted to catch up with its neighbors in the region, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Qatar, and Bahrain. With the coming to power of Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman in 2007, several relatively liberal reforms have taken place in Saudi Arabia.
The country’s women have gained more rights – the ban on driving cars has been lifted, and dependence on a male guardian has been reduced. There was a feeling in the public that the religious police powers of the country had been curtailed. The leaders of Saudi Arabia, who introduced Visa 2030 a few years ago, want to reorient the country’s economy away from written fuel technologies.
It is true that, like many other rich countries in the Middle East, Saudi Arabia does not escape controversy over human rights abuses or even more so. The crown prince, who wants to open the country’s economy and society to the West, is responsible for contributing to the assassination of journalist Yamal Khashoggi at the Saudi embassy in Turkey three years ago. As a result of this and other incidents, some democracies have reservations about relations with Saudi Arabia.
Relations between Saudi Arabia and the United States had allegedly improved under the reign of former President Donald Trump. This state even became the first one Trump visited on an official visit.
Joe Biden’s administration is more cautious about the country’s policy, but has sent an official representative to the Future Investment Initiative. The event features a contract from Don Graves, U.S. Secretary of Commerce. According to The New York Times, Graves met privately with Saudi Arabia’s trade minister and offered a fifteen-minute panel discussion on global trade. He did not answer a question from journalists.
After M. Bin Salman came to power, Lithuania also tried to strengthen diplomatic relations with this country. The Lithuanian delegation officially visited Riyadh in 2018. April, when Linas Linkevičius was the Minister of Foreign Affairs. The last time L. Linkevičius communicated remotely with the representative of Saudi Arabia was in 2020. in August. The current leadership does not seem as interested in this state as its predecessor.
However, business often operates at another level, so Von Gravrock believes it should be taken advantage of.
“It is interesting to see Western Europeans and players as they drive to Riyadh as a market that has just opened. Religious police were still walking here a few years ago. And with the Crown Prince, all is well. Now they are looking west, wanting them to come and build, invest, earn. Of course, the local market has a lot of local nuances, but I saw a country that is open to the West, “said von Gravrock. He added that he hoped that Lithuanian representatives would not bypass Riyadh and would participate here next year.
“I think the benefits will be no less than the Dubai EXPO,” said the head of Cujo AI, recalling the visit of Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė and Minister of Economy and Innovation Aušrinė Armonaitė to the United Arab Emirates at the end of October. Representatives of the country later met with UAE businessmen.