Saudi Arabia to Stimulate Local Cyber-security Industry

The new accelerator connects startups with investors, with the aim of expanding their activities and developing their capabilities. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
The new accelerator connects startups with investors, with the aim of expanding their activities and developing their capabilities. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Saudi Arabia to Stimulate Local Cyber-security Industry

The new accelerator connects startups with investors, with the aim of expanding their activities and developing their capabilities. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
The new accelerator connects startups with investors, with the aim of expanding their activities and developing their capabilities. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

The National Cybersecurity Authority (NCA) is working to accelerate the Kingdom’s entrepreneurship system and encourage innovation, as part of the CyberIC program for the wider development of the cybersecurity sector.

The NCA called on all local startups in the field to register in the “cybersecurity accelerator” for a period of three weeks, through a dedicated platform on its website.

The new accelerator connects startups with investors, with the aim of expanding their activities and developing their capabilities. The program aims to empower 40 startups within a period of three years, provide them with more than 6.5 million riyals (USD 1.7 million) in financial support and more than 500 hours of guidance and direction for enterprises seeking to expand in the cybersecurity sector.

The authority stated that the program also seeks to stimulate the industry and attract foreign and local investments, as part of Saudi efforts to develop the sector and qualify national capabilities.

The launching of the cybersecurity accelerator comes in cooperation with the Saudi Information Technology Company (SITE), and in partnership with Plug and Play - one of the world’s largest technology business accelerators.

The CyberIC program aims to develop and build national capabilities in the field of cybersecurity, localize technology and training content and stimulate the wider domestic cybersecurity sector.

According to NCA, the first phase of the CyberIC includes numerous initiatives, including training employees of national authorities, accelerating cybersecurity activities to stimulate the sector, and encouraging the development of national cybersecurity products, services and solutions.



Global Debt Marches to Record High, Reaches $318 Trillion

One dollar bills are put in packaging bands during production at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing in Washington November 14, 2014. (Reuters)  
One dollar bills are put in packaging bands during production at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing in Washington November 14, 2014. (Reuters)  
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Global Debt Marches to Record High, Reaches $318 Trillion

One dollar bills are put in packaging bands during production at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing in Washington November 14, 2014. (Reuters)  
One dollar bills are put in packaging bands during production at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing in Washington November 14, 2014. (Reuters)  

The global debt-to-GDP ratio rose for the first time since 2020 last year, as the world's debt stock hit a new year-end record of $318 trillion and economic growth slowed, an Institute of International Finance report showed on Tuesday.

The $7 trillion rise in global debt was less than half of the 2023 increase, when expectations of Federal Reserve interest rate cuts sparked a borrowing surge.

The IIF warned, however, that so-called bond vigilantes could punish governments if rising fiscal deficits persist, reported Reuters.

“The increasing scrutiny of fiscal balances — particularly in countries with highly polarized political landscapes — has been a defining feature of recent years,” the IIF said.

Market reactions to fiscal policies in the United Kingdom brought down the short-lived tenure of Prime Minister Liz Truss in 2022, while similar pressures in France ousted Prime Minister Michel Barnier last year.

Debt-to-GDP - an indicator on the ability to repay debt - approached 328%, a 1.5 percentage point increase, as government debt levels of $95 trillion clashed with slowing inflation and economic growth.

The IIF said it expects debt growth to slow this year, amid unprecedented global economic policy uncertainty and still-elevated borrowing costs.

It warned, though, that despite high borrowing costs and economic policy uncertainty, its forecast of a $5 trillion increase in government debt this year could rise due to calls for fiscal stimulus and larger military spending in Europe.

Emerging markets accounted for roughly 65% of global debt growth last year.

This borrowing, along with a record $8.2 trillion in debt which emerging markets need to roll over this year - 10% of it in foreign currency - could strain countries' abilities to weather looming political and economic storms.

“Heightened trade tensions and the Trump administration's decision to freeze US foreign aid, including cuts to USAID, could trigger significant liquidity challenges and curb the ability to roll over and access to FX debt,” the report said.

It added that, “This underscores the increasing importance of domestic revenue mobilization to build resilience against external shocks.”