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Business / Qatar Business

Qatar top performing market for innovation in MEA

Published: 17 Apr 2017 - 02:36 pm | Last Updated: 03 Nov 2021 - 10:29 am
Dr Mazen Zein, General Manager of Schneider Electric (Qatar and Bahrain)

Dr Mazen Zein, General Manager of Schneider Electric (Qatar and Bahrain)

Mohammad Shoeb | The Peninsula/Dubai

Despite significant fall in energy prices and its cascading impact on several sectors of the local economy, Qatar continues to remain one of the top performing markets, in terms of demand for innovative technologies and energy efficient solutions, across the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region, said a senior official a leading tech company that specialises in energy management and automation solutions.

“Qatar is one of the fast growing markets for us in the entire MEA region. Although there is a drop in the business in the oil and gas sector, but it is compensated from other sectors. Thanks to the government’s commitment towards economic diversification and massive investments in developing infrastructure projects, which include rail, port, and scores of projects related to SEZs and 2022 Fifa World Cup”, Dr Mazen Zein, General Manager of Schneider Electric (Qatar and Bahrain) told The Peninsula.

“With our presence in Qatar for over two decades we are proud to say that it is one of the top performing markets for Schneider in terms of acceptance for innovative products technologies in the MEA region”, added Dr Mazen, in an exclusive interview on the sidelines of its annual Innovation Summit, which concluded on April 12 at Atlantis The Palm in Dubai.

The summit was an IoT-powered event demonstrating innovations and technologies that cater to the future of energy management, industrial efficiency and environmental sustainability. As an interesting highlight, the energy leader also showcased its revolutionary concept of an experiential smart city at the two-day event.

The Company’s newly-launched ‘Eco-Structure’, which is being implemented in several projects in Qatar, including Education City, also featured at the expo. ‘Eco-Structure’ is an open platform of smart solutions that extract information by connecting buildings’ CCTV cameras, lighting system, electricity, temperature and others, that helps analyzing data for predicting power consumption for the efficient use of energy resources. 

“All our innovative solutions are energy efficient which is in line with the Qatar National Vision 2030. Our company, with over 150 employees in Qatar, offers full product portfolio to our customers such as Qatar Petroleum, Qatar Rail, Ashghal, among others, which have already implemented our energy solutions,” said Mazen.
Commenting on the rising energy demand and environmental challenges, he noted that global energy consumption is estimated to go up 50 percent by 2040, and at the same time the world will need to divide carbon emissions by 2, which is a big challenge.

“It is a tough equation to solve. So we have to be three-times more efficient than what we are today. This problem applies to all economies, including Qatar, which is committed to reducing its carbon footprints. And Schneider is at the forefront by putting this at the core of our strategy though providing services and innovative solutions to solve this dilemma,” Mazen stressed. 

Over 2,500 attendees were welcomed from the MEA region at the event, which included esteemed regional speakers such as Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD and CEO of Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA), Yasser El Kadi, Egypt’s Minister of Communications and Information Technology, Mamdouh Raslan, Chairman and CEO, Water and Waste Water Egyptian Holding Company, Osman Sultan, CEO of du, and Dr Badr Al Badr, CEO of Dur Hospitality.