00:05My name's Adam Jones, I'm Division President for West Arabia.
00:09That is a collection of countries across the MENA region,
00:14headquartered from Saudi Arabia, inclusive of Bahrain, Lebanon, Jordan,
00:18Iraq, Yemen, Palestine, Syria and Egypt.
00:26When you look at the momentum that's taking place within the kingdom,
00:29it's really quite staggering.
00:30When Vision 2030 was originally announced,
00:33it created a huge amount of interest, publicity and so on,
00:36but there were questions in terms of how will it actually be able to execute
00:39at such a high standard and to such a degree.
00:42And I think what we've seen ever since that was originally presented
00:45is really a growth momentum come through.
00:48And Masterclass has been incredibly proud to participate in that.
00:51I mean, we've been in the region now for over 40 years,
00:54but within the kingdom with a significant presence.
00:56And that sort of manifests itself in making sure that we're obviously
00:59sponsorship partners of the event with Money 2020,
01:03as we are around the world as well.
01:05And it gives us an opportunity to connect with our partners,
01:08with our clients, with industry peers,
01:11to really unpack what is the future of the industry,
01:14what's happening, where's it going to go, how can we help shape it?
01:17Because the pace of change is nothing short of remarkable
01:20and getting even faster.
01:23Our responsibility is really as a growth enabler.
01:29When you operate a network, which was obviously the genesis of our organisation,
01:34you sit within the epicentre of all the constellation of participants
01:40that sit within the ecosystem.
01:41And so we leverage that network effect in order to expand
01:46and build on the growth capabilities within the country.
01:49So is it bringing in a fintech like sci-fi, like hyperpay and so on,
01:54that will allow us to support an SME?
01:57Is it to actually facilitate commercial payments?
02:00So within the larger B2B space where we may have, you know,
02:04a Fortune 500 corporation using expense management systems
02:08or automating their supply chain as we've done with the likes of Coca-Cola and so on.
02:13That's on the corporate side of the world.
02:15Then we understand what is it the government is trying to deliver
02:19and obviously that is investment in terms of non-oil-based GDP growth.
02:25So for example, because of our ability to operate across the ecosystem,
02:30we struck a partnership with Saudi tourism.
02:34And for the first time ever,
02:35we're leveraging MasterCard assets at a global level
02:38to promote Saudi Arabia as a destination for tourists.
02:42Because obviously this is a huge hub with so much to offer
02:46and it's our responsibility as that sort of one of those growth enablers within the ecosystem
02:51to actually show to the world it's time to come to Saudi.
02:56But if you want to come to Saudi, you've got to travel, right?
03:01And I think a couple of months ago we demonstrated our capabilities within that space,
03:07within the airline sector by signing a partnership with Riyadh Air.
03:13Now obviously Riyadh Air is kind of the standard bearer into Saudi
03:16and what Saudi will look like in the future because they want absolutely the best journey for anyone coming in.
03:22Now that journey, based on the digitally native capabilities of this country,
03:27and I think we've got like the highest penetration per capita of iOS and so on,
03:31means you have a digitally savvy and hungry consumer talking as well with those that wish to come in and
03:38visit the country.
03:39Riyadh Air built their mantra around being the first digitally first airline in the world.
03:48The train leaves the station and the train can move pretty fast.
03:52And there's different trains around the world.
03:54Some are intercity and some are the standard that the Japanese have laid down,
03:58which are hyper-fast bullet trains.
04:00Saudi's operating at a level even beyond that.
04:02And so why you need to be in Saudi now is because it's only going to get faster.
04:06That pace of change, that thirst for innovation, that drive to be the best is not going to go away.
04:13And so the sooner you're in, the sooner you can help build that journey
04:17and participate on what's, frankly, a fantastic opportunity for Saudi, for the region and at a global level.
