Google hosts its first-ever ‘G-Saudi’ developer event

To support local talent and foster innovation among Saudi Arabia’s technology community, Google kicked off its first ever ‘G-Day Saudi’ event in Riyadh today. The two-day event brings together professional developers, webmasters, small business entrepreneurs, computer science professors and students.

Nelson Mattos, Google Vice President of Product Management and Engineering for Europe, Middle East and Africa, shared the company’s vision towards an Arabic internet – one which is locally relevant, vibrant and with an enriched user experience.  “The potential for an Arabic web in MENA is untapped -- with nearly 400 million people in the Arab world and a talented pool of developers, the opportunities here in the Saudi market alone are substantial.” Mattos added that the company is investing heavily in the adaptation of global products into Arabic and in creating new MENA specific products borne in the region.

During the two day event, Google is demonstrating new products launched in Saudi, including localized arabic versions of You Tube and Maps. The company also announced a new product called Gmail SMS, a major partnership initiative with telecom giant STC which allows you to send free text messages directly from your Gmail account.

G-Day Saudi attendees are encouraged to explore Google’s technologies through a combination of tech talks, breakout sessions and codelabs run by some of Google’s best and most engaging engineers, product specialists and business managers who flew in from around the world. 

G-Day Saudi is part of a series of similar events across the region, designed to provide an informal environment in which local participants can engage in open dialogue with technology and product experts as they experience Google technologies.