saudi 2030 - Jazri

Perspective: 5 min read

Saudi Arabia vision and product design

Saudi Arabia is now making solid steps on the 2030 vision, its primary objective is to reduce the Saudi market’s dependence on oil and gas and explore new markets and perhaps be the hub of some industries and markets.

2030 vision by definition is “a strategic framework to reduce Saudi Arabia’s dependence on oil, diversify its economy, and develop public service sectors such as health, education, infrastructure, recreation, and tourism. Key goals include reinforcing economic and investment activities, increasing non-oil international trade, and promoting a softer and more secular image of the Kingdom. It also consists of increasing government spending on the military, as well as manufacturing equipment and ammunition”.

So how can product design help

the 2030 vision is divided into 11 programs, all these programs will work together to turn this vision into a reality, and We will explore some of these programs and how we can implement product design in these programs. Product design is one of the most important industries for countries and markets that aim to lead in any industry or to make an impact, because great products today are defined by great designs, especially in the age of social media, where what consumers say about you matters as much as your direct marketing plan.

National Industrial Development and Logistics Program

In this program, product design can be the key player any industrial development need product design and if I may quote from the 2030 vision website: “The program aims to transform the Kingdom into a leading industrial powerhouse and a global logistics hub, by maximizing the value of its mining and energy sectors while unlocking the full potential of local content and the 4th Industrial Revolution (4IR).”

As mentioned, the vision aims to lead an industrial powerhouse and this goal surely requires that you own your designs and be original. It also requires unlocking the local potentials, which can be achieved by allowing the Saudis to design their own products based on their culture, and supporting Saudi startups. Everything mentioned requires the presence of competent product designers that know the ways of this market, and are familiar with Saudi culture.

Health Sector Transformation Program

In this program the Saudi government is targeting the health sector in two ways, the first is by providing more tools and products for promoting public health, and the second is by trying to apply the new model of care related to disease prevention by getting a healthier lifestyle. Both goals need products to support them, and all these products can be crafted locally in Saudi Arabia. This means these products can be designed, manufactured, and sold fully in the kingdom.

Such products for a healthier life are for example training mirrors. These mirrors were invented last year and get boosted with the lockdown. The Mirror blends seamlessly into your home, all you need is two feet of wall space to turn any room into a complete home gym. It gives you a live video of your workout and you can see yourself while performing the workout at the same time

Products like these would fit our markets perfectly because we prefer more privacy. Other products like home or even outdoor workout solutions and tools can easily be made in the KSA.

Providing medical solutions and medical tools to improve the quality of health services is the second goal of the health program, and this goal can be achieved mainly by providing the latest technologies for patients and why not invent new technologies to get health services to another level? We’ve all experienced how important it is that your country is prepared for any pandemic and your system can handle health problems smoothly and fast. I would argue this constitutes this program to be priceless, as there is nothing that can equal the price of a lost human life.

Doyof Al Rahman Program

In this program, all the aims are about how to serve the best experience before, during, and after visiting Mecca and Medina. To do this, Saudi’s government already provided tens of solutions for this experience, and there is still a big room for development in this experience. For example, we can design robots to do most regular services like cleaning, sanitizing, and providing Zamzam water to people. These robots can reduce traffic, and they can do these services faster than ordinary methods.

Financial Sector Development Program

The Fintech industry is one of the fastest-growing today. This is not surprising, since, in the rush of modern life, financial transactions can no longer take long. Instant transactions have already become the norm for both payment for goods and international transfers. But besides this, companies are starting to come up with additional services or automation within the business.

Now banks and financial companies, in general, are thinking about what additional services they can develop, for example:

Began to be more involved in the development of products in the area of compliance;
Pay more attention to information security;
Evaluate projects from the standpoint of risk management.

And of course, the Saudi market is involved in these trends, and taking all these into consideration can make the Saudi financial sector the hub of financial services for all-around countries.

This vision can really make a big impact in the MENA region, therefore, we all will keep an eye on the programs and their progress. because any development in any sector will have a positive impact on all surrounding countries, not just Saudi Arabia.

At the end of the day, we all can suggest solutions based on our expertise but we all agree that we need this great vision to achieve its goals and we all wish the best for our countries

Coming up with a new business idea is not that hard but coming up with a good idea is the challenge.

At the beginning of your journey, your mind keeps thinking of new ideas to solve problems and make a profit, Then you find it, this is my idea and this is what I’m looking for, and you start thinking about how to tell if it’s really a good idea.

There are some tools and steps to help you validate your idea and we gonna talk about the most important ones:

The problem, The pain you are trying to solve is it really important??

So, at the beginning you have the problem you are trying to solve, the pain you are trying to kill, you need to make sure that it’s not a vitamin product or service, ask yourself what is the problem that I’m trying to solve, or is there a real problem in the first place, make sure it’s a must-have, Not nice to have.

Alright, so that’s the distinction of a great idea Is this something people really, really want and they’re going to be down a path to your door? Or is this just kind of something? Maybe they would like it to make their life better, which are usually typically hard to monetize and make money from.

So, you should put your hands on the real problem and make a real solution for it, by this you are sure that people need your product or service

MVP

Prototype, not a final product, The problem most entrepreneurs have; is that they skip the fact that the word MVP or minimum viable product it’s got the word product in there. A minimum viable product by definition “is a version of a product with just enough features to be usable by early customers who can then provide feedback for future product development”. So they invest a lot of time and money to get almost the final product and then it becomes much harder to edit based on feedback or changing any core feature.

An experimental hypothesis-driven approach reduces the risks of building something no one wants

You should start with minimal, what I would suggest is building a functional prototype, something that you could sit down and design Three core features of the idea, not the future vision. A six-week product Sprint for example deciding and working on What are the three core features that will deliver value for our customers? And you sit down, build a prototype. And you can use any low fidelity prototypes tools like a cartoon or laser cutter, But you want to build a look-alike prototype with two or three main features you expect to deliver.

Build your prototype then go back to people that you think are interested in your idea and get them to pre-buy the product. and you can charge them 50% off of the Cost for example, that you’re eventually when you launch it. And then here’s the deal. If you put that clickable prototype in front of the customer, you’ve nailed their pain point in the market You’re excited and passionate about the problem and it’s something that you want to solve yourself. They’re going to resonate with that, and they can join that pilot program. You only have a limited amount of seats, ’cause really all you’re looking for is Feedback as you Co-create it with them.

Easy to understand!

Most entrepreneurs miss this step because they are living with their ideas so they assume that their idea is easy to understand, but when they start talking to others about it they find out that people need to hear from you in the simplest words to understand you or even to keep listening to your idea.

if you asked anyone in the world what google solving or Facebook or Twitter they will simply answer your question because these big brands make it simple for anyone to understand what they are doing and what is the problem they are solving, and this is the point if people understand your point easily, they will become clients

Finally, when it comes to building any business there is no specific strategy to success, but you can at least measure what you are doing by the points we mentioned previously and know if you really need to stop and think or to keep going..

About the Authors

Asem Omar

Strategy Director

Asem enables the team of business and strategists who work alongside Jazri designers and brand experts to bring bold ideas to fulfill the market’s needs.

He has enabled several brands to transfer their ideas into marketable solutions in a variety of industry, strategy, and marketing roles.

Omar Khader

Principle Design Director

Omar is one of the most recognized product designers in the MENA region. His passion and talent blended with his experience combined with his personal vision about designing products for: culture, environment, psychology, and technology has privileged him to direct the strategic and conceptual design direction of most successful products.

He designs products with Ihsan, making the user at the heart of the product. He has won over 100 design awards. His work has been featured all over the globe. He helped design products for different nationalities making their life more tangible.

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