Dubai Silicon Oasis (DSO), the UAE’s technology hub, announced that its tenant numbers reached 740 in 2011, a 39 per cent increase over the previous year. As many as 67 per cent of the companies were in the technology sector.

Among the business partners it hosts, 32 per cent are European firms, 11 per cent American and 19 per cent Asian. Mena tenants account for another 35 per cent, African firms two per cent, and Australian businesses one per cent.

A Dubai Silicon Oasis statement said its profit for the first six months of this year was up 132 per cent over H1 2011. “The results indicate that the DSO Authority (DSOA) has successfully implemented its strategic plans to become one of the region’s leading technology hubs,” it said.

“The results are a direct outcome of our efforts to achieve our strategic objectives. Driven by a 53 per cent rise in operating profits, DSOA has witnessed a 39 per cent increase in its total revenues as compared to the same period in 2011,” said its chairman Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum.

 Sheikh Ahmed anticipates that Dubai Silicon Oasis will build upon its strong performance during the second half of 2012 and in the coming years through leveraging the economic recovery in the region in general and the UAE in particular. He pointed out that the intensive investment once again being directed towards numerous projects in the region will contribute significantly to Dubai Silicon Oasis’ ambition of attracting international companies and having them establish their regional and global operations.

Dubai Silicon Oasis recently signed an agreement with SAP to host a training and development institute at the technology park. Spearheaded by SAP Mena, a subsidiary of SAP AG, the Dh1.65 billion ($449 million) project will benefit the entire Middle East and North Africa region.

 Sheikh Ahmed also pointed out that the third phase of the Dh32.44 million Light Industrial Units project would be completed in Q1 2013.

Dubai Silicon Oasis Authority in conjunction with Optimus Technology and Telecommunications recently launched the Silicon Oasis TechForum networking event, a platform for professionals, experts, academics and students to interact for building capacity in technology entrepreneurship and innovation across Dubai. The initiative is backed by Silicon Oasis Founders (SOF), a technology incubation centre wholly owned by DSOA.

Also recently, Rochester Institute of Technology Dubai, established in partnership with DSOA, signed an educational partnership with the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Fund of the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) in the UAE. According to the agreement, the ICT Fund at TRA will offer scholarships to 24 UAE nationals to pursue information and communication technology studies at RIT-Dubai.