RO1.5bn Target: Oman Launches Digital Economy Phase Two

On 22 October 2026, Oman's Ministry of Transport, Communications and Information Technology (MTCIT) officially launched the second phase of the National Digital Economy Programme. This phase runs from 2026 to 2030. The ministry also switched on a strategic intelligence platform built with the World Economic Forum and gave a new headline number: the digital economy now makes up 9% of GDP. The first phase concentrated on building an integrated digital government. Phase two moves the focus to digitising the economy itself.

📌 Key Takeaways

• MTCIT launched phase two (2026-2030) of the National Digital Economy Programme in Muscat on 22 October 2026, according to Oman News Agency.
• The phase targets a digital economy contribution of RO1.5 billion to GDP, RO300 million in technology investment and about 3,000 direct jobs a year.
• The ministry launched a Strategic Intelligence Platform, developed with the World Economic Forum, to track trends and support policy decisions.
• Officials said the digital economy now accounts for 9% of GDP, based on a survey by the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI) and the ministry. That is far above earlier estimates, and the methodology was not explained in the launch coverage.
• From 2021 to 2025, data exchanged through the national government integration platform grew by 391%, and 251 SMEs won contracts for government tech projects.

🏛️ What Was Launched, and By Whom

The launch ceremony was held under the patronage of Finance Minister Sultan bin Salem Al Habsi. Ministers, senior officials and representatives of government, private and academic institutions attended. This is according to the Oman News Agency report on the launch, which was republished in full by Twasl News.

The programme keeps its eight executive programmes, according to the ONA text:

• National digital transformation (government)
• Artificial intelligence
• Cybersecurity industry
• Space
• Digital industry
• Digital trade
• Fintech
• Digital infrastructure

These sit on three strategic axes: digital society, digital government, and digital sectors and business. The roadmap has four five-year stages. Stage one (2021-2025) built an integrated digital government. Stage two (2026-2030) digitises economic sectors. Stage three (2031-2035) builds national digital industries. Stage four (2036-2040) pushes digital exports and global competitiveness.

Phase two will focus on digitising strategic economic sectors, e-commerce and e-payment systems, digital transformation for SMEs, and wider use of AI, the agency reported.

🎯 The Phase Two Targets

Source for all figures: ONA launch report.

🔍 A Note on the 9% Figure

The 9% headline number needs some context. In March, Oman Observer reported an MTCIT estimate that the digital economy contributed "around RO 800 million" directly in 2023. In a June interview with Al Roya, MTCIT Undersecretary Dr. Ali bin Amer Al Shaidhani gave the targets for direct contribution: 5% of GDP by 2030 and 10% by 2040. He said the current share would be announced after a survey. The interviewer put that share at about 2%.

So the new 9% figure is several times higher than earlier direct estimates. The launch coverage does not say whether it uses a broader definition, for example one that counts digitally enabled activity as well as the core ICT sector. Until NCSI publishes the survey methodology, read the 9% and the older direct-contribution targets as different measures, not a straight comparison.

🤖 A Strategic Intelligence Platform Built With the WEF

The most concrete new tool is a Strategic Intelligence Platform for the programme. It was developed with the World Economic Forum to track trends, support policymaking and inform decisions, according to ONA.

A day earlier, the ministry's Oman Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution ran a "Technology Foresight" workshop with the WEF. Oman Observer reported that participants tested a roadmap to 2040 and drew transformation maps for each executive programme. The workshop ended with a review of a national technology foresight model. GCC Business News said the AI tools would help programme leaders track global developments and implementation.

The platform's name, its users and whether any part of it is public were not disclosed in the coverage reviewed.

📊 What Phase One Delivered, According to the Ministry

Dr. Al Shaidhani's speech at the launch listed a set of phase one results. They are all ministry-reported figures, as carried by ONA:

• Government data exchange: data exchanged through the national integration platform rose 391% between 2021 and 2025.
• Local suppliers: 251 SMEs were contracted for government technology projects.
• Talent: Omanisation in tech activities rose from 33% in 2022 to 46% in 2026. In tech professions it rose from 50% to 72%. More than 5,000 tech jobs went to Omanis over five years.
• AI and chips: 800 AI specialists and more than 170 semiconductor specialists were trained, and an AI studio produced 50 smart products.
• Startups: 48 incubators and accelerators were set up, and more than RO127 million in financing went to tech startups.
• Payments and commerce: non-cash transactions grew more than 700% between 2020 and 2025, and e-commerce reached RO288 million in 2025, up from RO221 million in 2023.
• Infrastructure: 20 submarine cables, 99% population coverage with high-speed mobile broadband, and planned AI data centres of up to 500 MW.

Eng. Ghalib bin Saeed Al Mamari, Undersecretary for Trade and Industry, said phase two of the digital trade programme moves from building readiness and regulating the market to maximising economic impact and regional reach. That includes using AI for marketing, demand forecasting, inventory and supply chains, ONA reported.

🔄 What Is New Since the March Roadmap

We covered the 2026-2030 digital economy roadmap when MTCIT first outlined it in March. Today's event adds four things:

• A formal launch of the phase and its executive programmes, under ministerial patronage
• Specific money and job targets (RO1.5 billion GDP contribution, RO300 million investment, about 3,000 jobs a year)
• The first official survey-based estimate of the digital economy's GDP share
• A working WEF-backed intelligence platform

⚖️ The Realistic View

The targets are clear, but some important details are still missing. The launch coverage gives no budget for phase two, no named owner or timeline for each executive programme, and no method behind the 9% figure. Several phase one numbers, such as the 391% growth in data exchange, are percentages without a published baseline.

The government side of the first phase was real: Oman built shared authentication and data-exchange infrastructure, and the digital ID now handles hundreds of millions of verifications a year. Phase two has a harder job. It depends on private-sector adoption in logistics, tourism, manufacturing and SMEs, and the ministry cannot simply mandate that the way it can for government services.

🇴🇲 Why This Matters for Oman

Phase one of this programme built the digital government backbone that people in Oman now use every day: unified portals, digital identity and data sharing between ministries. Phase two aims to take that infrastructure into the wider economy, with measurable targets for jobs, investment and GDP. For Omani SMEs, the 251 government tech contracts in phase one and the new focus on e-payments and sector digitisation point to growing demand for local suppliers. For job seekers, a target of about 3,000 direct jobs a year is a concrete number the government can be held to. For anyone tracking Vision 2040, the WEF intelligence platform and the coming NCSI methodology will show whether Oman can measure its digital economy as rigorously as it now plans it.