Doha: Online transactions in Qatar have risen sharply in the past few years. Total online transactions in the country have grown to 270 million in 2018 from 227 million transactions in 2017, showing a rise of around 20 percent. Qatar has come a long way in its journey to digital transformation as five years back in 2014, there were just 6.64 million online transactions.
Since then, such transactions have witnessed tremendous growth. In 2014, total online transactions surged to 65 million in 2015 and to 109 million in 2016. These numbers included transaction through mobile, Internet and self-service kiosks.
One of the main reasons behind the sharp rise in online transactions is the increase in the number of government services made available by different government departments. In 2014, just 194 government services were available online which increased to 2,604 services in 2018, showing a whopping rise of 1,200 percent.
Making government service available online for the public is part of Qatar Digital Government 2020 Strategy which was launched in 2014. One of the targets of the strategy is to make all the government services available online by 2020 for the public.
Around 60 government bodies are providing online services under the strategy. Around 1,317 services are available online, 717 services are available through mobile phones while 574 services being provided through kiosks.
Qatar now has some of the world’s most developed IT and communications infrastructure, be it the abundance of fibre-optic communications, data centres, or cloud-based computing services.
Qatar has taken several efforts in the past to promote digital transactions. Ministry of Transport and Communications, in April this year, had launched the ‘Digital Transformation of SMEs’ program which is expected to benefit around 5,000 companies by the end of this year.
Qatar Digital Government 2020 Strategy is playing a crucial role in the State's journey to digital transformation.
The strategy has three main objectives. The first is to better serve individuals and businesses by bringing 100 percent of government services online and ensuring users can complete e-services end-to-end online.
The second is to create efficiency in government administration through automation of functions, state of the art applications, and a common ICT infrastructure that saves money, increases security and enhances the user experience. The third is to develop a more open government with enhanced participation of citizens and residents in their government and to offer greater access to data that will help spur innovation and help diversify our economy.
The strategy will deliver benefits to customers through better services and to the government through administrative efficiency, which leads to better outcomes for the nation.
The strategy will guide Qatar’s future as a leading proponent of e-Government. It builds on the success of previous e-Government strategies, international trends, and best practices and was developed using broad stakeholder engagement with a large number of government entities and focus groups representing members of the public and businesses.
At an aggregate level, e-Government drives better outcomes for the whole nation. Better services will help Qatar create a better life for its citizens and residents. Serving businesses faster and providing them with valuable open data-sets will enhance national economic development. Successful e-Government will also raise the international profile and standing of Qatar. Greater transparency fosters trust and makes it easier for different parties to interact.
