'The Future of Work' is supported by the "GE Store," a global exchange of knowledge, technology and tools that ultimately provides better outcomes for customers

Announces partnership with Wamda to drive entrepreneurial collaboration and engagement in the energy and industrial space

Findings highlighted at The Economists' Future of Work: Middle East Summit

Dubai, UAE; April 29, 2015: GE (NYSE: GE) today unveiled the 2015 outlook on 'Mapping the Future of Work in MENAT,' (invent.ge/1zjb804) which underlines the value of collaboration and innovation to promoting transformational growth across the region, at The Economists' Future of Work: Middle East Summit.

At the Summit, the company highlighted the role of the GE Store, a platform for global exchange of knowledge, technology and tools across all its business to provide better outcomes for customers. Defined by its focus on building competitive advantage through closer collaboration and innovation, the GE Store allows GE to leapfrog industries, drive innovation, performance and outcomes regardless of business and geography.

Nabil Habayeb, GE's President & Chief Executive Officer for the Middle East, North Africa & Turkey (MENAT), said: "Last year, we examined three disruptive forces of innovation - the Industrial Internet, Advanced Manufacturing and the Global Brain - which we defined as 'The Future of Work,' highlighting its ability to foster a stronger, collaborative economy and build a sustainable, stable and prosperous future for the region, particularly for its youth population, which at 200 million forms the largest demographic."

"Since then, we have seen tremendous changes, including the drop in oil prices that puts pressure on governments in addressing its long-term objectives of creating jobs for youth and driving sustained growth. Our 2015 outlook on 'Mapping the Future of Work' highlights the power of collaboration and innovation to address the challenges and bring transformational growth."

Habayeb said that the MENAT region exemplifies the enormous potential of Future of Work innovations. "By integrating big data and advanced analytics with heavy machinery, Industrial Internet can boost productivity and efficiency to help achieve and deliver lower, affordable costs. Advanced Manufacturing techniques can increase access to production and development and make ideas reality, and the Global Brain can enhance industrial capacity by bringing technologies and workforces together across different countries to produce ideas. Greater collaborations for co-creating localized solutions will help scale up efficiency across all sectors, particularly energy, manufacturing and industries."

GE and Wamda have joined together to grow the network of entrepreneurs across the region working on industrial technologies. The goal is to promote, support, and connect those communities. Featuring a microsite (www.wamda.com/MEmakersGE) that serves as an online destination to strengthen dialogue between aspiring entrepreneurs and professionals, the partnership will also include other initiatives to support the next era of diversified growth of the region.

"With the region increasingly focusing on economic diversification and increased energy efficiency, promoting entrepreneurial collaboration in clean technology and advanced analytics will help support a grassroots culture of innovation," said Habayeb. "Through our partnership with Wamda, we aim to strengthen awareness and knowledge on the Future of Work, provide adequate resources, and inspire the community for driving a vibrant entrepreneurial ecosystem across the region."

Among the highlights of GE's 2015 outlook is an emphasis on providing opportunities for youth to build their skills and experiences and contribute to economic growth. To promote innovation, the paper also calls for a flexible education system with greater focus on science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM); school and industry partnerships; and investment in infrastructure.

Already, GE has partnered with more than 25 universities and educational organizations across the region to support talent growth and development. The new partnership with Wamda will further accelerate close governmental, industry and academic linkages.

Further, GE underscores the collaboration and cross-fertilization among different industrial sectors, as a main driver of innovation. This is reflected in the GE Store, which allows every business in GE to share and access collective technology, R&D, and commercial and managerial expertise to achieve lower costs, higher efficiency, and faster growth.

"The GE Store exchanges advanced technology, materials, software, and analytics between industries, and develops solutions and tools to run GE's business, which are shared with customers. The value of the GE Store is captured by faster growth at higher margins; it makes the totality of GE more competitive than the parts. A culture of collaboration also extends to our workforce, resulting in greater productivity and efficiency for the company and stronger career prospects for GE's employees," said Habayeb.

GE has also been accelerating new solutions in the region through its 'Innovation Challenges' held in Saudi Arabia, Algeria and Turkey, among others, while in the UAE, the Ecomagination Center in Masdar  City continues to be an incubator of new ideas. In Saudi Arabia, the Aramco Entrepreneurship Center and GE's Ecomagination global technology Innovation Challenge produced state-of-the-art proposals to address renewable-energy seawater desalination, one of the most important processes for the region.

In Algeria, the I.D.E.A. initiative (Industrie et Développement de l'Entreprenariat en Algérie), launched by Sonelgaz and GE, completed Phase 1 to contribute local innovation in the energy-sector supply chain and foster talent for industrial jobs. In Turkey, the GE Turkey Innovation Challenge brought energy efficiency and healthcare services to the attention of entrepreneurs across the region. These partnerships reflect the power of the Global Brain, stretching across borders and targeting critical issues to accelerate new discoveries.

GE has launched several key initiatives in the region to promote localized innovation such as the GE Ecomagination Center in Masdar City in Abu Dhabi; Saudi GE Innovation Center in Dhahran; GE Advanced Technology Research Center in Qatar Science & Technology Park; GE Algeria Turbines; and GE Turkey Innovation Center. These help build local supply chains that strengthen domestic manufacturing and exports, ultimately creating more job opportunities for youth. 

About GE:
GE (NYSE: GE) imagines things others don't, builds things others can't and delivers outcomes that make the world work better. GE brings together the physical and digital worlds in ways no other company can. In its labs and factories and on the ground with customers, GE is inventing the next industrial era to move, power, build and cure the world. www.ge.com

For more information, please contact:                                                                                 
Caroline Wehbeh                                           
GE Communications Leader, North Africa
+9714 4296318                
caroline.wehbeh@ge.com
              
Kelly Home/Nivine William
ASDA'A Burson-Marsteller              
+9714 4507 600
kelly.home@bm.com / nivine.william@bm.com 

© Press Release 2015