Deemah Al Yahya

Deemah bint Yahya AlYahya (Arabic: ديمة اليحيى) is a Saudi tech diplomat and digital economy expert. In 2021, she was elected as the founding Secretary-General of the Digital Cooperation Organization, an international intergovernmental organization founded in 2020 by Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Pakistan, and Saudi Arabia, leading the multilateral organization focusing on fostering international cooperation among key stakeholders to accelerate the growth of an inclusive and sustainable digital economy. She is the founding Secretary-General of the organization, and the first Saudi woman to hold the secretariat of an international organization. right

Early life and education

AlYahya obtained her bachelor’s degree in computer science and information systems from King Saud University in Riyadh, class of 2002. She graduated in 2017 from the INSEAD business school senior executive programs after partaking in the International Directors Program, Leading Digital Transformation & Innovation in the Age of Disruption, and business development & Financial Acumen. She also completed various programs at Harvard Business School including "Leading & Building a Culture of Innovation and Disruptive Innovation" and "Strategies for a Successful Enterprise".

Career AlYahya started her career as a software engineer at Samba financial institution before joining the Saudi stock exchange (Tadawul) becoming one of the pioneers in the IT field.

AlYahya has held several positions throughout her career, including Chief Innovation Officer at the Misk Foundation, CEO of the National Digitization Unit at the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology of Saudi Arabia, Chief Evangelist Developer Experience and Digital Innovation at Microsoft Arabia and e-services director at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Saudi Arabia. She was also appointed a member of several councils, such as the Digital Economy and Society Council at the World Economic Forum, the Global Entrepreneurship Network, the Executive Committee of The Business 20 (B20) and the Saudi Digital Economy Policy Advisory Committee. She also worked as a consultant, program designer, and leader of strategic digital initiatives. AlYahya is the founder and CEO of Women Spark, which is considered the first Saudi women's angel investment network. As of 2013, Women Spark has trained over 26,000 women in the technology industry. Saudi Authority for Intellectual Property (SAIP), Saudi Company for Artificial Intelligence (SCAI), and Saudi Federation for Cybersecurity, Programming and Drones (SAFSCP).

AlYahya has several writings that have been published in the World Economic Forum, Arabian Business and Entrepreneur Middle East magazine.

Initiatives Through her positions as the Executive Director of Developer Experience and Digital Innovation at Microsoft and the Secretary-General at the DCO, AlYahya has led multiple initiatives.

In 2017, AlYayha acted as the CEO of the National Digital Transformation Unit (NDU), which empowered the NDU to launch multiple initiatives, such as the agreement with General Electric (GE) to drive digital industrial innovation and diversification to help Saudi youth participating in the kingdom's digital transformation, and the agreement with NXN to harness more collaboration toward KSA's digital transformation.

Many initiatives were made under her flagship as the Executive Manager of Misk Innovation. One is the Saudi Codes, which encourage more people to study computer programming. Subsequently, she founded ALMTD Consulting as a specialized company that provides advisory services on digital innovation strategies, corporate venture building, and large-scale conceptualization to organizations in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Global Presence AlYahya is a notable speaker at numerous global tech and political events and forums, such as UNCTAD eWeek 2023 and AI House Davos. She has addressed the importance of following a human-centric approach to foster the digital economy during her participation in the World Economic Forum (WEF), and highlighted the fundamental need to bridge the digital divide between nations during her interview with the Arab News current-affairs talk show, Frankly Speaking. AlYahya has various global discussions and publications on the topic of tech diplomacy and the digital economy, with one recently published on the World Economic Forum (WEF) highlighting the need to focus on tech diplomacy to harness opportunities of the digital economy.

Lecturer Deemah AlYahya's lecture at the Saud N Al Sabah Kuwait Diplomacy Institute. Since 2024, AlYahya has delivered lectures on tech diplomacy at a range of academic and diplomatic institutions internationally, including the Prince Saud Al Faisal Institute for Diplomatic Studies in Saudi Arabia, Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) in the United States, the Saud N. Al Sabah Kuwait Diplomacy Institute in Kuwait, and the China Foreign Affairs University in China AlYahya’s lectures on tech diplomacy have been attended by notable figures, including Jasem Al Budaiwi, the Secretary-General of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), and Khaled Al Zamel, Chairman of Kuwait’s Communications and Information Technology Regulatory Authority (CITRA).

Digital Cooperation Organization

Deemah AlYahya meeting Crown Prince Hussein bin Abdullah Al Hashimi. In November 2020, Deemah AlYahya was nominated as the Secretary-General of the Digital Cooperation Organization and in April 2021 subsequently elected as the Secretary-General during Saudi Arabia's presidency of the Organization. With this nomination AlYahya became the first Secretary-General of the organization, and the first Saudi woman to become a Secretary-General of an international organization. The DCO was also granted observer status at the United Nations. AlYahya has overseen initiatives focused on digital economy cooperation, including digital trade, artificial intelligence governance, and digital public infrastructure. Together with the DCO Member States, the Organization has advanced initiatives supporting over 480 startups, launched four innovation centers, raised approximately USD 21 million to support startups, and trained more than 5,000 women-led businesses. The Organization has also launched programs such as WE-Elevate, which aims to support women-led startups and entrepreneurs across Member States. In her role, she has engaged with international leaders including King Charles III, Crown Prince Hussein bin Abdullah Al Hashimi, Abdulrahman Al-Thani, Paul Kagame, Shehbaz Sharif, and Antonio Guterres, as well as institutions such as the World Bank.

Awards and recognition

In 2018, AlYahya was recognized with the "Digital CEO of the Year" award by Entrepreneur Middle East magazine. In 2024, AlYahya was recognized with the "Lifetime Achievement Award" by Women in Tech. In 2026, she was awarded the Technology Diplomacy Award by the Tech Diplomacy Network at The Montgomery Summit. The same year, she was included in Fast Company Middle East’s list of the "Most Creative People in Business". She has also received recognition from Shehbaz Sharif for contributions to advancing foreign digital investment in Pakistan.