AI seen unlocking $1 trillion in MENA value by 2030

A trillion dollars is the number now attached to artificial intelligence in the Middle East and North Africa. A new report released in Dubai, Unlocking Value: AI for Resilient Growth in MENA, estimates that AI could unlock more than one trillion dollars in economic and sustainability value across the region by 2030. The study was presented at the inaugural Annual Meeting of Global Future Leaders, a three-day gathering organised by the World Economic Forum in collaboration with the United Arab Emirates Government.

The report is frank about the gap between ambition and execution. It identifies disparities between the perceived potential of AI and its actual implementation, and points to four requirements for closing that gap: financing, government support, energy infrastructure and cross-sector collaboration. For investors and operators watching the region, the message is clear. Capital, state backing and power supply, not technology alone, will determine whether the trillion-dollar estimate is realised.

A companion study, Powering AI at Scale: Optimizing Hyperscale Data Centre Infrastructure in MENA, examines the physical requirements behind that expansion, including electricity and water demands. It offers one of the meeting’s more striking market signals: new data centres in the region could connect to the electricity grid within two to five years, compared with more than a decade in mature markets. That speed advantage is precisely the kind of structural detail that shapes investment decisions in compute infrastructure.

The event itself was built around the flow of capital and talent. More than 500 global leaders and experts attended, among them 78 senior officials from governments and international organisations and more than 150 chief executives and board chairs. Discussions centred on artificial intelligence, resilient economic growth, technology and leadership, with participants examining how AI could lift productivity and create better jobs, and how investment could be directed towards climate adaptation.

Money commitments followed the conversation. The UAE Government and the Global Shapers Community launched the Global Agentic AI Award and Innovation Challenge, a year-long initiative open to all 500 Global Shapers hubs, inviting them to apply agentic AI to challenges in their communities. The initiative will award one million dollars annually over five years, with winners recognised at the 2027 Annual Meeting of Global Future Leaders.

Education and skills received their own investment channel. The Centre for Intelligent Future and Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence expanded access to AI training through the AI for All programme, which aims to equip young leaders in 100 cities with practical skills spanning generative AI, agentic AI and responsible governance, with priority given to regions where such training is scarce.

Meanwhile, the meeting piloted Opportunity Labs, collaborative sessions designed to identify practical solutions to challenges expected over the next decade. On the technology track, participants explored how AI and scientific discoveries could expand human capabilities and accelerate innovation while preserving accountability, public trust and responsible governance.

Alois Zwinggi, the World Economic Forum’s President and Chief Executive Officer, described the gathering as a platform for leaders to test ideas, launch initiatives and establish collaborations that would sustain progress beyond Dubai. “The future should not be governed by yesterday’s assumptions,” Zwinggi said, underlining the need to convert dialogue into action that creates opportunities and builds resilience. Further detail on the meeting’s outcomes is available at https://realnewsmagazine.net/wef-meeting-advances-ai-resilient-growth-leadership/.

Institution-building featured prominently. The World Economic Forum, the UAE Government and the Dubai Future Foundation stated their intention to establish the Centre for Global Opportunities, intended to widen access to opportunities for current and future generations of leaders. The Forum also released policy frameworks addressing next-generation computing readiness and cybersecurity, spanning infrastructure, skills, sovereignty, investment and coordinated action, the kind of groundwork markets typically require before capital deploys at scale.

Leadership capacity was treated as an economic input in its own right. The meeting saw the launch of the Leadership Commitment Framework, a self-assessment tool developed by the Global Future Council on Leadership and the Forum of Young Global Leaders to help leaders gauge their readiness for increasingly complex challenges. Another initiative, Future 20, spotlighted 20 young leaders from the Global Shapers Network working on new approaches to technology, economic growth, resilience, leadership and sustainability.

The employment dimension of AI received sustained attention, particularly its effect on entry-level work. Participants examined how businesses and young leaders could strengthen economic opportunities as AI reshapes junior roles. In a sign of corporate engagement, UAE-based Apparel Group joined the Global Alliance for Future Generations, a grouping of companies and young leaders addressing the implications of technological change for employment opportunities.

Grounding the proceedings in data, discussions drew on the Forum’s Youth Pulse 2026 survey, which captures the views of nearly 4,600 young people across 144 countries and territories on economic, political, technological, social and environmental issues.

Mohammad Al Gergawi, UAE Minister of Cabinet Affairs and Principal Chairman of the meeting, called for partnerships that translate into action and deliver lasting benefits for future generations. The meeting closed with a commitment to carry its outcomes forward through the Global Shapers Community and Young Global Leaders, converting three days of discussion in Dubai into collaboration and, for the investors and operators involved, into deployable economic activity worldwide. Whether the trillion-dollar estimate holds will depend on how quickly that capital actually moves.