Predicting the 2026 Middle East Business Landscape

Verifying the growth of AI in the area, a report launched by PwC earlier this month said that the use of AI among the labor force in the Middle East continues to increase, with 75 percent of workers in the region using it in their tasks over the past 12 months.

In November, a report released by KPMG highlighted Saudi Arabia's development in the technology sector and said that 84 percent of CEOs in the country are prepared to deploy AI responsibly, well above the 76 percent global standard, supported by the Kingdom's information governance community, consisting of nationwide efforts led by the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority.

Policymakers are believing holistically about how to make the area appealing, consisting of having more pragmatic laws to permit experimentation and development," stated the report.

Top business leaders, policymakers and financiers from the GCC and Latin America recently explored how countries from the 2 areas can grow trade between each other in Dubai, UAE.More than 500 local and worldwide policymakers, heads of state, CEOs, business leaders, financiers, and industry professionals participated in the very first Global Business Forum Latin America held at the Atlantis Palm - Dubai.

Emerging Future Trends Defining the 2026 GCC Economy

In 2015 the GCC made up of the UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, imported $11 billion worth of products from Latin America. And exports to Latin America from the region were $5.6 billion, a declaration from organisers said. Both regions rely on each other for vital items.

In 2015 Latin America supplied nearly half the meat imports into the GCC and 36 percent of the region's overall sugar imports, it added. Brazil is by far the largest trading partner for nations in the area, followed by Argentina and Mexico. Amongst the Latin American states, the GCC counts on Brazil for meat (generally poultry), Argentina for cereals, Mexico for automobiles and Chile for wood products, said a statement.

The forum was arranged by the Dubai Chamber of Commerce under the theme "Moving Synergies", checks out how organizations can benefit from the changing patterns of global demand and what role Dubai can play in helping with the next action in service relations. Dubai Chamber takes a pioneering position not just in the UAE and in the GCC but worldwide too, by serving as a details and research centre, by providing company paperwork, providing legal services, facilitating networking chances by means of signature business events and providing nearly every imaginable business service, it specified.

GCC development will enhance in 2026, led by faster growth in hydrocarbons; non-oil growth will remain strong however sluggish a little. Non-oil activity will be supported by population development, brand-new markets, and public financial investment; inflation will remain soft, while financial policy will loosen. Hydrocarbons sector development will speed up, balancing out in part lower oil costs; financial balances will be combined, with surpluses in UAE and Qatar, but deficits persist somewhere else.

Driving Regional Corporate Growth through Strategy

SHARJAH (WAM) The GCC and broader Middle East region is poised for the next wave of financial investments in AI and tech-led sectors, with business-friendly and innovation-focused government policies bring in funds and talent, said company leaders at the 9th edition of Sharjah Entrepreneurial Festival (SEF 2026). During a panel conversation on the very first day of SEF 2026 taking a look at "What Does the Next Year of Endeavor Capital Look Like", speakers concurred that the emerging regional financial investment landscape appears promising.

ANSR July GCC PRs 50DR+

Reacting to a concern on local start-ups' prospects of gaining from current investments in digital facilities, Tala Al Jabri, Founder and Handling Partner of Wyld VC stated: "We have a lot choosing us in the region: the low cost of energy, a really progressive government that is ahead in policy, policy and information personal privacy; and actually strong educational institutions that are progressively taking a look at AI and ending up technical skill in AI."She included: "Our supreme objective is to see this area, specifically the GCC, end up being an AI superpower.

Our greatest chauffeur right now is purchasing talent, because in the AI race, it's the technical skill that actually wins."Focusing on the beauty of the region for financiers, Christos Mastoras, Founder and Managing Partner of Iliad Partners, said: "I think we are extremely fortunate to onboard the 3 biggest banks of Greece as LPs [Limited Partners] for financial investment in the area.

"International growth funds are can be found in, which reveals clear signs of maturity of the community The capability of the UAE and regional federal governments to bring in skill; their innovation-first method, abundance of capital here in addition to inflow worldwide are the crucial foundation."Paula Tavangar, Chief Financial Investment Officer at Injaz Capital stated that within the region, Saudi Arabia is leading the variety of handle the greatest values, with 250 "largest ticket size" deals tape-recorded in 2025 in the nation.