Technology news and insights in the Middle East, South Asia, and Africa
Technology News and insights in the Middle East, South Asia, and Africa
Saudi Arabia set a Guinness World Record by hosting the world’s largest digital solutions hackathon, uniting thousands of participants to build AI-driven public service innovations. The event highlighted national talent, unveiled new digital platforms, and strengthened partnerships supporting Vision 2030 and large-scale digital transformation.
Euronews has launched Euronews Travel in partnership with Media City Qatar, expanding its brand with a dedicated tourism channel. The platform will deliver digital-first travel content before expanding to global TV networks, supporting Qatar’s ambition to become a leading international media hub.
The Applied Science Private University hosted a dialogue seminar examining Jordan’s political modernization in light of the Royal Throne Speech. MPs, academics, and students discussed parliamentary reform, youth participation, women’s representation, and the role of dialogue and legislation in advancing comprehensive national modernization.
Saudi Arabia is celebrating World Arabic Language Day 2025 with coordinated initiatives at home and abroad, including events at the United Nations and nationwide educational and cultural programmes. Led by the King Salman Global Academy for Arabic Language, the efforts aim to strengthen Arabic’s role in education, technology, and global dialogue while preserving its cultural and civilisational heritage.
Meezan Bank, Haball, and Dawlance have expanded the Wisaaq platform by launching a Murabaha-based digital supply chain financing facility for Dawlance distributors. The initiative delivers instant, Shariah-compliant financing to improve liquidity, speed up inventory procurement, and modernise Pakistan’s supply chain ecosystem through a fully digital, data-driven model.
Egypt is set to launch a unified digital platform that brings company registration, licensing, payments, and customs procedures into a single system to cut timelines and improve transparency. The move supports broader economic reforms, export growth, and investor confidence as Egypt advances its digital transformation agenda.
Ottu and Mastercard have partnered to simplify access to local and international payment methods across the GCC using Mastercard Merchant Cloud. The collaboration enables enterprises in Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, and Oman to scale efficiently through a single integration, supporting secure, locally relevant, and scalable digital commerce across the region.
Morocco has approved the use of digital payment terminals and prepaid cards for foreign currency exchange, modernising a traditionally cash-based sector. The reform aims to reduce cash circulation, improve transparency, support compliance standards, and facilitate spending by tourists as international payments and cross-border e-commerce continue to grow.
Egypt’s retail sector is accelerating digital transformation through new partnerships in fuel and food retail. Mastercard and Fuelin are digitising fleet fuel payments, while e& Egypt is rolling out connectivity, e-payments, and loyalty systems across subsidised food cooperatives, improving efficiency, transparency, and customer experience.
IBM recorded a landmark year in Saudi Arabia by empowering over 500,000 nationals with digital skills, expanding consulting operations to Al-Baha, advancing AI-driven logistics innovation, and partnering with Riyadh Air to launch the world’s first AI-native airline, reinforcing its alignment with Vision 2030 and the Kingdom’s digital ambitions.