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 is reportedly considering routing the East to Med Data Corridor through Syria instead of Israel, reflecting shifting regional dynamics and growing focus on digital infrastructure linking the Gulf to Europe.
Pakistan and Algeria are exploring deeper investment cooperation in energy, mining and digital sectors, with a planned MoU between SIFC and Algeria’s investment agency. Talks also covered smart agriculture and digital governance, supporting Pakistan’s push for long-term foreign investment.
e&’s stake in Vodafone has risen to 17.005% due to Vodafone’s share buyback programme, while its total holdings remain at 3.94 billion shares. The move strengthens e&’s global exposure strategy, following its initial $4.4bn investment in 2022.
Suse has acquired Ohio-based Losant to expand its Edge portfolio into full-stack Industrial IoT capabilities. The deal strengthens Suse’s Tiny Edge strategy, integrating AI, device orchestration and open process automation to enable real-time industrial insights and hybrid AI execution at scale.
Abu Dhabi, through G42 and Cerebras, will deploy an 8 exaflop AI supercomputer in India under the India AI Mission. Hosted domestically with full data sovereignty, the system will expand national AI compute capacity, support large-scale model training and democratise access for research, startups and government.
Pakistan is finalising its Mobile & Electronic Devices Manufacturing Policy 2026–33 to attract global giants Apple and Samsung. The government aims to boost local production, deepen supply chain integration, and position the country as a regional smartphone manufacturing hub.
Middle East smartphone shipments rose 13 percent to 54.8 million units in 2025, driven by flagship launches and Gulf upgrade cycles. Samsung strengthened its premium and mid-range leadership alongside Apple, while HONOR posted rapid growth. The market is expected to moderate in 2026 amid tighter supply conditions.
Southern African nations Namibia, Botswana and Lesotho have announced major connectivity initiatives. MTC and BoFiNet signed a cross-border fibre MoU centred on the Buitepos-Ngoma corridor, while Lesotho committed US$24.07 million to upgrade ICT infrastructure, improve cybersecurity and expand affordable public internet access nationwide.
Pakistan imported $1.139 billion worth of mobile phones in July-January FY2025-26, up 31%, while local manufacturing produced over 30 million handsets in 2025, reinforcing strong domestic assembly capacity.
Sri Lanka’s Fairfirst Insurance and SLT-Mobitel have launched the country’s first mobile billing-enabled motor insurance, allowing customers to purchase and renew policies directly through their mobile accounts.