Operational Excellence: a Key Driver for 2026 Success

Verifying the development of AI in the region, a report launched by PwC earlier this month said that the use of AI amongst the workforce in the Middle East continues to increase, with 75 percent of employees in the area using it in their tasks over the previous 12 months.

In November, a report launched by KPMG highlighted Saudi Arabia's development in the technology sector and stated that 84 percent of CEOs in the nation are prepared to deploy AI properly, well above the 76 percent international standard, supported by the Kingdom's data governance community, consisting of nationwide initiatives led by the Saudi Data and Expert System Authority.

Policymakers are believing holistically about how to make the region attractive, including having more practical laws to enable experimentation and development," stated the report.

Top magnate, policymakers and financiers from the GCC and Latin America recently explored how countries from the two areas can grow trade in between each other in Dubai, UAE.More than 500 local and global policymakers, heads of state, CEOs, service leaders, financiers, and market experts participated in the very first Global Service Online forum Latin America held at the Atlantis Palm - Dubai.

Evaluating Legacy Models and 2026 Business Strategies

In 2015 the GCC comprised 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 stated. Both areas rely on each other for vital items.

In 2015 Latin America supplied nearly half the meat imports into the GCC and 36 per cent of the region's overall sugar imports, it added. Brazil is without a doubt the largest trading partner for nations in the region, followed by Argentina and Mexico. Among the Latin American states, the GCC depends on Brazil for meat (primarily poultry), Argentina for cereals, Mexico for lorries and Chile for wood products, said a statement.

The forum was arranged by the Dubai Chamber of Commerce under the theme "Shifting Synergies", explores how organizations can gain from the changing patterns of worldwide need and what role Dubai can play in helping with the next action in organization relations. Dubai Chamber takes a pioneering position not just in the UAE and in the GCC but globally too, by functioning as an info and research centre, by providing organization documentation, offering legal services, helping with networking opportunities through signature service events and providing almost every imaginable company service, it specified.

GCC growth will strengthen in 2026, led by faster expansion in hydrocarbons; non-oil growth will stay strong however slow a little. Non-oil activity will be supported by population development, new industries, and public financial investment; inflation will remain soft, while monetary policy will loosen. Hydrocarbons sector growth will accelerate, offsetting in part lower oil costs; financial balances will be blended, with surpluses in UAE and Qatar, but deficits persist somewhere else.

Industrial Excellence: a Key Driver for 2026 Success

SHARJAH (WAM) The GCC and wider Middle East region is poised for the next wave of investments in AI and tech-led sectors, with business-friendly and innovation-focused government policies attracting funds and skill, stated service leaders at the 9th edition of Sharjah Entrepreneurial Celebration (SEF 2026). During a panel conversation on the first day of SEF 2026 taking a look at "What Does the Next Year of Equity Capital Appear Like", speakers agreed that the emerging local investment landscape appears promising.

ANSR July GCC PRs 50DR+

Responding to a question on local startups' prospects of benefiting from recent financial investments in digital infrastructure, Tala Al Jabri, Founder and Handling Partner of Wyld VC stated: "We have a lot going for us in the region: the low expense of energy, a really progressive government that is ahead in policy, guideline and data privacy; and truly strong universities that are increasingly looking at AI and ending up technical talent in AI."She included: "Our supreme objective is to see this area, particularly the GCC, end up being an AI superpower.

Our most significant chauffeur today is investing in skill, since in the AI race, it's the technical talent that actually wins."Focusing on the beauty of the region for financiers, Christos Mastoras, Creator and Managing Partner of Iliad Partners, said: "I believe we are extremely lucky to onboard the 3 largest banks of Greece as LPs [Limited Partners] for investment in the region.

"International development funds are being available in, which reveals clear signs of maturity of the ecosystem The capability of the UAE and local governments to attract skill; their innovation-first technique, abundance of capital here in addition to inflow internationally are the essential building blocks."Paula Tavangar, Chief Financial Investment Officer at Injaz Capital said that within the region, Saudi Arabia is leading the variety of deals with the highest values, with 250 "largest ticket size" deals recorded in 2025 in the nation.