Inside MENA’s AI Race: Why Businesses Are Turning to AI App Firms
“Everyone Is Asking the Same Question: Who’s Building All This?” That’s the line I keep hearing whenever I step into a fintech event, a digital transformation forum, or a governance roundtable in the MENA region. Every headline looks shiny—partnerships, expansions, new funds—but behind closed doors, decision-makers whisper a different question: “Who are the AI teams actually building the systems powering these announcements?” Welcome to the real story behind the region’s AI acceleration. Not the press releases. Not the stage speeches. The behind-the-scenes movement shaping the future. The Announcements Start Pouring In I’m sitting with a fintech executive in Dubai when news breaks: First.tech teams up with ELM “Cross-border digital services just got a major upgrade,” he mutters. Abacus Group opens its first Middle East office He raises an eyebrow. “These guys don’t move unless the region is hot.” Property Finder partners with Stake Suddenly, fractional real esta...