UAE telecoms and technology company e& has entered into a partnership valued at more than $1 billion with Amazon Web Services, the world's largest cloud services provider, to accelerate the adoption of cloud solutions and drive digital transformation in the region.
The partnership, announced at Gitex Global in Dubai, will focus on delivering services such as cloud storage, computing, networking, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence and machine learning over the next six years, the companies said in a joint statement on Tuesday.
E& said that it will harness AWS's suite of 200 services to modernise key platforms, including Starzplay Arabia, a TV streaming service in which e& holds a majority stake, and Careem, the super app that offers services such as food delivery, mobility and digital payments.
The UAE company said it will also enable small and medium-sized businesses to access the AWS marketplace.
“We are enabling businesses across the region to lead in an AI-powered, data-driven economy,” said Hatem Dowidar, group chief executive of e&, which serves more than 175 million subscribers in 34 countries.
“By investing in both critical infrastructure and talent development, we are … supporting the region’s economy, digital resilience, and … its people, who will be instrumental in realising the UAE’s vision of becoming a world-leading digital powerhouse.”
AWS launched its second Middle East cloud region in the UAE in 2022, alongside a planned $5 billion investment in the local economy through 2036. In August 2022, the company announced that its facility would contribute an estimated $11 billion to the UAE’s economy over the next 15 years.
AWS said it will enable regional companies to access generative AI technology using its Amazon Bedrock solutions, helping them boost productivity and improve customer experience. The Seattle-based company, a cloud subsidiary of Amazon – the world’s largest e-commerce firm – provides on-demand cloud computing platforms to businesses.
Cloud companies around the world are recording growing demand amid the AI boom. Nearly 68 per cent of Middle East companies surveyed by PwC last year said they planned to migrate most of their operations to the cloud within two years. Consultancy Telecom Advisory Services expects public cloud adoption to unlock $733 billion in economic value across the Middle East and North Africa by 2033, according to its report last year.
The cloud computing market in Middle East and Africa is expected to reach more than $178.52 billion by 2030, growing at a compound annual growth rate of 18.8 per cent from 2024 to 2030, according to California-based Grand View Research.
With a 31 per cent market share, AWS is the biggest player in the global cloud infrastructure services sector, followed by Microsoft Azure with 25 per cent and Google Cloud with 10 per cent, data from Statista shows.
The e& partnership will fast-track the UAE's 2031 vision that aims to raise its gross domestic product to Dh3 trillion ($816.88 billion) by the next decade, said Tanuja Randery, vice president for Europe, Middle East and Africa at AWS.
AWS and e& will also work on developing a local upskilling initiative, with plans to provide training opportunities to thousands of individuals, including UAE nationals, in cloud technologies and AI.
“Our investment in developing the skills of UAE nationals will have a positive impact on the region’s economic growth and technological leadership,” said Ms Randery.
Separately, Microsoft said at Gitex on Tuesday that its cloud ecosystem is projected to contribute $74.4 billion to the UAE economy and create more than 152,530 jobs by 2028. These jobs will be created both directly within Microsoft and indirectly through its partner ecosystem and cloud-using customers, according to a report by International Data Corporation that was sponsored by Microsoft.
Over the next four years, Microsoft and its partner ecosystem will spend approximately $5.1 billion in the UAE’s data centre regions for services and products in local economies, it said. “This investment will fuel the growth of enterprises, particularly those looking to harness the power of cloud and AI,” it added.
Company profile
Name: Back to Games and Boardgame Space
Started: Back to Games (2015); Boardgame Space (Mark Azzam became co-founder in 2017)
Founder: Back to Games (Mr Azzam); Boardgame Space (Mr Azzam and Feras Al Bastaki)
Based: Dubai and Abu Dhabi
Industry: Back to Games (retail); Boardgame Space (wholesale and distribution)
Funding: Back to Games: self-funded by Mr Azzam with Dh1.3 million; Mr Azzam invested Dh250,000 in Boardgame Space
Growth: Back to Games: from 300 products in 2015 to 7,000 in 2019; Boardgame Space: from 34 games in 2017 to 3,500 in 2019
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
A little about CVRL
Founded in 1985 by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, the Central Veterinary Research Laboratory (CVRL) is a government diagnostic centre that provides testing and research facilities to the UAE and neighbouring countries.
One of its main goals is to provide permanent treatment solutions for veterinary related diseases.
The taxidermy centre was established 12 years ago and is headed by Dr Ulrich Wernery.
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The President's Cake
Director: Hasan Hadi
Starring: Baneen Ahmad Nayyef, Waheed Thabet Khreibat, Sajad Mohamad Qasem
Rating: 4/5
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