Investment Forum | MENA // Opening Keynote Panel: Unlocking MENA's potential as the global AI hub

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Speakers

Troy Gilson

Troy Gilson

SVP, DAMAC Digital

Kamel Al Tawil

Managing Director, MENA, Equinix

Fabio Cattaneo

Group Chief Financial Officer, Khazna

Gulfraz Qayyum

Managing Director, Head of Communications Investment Banking, Citigroup

Ismail Afara

Ismail Afara

Head of Infrastructure ME, Partners Group

The Middle East looks set for explosive growth over the coming years, with global players including KKR, G42, OpenAI, Microsoft, AWS and Google making significant investments into the region’s progress. With 1.5GW of potential new projects in the pipeline, an abundance of (renewable) energy sources, what role will MENA play in the global AI race? This panel sets out to unpack the macroeconomic development of the region so far and predict where it is heading.

  • How significant are projects such as the UAE Stargate Project, the AWS investment into KSA, and Google’s AI Hub for the region's vision as a key global AI hub?
  • How are regional hyperscale and AI players, such as Khazna and HUMAIN, influencing the entry of major hyperscalers and colocation providers into the MENA region?
  • How important are partnerships and JVs with specialised partners such as hyperscalers, capital providers, neoclouds and energy providers?
  • To what extent are global bottlenecks to growth, such as land and power limitations, impacting MENA’s expansion?