Q1 2026 earnings revealed an extraordinary scale of AI infrastructure spending by US technology giants. Alphabet, Meta, Microsoft, and Amazon collectively reported more than 130 billion dollars in capital expenditures for the quarter alone, with full-year guidance now pointing toward up to 725 billion dollars across the four companies. Microsoft issued first-ever 2026 capex guidance…
Egyptian fintech startup Kiwe received final approval from the Central Bank of Egypt on April 26 to launch its app and card in the local market, signaling a new chapter in Egypt's increasingly mature fintech ecosystem. Built in partnership with Banque Misr, VISA, Meeza, and ModuPay, Kiwe combines international payment rails with local banking infrastructure.
The…
A new market report released April 29 projects that the Middle East and Africa data center colocation market will grow 28.5 percent in 2026 alone, reaching 4.9 billion dollars this year and 11.1 billion dollars by 2030. The growth is driven almost entirely by AI workloads, hyperscaler expansions, and government-backed sovereign cloud strategies.
In the Gulf,…
Saudi Arabia has formally designated 2026 as its Year of Artificial Intelligence, a Cabinet-level move that crystallizes years of investment under Vision 2030. The Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA) unveiled an official logo featuring a green palm tree and the letters 'AI' in blue, symbolizing the marriage of national heritage and digital progression.…
The United Arab Emirates has set the most ambitious public-sector AI target in the world. On April 23, 2026, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum announced a two-year framework that aims to migrate 50 percent of UAE government sectors, services, and operations to autonomous, agentic AI systems by 2028, making it the first national government…
