Artificial intelligence could unlock more than $1 trillion in economic and sustainability value across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) by 2030, but scaling it will depend on faster grid connections and careful management of rising energy and water demand, according to two new World Economic Forum (WEF) reports.
The reports are “Unlocking Value: AI for Resilient Growth in MENA”, developed with Bain & Company, and “Optimizing Hyperscale Data Centre Infrastructure in MENA”, developed with Saudi Research and Media Group. Together they examine how the region can turn AI ambitions into lasting economic value while building the infrastructure to support growth at scale. Resilient energy, water and digital systems are seen as essential.
The first report breaks down the $1 trillion estimate. It includes up to $200 billion in sustainable financing through the financial sector and $370 billion in sustainable investment flows enabled by the public sector. A further $250 billion comes from long-term asset losses avoided, $90 billion from higher valuations for energy companies with improved sustainability performance and $100 billion from sustainable projects launched through cross-sector partnerships.
The report also points to a gap between potential and delivery. While 89% of sustainability leaders surveyed by the MENA Chief Sustainability Officers Network see high or very high potential for AI to advance their sustainability goals, only 40% to 55% describe their adoption of sustainable AI use cases as piloting or scaled, depending on the use case.
Maroun Kairouz, Managing Director at the World Economic Forum, said MENA has the resources, investment capacity and ambition to become a major centre of AI-led growth. He said turning that ambition into reality will require innovation across data-centre infrastructure, energy and water systems, and the use of AI to drive sustainability solutions.
News Source: Emirates News Agency
