Predicting the 2026 GCC Business Environment

Verifying the development of AI in the region, a report released by PwC previously this month said that the usage of AI amongst the workforce in the Middle East continues to increase, with 75 percent of employees in the area using it in their tasks over the previous 12 months.

In November, a report released by KPMG highlighted Saudi Arabia's progress in the technology sector and said that 84 percent of CEOs in the nation are all set to release AI properly, well above the 76 percent international benchmark, supported by the Kingdom's data governance community, including nationwide initiatives led by the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority.

Policymakers are believing holistically about how to make the area appealing, including having more pragmatic laws to permit experimentation and development," said the report.

Leading service leaders, policymakers and financiers from the GCC and Latin America recently checked out how nations from the 2 regions can grow trade in between each other in Dubai, UAE.More than 500 regional and worldwide policymakers, presidents, CEOs, magnate, financiers, and market experts attended the very first Global Company Forum Latin America held at the Atlantis Palm - Dubai.

How to Scale Regional Strategy in 2026

In 2015 the GCC comprised of the UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, imported $11 billion worth of products from Latin America. And exports to Latin America from the region were $5.6 billion, a statement from organisers said. Both regions rely on each other for essential products.

In 2015 Latin America supplied nearly half the meat imports into the GCC and 36 per cent of the region's total sugar imports, it included. Brazil is by far the biggest trading partner for nations in the region, followed by Argentina and Mexico. Among the Latin American states, the GCC relies on Brazil for meat (generally poultry), Argentina for cereals, Mexico for cars and Chile for wood products, said a declaration.

The online forum was organised by the Dubai Chamber of Commerce under the style "Shifting Synergies", checks out how organizations can take advantage of the changing patterns of worldwide need and what function Dubai can play in facilitating the next action in service relations. Dubai Chamber takes a pioneering position not only in the UAE and in the GCC but globally too, by functioning as a details and research centre, by providing service documentation, offering legal services, helping with networking opportunities through signature organization occasions and providing nearly every possible company solution, it specified.

GCC development will strengthen in 2026, led by faster growth in hydrocarbons; non-oil development will remain solid however sluggish somewhat. Non-oil activity will be supported by population growth, new industries, and public financial investment; inflation will stay soft, while financial policy will loosen. Hydrocarbons sector development will speed up, offsetting in part lower oil rates; fiscal balances will be combined, with surpluses in UAE and Qatar, however deficits persist in other places.

Accelerating Regional Corporate Expansion through Innovation

SHARJAH (WAM) The GCC and wider Middle East region is poised for the next wave of investments in AI and tech-led sectors, with business-friendly and innovation-focused government policies drawing in funds and skill, stated organization leaders at the 9th edition of Sharjah Entrepreneurial Festival (SEF 2026). Throughout a panel conversation on the first day of SEF 2026 examining "What Does the Next Year of Equity Capital Appear Like", speakers agreed that the emerging local investment landscape appears promising.

ANSR July GCC PRs 50DR+

Responding to a question on local start-ups' potential customers of gaining from current investments in digital facilities, Tala Al Jabri, Founder and Handling Partner of Wyld VC said: "We have a lot going for us in the region: the low expense of energy, a very progressive federal government that is ahead in policy, policy and data personal privacy; and truly strong educational organizations that are increasingly looking at AI and ending up technical skill in AI."She included: "Our ultimate objective is to see this region, specifically the GCC, become an AI superpower.

Our biggest driver right now is investing in talent, due to the fact that in the AI race, it's the technical talent that really wins.

"International development funds are coming in, which shows clear indications of maturity of the environment The ability of the UAE and regional governments to bring in skill; their innovation-first approach, abundance of capital here as well as inflow globally are the key structure blocks."Paula Tavangar, Chief Financial Investment Officer at Injaz Capital stated that within the area, Saudi Arabia is leading the number of offers with the greatest worths, with 250 "biggest ticket size" offers recorded in 2025 in the nation.