Building AI-Centered Business Models in the Middle East: The Untapped Advantage No One Talks About Combined with competitive salaries and income opportunities, these factors position the UAE well to become a global hub for AI talent.
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By harnessing the power of evolving technologies, I am set to launch AIR (AI Realtor) Properties, a UAE-based real estate brokerage powered by AI. This business will help revolutionise the region's property industry by applying intelligent digital journeys to every process. Using AI, AIR will remove barriers that previously slowed down sales, created clarity, and increased efficiency for providers.
While an innovative business model and data-led operations are key drivers of AIR's success, another important factor has contributed to shaping its opportunities – location. Though rarely discussed, the business landscape of the Middle East, particularly the UAE, offers a significant advantage for AI ventures. Here's why and, perhaps more importantly what can be done to fully unlock this potential.
Four Elements Required for Disruption
As I see it, the UAE's AI industry requires four primary elements to create the disruptive ecosystem needed for projects and enterprises to make maximum impact, both locally and globally.
- A favourable regulatory environment.
- Access to talent.
- Access to funding.
- A sufficient consumer base.
A Supportive and Forward-Thinking Regulatory Environment
AI-centred businesses already benefit from a welcoming regulatory environment in the UAE. The UAE's National Strategy for Artificial Intelligence 2031 aims for AI to contribute approximately 13.6% of the national GDP by 2030. Existing regulations are hospitable to AI and tech companies. Just as importantly, regulators are willing to engage in dialogue and constructive negotiations with businesses and entrepreneurs to make changes or create new regulations when gaps are identified. This was recently demonstrated in the crypto and real estate tokenisation sectors, where regulators were instrumental in paving the road for development and adoption.
In my area of experience, I believe the UAE's regulatory systems are already far ahead of most other players in the Middle Eastern and Asian markets thanks to these three key strategies:
- Market Deregulation: The UAE government has worked to remove barriers, allowing a more flexible and competitive environment in which dynamic and pioneering enterprises can flourish.
- Access to Data: The UAE has ensured all property-related data is publicly accessible, a fundamental requirement for data-driven developers to deliver real value and direct the future of services.
- Full Automation: In every aspect of real estate brokerage, from property searches to ownership transfers, the UAE has fostered fully digital processes. Something many of the world's most developed nations have yet to achieve.
Attracting Global Talent
If there is one area in which the UAE excels, thanks to its regulatory approach, business opportunities, and lifestyle offering, it is attracting talent. In many industries, access to the world's top professionals is relatively straightforward. The same is increasingly true for the AI sector, aided by strong geographical links to countries such as Turkey and Iran, the latter ranking among the top ten nations for developing a skilled AI workforce. The Indian market is also readily accessible to UAE businesses, with a sizeable expatriate population from the subcontinent already residing in the Emirates.
Combined with competitive salaries and income opportunities, these factors position the UAE well to become a global hub for AI talent. To fully realise this potential, targeted branding and recruitment campaigns in these talent pools are essential, alongside streamlined administrative processes to facilitate the employment of foreign experts.
Maintaining Access to Funding (While educating)
The UAE is a cash-rich nation with an advanced venture capital environment, an ideal combination for nurturing business development in innovative and dynamic sectors, of which AI is a prime example. What it does not yet have, however, is extensive experience in the field. Most venture capitalists in the UAE have limited exposure to investment in AI-driven businesses, which can create hesitancy and restrict opportunities for enterprises operating in this area.
This experience gap will, hopefully, close over time. In the short term, the UAE government has an important role to play by providing benefits and facilities to investors who partner with AI businesses and developers, helping to kickstart and strengthen the region's engagement with this emerging industry.
Expanding the Consumer Base
At first glance, one of the main constraints on the UAE's appeal to AI businesses is its relatively small population. With just over 10 million permanent residents, it is one of the world's smaller nations, and its domestic consumer base can seem limited to many companies.
However, the UAE is well-positioned to serve markets across the wider region. The Dubai-based super-app Careem, for example, now operates in ten countries, including Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Pakistan. This expanded reach demonstrates that UAE-based businesses, including those in AI-driven industries such as real estate, can scale well beyond the nation's borders. For long-term success, companies must design products and services with both regional and domestic markets in mind.
Taking the Initiative
Based on the evidence available to me, I am confident that operating in the UAE provides a clear and significant advantage for those in the AI industry, and with a few targeted improvements, this advantage could become even stronger. That said, relying solely on the environment is not enough for founders of AI businesses to assume success; as with any enterprise, the responsibility to act lies squarely with us.
For founders, this means actively engaging with regulators to co-create frameworks, rather than waiting for the perfect ecosystem to emerge. It involves educating investors by translating complex AI into clear business metrics and demonstrating early traction. In terms of talent, the focus should be on building a global recruitment narrative, while long-term market success depends on designing products from day one with a regional, scalable mindset.
The most effective way to turn AI products in the Middle East into global leaders, by leveraging this often-overlooked advantage, is simply to acknowledge it and act. As the old adage goes, actions speak louder than words. By taking bold steps now, we can fully realise the UAE's regional advantage, creating a lasting legacy of innovation and global leadership, and improving the landscape for our businesses in the process.
