Building on digital perseverance of 2022 to tackle headwinds emerging for 2023

At the start of 2022, business leaders and decision makers across the Middle East and Africa (MEA) and the world were filled with optimism. Private and public sector leaders were still battling the knock-on effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, but a familiar sense of a new normal was beginning to exist alongside the reality of the ‘new normal’, paving the road ahead with great expectations of new, digitally-enabled possibilities.

To say that we are entering 2023 with that same level of optimism would be untrue. We stand in the midst of extraordinary economic uncertainty, geo-political volatility and a global energy crisis of unprecedented depth and complexity. Supply chains continue to face immense pressure of product shortages and price gaps. Consumer expectations are rising faster than ever, environmental sustainability needs have never been greater, and the rapid pace of digital transformation is expanding the cybersecurity threat landscape.

It's a difficult reality we face, but the past 12 months and the years prior have proven that while challenges will always arise, we are strong enough to prevail. Particularly in the incredible MEA – one of the most culturally and economically diverse regions in the world – we’ve shown that through robust technology and impassioned partnerships, we can unlock opportunities that empower our region to not only survive, but thrive.

In fact, it’s fair to say that the challenges faced today are not new for our region. We’ve lived through decades of natural disasters, geo-political tensions, socio-economic challenges and so much more that posed significant threat to our communities and economies. And while we still experience challenges, we stand taller as a region of promise; one of the youngest populations in the world geared to lead the reality of tomorrow. Everything we’ve been through has prepared us for where we are right now, and just like we overcame then – we will overcome again.?

Understanding the challenges our customers and partners were facing entering 2022, I was particularly looking forward to resuming my regular visits to countries throughout the region, connecting with our teams across MEA. We knew that technology had been given a chance to prove itself during the pandemic, and we had great plans to build on that impact with fresh approaches.

Leading with unconventional partnerships we’d been forming in recent years; the collaborations with organizations inside and outside of the ICT sector that would help us reach new levels on our mission to empower organizations and people to achieve more. This goes beyond supporting customers in adopting technology to deliver products and services to consumers, to helping these companies diversify their business and deliver digital offerings that meet growing consumer and societal expectations.?

One such partnership was with Middle East, North African and Turkey bank Emirates NBD to co-create products and innovations that will bring a world of mixed reality and applications to the financial services sector. We also entered into a strategic alliance with South African-based telecommunications company MTN to deliver digital solutions that will help governments, businesses and communities across Africa accelerate digitization. To help build a financial-sector-led sustainability capability for Africa, we partnered with Nedbank South Africa to collaborate on multiple programs that will amplify the UN Sustainable Development Goals and enable customers to participate in the growing green market ecosystem more easily and responsibly. ?And in a collaboration that will push the boundaries of innovation and value creation regionally we entered a new phase of collaboration with e&.

More recently, we announced the expansion of our global Airband Initiative, which will bring internet access and digital skills to 100 million people across Africa by 2025. Through this expansion, we will collaborate with private, public and non-profit organizations to advance high-speed internet around the world and empower digital transformation.

And to tackle the sustainability crisis and enable faster progress toward achieving sustainability goals across the region, we also partnered with government entities like Egypt’s Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT) and the African Development Bank, African Risk Capacity and the African Climate Foundation during the UN Climate Change Conference (COP27) in Egypt. Our first global expansion of our AI for Good Labs to Nairobi, Kenya and Cairo, Egypt was also announced during the event, where we will build and skill a new team of data scientists on the ground in Africa to collaborate with local partners to develop new initiatives that will improve the continent’s climate resilience, leveraging AI.

As one of the most vulnerable regions in the world when it comes to climate change, 2023 certainly affords MEA the opportunity to once again lead the change toward a more sustainable future as we prepare to host COP28 in the UAE. But no one organization or entity will win the fight alone. We need to bring our expertise, solutions and resources together to establish a roadmap that is both sustainable and achievable.

Another important objective for us as a technology company was to deepen our investment into the region’s digital infrastructure and empower organizations and economies to accelerate innovation and economic growth. We had already announced our intention to launch two new Microsoft cloud datacenter regions in MEA to complement the existing facilities we run in the UAE and South Africa, and marked an enormous milestone in August with the opening of our newest datacenter region in Qatar, becoming the first global technology company to open a datacenter region in the country.

The launch came after we opened the landmark Digital Center of Excellence in Qatar in partnership with the country’s Ministry of Communications and Information Technology to help develop the technical skills of students as well as those already in the workforce. It was one of the numerous initiatives we ran throughout MEA in 2022 that helped 2.4 million people gain access to digital skilling opportunities – an effort we will continue to build on in 2023. MEA is home to some of the highest unemployment rates in the world, yet stands to increase its GDP per capita by 46% (1.6 trillion) over the 30 years by fully digitizing the economy. There has never been a greater need to build the necessary digital capabilities to take the region into the digital future, and this must be prioritized across both current and future workforces as we head into the new year.

An inspiring sector driving incredible impact across our regional economies has been the startup sector. Throughout 2022, we saw a wave of innovative startups deliver exceptional, creative solutions to some of the region’s greatest challenges, and I am proud that Microsoft takes care to nurture and empower these businesses so they can enhance innovation and accelerate the region’s digital transformation journey. Through initiatives like the Digital Natives Roundtable we hosted in Turkey toward the end of this year, and the Microsoft for Startups Summit that took place in South Africa earlier this month, we will continue to support entrepreneurs through every stage of their growth journey; accelerating innovation for first-time founders, serial entrepreneurs, or technical founders; and helping startups access the resources they need to drive impact. ?

While challenges remain in our regional and global economies, I can’t help but look back at 2022 with a sense of pride. Just as we always have - our resilient region persevered and carved out a new reality of hope. Through collaboration, intention and solid leadership, countries and economies across the region moved – and are continuing to move - from a state of fear and anxiety during COVID to a landscape of completely transformed and reshaped industries. We didn’t end our digital transformation journey when the world opened back up; we built on our investments to strengthen our digital resilience and fight whatever comes our way.

And as we head into 2023, we have a different kind of optimism - one that depends on our own resilience. Despite the challenges MEA has faced, we stand today with the eyes of the world on our lands. Qatar just hosted the largest sporting event in the world and showcased its excellence to more than 3.5 billion viewers. Egypt was home to the 27th UN Climate Change Conference (COP27), with COP28 taking place in the UAE in 2023. And Dubai orchestrated an exceptional Expo 2020.

We’ve truly seen it all in MEA, and we’ve always overcome it all together. The difference is today, we’re armed with the technologies and capabilities to take our efforts to new heights, empowering every business in every country to not only make it through, but emerge more successful and resilient than ever.