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Metaverse Will Bring $15B Annually To Gulf Economies By 2030

The travel and tourism industries alone will gain $3.2 billion once the virtual universe reaches its full potential.

Published

3 years ago

December 8, 2022

metaverse will bring $15 billion to gulf economies by 2030

Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are already heavily invested in the development of the Metaverse, and the tech startups are playing a pivotal role in its construction. According to a recent report compiled by Strategy& Middle East, that investment will likely pay off to the tune of a cool $15 billion in annual revenue by 2030.

“The projections assessed growth in the component technologies, platforms, hardware, and software, as well as the economic contribution of new metaverse applications such as content creation, shopping, and so on,” says Tony G. Karam, partner at Strategy& Middle East.

Out of the seven Emirates, Dubai is emerging as the pre-eminent metaverse economy. Experts predict that the region’s digital strategy will bring a $4 billion boost to GDP, with 40,000 new jobs created in the process. The UAE as a whole has embraced Web3.0 enthusiastically and recently established the first metaverse incubator.

Meanwhile, in Saudi Arabia, NEOM — a $500 billion futuristic metropolis on the Red Sea — will also build a parallel digital version of its cityscape, enabling people to coexist in both the real world and the Metaverse simultaneously.

Also Read: The UAE Has Launched A Program To Assist 100 Startups

“The Metaverse holds a world of possibilities that extends beyond next-generation gaming and internet-based home buying or shopping. It will change how we work, transact, plan, design, build, shop, recreate, travel, and live. In a regional context, the Metaverse’s potential to energize and transform key sectors in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries is enormous,” says Dany Karam, partner at Strategy& Middle East.

Breaking down Strategy&’s predicted annual raise in GDP reveals the following figures:

Saudi Arabia: $7.6 billion
UAE: $3.3 billion
Qatar: $1.6 billion
Kuwait: $ 1 billion
Oman: $0.8 billion
Bahrain: $0.4 billion

Although the Metaverse is still relatively unknown to the general public, experts believe that in the near future, a thriving digital tourism sector will emerge, with tours to famous UNESCO World Heritage Sites, concerts, festivals and sports events all having their own digital versions.

News

Lebanon Ministers Meet Visa Over National Digital Payment Platform

Finance and technology ministers say a comparative study and roadmap will follow before any decision on adopting a model.

Published

22 hours ago

May 5, 2026

Joanna Melki

lebanon ministers meet visa over national digital payment platform

Lebanon’s finance and technology ministers met representatives from Visa last week to discuss a proposed unified national digital payment platform for government services, according to a readout from the Ministry of Finance.

The meeting brought together Finance Minister Yassin Jaber, Minister of State for Technology and Artificial Intelligence Kamal Shehadeh, a Visa delegation, and experts from both ministries. Discussion focused on whether Lebanon could establish a single platform through which citizens and institutions would pay taxes, fees, fines and other official transactions electronically, using mobile phones and other digital channels.

The Visa delegation presented examples from countries that have adopted unified government payment platforms, including the United Arab Emirates, Singapore, Estonia and Jordan. According to the readout, the examples were presented as having increased collection rates and expanded financial inclusion.

Talks covered settlement mechanisms, direct transfer to the treasury account, financial reconciliation, risk management, cybersecurity, fees, and an operational model that would involve the private sector. The parties agreed to continue technical and institutional consultations, prepare a comparative study, and develop an implementation roadmap before any decision on adopting a model for Lebanon.

Jaber said the Ministry of Finance had already enabled citizens to pay using credit cards and e-wallets through transfer companies, but described the proposed platform as a further step. He framed the development of electronic payment and collection systems as a priority within the ministry’s modernization plan.

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Shehadeh outlined the citizen-facing concept as a single mobile application through which users could settle obligations to ministries, government institutions and other bodies.

“The idea, in short, is that any citizen downloads an application on their mobile phone, through which they can pay all service obligations for all ministries, government institutions, or those owned by the Lebanese state, and others as well, as the platform is not limited only to state institutions,” he said.

Shehadeh added that the platform would not displace banks and money transfer companies that currently provide collection services to the state, calling it complementary to their work.