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Coursera Report Shows Surge In UAE Interest In AI Upskilling
The Emirates lead the Middle East and North Africa for skill proficiency and come second globally for business.
Applications for generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) courses in the UAE have rocketed by over 1,100% during the past year, according to Coursera’s Global Skills Report 2024.
The enrolment rate easily surpassed the MENA region’s already impressive 861% year-on-year growth and the worldwide rate of 1,060%, signifying an increase in interest from UAE learners in AI and machine learning skill sets.
“Compared to other markets, the UAE has a higher number of expats, so the workforce structure may be more inclined to adopt technology-related or technology-impacted roles,” said Nikolaz Foucaud, Coursera’s managing director for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.
According to Coursera, the Emirates is now a leader in AI education, ranking third globally in the GenAI sector behind the USA and China. During the first quarter of 2024, over 1 million UAE users were active on the platform, with a median age of 35.
The MENA region is set to become a key player in digital transformation and trade, according to the report, as significant investments continue to be made in technology infrastructure and logistics. However, there is still a pressing need to boost technology skills proficiency, which currently sits at around 40%.
Also Read: The Most AI-Proof Career Opportunities In The Middle East
“When you speak to employers, they emphasize skills that AI disruption cannot easily replace or enhance in the short term – social skills, human skills, interpersonal skills, the ability to collaborate, lead teams, and communicate effectively, including public speaking,” Coursera’s Foucaud added.
Coursera’s report also highlights the importance of career-focused, accessible skill development, along with initiatives to further gender inclusivity in the online learning sector. Women in the UAE currently comprise 33% of Coursera learners, with 27% studying science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) subjects.
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Visa’s Return To Syria Starts With A Test And A Bank In Lebanon
Foreign visitors will be the first users to benefit, but whether Syria’s own banks and cardholders follow is still an open question.
Visa is returning to Syria. Its first live international card transaction in the country was a test rather than a launch, and the milestone event ran through a Lebanese bank.
The acquirer (the bank on the merchant’s side of a card payment) was Fransabank Lebanon, with Paymera as the other named partner. Nadim Moujaes, who heads a Fransabank Group subsidiary, describes the test as both the culmination of “longstanding efforts to link Syria back to international payment networks” and “the first step in a larger path”.
Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa makes the first electronic payment in Syria using a @Visa card at a store in Damascus, following the lifting of US sanctions on Syria. pic.twitter.com/lpAN7nQ6Fc
— Tech Magazine (@TechMGZN) August 27, 2026
“We are excited to have successfully tested live transactions today as we plan to enable international visitors to use their Visa cards while in Syria,” says Leila Serhan, Visa’s senior vice president and group country manager for the North Africa, Levant and Pakistan region. Although a significant first step, that plan doesn’t come with a hard date for when a visitor’s card will work normally.
Mohammed Safwat Raslan, governor of the Central Bank of Syria, says the test paves the way for international card acceptance in Syria and that maintaining strong compliance, risk management and operational controls will remain essential. Serhan likewise stresses that Visa has worked within applicable legal, regulatory and compliance requirements. For a test transaction, it seems there was a great deal of attention paid to the rules, with the entire operation being carefully managed.
Also Read: Lebanon’s 5G Era Begins With 150 Stations And A $1M Budget
The test is the latest step in a sequence that began in December 2025, when Visa announced a strategic roadmap to support Syria’s integration into the global digital economy. In February 2026 it hosted its first industry gathering of banks, ecosystem partners and policymakers in Damascus and, the same month, signed an agreement with Syria’s Ministry of Communications and Information Technology in San Francisco.
Michel Kattouah, Paymera’s CEO, called the test “the return of international card acceptance,” but while that’s positive news, there’s no word yet on when a Syrian bank will issue a Visa card to a Syrian customer.
Visa’s Return To Syria Starts With A Test And A Bank In Lebanon
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