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Savvy Games And AWS Partner To Grow Saudi Gaming Sector
Amazon Web Services will provide support through two programs: AWS Skill Builder and AWS Activate.
Savvy Games Group has signed a collaboration agreement with Amazon Web Services (AWS) to accelerate the development of Saudi Arabia’s gaming industry. The partnership is designed to strengthen local games technology infrastructure while empowering startups, studios, and developers across the Kingdom.
AWS will bring two of its global programs to Saudi Arabia. AWS Skill Builder provides digital courses and learning paths to help developers and professionals gain cloud and AI expertise — skills increasingly in demand across the gaming sector. Meanwhile, AWS Activate gives eligible startups access to resources, credits, and exclusive offers to help them scale their businesses and bring new titles to market.
Beyond training and startup support, Savvy and AWS will work together on wider industry initiatives, focusing on enablement and networking to build a stronger domestic ecosystem.
“We are delighted to enter into this partnership with AWS, and look forward to working together to further grow and empower Saudi Arabia’s fast-growing ecosystem of game developers, technical experts, and creative minds. I am sure that the aspiring talent we have in the Kingdom will make the most of these opportunities that our collaboration will bring about,” said Brian Ward, Chief Executive Officer at Savvy Games Group.
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Nina Walsh, Global Leader for Industry Business Development at AWS, added: “At AWS, we are committed to empowering the next generation of game developers with the tools, training, and cloud technology they need to innovate and scale globally. Through our collaboration with Savvy, we aim to help unlock the creative potential of Saudi Arabia’s gaming community, accelerate the adoption of cutting-edge technologies like generative AI, and enable local talent to bring their visions to life for players around the world”.
The partnership aligns with Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 and the National Gaming and Esports Strategy, which aim to position the Kingdom as a regional hub for gaming and esports. As the agreement takes shape, Savvy will support AWS events in the country and assist local developers and companies in applying for these programs.
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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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