News

UAE Digital Technology Spending To Hit $20 Billion By 2026

The contribution of digital tech to the country’s GDP is likely to double within the next decade.

Published

3 years ago

March 28, 2023

uae digital technology spending to hit $20 billion by 2026

Digital technology spending in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) — encompassing IT, telecoms, artificial intelligence, blockchain, and robotics — is expected to reach $20 billion over the next three years, according to a recent report by the Boston Consulting Group.

Digital tech is projected to account for 25-30% of global GDP over the next decade. According to BCG, the UAE is expected to double the contribution made by digital to its overall economic output, rising from 9.7% to 19.4% in the next 10 years.

Advances in robotics, automation, and a “historic explosion of data and intelligence” offer significant opportunities for wealth disruption and creation, but may present a steep learning curve for governments.

“The digital economy is not an elective. It marks a profound departure from how economies have historically been organized and regulated. Tackling this brave new world head-on will prove essential to remaining competitive and relevant on the global scene,” says Faisal Hamady, managing director and partner at BCG.

Also Read: ChatGPT Is Accelerating The AI Revolution In The Middle East

Dubai, which seeks to bolster its position as a global digital capital, recently launched the ambitious and far-reaching Dubai Economic Agenda (D33) plan.

The increase in digital technology spending aims to reinvent the Emirate as one of the world’s strongest city economies over the next decade, via a bold program that will support 30 private companies to achieve $1 billion unicorn status.

News

Samsung And Spotify Offer Free Premium Deal In MENA

Nearly seven in ten streams in the region come from 18-to-34-year-olds — the audience Samsung is hoping to entice into its ecosystem.

Published

6 days ago

August 7, 2026

Nour Nasir

Samsung

Samsung has announced a partnership with Spotify spanning the Middle East, North Africa, and Türkiye, bundling Spotify Premium with select devices across its ecosystem. The headline offer — up to four months of Premium for free — is a first for the region.

Customers in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Türkiye who buy any OLED or 98-inch television, or any Galaxy S or Z series mobile device, get four months of Spotify Premium. The offer, tiered by market and device, is available at retail and on Samsung.com, and redeemed through the Samsung Promotion and Samsung Members apps.

For Samsung, the strategy is less about free music than about lock-in. The Korean tech giant’s pitch is continuity: a track starts on a Galaxy smartphone through Galaxy Buds on the commute, moves to a Samsung TV and soundbar in the living room, and stays controllable from a Galaxy Watch. The more seamlessly music travels between those devices, the harder it becomes to swap any one of them for a rival’s.

“Technology should bring people closer to the things they love, and few things connect people the way music does,” said Omar Saheb, Regional VP of Marketing and Online Business at Samsung Electronics MENA. The partnership, he added, gives customers “a genuine reason to choose Samsung for the experience, not only the product”.

Also Read: Shokz OpenFit Pro Review: Open-Ear Audio Finally Grows Up

For subscribers, Premium brings the usual package: ad-free listening, offline downloads, richer audio quality on Galaxy Buds and Samsung sound devices, and Jam, which lets friends build a shared queue.

“At Spotify, we are always working to make every listening moment feel more personal, meaningful, and worth it,” said Rami Jamal, Head of Partnerships at Spotify for South Asia, Middle East, and Africa.

The demographics go a long way to explaining the strategy. Across MENA, Türkiye, and Pakistan, nearly seven in ten Spotify streams come from listeners aged 18 to 34, according to the company — precisely the audience Samsung wants inside its hardware ecosystem before buying habits harden.