Business

Abu Dhabi’s AiNative to train 20,000 government employees in AI

Abu Dhabi has launched AiNative, an artificial intelligence training programme developed with OpenAI, Microsoft and the Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence to train 20,000 government employees by the end of 2026. The Department of Government Enablement said the initiative, unveiled at the Ai Everything Abu Dhabi summit, forms part of the emirate's drive to become the world's first AI-native government by 2027, with a free public programme to follow. The move pairs access to advanced tools with structured skills at a scale few governments have attempted.

Abu Dhabi has launched AiNative, an artificial intelligence training programme developed with OpenAI, Microsoft and the Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence (MBZUAI), with the aim of training 20,000 government employees by the end of 2026. The emirate’s Department of Government Enablement (DGE) said the scheme marks a further step towards its goal of becoming the world’s first AI-native government by 2027.

The programme was announced on the second day of the Ai Everything Abu Dhabi summit at ADNEC Centre, where DGE appeared as host partner. A free public programme will follow, extending structured AI skills to citizens and residents across the emirate. The ambition dates back to January 2025, when Abu Dhabi announced its Government Digital Strategy 2025-2027 and allocated $3.5 billion (AED 13 billion) to innovation and technology adoption through 2027, including an AI for All programme to train citizens in AI applications.

Three learning journeys

AiNative offers a foundation learning journey for government employees, an executive programme for department leaders, and a public journey open to the wider community. The government journey equips employees with practical tools, including OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Codex and Microsoft 365 Copilot, so they can use AI confidently and responsibly in their daily work. Specialised, function-specific certifications, including in coding and data, will follow in later phases.

Citizens and residents will access the public journey through Tomouh, DGE’s AI-powered learning app, by logging in with UAE Pass, the country’s digital identity. Delivered through the free version of ChatGPT, the public journey covers everyday uses of AI, from managing personal finances and running a small business to finding a job, studying and creating content responsibly online. DGE owns the curriculum, which it shaped with the three partners and designed to be open and technology-agnostic so that more partners can be added over time.

People before technology

“AI will only create lasting value when people have the knowledge and confidence to use it well,” said Wesam Lootah, director general of GovDigital at DGE. Lootah said AiNative puts that capability at the heart of Abu Dhabi’s AI journey, giving government employees and the wider community practical skills to use AI responsibly in their work and everyday lives, and that bringing government, industry and academia together builds a common foundation for an AI-enabled society and government.

The partners echoed that focus on people. “Becoming an AI-native nation starts with AI-confident people,” said Farouk El Hamzawi, OpenAI’s head of enterprise for the Middle East and North Africa, who noted that AI’s shift from answering questions to taking on complex tasks opens new possibilities for how people work, how governments serve and how economies grow. Amr Kamel, general manager of Microsoft UAE, said the programme would help turn tools such as Microsoft 365 Copilot into better decisions, greater productivity and stronger public services. Eric Xing, president of MBZUAI, said developing capability at scale would be an important part of Abu Dhabi’s transition to an AI-native government and society.

Building on the Copilot rollout

AiNative is being rolled out in phases, with an initial pilot already under way inside the government. The programme builds on the Frontier Employee Program announced in July, through which Microsoft 365 Copilot was deployed to 35,000 Abu Dhabi government employees. That rollout covered 26,000 civil servants across 27 government entities, on top of 9,000 existing licences. DGE described the two initiatives as a pairing of access to advanced AI tools with the skills to use them responsibly and at scale.

A benchmark for the region

For business leaders across the Gulf, the significance lies less in the technology itself than in the model of delivery. Abu Dhabi is treating AI capability as a workforce discipline to be taught, certified and measured, rather than a procurement decision to be signed and forgotten. As governments across the region compete to embed AI in public services, the emirate’s pairing of tools and training sets a benchmark that few can yet match, and one that businesses hiring in the region will feel as the pool of AI-literate talent widens.

Source: Forbes Middle East

Egypt’s EGX30 Falls 1.66% As Stocks Recover From Session Lows

A notable development has emerged from the Gulf region, one that underscores the area’s growing economic significance. Egypt’s benchmark EGX30 index closed 1.66% lower at 48,416.94 points Monday, reco

UAE’s Lana Nusseibeh enters the race to lead the United Nations

Lana Nusseibeh has entered the race to succeed António Guterres as United Nations secretary-general, nominated by the UAE and campaigning on conflict prevention and institutional reform. The bid places a serving Gulf minister at the centre of the multilateral system that shapes development finance, trade rules and the rules governing artificial intelligence. Her vision statement argues for a smaller, faster and more accountable UN, with regional mediators carrying more of the work. The Security Council remains deadlocked, with every declared candidate holding red votes from permanent members.

PureHealth Acquires Six Aspen Clinics Across Abu Dhabi And Al Ain

Abu Dhabi-listed healthcare group PureHealth has bought six clinics from Aspen Clinics, extending its community care network into fast-growing districts of the capital and into Al Ain. The facilities will join the SEHA CLINICS network once the deal completes, though financial terms and a completion date were not disclosed. The acquisition arrived alongside nine-month results showing group revenue up 11.5% to $6.1 billion, with international operations now contributing about a third of the total.

Gulf family businesses rethink succession, manufacturing and legacy

Family business leaders gathered in Abu Dhabi for the second day of the Forbes Middle East Family Business Summit 2026, where the conversation moved well beyond preserving capital. Speakers challenged the long-held belief that family fortunes rarely survive three generations, urged enterprises to shift from distribution into domestic manufacturing, and set out how the next generation can reinvent a business without loosening its values. The message across the sessions was consistent: governance, early succession planning and industrial depth now decide which family enterprises keep growing across the Gulf.

Alpha Dhabi commits $1bn to Alpha Wave III in AI push

Alpha Dhabi Holding has committed $1 billion to Alpha Wave III, the global investment fund managed by Alpha Wave Global, widening the Abu Dhabi group’s exposure to artificial intelligence companies. The move follows its participation in Alpha Wave Ventures II, which gave it indirect stakes in SpaceX, OpenAI and Anthropic. Hamad Al Ameri, managing director and group chief executive, says the commitment supports the group’s diversification objectives and its focus on long-term value creation across a portfolio spanning 45 countries.