The second Gulf Business Breakfast Briefing of 2025, held on April 23, brought together leading minds from telecoms, AI, cloud, and blockchain — fields rapidly becoming the foundation of the region’s economic future.
Key Takeaways
The event focused on innovation and emerging technologies. The agenda included:
- Panel Discussion: Telecoms & Cloud – The Next Frontier
- Keynote – Mazen Nahawi, Founder and Group CEO, Carma
- Panel Discussion: Artificial Intelligence – A Regional Powerhouse
- Panel Discussion: Blockchain Evolution – From Pilots to Pioneers
Some of the key points discussed during the event include:
- The impact of 5G Advanced and the roadmap to 6G
- The shift from telco to techco – how telecom companies are evolving into digital service providers
- The rise of sovereign cloud and its role in data security and telecom innovation
- The UAE’s growing role as an AI innovation hub
- AI-driven transformation in finance, healthcare, logistics, and security
- The UAE’s blockchain-friendly regulations and their role in attracting global innovation
| Keynote Speaker | Topic |
|---|---|
| Mazen Nahawi | Carma: Trust and Reputation in the Age of AI |
One of the key themes discussed during the event was trust and reputation in the age of AI. Mazen Nahawi, founder and group CEO of Carma, highlighted the importance of data quality and security in AI-driven decision-making. “Anyone can feed data into an LLM (large language model), and most platforms aren’t verifying the sources,” he noted. Another key point discussed was the trust and reputation in the age of AI. “Data reinforcement wars” were highlighted as a significant challenge in the AI-driven world. “There’s no digital police to take down false data,” Nahawi pointed out, explaining that companies are manipulating AI to reinforce biased or misleading results. The 5G legacy: Stepping stone towards experience monetisation
5G-A (also known as 5.5G or 5G-A) is an evolutionary upgrade to 5G technology, defined under the 3GPP Release 18 standard. It serves as a transitional phase between 5G and future 6G networks, focusing on performance optimization, enhanced spectral and energy efficiency, and expanded functionality. According to Sameer Jameel, chief technology architect at Huawei Middle East and Central Asia, 5G-A will always be part of the 5G legacy. He noted that 5G is shifting the paradigm from traffic monetisation to experience monetisation. For applications like live streaming, individuals still face challenges sharing videos in real time. Operators in the Middle East and other regions are already working on experience monetisation, ensuring individual customers get the right bandwidth and a seamless data-sharing experience. Crypto: The next innovation wave
According to Alice Liu, head of research at CoinMarketCap, crypto is the next wave of innovation, and the UAE is leading the market in several areas. Three key areas include tokenized real estate, tokenized gold, and stablecoins. In Dubai, the Dubai Land Department expects tokenized real estate markets to grow by around 7.8 per cent annually over the next three years. The department is even issuing $1 billion worth of bonds tied to this trend. Dubai is becoming a global leader in these developments.
| Blockchain Regulation | Key Companies |
|---|---|
| UAE’s blockchain-friendly regulations | Rifad Mahasneh, CEO of OKX MENA; Alice Liu, Head of Research at CoinMarketCap; Faisal Zaidi, President, Exscape |
The UAE is expected to become a major hub for blockchain innovation, with several key companies already driving the adoption of the technology. Rifad Mahasneh, CEO of OKX MENA, highlighted the importance of regulatory clarity in attracting global innovation to the country. In blockchain applications, transparency and security are crucial. The use of secure tokens and smart contracts is essential for building trust in the blockchain ecosystem. Blockchain has the potential to transform industries such as finance, healthcare, and logistics, and the UAE is well-positioned to be a leader in this space. The second Gulf Business Breakfast Briefing of 2025 highlighted the significance of innovation and emerging technologies in the Gulf region. The event brought together leading minds from telecoms, AI, cloud, and blockchain, and discussed key topics such as the impact of 5G Advanced, the shift to telco to techco, and the growth of sovereign cloud. The event also highlighted the importance of trust and reputation in the age of AI, and the potential of crypto to drive innovation in the region.
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