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The Future of Gaming in the MENA Region

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games MENA

By Mario Pérez, CEO MENATech (a company of GGTech Entertainment)

The MENA region is rapidly emerging as a powerhouse in the global gaming industry. Its gaming ecosystem is now the second fastest-growing worldwide, driven by an increase in the player base, investment from governments, and innovative trends like esports and game development. This region is not only shaping the future of gaming but positioning itself as a global hub for gaming innovation.

In recent years, gaming has undergone a radical transformation. Multiplayer games and increased interaction among players have made gaming a social activity rather than a solo pursuit. This evolution has democratized gaming, attracting millions of new players. Streaming platforms, virtual reality, and web3 are enhancing gaming experiences, making them more immersive and accessible. With all these innovations, the gaming industry is evolving rapidly, and MENA is at the forefront of this change.

MENA’s Gaming Market Growth

The MENA gaming industry is experiencing unprecedented growth, positioning itself as a key player in the global market, with the video games market projected to reach $2.9 billion in revenue in 2028. The region’s player base of 377 million rivals that of Europe and the US, making it one of the most dynamic regions for gaming growth.

Several factors contribute to this surge. First, the region’s young population—55% of which is under 30—is highly tech-savvy. The proliferation of mobile gaming and increased internet penetration has further accelerated growth. Countries like Saudi Arabia and the UAE are leading this charge, boasting some of the highest engagement rates in the world. In fact, nine out of ten adults in the UAE are gamers, according to Statista’s Global Consumer Survey.

The region’s rapid growth and tax-free earnings have made it attractive for global gaming companies and investors, cementing its place as a crucial player in the global gaming landscape.

Government Support and Strategic Initiatives

Governments across the MENA region are fully backing the growth of the gaming and esports sectors. Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, for example, has a clear focus on developing the gaming industry as part of the nation’s broader economic diversification efforts. Its National Gaming and Esports Strategy aims to create 39,000 jobs by 2030 and contribute to the kingdom’s growing digital economy.

The UAE is equally committed to this vision, with initiatives like the ‘Abu Dhabi Gaming’ program, designed to foster talent and establish year-round gaming events. Dubai, through its Dubai Program for Gaming 2033 (DPG 2033), is introducing long-term residency visas for gaming professionals to nurture a vibrant gaming community. The city also aims to generate 30,000 jobs in the gaming sector by 2033, adding $1 billion to its GDP. DMCC Gaming Centre in Dubai, which houses around 100 gaming companies, also shows how governments are creating environments that encourage innovation and collaboration.

Esports: The MENA Region as a New Hub

In 2023, the global esports audience reached 540 million, with the MENA region playing a pivotal role in its growth. Saudi Arabia has become a major player in this space, hosting the Esports World Cup this year and preparing to host the Esports Olympics in 2025. These events are not just about competition; they represent an economic shift, driving tourism, creating jobs, and embedding esports into the cultural fabric of the region.

With 60% of global esports revenue coming from sponsorships, the MENA region is well-positioned to capitalize on this booming market. Professional leagues and international tournaments are gaining traction, and global brands like Coca-Cola, Toyota and Amazon are increasingly partnering with local esports teams and organizations, providing sponsorships that fuel the industry’s growth.

Local studios and developers are creating content that reflects the region’s culture and values, with publishers releasing Arabic language versions of their games to cater to the growing market.

Streaming has revolutionized how people consume games, offering opportunities for both participation and spectating. The rise of elite leagues and professional players has further driven the esports scene, making gaming a central part of entertainment in MENA. Full-time gaming careers are now a reality, with players earning through live streaming, tournament prizes, and merchandising.

Challenges and Opportunities Ahead

A cohesive governing structure is needed to align popular games and create a unified competitive landscape, like the MENA Tech’s annual UNIVERSITY Esports competition, which hosts multi-game tournaments for college students in the region.

Monetization remains a challenge, as esports is often viewed as a marketing tool rather than a profitable industry. Increased collaboration, regulation, and innovative revenue-sharing models are key to unlocking the region’s gaming potential. Technologies like NFTs, blockchain, and the Metaverse are infusing the arena with fresh monetisation prospects.

The future of gaming will largely hinge on technological advancements, with key trends leading the way. These include the rise of sports and fitness gamification, AI-driven transformations, and the resurgence of handheld gaming devices. Emerging technologies like augmented reality and virtual reality will also play a significant role, particularly with the development of extended reality, which blends the former two to blur the line between physical and virtual worlds.

MENA’s Path to Global Influence

With strong government support, rising player engagement, and a growing esports scene, the MENA region is well on its way to becoming a global leader in the gaming industry. As the region continues to invest in technology and infrastructure, its influence on the global gaming stage will only grow. The future of gaming in MENA looks incredibly promising, and its potential to shape the industry’s future is undeniable.

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Nothing Raises $200M Series C to Power the Next Phase of Consumer AI

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Nothing Phone (3) aesthetic shot

Today, we’re announcing new funding––USD $200M in our Series C round at a USD $1.3B valuation. This milestone marks the start of our next phase: From being the only independent smartphone company to emerge in the last decade, towards building an AI-native platform in which hardware and software converge into a single intelligent system.

a portrait of Carl Pei, CEO and Co-founder of Nothing
Carl Pei, CEO and Co-founder of Nothing

Building the foundations for the future
When we started Nothing, we had a thesis that if we could build a smartphone business at scale and own the last-mile distribution point in consumer tech, we would be well-positioned for the next technology shift. Although we didn’t know what that would look like at the time, the opportunity is now crystal clear.

From the start, we knew that the foundation had to be an end-to-end value chain
capable of delivering products at speed, scale, and quality. As we’ve seen from many others that have tried, building a hardware company is hard. There are many potential failure points and almost no room for error. For us, it required assembling a team that balanced a pragmatic approach of rapidly launching products, with an innovative mindset to deliver experiences that our community would immediately love.

Today, the foundations are firmly in place. From award-winning design, to our global manufacturing and supply chain network built for quality and cost. In four years, we have shipped millions of devices, began 2025 crossing $1B+ in total sales, while growing 150% in 2024.

Building this infrastructure has been the hardest and most valuable thing we’ve done so far. With the support of our community, we’re fortunate to have made it here. Today, we’re in a position that will be very hard to copy: The ability to launch any consumer hardware product from start to finish within months, go-to-market operations that can ship and service worldwide, a global user community that co-creates with us, all without the innovator’s dilemma or bureaucratic constraints that the incumbents face. On to chapter 2.

Operating systems, evolved
In the last 18 years, the smartphone became ubiquitous. It is the primary personal computing tool to manage the countless tasks of daily life. Beyond its distribution scale, what makes the smartphone the most powerful consumer device in the market is its unmatched access to contextual information and user knowledge. For this reason, I believe the smartphone will remain one of the most important devices in the AI era.

On the other hand, while AI has made revolutionary progress in the last three years, the smartphone experience has barely evolved. Most of the innovation has been underwhelming, limited to incremental improvements in photo editing, translations, and assistant features that barely work.

For AI to reach its full potential, consumer hardware must reinvent itself alongside it. This is the opportunity we see for Nothing. We see a future where operating systems are significantly different from the ones today. Each system will know its user deeply, and be hyper-personalised to each individual. Interfaces will adapt to our context and needs. Suggestions will surface naturally, and once we confirm an intent, agents will execute on our behalf. The system will handle the non-essential for us, allowing us to focus on what truly matters, which will be different for every person. Unlike today’s one-size-fits-all solution, a billion different operating systems will be rendered for a billion different people.

Over time, this OS will be transversal across all form factors: We’re starting with smartphones, audio products and smart watches, devices that people already use every day. In the future, our OS will carry into smart glasses, humanoid robots, EVs, and whatever comes next.

Why we are uniquely-positioned to create this future: Owning the last-mile distribution point with all its contextual and user knowledge is essential to developing an OS that will help people in their daily lives. An AI OS that doesn’t know its user and isn’t ever-present can’t deliver a hyper-personalised experience. This is the next chapter for Nothing, integrating an AI experience into our hardware devices to reinvent how technology amplifies us.

The next billion unit scale product
In the near-term, we believe that the smartphone will remain the only device shipping at billion-unit scale each year. But soon, we’ll all be carrying an additional device that will be just as important. In the coming years, we’ll learn that the more context we can feed our AI, the more useful it becomes. The smartphone, while powerful, can’t always be there for us. Sometimes it’s in our pocket, or we might be on the move with our hands full.

A new class of AI-native devices will emerge. Products that are available to the user at the moment of need, paired with intelligence that turns understanding into action. This is a very exciting time, imagining devices that capture context across modalities and generate interfaces on demand, shaped by what the user is trying to accomplish.

We have been hard at work imagining what this future could look like, and can’t wait to launch some of our first AI-native devices next year.

Our Series C capital raise
This funding round allows us to execute on this vision by accelerating our innovation roadmap and further scaling our distribution. Our round was led by Tiger Global, with significant support from existing shareholders GV, Highland Europe, EQT, Latitude, I2BF, and Tapestry, alongside new strategic backing from Nikhil Kamath and Qualcomm Ventures.

Alongside this Series C, we’re also preparing to launch our next Community round giving our supporters another opportunity to become part of Nothing’s journey. More details will be shared soon.

As we continue our journey, we do so with huge gratitude to our community, our team, and our partners. This next chapter is only possible because of you.

Carl, CEO and Co-founder of Nothing

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Innovo and Siemens Announce Strategic Partnership in Building Technologies

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Two executives from Innovo and Siemens shake hands during a strategic partnership agreement signing ceremony in Dubai.

Innovo, an industry leader in construction and innovation, has signed a strategic partnership with Siemens, a leading technology company, to drive innovation, digital transformation, and sustainable growth across building technologies in the UAE.

Under the agreement, Innovo Technology Services has officially become a Siemens Solution Partner for Building Automation, authorised to deliver and integrate the Building X portfolio in the UAE. Building X is Siemens’ open, cloud-based platform for smart building management.

Innovo will provide full sales, integration, and support across modules including Lifecycle Twin, Energy Manager, Operations Manager, Comfort AI, Security Manager, Fire Manager, and API Manager.

This milestone strengthens Innovo’s commitment to digital adoption and sustainability in the built environment, while extending Siemens’ global leadership into one of the world’s fastest-growing construction markets.

The strategic partnership was formalised at a signing ceremony attended by Bishoy Azmy, CEO, Innovo, and Hakan Ozdemir, CEO, Smart Infrastructure, Siemens Middle East.

Bishoy Azmy, CEO, Innovo, said: “Our partnership with Siemens reflects our shared vision, to create smarter, safer, and more sustainable digital ecosystems. By combining Siemens’ advanced solutions with Innovo’s digital innovation, we are delivering intelligent solutions that will transform building performance and enhance quality delivery across the UAE.”

Hakan Ozdemir, CEO, Smart Infrastructure, Siemens Middle East, said: “Innovo is a trusted partner with a proven record in digital solutions. Their appointment as a Siemens Solution Partner will accelerate the deployment of our Building X portfolio in the UAE, supporting more efficient, resilient, and connected communities.”

Innovo continues to operate at the forefront of innovation. This strategic partnership supports the company’s vision to be part of the future of intelligent, sustainable building solutions that transform communities across its global markets.

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Lexar MEA expansion: 5,000+ retail stores

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Lexar MEA expansion has hit a major milestone: the brand’s products are now available in over 5,000 retail stores across the Middle East and Africa. Moreover, the footprint reflects a fivefold increase in outlets carrying Lexar-branded solutions. With GITEX Global 2025 approaching, Lexar will showcase its latest memory and storage innovations for photographers, gamers, and content creators.

Lexar MEA expansion: momentum built with partners

At the core, growth comes from “The Lexar Way.” Specifically, the company co-builds the channel through training, consumer engagement, and incentive programs—so partners can move faster and serve customers better. Consequently, retailers gain the resources and product knowledge to match users with the right cards, readers, SSDs, and DRAM. In turn, this partner-first model has underpinned demand over the past three years.

For nearly 30 years, Lexar has been empowering the world with memory innovations,” said Fissal Oubida, General Manager – Middle East, Africa & India. “Ultimately, our rapid growth in the region reflects rising demand for reliable memory solutions and the strength of our retail partnerships. Therefore, expanding our footprint demonstrates a long-term commitment to a market that’s become a hub for imaging innovation and creativity.”

Lexar MEA expansion at GITEX: what creators and gamers will see

At GITEX Global 2025 (Hall 1, Stand H1-25), Lexar plans to spotlight professional-grade memory cards, high-speed card readers, portable SSDs, and performance DRAM—solutions tuned for regional workflows. For creators, that means faster offloads, smoother edits, and simpler backup routines. For gamers, it means quicker load times and more responsive systems with NVMe upgrades and reliable storage tiers. Additionally, visitors can expect hands-on demos and guidance on selecting media for mirrorless bodies, cinema cameras, and gaming rigs. Notably, the team will translate specs into practical choices for real-world use.

Partner enablement that scales across MEA

To keep pace with demand, Lexar runs channel seminars and roadshows across the region. During these sessions, product details become clear use cases—from 4K/8K capture on CFexpress to hybrid creator–gamer setups. Furthermore, the company invests in localized education so floor staff can explain speed classes, endurance ratings, thermal behavior, and backup best practices. As a result, customers leave with the right media for their device and workload.

Going forward, Lexar will continue to consolidate its regional presence,” added Oubida. “In fact, GITEX is an ideal platform to extend collaborations, strengthen local partnerships, and introduce new offerings tailored to MEA consumers.”

Why the Lexar MEA expansion footprint matters for end users

Availability matters. Because the retail network is broader, buyers can compare products in person, ask questions, and walk out with the right kit the same day. Moreover, consistent access improves creator and gamer confidence—especially when tight deadlines depend on fast cards and dependable SSDs. In practical terms, the 5,000-store milestone shortens the path from idea to delivery. Likewise, it supports regional growth in content creation, esports, and professional imaging.

Looking ahead

Expect continued product rollouts and deeper collaboration with resellers. Next, the roadmap includes more education-first initiatives, clearer in-store guidance, and expanded after-sales support. Ultimately, photographers, videographers, streamers, and gamers will gain a simpler, more reliable way to upgrade daily tools. In summary, Lexar’s partner model and retail reach position the brand to scale with MEA’s demand.

Bottom line

The Lexar MEA expansion is about reach, relevance, and reliability. With 5,000+ stores and a strong showing planned for GITEX Global 2025, the company is doubling down on creators and gamers across the Middle East and Africa—therefore bringing pro-grade memory and storage closer to where people work and play.

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