Integrating AI innovations into the UAE SME sector

On February 21, the Atlantic Council Win on the stock market, in collaboration with U.S. Embassy in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) And ADGMheld a workshop explore how women entrepreneurs in the UAE can integrate artificial intelligence (AI) innovations into their small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

The panel, moderated by Sarah Saddouk, Director of Innovation at Entrepreneur Middle East IMPACT, introduced three successful leaders with backgrounds in finance, healthcare and technology; all have leveraged cutting-edge AI and digital advancements to advance their businesses. Speakers included Abir HabbalDirector of Data and AI at Accenture Middle East; Amnah Ajmal, executive vice president for market development for EMEA at Mastercard; And Salim Chemlalproduct director at AI71. Tanya ColeSenior Commercial Officer at the United States Embassy in the United Arab Emirates, delivered the opening remarks.

Tanya Cole opened the event with welcoming remarks, noting that partnerships such as the WIn Fellowship encourage innovation and sustainable growth and support the rich trade between the United States and the United Arab Emirates. She observed that one of the main benefits of AI for SMEs is improved operational efficiency, allowing small teams to devote time and resources to higher-level tasks, such as business strategy. Cole recognized U.S. government initiatives to promote greater global representation of women in the technology sector, but noted that greater efforts were needed to promote gender equality in the technology sector AI. She concluded by encouraging the audience to continue to break down barriers for women in STEM fields and ensure that women continue to lead and benefit from the growth of AI.

Panelists leveraged their experience working with AI to cover several areas of concern for entrepreneurs, such as risk, regulation, scalability, and fairness. They identified the main trends in its use in the private sector and provided advice to SMEs wishing to improve their workflow using AI. Speakers also highlighted the need for women to shape the future of this field.

Key Takeaways

Amnah Ajmal pushed back against skepticism that recent advances in AI are overstated, saying the increasing accessibility and efficiency of computing power makes the technology commercially viable. She highlighted the pertinent challenge posed by AI adoption in the private sector: the burden of unlearning and relearning technologies as they evolve and integrate into new domains. Ajmal highlighted two trends in the use of AI that it has observed among SMEs: risk management focused on combating scams and fraud, and personalized marketing communications. She said the critical advantage AI brings is best understood in terms of scalability and speed, freeing up human capital for other tasks.

Abir Habbal explained that by staying abreast of AI advancements and integration, actors can actively shape the future of policy and governance around the technology. She distinguished between “narrow AI” capable of performing single tasks and “generative AI” capable of performing multiple tasks at once. The latter should be very disruptive; research conducted by his firm indicated that most professions can expect 40 percent of their working hours be affected by AI. Habbal added that financial services has particularly high potential for AI automation, but opportunities exist across all sectors.

Salim Chemlal mentioned that AI innovation should be propelled alongside regulation, rather than waiting for regulation before pursuing research, as the experts suggested. However, he also advocated for stronger international coordination to ensure AI safety, with a particular emphasis on adaptability given the many variables in this area. Amnah Ajmal also shared his thoughts on regulation, proposing that companies bring together stakeholders and industry experts, define the problem they want to solve and develop the regulations themselves rather than waiting for a regulator to act . She added that regulators provide a service to society and governments often adopt the suggested frameworks. Ajmal concluded by highlighting that traditional financial institutions have failed to encourage SMEs and women entrepreneurs, with all-female teams receiving a maximum of 2.7 percent of global venture capital financing.

Abir Habbal have turned their attention to the risks of AI and how regulation can help mitigate them. She explained that risks in this area include both structural issues, such as systemic bias and inaccurate results, as well as intentional misuse. With rapidly evolving technologies such as AI, regulation can stifle innovation, creating a need for “sandboxes» for advanced testing. The industry’s appetite for regulation stems from the desire to effectively govern AI to manage these risks, and the fear of financial and reputational harm if not mitigated. Salim Chemlal added that different societies should have their own AI systems, arguing that AI deployed outside of the context in which it was trained (like Western products now used in the Middle East) lacks the context to adequately serve its users current.

Amnah Ajmal emphasized that women must challenge the status quo in the field of AI. She suggested that women are sometimes hesitant to engage deeply with new technologies, and she therefore urges other women working in this field to have confidence in their abilities. AI is trained on old data, which inherently introduces bias against women. Ajmal gave the example of office thermostats which, when adopted in the 1960s, were calibrated for men; women who shine 35 percent less body heat, are now often left – literally – out in the cold. Women must feel empowered to confidently lead the future of AI to avoid further inequalities. Abir Habbal highlighted the merging of different skill sets in the field of AI, which requires expertise in data science, engineering, business and design. The democratization of AI is also on the rise, allowing users outside the field to access and experiment with AI tools. Ajmal urged novices to use publicly available tools to experiment and learn about AI.

The path to follow

There has never been a better time for UAE entrepreneurs to integrate AI into their businesses, due to the UAE’s growing role as a global hub for AI and the booming sector of SMEs in the country. AI adoption will remain a powerful force in the national economy for the foreseeable future, and some forecasts expect it to be close to 14 percent of UAE GDP will arise from AI by 2030. At the same time, government initiatives continue to promote the growth of small and medium-sized businesses, with a target of one million SMEs in the country by 2030.

AI has enormous transformative power across all industries, including facilitating speed and scalability. Technology can better serve entrepreneurs by freeing up human input otherwise devoted to labor-intensive tasks, such as customer service or targeted marketing. However, adopters need to make sure they have defined a problem that AI can solve, as not every facet of the business requires automation. Inherent AI risks, such as bias, malfunctions, and privacy concerns, should also be assessed when considering integration.

Widespread adoption of AI could widening global digital skills gaps between men and women, creating an imperative for women to lead the future of technology at home and abroad. Currently only 25% of AI specialists and 14% of cloud computing specialists are women, demonstrating that much remains to be done to create a more inclusive field. However, the democratization of AI and the rise of SMEs in the UAE represent an opportunity for women entrepreneurs to capitalize on the commercial potential of AI and gain expertise that could positively shape this field. Since AI reflects the inputs and biases of its creator, better systems will require both diverse architects and inclusive design principles. Women leading successful AI-enabled businesses will be well-positioned to advocate for these changes, ultimately leading to a more equitable future for all.

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EmpowerME, at the Atlantic Council’s Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East, develops solutions to empower entrepreneurs, women and youth and builds public and private partnership coalitions to drive regional economic integration, prosperity and job creation.