Open Source is shaping MENA’s diverse digital ambitions, from Gulf smart cities to North Africa’s modernising banking sector. Martin Lentle, VP Middle East & Africa at Red Hat, explains how it empowers organisations with flexibility, transparency, and control to future-proof their sovereignty.

From the cognitive cities rising in the Gulf to the rapid modernisation of North Africa’s banking sector, MENA is defined by a diversity of ambition that defies a “one-size-fits-all” AI strategy. As highlighted by the World Bank’s “Upside of Digital” report, the region’s digital landscape is starkly varied: while GCC nations prioritise advanced infrastructure for sovereign energy grids, markets like Egypt and Morocco focus on financial inclusion and bridging the digital divide.

For decision-makers looking to innovate at scale, navigating this complexity makes flexibility of choice a priority. Here’s how.

Sovereignty requires transparency

Proprietary AI systems often create a sense of control that doesn’t actually exist. You might store your data within national borders, but if the underlying software is opaque and controlled by a single vendor, you remain dependent on that provider’s priorities and product roadmaps. In MENA, where national digital sovereignty is a matter of both policy and security, true autonomy requires more than just data residency. It requires technological sovereignty; the freedom to inspect, modify, and move your entire technology stack.

Transparency is essential for building trust. Unlike proprietary systems, open source allows you to independently verify the integrity, security, and compliance of your AI models against local regulatory frameworks like Saudi Arabia’s Personal Data Protection Law (PDPL). This auditable history is vital for mission-critical sectors such as government, banking and energy, where explaining how an AI reached a conclusion is a prerequisite for responsible use.

Addressing the skill gaps through community

The widening skills gap is a significant barrier to progress today. In a recent Red Hat survey of UAE organisations, 76 per cent of respondents stated that there is an urgent AI skills gap. You cannot simply buy technology and expect immediate results; you must also invest in the people required to manage it. Open source acts as a powerful complement to upskilling efforts by allowing your IT teams to tap into a global community of contributors. By sharing work and building upon the discoveries of others, teams can reduce work pressure. Additionally, by promoting continuous learning through programs like Red Hat Academy and specialised AI learning paths, teams can drive high-value innovation.

Open leadership: A cultural shift

Isolated team structures can hinder both innovation and collaboration. This can be addressed through open leadership practices, which essentially embody open-source principles of transparency, collaboration and shared responsibility. There is a need to embrace an open workplace culture, where all ideas are welcomed and valued.

Moreover, this can help foster a culture of trust by encouraging teams to challenge assumptions and share information openly when needed. This further empowers organisations to identify market opportunities early on and adapt to the rapid pace of the AI era.

AI Democratisation

Making AI accessible is essential for ensuring technology works for everyone, not just those with specialised backgrounds. Platforms like Red Hat OpenShift AI lower the barrier to entry by providing capabilities that empower non-technical teams to build and deploy intelligent applications. This moves innovation closer to the business problem; for instance an oil rig engineer or a customer service agent often has the context required to solve a challenge that a centralized data science team might lack.

Open-source projects like InstructLab enable domain experts to contribute their knowledge and skills to large language models (LLMs) without needing to retrain them entirely. This significantly reduces the cost of AI model customisation, while expanding the pool of problem solvers. For organisations, this means faster development cycles through broader participation of employees from diverse departments, rather than a few specialists alone.

Way Forward: Embracing innovation through open source

For decision-makers in the region, the path to resilience lies in prioritising flexibility and control today. A strategic approach begins with auditing AI roadmaps to ensure that infrastructure permits the full inspection and ownership of models, rather than relying on opaque operational structures.

Equally critical is a shift in investment. Moving beyond simply purchasing tools to focus on talent development and fostering an open culture where domain experts are empowered to innovate. By committing to open source, leaders are doing more than adopting a technology; they are future-proofing their organization’s sovereignty in a diverse and rapidly evolving region.

Related post

View all