Tech major Zoho Corporation has launched its first data centres in the UAE, part of a previously announced investment of Dhs100m to expand its cloud infrastructure in the Gulf region.

The new facilities in Dubai and Abu Dhabi will host more than 100 cloud‑based solutions from Zoho’s two main brands, ManageEngine, which focuses on enterprise IT management, and Zoho, which offers cloud business applications.

“The opening of our data centres is part of our ongoing investment in the UAE, which remains one of the largest markets in the region for both ManageEngine and Zoho brands,” Zoho co‑founder and CEO Shailesh Davey said. “With this move, Zoho Corporation will be enabling businesses to store their data locally, strengthening data sovereignty, and supporting the National Cybersecurity Agenda. Furthermore, more than 100 solutions across Zoho and ManageEngine, will enable businesses of all sizes and government and semi‑government organisations adopt cloud technology for digital transformation in nearly every area of operation, and help Dubai become a digital economy in line with Dubai Vision 2030.”

The centres have received a CSP Security Standard Certificate from the Dubai Electronic Security Center (DESC), qualifying Zoho to serve government and semi‑government entities as well as local businesses.

They are also compliant with ISO 27001, ISO 22301, ISO 27017 and hold the CSA STAR Level 2 Certificate for data centres, the company said. In addition, Zoho’s Dubai office has received an ISO 27001 certification.

Zoho’s growth trajectory is rising in the UAE

Zoho reported strong recent growth in the UAE, with revenue expanding 38.7 per cent in 2025, and its partner network growing 29 per cent over the same period.

The company also increased its local workforce by 35 per cent last year and expanded into a larger office to meet rising demand.

Key Zoho solutions driving growth include the Customer Experience platform (Zoho CRM, Desk and Zoho CRM Plus), Zoho Books accounting software, low‑code app platform Creator, collaboration suite Zoho Workplace, and unified business suite Zoho One, the company said.

Over the past five years, Zoho has invested about Dhs80m in enabling more than 7,000 businesses in digital transformation through partnerships such as those with DET and Dubai Culture, the company added.

It said its upmarket segment grew 48 per cent in 2025, fuelled by demand for scalable, cloud‑based solutions.

ManageEngine, Zoho’s enterprise IT brand, also reported robust growth in the UAE, increasing 20 per cent in 2025, led by demand from the financial services, government, public sector and manufacturing segments.

Key products cited by the company include Endpoint Central, ServiceDesk Plus and Site24x7. Cloud adoption for ManageEngine’s solutions in the region is growing at nearly 35 per cent, reflecting broader shifts toward cloud‑first strategies.

Zoho Corporation, founded in 1996 and privately held, employs more than 18,000 people worldwide and is the parent company of technology brands including ManageEngine, Zoho, TrainerCentral and Qntrl.

Read: UAE retailers embrace omnichannel as 70% integrate digital tools in-store, shows Zoho survey

The US will suspend immigrant visa processing for applicants from 75 countries starting later this month, as part of a broader review of immigration screening and eligibility rules, according to the country’s State Department.

The pause will apply only to immigrant visas, which are used by individuals seeking permanent residence in the US.

Processing of non-immigrant visas, including tourist, student, and business visas, will continue.

The State Department announced the decision to pause visa processing on the social media platform X.

Another State Department post on X stated: “The pause impacts dozens of countries – including Somalia, Haiti, Iran, and Eritrea – whose immigrants often become public charges on the US upon arrival.”

“President [Donald] Trump has made clear that immigrants must be financially self-sufficient and not be a financial burden to Americans. The Department of State is undergoing a full review of all policies, regulations, and guidance to ensure that immigrants from these high-risk countries do not utilise welfare in the US or become a public charge,” a statement by the department noted.

Countries impacted by the US immigrant visa suspension

The pause will be effective from January 21, on visa issuances to immigrant visa applicants who are nationals of the following countries: Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Antigua and Barbuda, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Belize, Bhutan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Burma, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Colombia, Cote d’Ivoire, Cuba, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Dominica, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Fiji, The Gambia, Georgia, Ghana, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Haiti, Iran, Iraq, Jamaica, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Kuwait, Kyrgyz Republic, Laos, Lebanon, Liberia, Libya, Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Nepal, Nicaragua, Nigeria, North Macedonia, Pakistan, Republic of the Congo, Russia, Rwanda, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Tanzania, Thailand, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, and Yemen.

The move follows a series of recent actions by the administration targeting asylum rules, refugee admissions, and legal immigration pathways, signalling a tougher overall stance on migration.

Read: Trump threatens 25% tariff on countries doing business with Iran

Money moves quietly until it doesn’t. When payments slow, fail, or fracture, economies feel it instantly. In a region like the Middle East and Africa, where populations are young, commerce is increasingly digital, and borders still shape how money flows, the infrastructure behind those transactions matters more than most people realise.

That critical infrastructure is what Network International provides and operates. Headquartered in the UAE, the company processes payments across 56 markets, is fully compliant and authorised, and has local teams on the ground, with a footprint that extends into 49 countries across Africa.

Its systems power everyday commerce, bank settlements, government programmes, and cross-border trade, largely unseen but critical to how money circulates.

In February last year, Murat Cagri Suzer stepped into the role of group CEO at a moment when scale alone was no longer enough. The company was navigating a merger, rising regulatory expectations, rapid shifts in consumer behaviour, and a technology landscape being reshaped by AI, real-time data, and new forms of money. The question facing the business was no longer how big it was, but what it could become.

Suzer arrived with more than two decades of experience across payments, fintech, and digital banking. Before joining Network International, he held senior leadership roles at BBVA in both the US and Turkey, encompassing payments, cryptocurrency, consumer and digital banking, as well as corporate and investment banking. He was also part of BBVA’s global strategy and planning team. Earlier in his career, he worked at McKinsey & Company, advising clients across financial services, telecoms, and consumer goods, after starting out at Danone.

An engineer by training with an MBA from INSEAD, Suzer has also served on several industry and advisory boards across the global payments ecosystem. But the challenge ahead was not theoretical. It was operational. How do you run a payments platform that spans numerous markets, currencies, regulators, and risk environments, while turning transactions into insight and infrastructure into advantage?

In this conversation with Gulf Business editor Neesha Salian, Suzer breaks down the move from traditional processing to an insights-led future and explains why the Middle East and Africa remain the ultimate testing ground for fintech.

You stepped into the CEO role early last year. From your seat, how would you describe the last few months and the strategy taking shape?

What attracted me to Network International is that it’s a truly unique payments platform. We operate across 56 markets in the Middle East and Africa, with local teams and central bank licences in those markets. No other payment company in the region can say that.

But the real opportunity is what you can build on top of that platform. Payments provide insight into economic activity in real time. Used responsibly and confidentially, that data can help businesses, governments, and entire ecosystems operate better.

Take something simple like traffic flow. If we see transaction volumes spike in one part of a city, that usually means more people, more activity. That insight can help optimise taxi routes, logistics, or staffing. For small businesses, the value is even more direct.

How so?

Let’s say you’re a restaurant heading into Ramadan. We can show you how your sales performed last Ramadan, how you compare to similar restaurants nearby, where your average transaction sits, and whether repeat customers are lower than peers. That allows you to make very practical decisions, pricing, promotions, and loyalty campaigns, based on facts rather than guesswork.

This is why we see ourselves not just as a payments company, but as an insights-led fintech platform. That shift to a global scale fintech company is core to our long-term strategy.

Tell us about how the UAE has proven to be fertile ground for Network International’s ambitions.

The UAE’s emerging digital economy, coupled with a highly supportive regulatory environment and a proactive government vision, presented a unique opportunity to build essential digital payment infrastructure, offer card processing, and drive e-commerce, directly supporting the nation’s goal for a cashless society.

Network International was an early enabler of digital and e-commerce payments in the region, allowing us to leverage data, technology, and innovation to reimagine payments and fintech.

This supportive ecosystem has enabled Network International to take leading roles in emerging payment technologies.

Scale is key to executing your vision for leadership in this area. Is that what’s driving recent mergers and partnerships?

Exactly. To build a global-scale fintech company, you need scale. That’s the logic behind the merger of Network International and Magnati, which we completed in October last year and the partnerships we’re forming across the region.

We also agreed to acquire RAKBANK’s merchant acquiring business in the UAE, bringing approximately 5,000 merchants into our ecosystem in a transaction expected to close in early this year, subject to regulatory approvals. Through this agreement, we look forward to extending our advanced payments technology and data capabilities to RAKBANK’s merchant base, supporting the growth ambitions of SMEs and large corporates alike. We also see strong potential in Ras Al Khaimah, where economic diversification and business-friendly reforms are creating real momentum.

Most recently, the company became the first payments platform in the UAE to enable regulated stablecoin acceptance through a partnership with Al Maryah Community Bank (MBank).

All of this reflects our ambition to be a long-term partner in the country’s development and a catalyst for innovation across the wider UAE and MEA region.

Africa is a major part of that story. What’s your strategy there?

Africa is one of the fastest-growing payments markets in the world. Infrastructure is still catching up, but mobile wallets and digital payments are growing rapidly. There’s also strong demand for faster, cheaper payment rails.

We’re already present in 49 African countries, which makes us the most geographically penetrated fintech platform on the continent. Our role is to work closely with regulators, governments, banks, and enterprises to build the right infrastructure. Africa is not a side market for us. It’s strategic, and it’s growing fast.

Innovation is a big theme for Network International. Where is your focus today?

There are two layers. The first is core payments innovation. Payment’s success still comes down to two fundamentals, security and authorisation rates. If your authorisation rate drops by 1 per cent, you lose 1 per cent of revenue. That’s real money.

Because we learn across 56 markets, we continuously improve authorisation performance. When we solve a problem in one country, everyone benefits. That learning loop is a major competitive advantage that enables us to offer the highest authorisation rates.

The second layer is acceptance. People travel, shop, and pay differently. Our job is to make sure whatever payment method they prefer works seamlessly. Our POS systems accept global card schemes, local schemes, wallets, and alternative payment methods.

And beyond traditional payments?

We’ve recently launched a new app for small businesses, which is rolling out to merchants this year. It gives them real-time visibility into transactions, refunds, chargebacks, and settlements, along with access to early settlement if they need liquidity.

It also connects them to SME lending through multiple banks, using transaction data to improve approval odds and pricing.

We’re also working with enterprise partners on agentic commerce. In simple terms, bots pay bots on behalf of humans. If consumers delegate routine purchases to AI agents, merchants need to be ready for that. We’re building the infrastructure in between so our merchants aren’t caught off guard.

On top of that, we’ve been appointed by the UAE Central Bank to champion CBDC acceptance and have signed to support regulated stablecoins, including AE Coin. Our role is to enable choice. If it’s regulated, merchants should be able to accept it.

What are the biggest challenges you’re discussing internally?

Speed. What we’re building requires dozens of agile teams delivering in parallel. Speed of execution determines relevance for customers and for economies trying to digitise.

That also means hiring, training, and aligning talent across many markets. Building the team is as critical as building the technology.

There’s a lot of debate around AI and jobs. How do you see it?

AI is already improving productivity across fraud, reconciliation, sales, and operations. But we’re not at a point where it’s eliminating jobs at scale. In fact, it’s creating new roles.

AI systems can develop bias over time. That means you need to build teams to train AI on culture, diversity, and fairness. Every new technology creates new opportunities. The people who adapt and reskill will benefit.

Looking ahead, what trends will define payments in 2026 and beyond?

First, seamlessness. Payments are becoming frictionless and embedded, but that creates a need for transparency, so consumers understand where their data is stored.

Second, borderless payments. Domestic payments are fast and cheap. Cross-border payments are still not. That gap will close, whether through new rails, blockchain-based solutions, or regulatory alignment.

And third, AI. Not as a buzzword, but as an operational engine across the entire payments stack.

Finally, how would you describe your leadership style?

Two things matter to me. Delivering on what we say, because credibility builds trust. And maintaining positivity. This is a demanding business, but culture matters. When people feel positive and aligned, execution follows.

BEEAH and Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company, Masdar, have signed a joint development agreement to identify and develop utility-scale solar power projects in Sharjah, the companies said on Tuesday.

The agreement sets out a framework for the assessment, selection and development of photovoltaic solar projects, covering activities from feasibility studies and grid impact assessments to construction, operation and maintenance.

The deal was signed at the World Future Energy Summit 2026, held as part of Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week, by Khaled Al Huraimel, group CEO and vice chairman of BEEAH, and Mohamed Jameel Al Ramahi, CEO of Masdar.

Under the agreement, the two companies will collaborate on end-to-end project development, including solar resource assessments and site studies.

The framework also allows for the exploration of additional clean energy options, including hybrid battery energy storage systems aimed at improving grid resilience.

“Sharjah’s rising energy requirements are driving the deployment of more diversified, resilient renewables infrastructure across the emirate,” Al Huraimel said. He added that the agreement builds on BEEAH’s experience in delivering clean electricity through its commercial-scale Sharjah Waste to Energy facility and strengthens a partnership that has already delivered a major energy project in the UAE.

Masdar CEO Al Ramahi said the agreement builds on a long-standing relationship between the two organisations, including the joint development of the Middle East’s first commercial-scale waste-to-energy plant. “Sharjah has strong potential for solar energy development, and its visionary leadership is driving the deployment of high-quality, commercially viable projects to accelerate the emirate’s energy transformation,” he said.

Agreement expands Masdar-BEEAH collaboration

The latest agreement builds upon earlier collaborations between BEEAH and Masdar, most notably the establishment of the Emirates Waste to Energy Company joint venture in 2017, which aimed to develop the region’s first utility-scale waste-to-energy project.

BEEAH stated that the solar development plan aligns with its commitment to achieve Net Zero by 2040. Beyond waste-to-energy, the company is assessing opportunities to convert closed landfills into solar farms and to generate power from landfill gas.

Its headquarters in Sharjah includes an on-site solar plant and holds LEED Platinum certification.

The agreement also aligns with national clean energy goals. The UAE aims to triple its renewable energy capacity by 2030 as part of the Net Zero by 2050 Strategic Initiative.

Masdar, jointly owned by TAQA, ADNOC and Mubadala, said it currently has a renewable energy portfolio of more than 65 gigawatts across six continents and is targeting a capacity of 100 gigawatts by 2030.

Read: BEEAH’s Khaled Al Huraimel on its first major real estate project, Khalid Bin Sultan City

Jadwa Investment has launched its flagship Jadwa GCC Diversified Private Credit Fund, targeting up to SAR750m ($200m), marking a significant expansion of the firm’s private credit platform in the region. The fund has completed its first close at more than SAR300m ($80m) and has already deployed capital into its initial two investments through partnerships with regional fintech platforms Lendo and JeelPay. A further two investments are expected to close in the first half of 2026.

Following the launch of several deal-specific private credit strategies, the Jadwa GCC Diversified Private Credit Fund represents the firm’s first blind-pool regional private credit vehicle. It is designed to provide institutional and private wealth investors with access to high-quality opportunities across the GCC’s rapidly expanding private credit market.

Commenting on the launch, Tariq Al-Sudairy, managing director and CEO of Jadwa Investment, said: “Private credit is increasingly becoming a strategic allocation for sophisticated investors globally. This fund reflects Jadwa’s ability to originate and execute attractive private credit opportunities, and our conviction in the asset class in light of Saudi Arabia and the wider GCC’s economic momentum and growing demand for credit.”

Fidaa Haddad, managing director and head of private credit at Jadwa Investment, added: “Our private credit platform is designed to support high-quality companies across multiple transactions, offering investors access the growing private credit market in Saudi Arabia and across the GCC. We are excited to announce our first investments and look forward to delivering strong and consistent outcomes for our investors.”

The launch of the fund highlights Jadwa Investment’s focus on expanding its private capital capabilities and delivering innovative investment solutions for institutional and private wealth clients, supported by its strong regional presence, origination expertise, and established track record in private markets.

Read: Saudi Arabia secures $13bn syndicated loan to fund utilities projects