In a world where new technologies and market trends emerge daily, the pace of business can feel overwhelming. As a leader navigating the dynamic landscape of the Middle East and Africa, I often find myself contemplating what truly contributes to achieving lasting success. Talent and agility are undoubtedly two core factors that are critical in helping companies today up the ante.

According to a recent World Economic Forum report, a staggering 65 per cent of companies in the MEA region identify the skills gap as a major barrier to growth. Clearly, the gig economy is transforming the game.

The global gig economy – or labour market characterised by flexible, temporary, or freelance jobs rather than permanent positions, where workers are hired for individual “gigs” or tasks, is now valued at $582bn, of which the MEA region accounts for $30bn, growing at an annual rate of around 14 per cent.

This phenomenal growth is no doubt, powered by the expansion of technology platforms, increasing freelancer participation, and changing work preferences worldwide.

In addition, this region is the fastest growing one anywhere for the gig economy, largely attributed to its primarily young demographic, high internet/ mobile penetration, and national initiatives like Saudi Vision 2030 and UAE Centennial 2071. Over 29 million participants contributed to the gig economy in 2023, with the UAE and Saudi Arabia standing out for their adoption of digital platforms and policy reform.

Freelance talent

HR professionals are realising that while traditional hiring models continue to remain relevant, they cannot be the only approach. Agility is an imperative that cannot be underestimated. This is why at Schneider Electric, we’ve integrated a global freelancing programme that feeds into our people strategy as a flexible solution.

With more professionals choosing freedom, flexibility, and variety that freelance work promises, a huge opportunity now exists for traditional employers to adopt digital platforms such as Upwork, Freelancer, Nabbesh, and Malt to connect with rising and senior talent, to fill critical gaps in areas such as consulting that require deep technical expertise. What’s more, regional fintech players, have improved access to opportunities and payments, especially for unbanked populations in Northwest Africa and Egypt.

In addition to bringing fresh perspectives and new energy, freelance employees contribute to shaping growth-minded strategies and solutions that we might not have considered otherwise, helping us adopt an “outside-in” mindset and embrace disruption.

Looking ahead, supporting the gig economy is not simply a matter of finding short-term help; it’s about fundamentally reshaping our talent strategy. The freelance economy isn’t a temporary trend or quick fix. It’s the future of work. And by embracing it, we’re not just closing the skills gap; we’re building a resilient, dynamic, and future-ready workforce for the Middle East and Africa region.

Expansion of the MEA gig economy

The MEA gig economy today is diversifying beyond delivery and ride-hailing, expanding into areas like IT, media, marketing, risk and consulting, and the creative industries. Specialised skills in AI, blockchain, and cybersecurity, for instance, often attract higher rates and platform demand.

Companies today have a responsibility to streamline processes and put in place effective data protection measures to ensure the security of the freelancers who bring immense value to our workplaces and immeasurably improve the creative and knowledge economy.

The writing is on the wall: the most successful organisations of the future, won’t be defined by a fixed team confined to a single office, but rather, will encompass a fluid, interconnected network of talent, ready to adapt to any challenge. The question is, perhaps, not when companies adopt this free-flowing recruitment structure but how efficiently they will do so.

The Ministry of Hajj and Umrah in Saudi Arabia has launched a new service through its Nusuk app, enabling citizens and residents to conveniently order 330 ml bottles of blessed zamzam water delivered directly to their homes anywhere in the kingdom.

With no restrictions on the quantity or frequency of orders, the service aims to facilitate easier access to this sacred water for all users.

Read more-Saudi’s new rule: All types of visas allow holders to perform Umrah

Orders can be placed through simple steps within the app, ensuring a seamless experience for residents across Saudi Arabia, a Saudi Press Agency report said.

Meanwhile, the General Authority for the Care of the Affairs of the Grand Mosque and the Prophet’s Mosque reported a remarkable total of 13.5 million visitors within a single week of Rabi Al Akhir (18 to 24 Rabi Al Akhir, 1447 AH). The Grand Mosque alone welcomed over 4.6 million worshippers, including nearly 24,000 performing prayers at Hijr Ismail and close to 2.8 million performing Umrah. At the Prophet’s Mosque, attendance reached over 5.1 million, with more than 340,000 visiting Al Rawdah Al Sharifah and over 523,000 greeting the Prophet Muhammad and his two companions.

To manage these unprecedented crowds efficiently, authorities have implemented cutting-edge technology using reader sensors at main entrances to precisely monitor worshipper numbers. This innovation allows real-time crowd flow analysis and improves operational efficiency, enabling authorities to better manage the massive influx in partnership with relevant entities. The move reflects Saudi Arabia’s commitment to leveraging technology to enhance the pilgrim experience while ensuring safety and comfort during peak religious events.

Across the Middle East, 5G is entering a new phase of maturity — shifting from a connectivity enabler to a catalyst for enterprise transformation. Petra Schirren, president of Ericsson Gulf at Ericsson Europe, Middle East and Africa, believes the region is already leading globally in leveraging 5G and AI to transform industries such as logistics, oil and gas, and public safety.

“There’s a lot in public safety, a lot of interest from ports, logistics companies, airports, oil and gas; all these have been big industries for us,” Schirren said. “The benefits of AI and cloud combined can really both enable efficiency in the ways that industries run their operations, and provide security and safety for people working for them; then there is also new types of use cases for revenue generation.”

According to Schirren, industry adoption is progressing steadily as enterprises build trust and confidence in advanced network capabilities. “It takes a little bit of time to get industries and people to be comfortable with security, with trust as well…in changing the way that they do business, but it’s progressing every day,” she added.

Defining differentiated connectivity

As operators evolve their 5G offerings, differentiated connectivity is emerging as a key value driver — enabling businesses to prioritise performance parameters based on use cases. Schirren explained the concept using a relatable analogy:

“With differentiated connectivity and what capabilities that standalone brings, you can basically put differentiated performance depending on what you want to do with it,” she said. “One of the operators we work with describe it as simple as saying first, business and economy class.”

This distinction, she noted, allows operators and enterprises to optimise network experience according to demand. “It could be about latency, it could be about performance, it could be about speed,” Schirren said. “It’s a different user experience depending on what you’re using it for and what you’re willing to pay for.”

6G on the horizon

While 5G continues to transform industries, Ericsson is already investing heavily in 6G research and development. “Standardisation has just started,” Schirren said. “Then, of course, we have worked on R&D for a long time.”

She explained that 6G will go beyond connectivity, enabling networks with sensory and autonomous capabilities. “It’s a lot about sensing capability. It’s a lot about being able to do things in an autonomous way, being able to do things without human intervention,” she said.

Some of these capabilities are already being integrated into 5G networks. “We’re starting that already now with programmable networks for 5G as well,” Schirren added. “Some of those capabilities are already being introduced, but we started taking it one step further to make it kind of sensory determined.”

Driving sustainability through smarter networks

Ericsson’s sustainability goals are deeply intertwined with its technology roadmap. “We’re working on our own products to ensure that every generation that we release is more efficient than the previous one,” Schirren said.

The company aims to achieve Net Zero emissions across its value chain by 2040, with a milestone of reaching Net Zero in its operations and a 50 per cent reduction in supply chain and portfolio emissions by 2030. “We work with all of our customers here, both on optimising the energy efficiency of their networks, optimising the site performance, and we also have solutions like connected recycling as well, where we’re actually taking care of the waste that is generated from our industry,” she said.

“For us, it’s one of our biggest core values to work on sustainability because we believe we want to be able to do more with less,” Schirren added. “As we do connectivity and innovation, we also have to care about the planet and the sustainability of what we put out in the market.”

At GITEX Global 2025, Ericsson highlighted the power of partnerships in accelerating digital transformation. “Of course, we work with our CSP partners. They’re one of our prime customers today, but we also have collaborations with other parts of the ecosystem,” Schirren said.

She emphasised that achieving national visions such as UAE’s Digital Transformation Strategy 2031 requires collective effort. “It’s very important to realise that if we want to bring the digitisation of nations vision to life by 2031, no one can do it alone,” she said. “It goes all the way from governments to our customers to, for example, other providers that might have particular applications or devices to run on top of our networks.”

Schirren expects the convergence of 5G, cloud, and AI to transform every sector in the region over the next five years. “When that all comes together, I think you will have impacts for every single industry,” she said. “Some [industries] might find it easy to adopt and go faster, but I think over time, it will impact all the parts, whether that’s consumers, every single enterprise or governmental operations.”

She pointed to growing investment in innovation clusters. “We’ve spoken with some of our customers now that are opening AI parks to bring together the complete ecosystem,” Schirren said. “Change will happen. Either you decide to be a part of it, or you else will sit on the sidelines.”

AI-driven connectivity in action

Ericsson is already deploying AI-enabled, mission-critical connectivity solutions across the GCC. “We work a lot with our customers on AI driven autonomous networks on the journey there,” Schirren said.

The company’s technologies are enabling predictive maintenance, network optimisation, and operational resilience. “We introduce a way of optimising energy efficiency of the networks, optimising root cause analysis for being able to predict when something happens rather than react when it has happened,” she explained.

“These types of new algorithms are part of what we deliver, as products, solutions and services,” Schirren said. “And with these capabilities as well, our customers are able to bring new services to the market as well, which is happening on a continuous basis.”

Ericsson’s vision for the Gulf is clear: to help nations and enterprises transition from being adopters of technology to architects of intelligent, sustainable, and autonomous digital ecosystems. As Schirren noted, progress is already visible and the foundations being laid today with 5G and AI will define how the region leads in the 6G era.

Gucci owner Kering has agreed to sell its beauty business to L’Oreal for $4.66bn, in a major shift in strategy by new CEO Luca de Meo as he moves to tackle the luxury group’s high debt and refocus on its core fashion business.

Under the deal, French beauty giant L’Oreal will acquire Kering’s fragrance line Creed, which former CEO Francois-Henri Pinault acquired in 2023 for €3.5bn euros, as well as exclusive rights to develop fragrance and beauty products for 50 years under Kering’s fashion labels including Bottega Veneta and Balenciaga.

Read more-Dubai’s Emirates NBD to buy 60% stake in India’s RBL Bank for $3bn

L’Oreal will also get the Gucci licence, also for 50 years, once a deal with Coty, which analysts believe to last until 2028, expires.

“We believe selling Kering Beauté at around the same price paid for Creed two years ago is bitter but necessary medicine,” said analysts at Bernstein.

While the idea of selling the beauty business had been identified as an option before de Meo officially took charge in September, the Italian dramatically accelerated discussions with L’Oreal this month, two sources familiar with the matter said.

Kering beauty will be L’Oreal’s largest acquisition to date, bigger than its purchase of Australian brand Aesop for $2.5bn in 2023. The deal makes sense strategically, Bernstein analysts said, with Creed one of the most exciting brands in the growing luxury fragrances area.

Shares in Kering jumped 4.7 per cent while L’Oreal rose 1.4 per cent.

Significant step toward reducing debt

The sale is a significant step towards reducing Kering’s net debt, which stood at 9.5 billion euros at the end of June, on top of €6bn in long-term lease liabilities, sparking investor concern.

It is also a major shift in direction by De Meo less than two months after taking the helm, as he unwinds one of the biggest strategic pivots made by his predecessor Francois-Henri Pinault, whose family controls the group, in recent years.

Kering set up its beauty business in 2023 after acquiring perfume maker Creed to cut its reliance on star brand Gucci, which accounts for most of its profits.

But the French conglomerate has struggled to ramp up the beauty business. The division that comprises beauty operations reported a €60m operating loss for the first half of the year.

Kering is also battling declining growth at its largest brand Gucci as demand in the key Chinese market slowed. Gucci’s revenue plummeted 25 per cent year-on-year in the last reported quarter, increasing the pressure on Kering to deleverage to avoid further credit downgrades.

De Meo, who took over as CEO in September, had told shareholders he planned to take some difficult decisions to reduce debt at the group, including rationalising and reorganising where necessary.

The company has also postponed a plan to fully acquire Italian fashion brand Valentino, and is aiming to sell stakes in its real estate to raise cash.

‘Punchy’ price-tag justified for L’oreal

L’Oreal, the maker of Maybelline make-up and CeraVe skincare, already produces blockbuster perfumes under the Yves Saint Laurent label after acquiring rights to the brand from Kering for €1.15bn in 2008. The two companies also said they were setting up a joint venture to provide experiences and services for luxury clients.

Fragrances, which account for about 14 per cent of L’Oreal’s 2024 revenues, according to Bernstein, were growing in double-digit figures in the second quarter at L’Oreal, outperforming the segment.

“L’Oreal enjoys strong momentum in the Luxe division and they must be looking forward to getting hold of the perfume and beauty licences associated with Kering’s prestigious yet relatively underdeveloped brands,” said Bruno-Roland Bernard, a consultant and adjunct professor for corporate finance and luxury management at Paris-based Institut Francais de la Mode.

“It’s also possible they are taking advantage of a favourable bargaining position – with limited competition: who has the credentials and the firepower to deal with a Kering under time pressure?”

It is not clear where the deal leaves talks between Armani group and L’Oreal, which was named in the will of late designer Giorgio Armani as one of the preferred buyers for a minority stake in his fashion house.

Kering was advised by Evercore and Centerview, and L’Oreal by Bank of America and Rothschild. The deal is expected to close in the first half of 2026.

Cyberattacks targeting the Gulf’s critical digital infrastructure are increasing in both scale and sophistication, with the UAE emerging as one of the most targeted countries in the world. According to NETSCOUT, the UAE recorded the longest average DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service) attack duration — 27 minutes — a figure that highlights the region’s growing strategic importance and vulnerability to cyber disruption.

“This region is very central and strategic in terms of business and so this makes it a target for attackers,” said Dr Emad Fahmy, regional director, Middle East, NETSCOUT.

He explained that the Gulf’s growing reliance on digital ecosystems and AI-driven services makes it particularly appealing for cybercriminals seeking high-impact targets. “The UAE here is one of the leading countries in terms of AI and analytics, and all the businesses run online, which gives an opportunity for attackers to try to bring everything down,” he added.

High-value targets under pressure

The company’s research shows that there were 3,477 DDoS attacks launched in just six months. The financial and healthcare sectors remain among the most heavily impacted.

“If you see the financial sector, including the FinTech companies, it’s very critical — their business is done [online] in seconds and sometimes milliseconds,” said Dr Fahmy. “So bringing down their link or bandwidth is very crucial. Imagine that you are an investor trying to do an online transaction, and suddenly you find that the network is not working. All your efforts that you have been doing for months can be down in a few minutes.”

He warned that attacks on healthcare networks could have devastating consequences. “Imagine that the records of the patients are down, or the patients are trying to access online help, and then an attack comes and brings this connection down. This could be life-threatening, which is really serious,” he said.

The rise of multi-vector and AI-driven attacks

NETSCOUT has observed that cybercriminals are increasingly deploying multi-vector attacks, where multiple threat types are launched simultaneously to overwhelm security defences. “The multi-vector attacks are actually a series of attacks that are different in character and nature,” said Dr Fahmy.

“One of the attackers can target an application and bring it down, and in the same attack, launch another towards the firewalls to bring them down. These attacks together can be in one series of campaign, which is very dangerous because the teams have to deal with different types of attack traffic at the same time and have the intelligence to stop it.”

To counter this, NETSCOUT has introduced multi-layered defence architectures across enterprise, service provider, and cloud environments. “We are introducing the multi-layer attack detection and mitigation devices — one at the customer enterprise, the next layer at the service provider, and the third layer in the cloud,” he said. “We know how the attackers think, and we are ready for them.”

Fahmy noted that many of the large-scale “cyber sandstorms” observed in recent years are closely linked to global and regional geopolitical tensions. “Whenever you see political problems, you find attackers here and there trying to get hold of this political situation and claim that they have done it for some political reasons in order to get famous online,” he said.

“This is one of the triggers for such attacks, in addition to other triggers that are not related to the geopolitical situation,” he added.

NETSCOUT has been expanding its footprint across the Middle East, with operations in Kuwait, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE now serving as strategic hubs.

“Egypt, with its geographic importance and huge infrastructure, and Kuwait, are both critical. We are also focusing on the UAE and Saudi Arabia, and we are seeing a huge number of attacks in terms of volume and frequency on these countries. For example, in Saudi Arabia we have seen 270,000 attacks in the first six months, with a peak size of half a terabit per second — 570 gigabits in particular — which is huge.”

AI-led defence: the next frontier

To address the evolving threat landscape, NETSCOUT has developed adaptive AI-based DDoS protection systems designed to detect and respond to attacks that shift tactics in real time.

“These attacks are changing their nature every few minutes, which makes them very hard for service providers and enterprises to stop,” Dr Fahmy said. “Attackers are using very advanced AI modules to do that. From our side, we have developed all our products with AI capability, which we call adaptive DDoS, in our products and in the cloud as well.”

He explained that this capability is powered by NETSCOUT’s ATLAS platform, a global network of over 500 service providers monitoring roughly 50 per cent of the world’s internet traffic. “This allows us to detect the newest attacks that are building around AI,” he added.

For Fahmy, the region’s digital leaders must now move from reactive to proactive cybersecurity strategies.

As Gulf economies continue to digitalise at an unprecedented pace, the challenge is clear: securing tomorrow’s connected economies will require more than vigilance — it will demand intelligence that learns and evolves as fast as the adversaries it faces.