The potential impression of AI on the Center East and North Africa’s (MENA) financial system is phenomenal — including a price of over $320 billion by 2030, in keeping with the Economist Affect Report. However with the intention to seize the alternatives of AI, we have to equip folks with the suitable expertise to develop. And to do that the suitable manner, we consider in collaboration and dealing intently with organizations throughout the area to remodel lives and communities for the higher.
Final week, we launched the AI Alternative Initiative for the Center East & North Africa, its largest AI initiative within the area, that may present important AI expertise, analysis funding and entry to useful AI merchandise. Google.org, Google’s philanthropic arm, is planning to contribute US$15 million, between this 12 months and the top of 2027, by way of funding to organizations throughout the area to make sure the alternatives created by AI attain everybody.
This initiative builds on our long-standing dedication to the area, the place, along with native companions, we’ve skilled 3 million folks on important digital expertise since 2018. Via this new initiative, we intention to additional empower half 1,000,000 people inside two years with crucial AI expertise.
AI trainings throughout the area
As a part of the AI Alternative Initiative for MENA, we’re launching a brand new Arabic language AI-training curriculum below Google’s digital expertise program “Maharat min Google” and Coursera to equip folks with AI expertise like immediate engineering.
As a result of AI expertise must be accessible by underserved communities, Google.org is offering a grant to Village Capital to equip Enterprise Assist Organizations (BSOs) with expertise and sources to coach underserved staff on AI expertise in Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, and the UAE.
Earlier this 12 months, we introduced the launch of Expertise AI, an academic program created by Raspberry Pi Basis and Google DeepMind, protecting AI literacy expertise. This system is now out there in Arabic. To make sure this system reaches extra educators within the area, Raspberry Pi Basis will use grant funding from Google.org to coach lecturers on AI Literacy, to equip their college students within the area (aged 11-14 yrs) with AI security expertise to raised perceive and navigate the challenges of AI applied sciences. Within the UAE and Saudi, this shall be run in partnership with Amideast.
