Saudi, UAE startups led VC deals, raised $3.13bln in 2025
Two GCC markets account for 91% of total funding deployed across MENA. Startups in Saudi Arabia and the UAE led venture capital funding activity last
Global economy set for 2.7% growth; trade tensions cloud outlook
Policymakers face an increasingly complex inflation landscape, where supply risks call for a more coordinated and forward-looking approach. Global economic output is forecast to grow
When the cloud meets a thirsty world
Throughout history, water has been the quiet engine behind progress: farmers irrigate fields to grow crops; industry needs it to produce goods and generate energy;
Embracing AI in Europe: New evidence from harmonised central bank business surveys
Artificial intelligence is spreading quickly among European firms. Using new surveys from Germany, Italy, and Spain, this column shows that adoption rates of generative AI
The European Union needs more than the digital omnibus to make digital services competitive
European Commission plans to streamline digital rules introduce new inconsistences and fall far short of transformative reform. The European Commission’s digital and artificial intelligence omnibus
World Governments Summit highlights AI’s transformative role in government-led climate action
The report comes at a pivotal time, as countries grapple with rising global temperatures and increasingly complex environmental challenges. The World Governments Summit Organisation, in
How financial authorities best respond to AI challenges
Artificial intelligence is transforming finance faster than the authorities can adapt. This column argues that while AI enhances the financial system’s efficiency, it also poses
Efficiency and distribution in the European Union’s digital deregulation push
A new framework shows how EU digital reforms must balance efficiency with transparent recognition of distributive consequences. To boost the European Union’s digital economy, the European
Labour market institutions for the AI era: The need for verified employment records
The rise of AI fundamentally alters the balance between formal credentials and verified experience in labour markets, but without verified employment records, experience remains invisible.
Public money, private innovation: How government funding built – and sustains – America’s technological leadership
The US has long been the world’s innovation powerhouse, based on a system that combines public funding with private initiative. Yet this model is under
