Microsoft’s Technology Ecosystem will create 55,000 Jobs in the UAE

 American tech giant Microsoft believes its large-scale data centres and other investments in the Middle East and North Africa may create as many as a million incremental jobs throughout the region, according to Samer Abu Ltaif, the company’s president for the Middle East and Africa.

Speaking to Arabian Business this week, Abu Ltaif, who has been the company’s regional president since February 2017, said that the company believes that its investments in the region between 2017 and 2022 will create 576,000 high-tech jobs in the region among its 17,000 partner organisations.

“If you take the conversion that has been adopted that for every one high-tech job, you can have 4.3 jobs in other occupations and other sectors, you’re talking about potentially Microsoft’s ecosystem leading to one million incremental jobs in MENA, and two million in the Middle East and Africa,” he said.

According to a recent report from the International Data Corporation (IDC), Microsoft’s technology ecosystem will create over 55,000 jobs in the UAE alone by the end of 2022.

Additionally, Abu Ltaif revealed that over the last five years, Microsoft has donated, granted or participated in technology grants across the MEA region that amount to approximately $160 million.

“Only last year, we supported around 730 entrepreneurs that really require support on technology,” he said. “We are actively pursuing opportunities where our emphasis is on where technology can play a powerful role to evolve the region and support people who are under-served.”