Global AI Show Abu Dhabi – A Wake-Up Call for Europe’s SME Landscape
On 8-9 December, SME Connect participated in the Global AI Show in Abu Dhabi to assess how rapidly artificial intelligence is reshaping global economies — and what this means for Europe’s small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
The insights gained on-site were clear and consistent: the world is moving into an AI-driven economic era at remarkable speed, and Europe must act decisively to safeguard competitiveness, innovation capacity, and economic resilience.
AI Is Becoming Core Infrastructure
Across keynotes and expert panels, one message dominated the conference: AI has moved far beyond experimentation. It is becoming fundamental infrastructure — comparable to electricity, internet connectivity, or modern logistics systems.
Dr. Yousef Al Saadeh, Global Centre for AI Excellence, highlighted this shift with striking projections: The global “AI Economy” is expected to grow from USD 1.5 trillion in 2023 to USD 46 trillion by 2035.
At the same time, a major structural challenge is emerging worldwide: While computing power and AI capabilities are doubling every 3–4 months, institutional readiness is increasing only linearly.
This widening “Readiness Gap” affects Europe in particular. Only 10% of organisations worldwide are considered AI-mature, while almost 40% have not yet implemented AI at scale.
From SME Connect’s perspective, this creates a strategic mandate for policy makers and business leaders alike: Europe must accelerate AI adoption, especially among SMEs, to remain globally competitive.
Energy Capacity: A Critical Constraint
A core theme throughout the Global AI Show was the physical reality behind digital innovation: energy. One panel captured it succinctly: “Energy is the binding constraint on intelligence.”
Data centres already account for 22% of Ireland’s national electricity demand, with projections rising to 33% by 2026. Germany’s strategic investments in waste heat recovery and AI infrastructure were widely acknowledged, yet the international comparison makes one point clear: Europe needs a long-term, affordable energy and compute strategy if AI is to become broadly accessible for SMEs. Without scalable and cost-efficient energy resources, AI-driven innovation will remain unevenly distributed across regions.
EU AI Act: Viewed Globally as a Governance Benchmark
Several speakers — including Bharathi Ganesh of Infosys — referenced the EU AI Act as a leading global model for responsible and transparent governance.
Its risk-based classification system (Low, Medium, High, Prohibited Risk) was highlighted repeatedly as a framework that other regions are analysing and adapting.
For SME Connect, this international validation reinforces a key principle: Regulation, when well-designed, builds trust and creates market clarity — essential for SME adoption. The challenge now is ensuring that implementation remains pragmatic, accessible, and economically feasible for smaller enterprises.
A New Era of Skills, Education, and Work
The Global AI Show underscored how profoundly AI is reshaping the role of human skills.
Tannya Jajal described educators as “Architects of Meaning”, emphasising that education systems must shift from pure knowledge transfer to enabling context, judgement, and critical thinking — skills that remain essential in an AI-saturated environment.
For Europe, the implications are clear:
● Lifelong learning must become the norm across all industries.
● Vocational and higher education need structural digital integration.
● SMEs require targeted support to build AI-ready workforces.
The conference made it evident that competence-building is just as important as technology-building.
Practical Applications: AI Creates Tangible Opportunities for SMEs
A wide range of live demonstrations and case studies showcased how AI can unlock immediate economic value:
Finance:
AI and blockchain are reducing inefficiencies in cross-border payments and supply-chain financing.
Healthcare:
The issue of “Knowledge Latency” — the delay between scientific discovery and clinical application — is being significantly shortened through AI-driven analysis.
Agriculture:
The tokenization of commodities, such as grain, presents new financing and risk-management tools for small producers.
These examples demonstrate that AI is not an exclusive opportunity for large corporations. It holds direct, practical, and scalable potential for SMEs across Europe — provided the right ecosystem is in place.
Conclusion: Europe Must Shape the AI
Transition — Not React to It
The Global AI Show in Abu Dhabi made one point abundantly clear: Other regions are already building the “next billion firms” — AI-native, resilient, globally competitive. From SME Connect’s perspective, three priorities must guide Europe’s response:
1. Strengthen Europe’s compute and energy infrastructure.
Without accessible and affordable resources, AI adoption will remain fragmented.
2. Ensure a pragmatic, SME-friendly implementation of the EU AI Act.
Regulation must enable innovation while maintaining trust and accountability.
3. Invest in education, skills, and workforce transformation.
Europe needs people who can work confidently with AI — not compete against it.
Europe has all the prerequisites to become a leading region for responsible, human-centred AI. To achieve this, policymakers, institutions, and SMEs must act together — decisively, collaboratively, and with a clear long-term vision.