aixplain at CAIRO FORUM 2026
Earlier this month, we were in Cairo, Egypt, for the third CAIRO FORUM, where our Founder and CEO, Dr. Hassan Sawaf, and Chief Ethics Advisor, Dr. Mona Hamdy, joined two panels on the future of AI and what it means for the Global South.
Here鈥檚 what you missed.
AI governance and the power that decides outcomes for the Global South
Dr. Hassan Sawaf, Founder and CEO of aixplain, joined Mohamed Elnawawy, Lawyer at Partners.law and former CEO of Telecom Egypt; Hussain Abdulla, Founding Partner MENA at Golden Gate Ventures MENA; and Dr. Nangula Uaandja, Executive Director of Emeralds and Platforms. Marwa Abbas, CEO of Raya Information Technology, moderated. The panel asked whether countries in the Global South need to develop AI technology themselves, or focus on building the capacity to use it in their own interests.
The conversation covered why national priorities come first, building applications that meet local needs, and investing in talent, intellectual property and infrastructure. The panelists also discussed data sovereignty, local investment, and strengthening the negotiating power of developing countries.
AI鈥檚 abundance promise: universal income, universal welfare. Do people want it, and who pays?
Dr. Mona Hamdy, Founder of Anomalys and Chief Ethics Advisor at aixplain, joined Marc Uzan, Executive Director of the Reinventing Bretton Woods Committee; Andrew Hawley, Co-founder and Managing Director of Ghost Dynamics; and Tamim Saleh, Senior Partner and Managing Partner at McKinsey. Dr. Noha Adly, Advisor to the Minister of Communication and Information Technology for R&D, moderated. The panel took on a central question: as AI creates new forms of wealth, who actually benefits from it?
The conversation covered the future of wealth distribution, the risk of the gains concentrating among those who own the technology, and what that could mean for employment and developing economies. The panelists explored how people could share in the ownership and returns of technology, including through sovereign wealth funds and public investment in digital infrastructure, and stressed education, skills, and technology that responds to local needs.
A big thank you to the CAIRO FORUM team, our fellow panelists and the moderators for having us. It was great meeting everyone. Until next time, Cairo! 馃嚜馃嚞