Microsoft’s CEO – Middle East & Africa Are Key To Green Economy

Sherif Tawfik, on why the region is key to growing the green economy.

The region is also becoming the cradle in which the vital next steps for adaptation and mitigation are crafted, with the 27th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP27) held in Egypt’s Sharm El-Sheikh in November 2022 and Dubai hosting Cop28 towards the end of 2023.

Sherif Tawfik, Microsoft’s chief sustainability officer (CSO) for the Middle East and Africa (MEA), believes events, attitudes, and investment are coalescing to create what he describes as "a historic intersection of tremendous opportunity"—and the MEA region is ready to help lead the response to our climate crisis, stated the report.

"In the Middle East, you have seen rising GDP and high population growth, but also significant government commitment and investment," Tawfik explains.

"Look at Saudi Vision 2030 or UAE 2030—there is significant political will, an ability to execute, and the agility required to transform at speed,"  he added.

According to the report, Tawfik points to 60 percent of the world’s best solar resources being found on the continent, despite it only being responsible for 1 percent of global generation.

"Its vulnerability is also driving a desire to act." The CSO cites Madagascar and Benin as already being established as net-zero emitters. "In 2021, the latter also became the first sub-Saharan sovereign to issue a sustainability bond," said the report.

For Tawfik, Cop27, where Microsoft served as a strategic principal sponsor, also marked something of a watershed. In his eyes, the event’s framing message, "Together for  reflects a sentiment shift among governments and private enterprise.

"I think what we’re seeing is a genuine desire to act," he explains. "People want to move from pledges to progress." That’s also reflected in the early meetings we’ve been involved in for Cop28.

"At previous [COP events], you’ve had the blue zone, where world governments are negotiating policy, and the green zone, where the private sector showcases technology." The question is finally being asked as to why we can’t bring those two worlds together. "The focus is turning to implementation and execution," Tawfik added.

According to him, with commercial sector engagement pivotal in achieving net zero, one major advantage the Middle East has in accelerating the journey is the number of large corporations that are either partially or wholly state-owned.

Tawfik points to the region’s largest businesses having a significant responsibility to drive progress but also an obligation to fall into lockstep with government policy.

"If the political will is there, that naturally cascades down into their operations and investments," he says.

Furthermore, a commitment has been made to share the lessons learned from this journey across the markets and regions in which it operates, including MEA."Our mission statement is to empower every person and every organisation on the planet to achieve more," the CSO explains.

"‘Planet’ is the operative word there. For us to do well, the planet also has to do well. "It is in our interest to up our own game and empower others to do the same."

Much of that empowerment will be driven by emerging digital capabilities. Whether one is talking about state governments, large corporations, or nascent start-ups, all are in a race against time to better unlock the data capabilities and operational agility required to successfully combat the climate crisis.

report mentioned, the MEA region enjoys distinct advantages in this regard. Tawfik points to the region’s history of adopting digital transformation at speed—in the case of telecommunications, for example, bypassing entire phases of legacy infrastructure entirely.

Roughly half of Microsoft’s clients in the Middle East already have more than 50 percent of their workload in the cloud.

The regional population is also becoming younger—Africa will account for 40 percent of worldwide youth by 2030—meaning there will be a growing pool of digital natives to power this next phase of transition, the report added.

When questioned about any sectors showing particular progress, Tawfik is adamant that all are engaged in driving transformation, though some are in a position to make a larger impact faster. The financial sector, for example, will be critical in delivering the required investment, the report stated.

According to the report, during Cop27, Microsoft announced an MoU with Nedbank, one of Africa’s largest financial services groups, focused on driving multiple programmes to amplify the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals through technological advancements and ease customer access to the growing green market ecosystem.

 By Sumita Pawar