AI agents set to unlock US$450bn in economic value by 2028 as Outworks challenges Middle East institutions to go agentic in 30 days

Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

Artificial intelligence is entering a defining new era. Across the Middle East, the conversation has shifted from whether organisations should adopt AI to how quickly they can deploy it securely, responsibly and at scale.

The urgency is backed by compelling numbers. According to the Capgemini Research Institute, AI agents are expected to unlock up to US$450 billion in economic value globally by 2028 through increased productivity, operational efficiencies and new revenue opportunities. Yet despite this enormous potential, only 2% of organisations worldwide have successfully scaled AI agent deployments across their operations, highlighting a significant gap between AI ambition and real-world execution.

Against this backdrop, Outworks has introduced Sprint 30, a structured programme challenging governments and large enterprises across the Middle East and Africa to move from AI strategy to fully operational, governed AI agents within 30 days. Rather than focusing on lengthy pilots and proof-of-concept projects, Sprint 30 is designed to help organisations deploy AI agents inside live business environments, delivering measurable outcomes while maintaining security, governance and data sovereignty.

The initiative comes as the UAE continues to strengthen its position as one of the world’s leading AI economies through ambitious national strategies that are accelerating the adoption of advanced technologies across government and business. As organisations increasingly seek to operationalise AI, the emphasis has shifted from experimentation to enterprise-wide deployment.

“The Middle East is entering one of the most significant technology transformations in its history. The conversation has moved beyond whether organisations should adopt artificial intelligence; today the real question is how quickly they can put it to work,” said Hamda Al Mansoori, Founder & Chairwoman of Outworks.

“At Outworks, our mission is to help governments and enterprises transform AI from strategy into execution, delivering measurable impact in weeks rather than months. We believe the organisations that will lead the next decade are those that operationalise AI responsibly, securely and at scale—creating environments where people and intelligent agents work together to unlock entirely new levels of productivity, innovation and value.”

Sprint 30 has been engineered to eliminate many of the barriers that have traditionally slowed enterprise AI adoption. Instead of spending months developing infrastructure before deployment begins, organisations follow a structured implementation framework that moves from assessment and solution design to production-ready AI agents operating inside real workflows within just one month.

The programme enables organisations to deploy AI agents on infrastructure they own and control, ensuring compliance with data sovereignty requirements while maintaining governance, transparency and human oversight throughout the deployment lifecycle.

Ahmed Ashoor, Founder & Chief Technology Officer, said the programme reflects a fundamentally different approach to enterprise AI implementation.

“Thirty days is not a marketing promise. It is an engineering decision. We have already built the deployment architecture, governance framework and operating model, allowing organisations to focus on transforming their operations rather than spending months building technology foundations. By the end of Sprint 30, AI agents are already delivering measurable work inside production environments.”

Outworks operates through its integrated Advise, Build and Run transformation model, helping organisations identify high-impact AI opportunities, build secure technology foundations and operate intelligent systems that continue evolving alongside business requirements. Every deployment is designed around sovereign infrastructure, ensuring organisations retain full control of their data while meeting regulatory, security and compliance requirements.

The company believes the future of enterprise performance will depend not simply on adopting artificial intelligence, but on integrating it into the way organisations operate every day. Rather than replacing human expertise, AI agents are expected to augment decision-making, automate repetitive and complex processes, and enable employees to focus on higher-value work that drives innovation and growth.

Founded by four leaders with expertise spanning government transformation, enterprise technology, artificial intelligence, commercial development and strategic partnerships, Outworks is focused on helping governments and large enterprises across the Middle East and Africa accelerate their transition from AI ambition to enterprise-scale execution.

As organisations race to capture the economic value of artificial intelligence, initiatives such as Sprint 30 demonstrate how the competitive advantage of the coming decade will be determined not by who has access to AI, but by who can deploy it faster, govern it responsibly and translate it into measurable business outcomes.

About Outworks

Outworks is an AI-native transformation company headquartered in Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), United Arab Emirates. The company helps governments and large enterprises across the Middle East and Africa move from AI ambition to production-ready intelligent systems through its integrated Advise, Build and Run model.

Founded by Hamda Al Mansoori (Founder & Chairwoman), Ahmed Ashoor (Founder & Chief Technology Officer), Islam Shaban (Founder & Chief Commercial Officer), and Ahmed Shaban (Founder & Chief Strategy Officer), Outworks combines expertise in artificial intelligence, enterprise transformation, technology and strategic partnerships to deliver sovereign, enterprise-scale AI solutions.