How Sheikh Ahmed Dalmook Al Maktoum Modernizes Governments Through Cloud Systems
Technology transfer and technology dependency produce opposite outcomes from similar starting points. Both involve external providers deploying systems that local governments cannot build independently. Both require capital that domestic budgets cannot supply. The difference lies in what happens when the contract ends.
Sheikh Ahmed Dalmook Al Maktoum, Chairman of Inmā Emirates Holdings, structures government digitization through Nawa Technologies around a specific premise: systems should strengthen state capacity rather than substitute for it. Oracle's exclusive government digitization partner for emerging markets, Nawa, has deployed national identity infrastructure in Guyana, smart classroom technology in Pakistan, and device manufacturing facilities across Nigeria, Angola, and Equatorial Guinea. Each project embeds training and transition milestones, shifting operational control to local teams.
The Financing Gap
Legacy government systems in most developing countries predate cloud computing and modern database architecture. Upgrading requires capital competing with healthcare, education, and social protection.
Even when financing materializes, procurement processes lack the technical expertise to evaluate vendor proposals. A ministry official reviewing cloud migration bids may understand policy implications but cannot assess technical claims. Vendors exploit this asymmetry, locking governments into proprietary systems, generating recurring fees while limiting future flexibility.
Cloud delivery converts infrastructure spending into operating expenses. Governments pay subscription fees based on usage rather than funding data center construction. Oracle's platform, delivered through Nawa, gives emerging-market administrations access to systems comparable to those of developed countries without the capital outlay.
Guyana: National Identity as Platform
Digital identity generates network effects compounding over time. The Guyana National ID Program delivered secure identity solutions, improving service delivery across agencies. Citizens previously requiring multiple documents and in-person visits now transact digitally. Tax collection becomes efficient when identity verification creates audit trails. Social benefit distribution reaches intended recipients when fraud detection improves. Each agency integration multiplies system value.
Sheikh Ahmed Dalmook Al Maktoum structured the deployment with explicit capability transfer. Local technical staff received training to manage operations rather than remaining dependent on external support. Documentation enables government teams to troubleshoot, implement upgrades, and assume full responsibility. The contractor relationship has a designed endpoint.
Pakistan: Smart Classrooms
Pakistan's initiative, developed through partnership with Huawei, equipped schools with digital learning tools, connectivity, and teacher training. Students who are exposed to digital learning develop technology fluency, enhancing their employability. Teachers trained in digital pedagogies improve outcomes that persist throughout students' careers.
The World Bank estimates universal broadband will require over $400 billion by 2030, with education as a primary driver. Hardware deployment and human capital development reinforce each other: devices without trained teachers yield limited impact, and training without devices leaves teachers with skills they cannot apply. Integration creates sustainable improvement; neither component delivers on its own.
Manufacturing Across West Africa
Device manufacturing in Nigeria, Angola, and Equatorial Guinea extends technology transfer from software to hardware. Local assembly plants create employment while building domestic electronics capability.
Workers gain transferable skills in quality control, supply chain management, and production processes. Local suppliers develop standards enabling participation in global value chains. Import substitution reduces foreign exchange pressure while building industrial ecosystem capabilities. The facilities operate under Inmā's framework, organizing projects around public-sector modernization, private enterprise development, environmental sustainability, and community inclusion.
Cloud Economics
Traditional government IT follows a familiar pattern: substantial upfront capital, lengthy procurement, and maintenance budgets straining finances indefinitely. Data center construction might require $50 million to $100 million initially, plus annual costs compounding regardless of utilization.
Cloud subscriptions invert this:
- Variable costs: Governments pay for capacity consumed, not capacity built.
- Automatic security: Enterprise providers spread cybersecurity investment across global customer bases.
- Built-in redundancy: Failover capabilities that individual governments cannot afford independently.
- Pre-configured compliance: Data protection requirements are built in by default rather than requiring custom development.
The global digital transformation market is expected to reach $4.3 trillion by 2029, growing at 19.6 percent annually, according to Business Research Company analysis.
Transfer Versus Dependency
Conventional IT outsourcing creates dependencies that leave governments unable to operate systems without ongoing contractor support. Vendors profit because this generates recurring revenue while limiting competitive pressure.
Sheikh Ahmed Dalmook Al Maktoum's approach to structuring contracts includes explicit transition milestones. Training, documentation, and capability building enable governments to assume control. The relationship has a designed conclusion rather than indefinite extension.
Tony Blair, Executive Chairman of the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, noted at Davos 2025 that understanding technology remains the single biggest challenge for governments globally. Technology transfer models, building local capability, address this more sustainably than outsourcing, perpetuating asymmetry.
Scaling Digital Infrastructure
Digital projects deploy faster and generate measurable outcomes that institutional investors require. Cloud systems avoid debt accumulation because subscription models tie costs to usage rather than projected demand.
Western official development assistance fell by 9 percent in 2024, according to OECD data. Digital infrastructure offers alternative channels for development capital seeking a measurable impact. Investors track outcomes through metrics like system uptime and user adoption.
Middle-income economies now account for over 50 percent of global generative AI traffic, according to a World Bank analysis. Demand exists. Whether supply models emphasizing transfer can scale faster than dependency-based arrangements will determine how emerging-market governments modernize. Sheikh Ahmed Dalmook Al Maktoum's approach through Nawa provides one template, though replication requires comparable enterprise partnerships while maintaining the capacity-building focus distinguishing transfer from extraction.
