IBM becomes title sponsor of MEBIS 2026 in Dubai

IBM has joined the 17th Middle East Banking Innovation Summit as title sponsor ahead of the Sept. 16-17 event in Dubai, where more than 400 banking leaders will examine how AI, cloud and automation are reshaping financial services. The summit will spotlight trusted AI, cybersecurity, payments and banking modernization across the Middle East and North Africa.

Why it matters: - Banking leaders across the Middle East and North Africa are under pressure to move AI from pilots to production while meeting stricter requirements on governance, security and resilience. - MEBIS 2026 is positioning that shift as a core industry issue, with IBM’s sponsorship putting enterprise AI and hybrid cloud in front of senior decision-makers. - The summit comes as banks face rising demand for digital services, more complex fraud risks and fast-changing payment ecosystems.

What happened: - IBM joined the 17th Middle East Banking Innovation Summit as title sponsor. - The summit will take place on 16-17 September 2026 at Jumeirah Emirates Towers in Dubai. - The event is expected to bring together more than 400 banking leaders and delegates, 60+ speakers and 30+ technology solution providers. - Speakers are set to join from the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Egypt and Jordan.

The details: - IBM will highlight enterprise AI, hybrid cloud, data and automation for banking and technology leaders. - MEBIS 2026 will focus on how banks can deploy AI responsibly, securely and at scale. - The agenda will cover generative AI, agentic AI, intelligent automation and predictive technologies across customer experience, operations, risk, fraud prevention and decision-making. - IBM’s role will center on helping banks modernize mission-critical systems and scale agentic AI while addressing trust, governance, sovereignty and performance requirements. - IBM cited its financial services experience as part of that effort. - A global IBM CEO study found banking and financial markets CEOs expect AI to make nearly half of operational decisions without human intervention by 2030. - Shukri Eid, general manager of IBM Gulf, Levant and Pakistan, said the banking conversation has moved from whether to adopt AI to how to deploy it responsibly and at scale. - Eid said that requires trusted data, strong governance and secure, resilient infrastructure so innovation delivers measurable value. - The summit will also examine data governance, infrastructure, security, regulatory considerations and human oversight. - More than 20 sessions will cover digital banking, data and intelligent banking, cloud and banking infrastructure, cybersecurity and fraud, payments innovation, automation, customer experience and the technology foundations for future financial services. - The program will address stronger data foundations for AI, improved governance and ownership, more effective predictive intelligence and stronger fraud detection. - Cybersecurity remains a major focus as banks expand digital services and face more automated threats. - More than 500 pre-registrations have already been confirmed ahead of the September event. - This is the 17th edition of MEBIS.

Between the lines: - The regional speaker mix reflects a banking market that is moving at different speeds, but wrestling with similar questions about AI adoption, modernization and security. - IBM’s sponsorship also signals how cloud and AI infrastructure vendors are competing to shape the next phase of banking transformation in the region. - MEBIS is broadening the discussion beyond AI alone, which suggests banks still see core infrastructure, data quality and cybersecurity as the gating factors for adoption.

What's next: - MEBIS 2026 will run over two days in Dubai on 16-17 September. - Banks and technology providers will use the summit to compare approaches to AI deployment, governance and digital modernization. - The event is expected to showcase the latest banking technologies and produce regional networking among executives and solution providers. - More information is available in IBM’s announcement and on MEBIS Dubai’s LinkedIn page.

The bottom line: - IBM’s title sponsorship gives MEBIS 2026 a heavyweight signal: AI in banking is now a deployment and governance challenge, not just an innovation theme.