Salience Consulting

Salience Consulting Salience Consulting is a management advisory firm specializing in digital business strategies, technology, and professional services.

Salience works with a wide range of clients, including operators, development banks, government, and ICT regulators. Salience provides consulting and professional services for the telecom sector in the Middle East. At our core we are a group of technical and management consultants who have been delivering telecoms projects in the Middle East for the past 10 years. Our regional knowledge and client expertise positions us at the forefront of telecommunications in theMiddle East.

This week in Riyadh, we attended the , a high-impact platform bringing together public and private sector leaders acros...
12/02/2026

This week in Riyadh, we attended the , a high-impact platform bringing together public and private sector leaders across five priority growth zones:

• Tourism, Travel & Entertainment
• Advanced Manufacturing & Innovation
• Urban Development & Livability
• Industrial & Logistics
• Clean Energy & Renewable Infrastructure

Across these sectors, one message was consistent: the next wave of growth will be enabled by trusted, scalable ICT foundations, from connectivity and platforms to data governance, cybersecurity, and AI-ready infrastructure.

We had a number of valuable discussions focused on where the market is heading and what partners need to move from ambition to ex*****on, particularly around demand signals, adoption barriers, and what “ready for scale” truly means.

A standout conversation was with the HUMAIN team, exploring current market demand, monetizing AI, near-term priorities, and the conditions required to accelerate adoption across region and industries.

As we continue supporting the Saudi ICT ecosystem, our focus remains on translating these conversations into practical value, helping partners deliver solutions that are bankable, interoperable, and built for long-term outcomes.

Today, our Managing Partner Ivan Skenderoski moderated the panel “Gigawatts for Generative AI: Defining MENA’s Energy St...
10/02/2026

Today, our Managing Partner Ivan Skenderoski moderated the panel “Gigawatts for Generative AI: Defining MENA’s Energy Strategy” at Capacity Middle East.

As MENA accelerates toward a data-driven, AI-enabled economy, the session explored how the region can meet the gigawatt-scale power demands of hyperscale campuses and GPU clusters, and what must change to ensure energy does not become the bottleneck to AI growth.

Ivan was joined by Matthew Rix, Director, Sales at DataVolt; Shelly Landsman, Advisory Board Chairman at NED; Menno Parsons, CEO at Master Power Technologies; Domagoj Talapko, Market Development Manager at ABB; and Priyanka Nagpal, Director of Data Centre Capital Markets at JLL.

The discussion looked at the current view of powering large scale data centres with examples from the region such as Datavolt and NED. It noted the need to be agile in the way power set-up is approached as the industry is developing and the AI chipsets are redefining the power needs so agility is required in order not to be stuck in continuous power retrofits. Also the requirement of “green” Data Centre might be misleading and just tick in a box where realities are not always aligned with the concept and some flexibility and logical reasoning might be required. Renewables as growing trends supported from government level in the MENA were highlighted as well as potentially regional policy around power economics and pricing. Finally the people angle and lack of enough resources to build and operate these DC was discussed with some industry calls for collaboration in enabling training centres.

A timely, forward-looking conversation on how bold reform and private innovation can power the next wave of AI at scale across MENA.

Proud to see our Associate Partner Sabah AlKubaisy representing Salience as a speaker at Capacity Middle East, on Buildi...
09/02/2026

Proud to see our Associate Partner Sabah AlKubaisy representing Salience as a speaker at Capacity Middle East, on Building Iraq’s Digital Future.

The discussion highlighted Iraq’s huge potential for digital infrastructure investment, not only as a strategic transit route, but also as a fast-growing consumer of digital services. With strong government backing for AI data centres, the national backbone network, and a clear FTTH strategy, alongside increasing private sector interest, the momentum is real.

Sabah was joined by a panel of industry leaders, including Antonia Maier (EBRD), Blanca Fernández Cavalheiro (PwC Middle East), Ahmed Maher (Horizon Scope Technologies) and Homere Debs (Uptime Institute).

The session explored how the state-owned backbone network is enabling greater fibre deployment, how international investors are assessing opportunities in Iraq, and what will be required to unlock large-scale data centre development across the country.

Great insights, timely conversations, and an encouraging outlook for Iraq’s digital future.

At Salience, we bring together people who turn ambition into impact across borders and industries.Yusuf Kamal, Consultan...
09/02/2026

At Salience, we bring together people who turn ambition into impact across borders and industries.

Yusuf Kamal, Consultant and Project Manager in our Saudi office, has been with Salience for nearly 10 years. He shares what it’s like to be part of a global team shaping digital transformation across both emerging and developed markets.

“What motivates me professionally is taking complexity, stakeholders, constraints, timelines, trade-offs, and turning it into clarity: a plan the client can act on with confidence.”

It’s this mindset that helps us deliver impact where it matters most.

Salience supported the ECOWAS Commission during a three-day Validation Workshop for the Draft Final Report of the ECOWAS...
06/02/2026

Salience supported the ECOWAS Commission during a three-day Validation Workshop for the Draft Final Report of the ECOWAS Roaming Study, held in Accra, Ghana. The workshop brought together National Regulatory Authorities (NRAs), WATRA, regional institutions, operators and technical experts to review and validate proposed revisions to the ECOWAS roaming regulation.

Discussions focused on key commercial, technical and regulatory challenges affecting the sustainability of regional roaming, including pricing structures, inbound roaming cost recovery, fair use policy, integrity and anti-fraud safeguards, and implementation, monitoring and governance arrangements.

The workshop helped build regional consensus around strengthening the ECOWAS roaming framework while preserving consumer protection and regulatory flexibility. Participants reviewed revised pricing approaches and implementation options, drawing on regional experience and existing bilateral arrangements.

The outcomes of the workshop will inform the finalization of the regulation, supporting guidelines and monitoring templates by the ECOWAS Commission, in coordination with national regulatory authorities and regional stakeholders.

Salience thanks the ECOWAS Commission, WATRA, NRAs and all participants for their constructive engagement. The workshop marks an important step toward a more transparent, sustainable and consumer-friendly roaming framework for the ECOWAS region.

Following the completion of comprehensive research and analysis, supported by detailed mapping, technical assessments, a...
05/02/2026

Following the completion of comprehensive research and analysis, supported by detailed mapping, technical assessments, and extensive stakeholder engagement, Salience played a central role in translating data and inputs into actionable insights. This work enabled the accurate identification of key locations for the Antarctic site visit and ensured that technical decisions were firmly grounded in operational and stakeholder realities.

The on-site visit to Antarctica began on January 22nd, 2026, bringing together a multidisciplinary team of experts from Consortium partner Pioneer Consulting and client Subtel Chile for a mission lasting approximately 20 days. This visit is an important milestone as the Chile Antarctic Submarine Cable Project enters its final stage of implementation.

Beyond its technical scope, the site visit proved to be a highly successful exercise in collaboration and relationship-building with the Antarctic bases. The combination of on-site expertise, shared problem-solving, and first-hand operational experience, supported by Salience Consulting’s analytical and strategic inputs, will be instrumental in strengthening the project’s final deliverables and long-term outcomes.

Stay tuned for greater connectivity and long-term impact.

As telecom networks shift to all-IP and software-defined architectures, the security perimeter has expanded far beyond t...
04/02/2026

As telecom networks shift to all-IP and software-defined architectures, the security perimeter has expanded far beyond the core. Customer Premises Equipment (CPE) is no longer just a termination point, it’s the network edge and a prime attack target.

Outdated hardware, slow firmware updates, and underestimated devices like home gateways and set-top boxes are creating real operational, regulatory, and reputational risks for operators. But this challenge also opens the door to differentiation: stronger CPE lifecycle management, proactive threat detection, and security-as-a-service can turn risk into competitive advantage.

Read the full blog to explore key vulnerabilities, real-world examples, and how operators can secure the edge and their future.

🔗 https://lnkd.in/dRyuFkuZ

Our colleague Ben Roberts, Associate Partner and Technology & Innovation Strategy Expert at Salience, participated as a ...
03/02/2026

Our colleague Ben Roberts, Associate Partner and Technology & Innovation Strategy Expert at Salience, participated as a speaker at the International Submarine Cable Resilience Summit 2026, during the Investment Breakfast side event focused on East & Southern Africa.

The session brought together multilateral development banks, investors, governments, and private-sector leaders to explore how subsea cable investments can strengthen digital resilience and expand connectivity in underserved regions.

Drawing on his work with Giga and UNICEF, Ben highlighted innovative approaches to leveraging subsea cable infrastructure, utilizing excess capacity to connect schools and advancing collaboration across public and private stakeholders.

A big thank you to the organizers and panelists for a rich and forward-looking discussion on building more resilient and inclusive digital infrastructure.

Our Managing Partner, Ivan Skenderoski, along with Macedonians who live and work in the United Arab Emirates, met with t...
03/02/2026

Our Managing Partner, Ivan Skenderoski, along with Macedonians who live and work in the United Arab Emirates, met with the Macedonian president, Gordana Siljanovska Davkova, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Timco Mucunski who were visiting Dubai to participate in the World Governments Summit 2026.

Salience was founded in Dubai in 2010 and opened its Macedonian office branch in 2015 with the aim of harnessing the potential of Macedonian experts and analysts for its global digital consulting projects. Employees rotation program provides exchange of knowledge workers between the two offices as well as the other locations including Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and Kenya.

During the discussions, some highlights were mentioned such as easing the UAE visa for Macedonian citizens as well as some of the challenges the company is facing in employing foreign skilled labor in Macedonia.

According to our latest whiteper, physical customer proximity remains one of the telecom industry’s most defensible and...
02/02/2026

According to our latest whiteper, physical customer proximity remains one of the telecom industry’s most defensible and underutilized strategic assets.

To complement the themes explored in 𝘖𝘸𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘌𝘥𝘨𝘦, Telecom Review spoke with Hernan Munoz, author of the white paper and Principal Consultant and Head of Technology Practice (MEA) at Salience Consulting, to gain his perspective on hyperscaler partnerships, proximity monetization, and hybrid terrestrial satellite connectivity.

Read the full article: https://telecomreview.com/articles/exclusive-interviews/28228-how-telecom-operators-can-own-the-edge-in-the-age-of-hyperscalers-and-satellites/

Panama just hosted the largest regional economic gathering in recent years. The CAF International Economic Forum 2026 br...
02/02/2026

Panama just hosted the largest regional economic gathering in recent years. The CAF International Economic Forum 2026 brought together 6,500 leaders from 70 countries, 7 heads of state, 250 panelists and over 400 bilateral meetings. A message rang loud and clear: digital infrastructure will define which nations lead the coming decades.

Representing Salience, our Business Development LATAM lead Juan Pablo Lefian Salinas, shared insights with leaders such as former President Eduardo Frei of Chile, ministers, deputy ministers and senior CAF executives in conversations where connectivity moved beyond a technical topic to become a matter of regional sovereignty.

Michio Kaku put it plainly: "The next great transformation of humanity will be quantum. But cyberspace allows any country to participate. Latin America has a place in this transformation."

We are already working to make that happen.

Salience Consulting has delivered over 150 projects across the Middle East, Africa, Europe and Asia. Today we bring that global expertise to Latin America, where we have been working for over a year deploying multidisciplinary teams of economists, lawyers, engineers, environmental specialists and local experts from multiple countries. Our strength: customizing methodologies and supporting technically complex and geopolitically strategic projects.

A case in point is our work alongside Pioneer Management Consulting, Subtel Chile and CAF on the feasibility study for the Antarctic Cable, over 1,000 km of fiber optic where Chile leads as the gateway to Antarctica, connecting countries with Antarctic presence such as Brazil, Argentina, Ecuador, Peru and Uruguay. A comprehensive study spanning the technical, regulatory, financial, economic, environmental, geostrategic and governance dimensions of one of the most ambitious connectivity projects in the Southern Hemisphere.

Latin America is Salience's strategic growth priority. We bring our global experience to strengthen the region's digital sovereignty.

We don't just recommend what to do, we help make it happen.

Africa’s telecom market is evolving rapidly, by late 2025, 53 operators across 29 African countries had launched commerc...
30/01/2026

Africa’s telecom market is evolving rapidly, by late 2025, 53 operators across 29 African countries had launched commercial 5G services.

However, the strong investment into infrastructure hasn’t been reflected in the adoption by the consumers for many reasons:

Pricing and Affordability:
1. The cost of an entry level smartphones is still too expensive. If we look at the income in Sub-Saharan Africa of the lowest 2 deciles, an entry level smartphone can cost approximately 85-90% of monthly income, making basic internet access financially unviable.

2. Some African countries such as Nigeria, Ghana, Botswana, Namibia, and South Africa now have cheap, high speed mobile broadband which ranks highly compared to other countries globally, for example a package containing at least 140 mins and 2GB of data costs around 1.3% of GNI per capita in Namibia. However, this doesn’t portray an accurate image for the continent, in low income, landlocked countries access to the internet remains excessively high, due to limited backbone infrastructure, the reliance on cross border fiber routes, and high energy costs.

Adoption:
1. Despite the rapid rollout of 5G and the increasing coverage of 4G, which combined covers 75% of the population in Africa, adoption remains relatively low. There are only 56 active mobile broadband subscriptions per 100 inhabitants of which approximately 2 are 5G active mobile broadband subscriptions.

The evolution of Telecoms in Africa in 2025 has shown that improving infrastructure doesn’t equal inclusion. The progress will reflect the investment when the pricing strategies reflect the affordability for the consumers. Policy makers and regulatory bodies can enable this growth through spectrum reforms, competition frameworks and tax policies, which will unlock true digital participation for the continent.

What do you think is the real barrier to digital inclusion in Africa? Share your perspective in the comments.

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Mazaya Business Avenue AA1 Plot No:E-PH2-AA1 Jumeirah Lakes Towers
Dubai
JLT

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