AI Learning Accelerates in MENA: Coursera Adds Over 900 GenAI Courses and Tools

Coursera, Inc ., a leading global online learning platform, is celebrating AI Appreciation Day by announcing an expanded range of AI-focused Professional Certificates, courses, and Specializations from leading industry and university partners. With this launch, Coursera’s Generative AI (GenAI) catalog now includes over 925 courses designed to equip learners worldwide with essential AI skills.

As automation accelerates and industries transform, the need for reskilling has never been more pressing. With 46% of on-the-job skills expected to change by 2030, compared to 39% globally, the region is seeing one of the world’s most pronounced rates of skills transformation, underscoring the critical importance of equipping workers with new, in-demand capabilities.

In the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, GenAI enrollments on Coursera have surpassed 500,000, with one enrollment every two minutes in 2025. Learners in the UAE and Saudi Arabia have each surpassed 100,000 enrollments, averaging one new enrollment every nine minutes. Since ChatGPT’s launch less than three years ago, learners in MENA have spent nearly half a million learning hours on Coursera developing GenAI skills, equivalent to over 53 years of learning.

While overall demand is strong, 80% of GenAI course enrollments in the region are at the beginner level, highlighting the need to build more advanced skills. Demand spans generations, with millennials leading at 60% of enrollments, followed by Gen X (21%), Gen Z (18%), and Boomers (1%). However, gender disparities remain, with women making up only 25% of GenAI enrollments in MENA, signaling a clear need for targeted initiatives to foster more inclusive participation.

Coursera has also been at the forefront of integrating AI to transform learning experiences and expand access. The company’s GenAI-powered tools include Coursera Coach, a personal tutor powered by LLMs, helping learners with questions, feedback, and summaries, as well as career advice. Coursera data shows that learners using Coach are 9.5% more likely to pass quizzes on the first attempt and complete 11.6% more items per learning hour. Learners in MENA have actively engaged with Coursera Coach, with 175K learners exchanging nearly 240K messages.

Furthermore, to break language barriers and boost inclusivity, Coursera has leveraged AI to translate more than 5,500 courses and 65 Professional Certificates into 26 languages, including Arabic and French. This has helped engage over 120,000 learners in MENA, driving more than 400,000 enrollments in translated content, with learners in Saudi Arabia ranking among the top three globally for engagement with these courses.

“Across the Middle East and North Africa, learners are embracing GenAI education at a remarkable pace to meet the changing demands of industries and workplaces. On AI Appreciation Day, we’re reaffirming our commitment to support the region’s learners as they build the skills shaping the future. Through collaboration with industry leaders, we’re expanding access to world-class AI learning and creating personalized, inclusive AI-powered pathways.”

–Kais Zribi, General Manager for the Middle East and Africa, Coursera.

The new AI-focused offerings announced today on Coursera include:

Seven Professional Certificates from AWS, Microsoft, Google Cloud, IBM, and Snowflake

Two new certificates from AWS

• AWS Generative AI Applications: Create AI solutions for real business problems with AWS tools, like Bedrock and Partyrock. No tech background needed.
• AWS Generative AI for Developers: Build, deploy, and optimize GenAI apps, agents, and knowledge bases using Amazon Bedrock.

Two new certificates from Microsoft

• Microsoft AI Product Manager: Gain the key skills, from market research and UX to product strategy and lifecycle management.
• Microsoft 365 with Generative AI: Boost productivity with Copilot by generating data insights, smarter designs, and streamlined communications.

Google Cloud Generative AI Leader: Go beyond the basics, and learn to transform organizations with GenAI workflows and AI agents.

IBM RAG and Agentic AI: Advance your AI career by developing RAG, multimodal, and agentic apps with the latest tools, including LangChain and CrewAI.

Snowflake Generative AI: Use Snowflake and Streamlit to create and fine-tune GenAI apps that unlock real-time data insights with RAG.

New courses and Specializations from DeepLeaning.AI, IBM, Vanderbilt University, and more

• Retrieval Augmented Generation (DeepLearning.AI)
• Four job-specific GenAI Specializations (IBM): Generative AI for HR Professionals; Generative AI for Product Owners; Generative AI for Growth Marketing; Generative AI for Java and Spring Developers
• AI Agents in Java with Generative AI Specialization (Vanderbilt University)
• AI in Financial Services: Foundations through future trends Specialization (Saïd Business School, University of Oxford)
• Generative AI Strategic Leader Specialization (Vanderbilt University)
• Generative AI & Governmental Financial Reporting (Rutgers University)