Case Study: Can Artificial Intelligence Solve the Food and Energy Crises in the Global South?

In Uganda, smartphone applications powered by artificial intelligence use computer vision to analyze leaf images for diagnosing plant diseases. This technology enables farmers to take corrective action before outbreaks spread, significantly reducing yield losses and increasing crop resilience by 25%. 2. AI in Food Distribution: Reducing Post-Harvest Losses Artificial intelligence is transforming not only food production but also supply chains—optimizing logistics to minimize losses and ensure efficient delivery of food to consumers. Kenya’s Twiga Foods leverages AI-driven logistics to directly connect smallholder farmers with urban retailers. By optimizing supply routes and forecasting market demand, the company reduced post-harvest losses from 30% to just 4%. Governments and humanitarian organizations worldwide are deploying machine learning models to predict food shortages up to 30 days in advance, enabling proactive interventions in food-insecure regions. Integrating AI into agriculture and food distribution has yielded major progress in optimizing logistics, minimizing waste, and improving food accessibility. For example, Twiga Foods in Kenya successfully implemented an AI-powered logistics system to streamline its supply chain, enabling direct linkages between smallholder farmers and retailers. Similarly, in India, AI-driven predictive models help manage grain inventories, ensuring efficient distribution and reducing spoilage. These case studies underscore that AI integration is not merely a technological innovation—but a practical solution to urgent food security challenges across the Global South. Through such advances, we can enhance agriculture’s resilience to climate change while ensuring food reaches those who need it most. Energy Security: The Role of AI in Sustainable Power Solutions 1. AI for Renewable Energy Optimization As economies in the Global South grow, energy demand surges. Yet dependence on fossil fuels is unsustainable. AI accelerates the transition to renewables by forecasting and optimizing solar and wind power generation. Atlas AI and ENGIE Energy Access employ machine learning models to identify off-grid communities where renewable microgrids can be deployed most effectively. In India, AI-powered predictive maintenance at solar farms has reduced downtime and improved energy efficiency by 15%, ensuring stable electricity supply. 2. AI in Smart Grids: Reducing Energy Waste In developing countries, energy losses due to inefficiency and theft remain a major challenge. AI-enabled smart grids and predictive analytics now help utilities curb these losses. In Bihar, India, an AI-powered fraud detection system identified 136 cases of electricity theft within one month—reducing non-technical losses that previously drained utility resources. AI-powered microgrids in rural Africa use real-time demand forecasting to balance energy distribution, ensuring efficient utilization of stored solar energy and avoiding unnecessary waste. The emergence of AI marks the dawn of self-regulating energy systems—systems capable of enhancing both the accessibility and affordability of clean energy, thereby paving the way for sustainable industrialization.

[Fortune Global 500] ENGIE Group in Bahrain and Kuwait: A Strategic Pivot After Thirty Years of Deep Engagement

This project is Kuwait’s first independent power and water facility. With a total investment of USD 1.7 billion, it has a generating capacity of 1.5 GW—meeting 10% of Kuwait’s peak electricity demand—and produces 486,000 cubic meters of desalinated water per day, accounting for 20% of the country’s freshwater supply. Al Zour North Power Plant location; image date: March 5, 2026 The project is operated by Shamal Azzour Al-Oula KSC, with 40% equity held by a private consortium (ENGIE, Sumitomo Corporation, and A.H. Al Sagar & Brothers) and 60% by the Government of Kuwait. ENGIE holds a 17.5% stake in the consortium and owns 50% of the operations and maintenance (O&M) company. The plant achieved full commercial operation on November 29, 2016, under a 40-year power and water purchase agreement signed with Kuwait’s Ministry of Electricity and Water. As the first phase of the five-phase Az Zour master plan (total planned capacity: 4.8 GW; daily desalination capacity: ~1.27 million m³), its strategic significance is evident. III. Strategic Divestment in 2025 In February 2025, ENGIE signed an agreement with ACWA Power to sell its entire portfolio of assets in Bahrain and Kuwait for USD 693 million; the transaction closed in December 2025. The divested assets comprise 4.6 GW of power generation capacity and 1.11 million m³/day of desalination capacity. The primary driver was ENGIE’s Net Zero 2045 strategy. Turki AlShehri, ENGIE’s Middle East Regional Vice President, stated the sale resulted from a ‘global directive to progressively exit traditional fossil-fuel assets.’ ENGIE declared it would ‘no longer pursue fossil-fuel power plants designed for continuous operation.’ ACWA Power was selected as the buyer due to strategic complementarity: ACWA continues expanding its conventional power and water infrastructure portfolio, whereas ENGIE focuses on net-zero transition. Upon acquisition, ACWA Power becomes Bahrain’s largest power producer and gains entry into the Kuwaiti market. This divestment is not a withdrawal from the Gulf region—but rather a shift from being a ‘heavy-asset owner’ to becoming a ‘clean-energy solutions provider.’ IV. ENGIE’s Next Chapter in the Middle East Following its exit from Bahrain and Kuwait, ENGIE remains active in the Middle East. According to MEED’s 2025 ranking, ENGIE retains the second-largest regional operational capacity at 6,460 MW. Its focus is shifting decisively toward renewables. In 2025, ENGIE partnered with Masdar to win the 1.5 GW Khazna photovoltaic project in Abu Dhabi. It still holds gas-fired power assets—including the Fadhili plant—in Saudi Arabia, and maintains ongoing operations in Oman and Qatar. Khazna PV Project; image source: ENGIE MIDDLE EAST As ENGIE exits Bahrain and Kuwait—and as its legacy fossil-fuel era winds down across the UAE and Saudi Arabia—its old identity in these countries is gradually fading. Meanwhile, a new role is emerging, aligned with the clean-energy era. Conclusion For over three decades in Bahrain and Kuwait, ENGIE employed a model centered on taking minority equity stakes, securing long-term contracts, and managing operations itself. The 40-year power purchase agreement (PPA) for Az Zour North, along with long-term contracts for Al Dur and Al Ezzel, all exemplify this approach.

Engie Expands India Presence with Renewable and Battery Development

1 day ago

Engie plans to increase its renewable and battery capacity in India to 7 GW by 2030, capitalizing on market reforms and the nation's clean energy investment goals.

reuters

2026-10-29

Engie Expands India Presence with Renewable and Battery Development

Engie Expands India Presence with Renewable and Battery Development

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