The Cultural Development Fund (CDF) has announced the launch of the Film Sector Financing Program, with a portfolio of SAR879 million. The program is an initiative of the IGNITE Digital Content Program.The announcement took place at the Ignite the Scene event, organized in Riyadh by the Saudi Ministry of Communications and Information Technology. The program is open to local and international companies working in the Saudi film sector. It aims to foster a sustainable and thriving Saudi film industry by empowering the private sector with financing packages that support local content and promote filmmaking. These packages are especially geared toward small and medium enterprises in this emerging sector, which is increasingly garnering interest from local and international investors and film enthusiasts.“We are excited to announce that we have partnered with strategic financial institutions across the country to provide companies working in the film sector with the financial solutions to shore up the film sector, establish financial sustainability for film projects, and enable healthy market dynamics,” said Mohammed Bindayel, Chief Executive Officer at CDF. “We invite all financial and investment institutions to join this mission to build and empower this emerging sector.”Bindayel added that the program will activate two funding vehicles “lending” and “investment”. During the event, CDF launched the “lending” vehicle by signing two agreements with its financial partners “Lendo” and “Sukuk Capital” to provide financing packages to companies working in the Saudi film sector. The “investment” vehicle will be launched later this year.The program was created in response to the growing interest in film sector in the Kingdom. Companies working in the film sector can get funds for their projects by applying through CDF website https://cdf.gov.sa/film.The Cultural Development Fund was founded in 2021 with the aim of further enhancing the cultural landscape within Saudi Arabia. Organizationally linked to the National Development Fund, the Fund was established as part of the Quality of Life Program's initiatives to promote the development of a self-reliant cultural sector and empower. The Fund actively supports a variety of cultural activities, facilitates investment, and seeks to improve the domestic culture sector's profitability aligning with Saudi Vision 2030.

Cloudflare, Inc., the security, performance, and reliability company helping to build a better Internet, today announced it is entering the fraud detection market to help businesses quickly identify and stop online fraud–including fraudulent transactions, fake account signups, account takeover attacks, and carding attacks–before it impacts their brand or their bottom line. Powered by sophisticated machine learning models and global threat intelligence, Cloudflare is developing Cloudflare Fraud Detection to quickly stop account and payment fraud while also blocking the bots and humans behind it – automatically, and at global scale.Digital fraud threats are ever evolving, highly targeted, and can be committed by both humans and bots. According to PWC’s Global Economic Crime and Fraud Survey, more than half of companies with at least $10 billion in revenue experienced some sort of digital fraud in the last two years–the highest level in decades. Today, businesses often employ resource-heavy teams or rely on multiple vendors to help fight fraud. However, both options can hinder the speed and experience of a customers' transaction. What's more, they inherently lack access to robust threat intelligence, making it harder for businesses to understand if fraud is coming from a bot or a human, and then stop it in real-time. As attacks increase in volume and attackers evolve their tactics, businesses need a faster, more comprehensive way to stop attacks the moment they are detected.“Customers have long trusted us to help protect them online, and now we’re taking that even further by tackling online fraud,” said Matthew Prince, co-founder and CEO of Cloudflare. “With our massive global network, we can see more, and secure more. We believe we can use our network to stop online fraud faster than anyone else–so business leaders will no longer be kept up at night worrying that online fraud will hurt their brand, their customers’ experience, or their revenue.”Cloudflare’s global network spans more than 285 cities in over 100 countries to power millions of websites, APIs, and mobile applications–including major online retailers, global financial institutions and payment providers. That will allow Cloudflare to develop real-time advanced detection models that provide greater insights into online fraud threats, and run those models in near-real time to stop threats without any impact on performance. Cloudflare Fraud Detection will first synthesize different threat activity it sees across the globe and across many different Cloudflare products. For example, Cloudflare Fraud Detection will combine insights from Cloudflare's cloud email security–like phishing attacks–with information about emerging attacks from the Cloudforce One threat intelligence team to determine if a new user signup may be fake. Cloudflare Fraud Detection will then help businesses act immediately–such as to block fraudulent transactions in real time–because its machine learning platform runs across the entire Cloudflare network instantaneously. These architectural advantages will enable businesses to quickly and automatically block new threats that emerge–often before a single fraudulent transaction can be processed.With Cloudflare Fraud Detection, businesses will have a consolidated fraud management solution with several threat-specific detection capabilities to:Stop bots at global scale: With Cloudflare’s existing expertise in bot management, businesses will be able to automatically block malicious bot traffic–no human intervention needed.Safeguard brand reputation and consumer trust: Brands should not have to choose between a seamless customer experience and security. Cloudflare will help prevent attackers from creating fake accounts, without adding complexity or extra steps to the customer journey.Protect consumers even if they’ve fallen victim to a past breach: Credential stuffing attacks take advantage of people using the same password across multiple websites by using login credentials that have been breached from one site to try to gain access to other websites’ accounts. With Cloudflare Fraud Detection, brands will be able to detect and stop these attacks.Prevent the use of stolen credit cards: Hackers increasingly use large bot networks to exploit stolen credit card information to commit online fraud at massive scale, making purchases before consumers can even notice. Cloudflare Fraud Detection will have built-in detection capabilities to identify and stop these botnets.

 AmiViz, the Middle East region’s first enterprise B2B marketplace recently celebrated its success by recognizing and awarding its channel partners for their efforts and achievements at AmiViz Partner Excellence Awards 2023.This year the company decided to go local and conducted AmiViz Partner Excellence Awards at three locations; Dubai, Riyadh, and Cairo to cover the entire Middle East region. The awards were presented at a glittering ceremony in each of these cities to recognize the importance and contribution of partners that have been driving the marketplace toward new heights.During the course of awards, AmiViz updated partners about its roadmap for new technologies and products. The company also shared the new key features of its marketplace, and how it benefit partners.Ilyas Mohammed, COO at AmiViz said “No business can be successful without the support and loyalty of their partners, and to acknowledge, the role partners play in our growth, we wanted to value their contribution and extend our gratitude by recognizing their efforts with an award.”“We appreciate all our partners for embracing AmiViz B2B platform and working with us. I take this opportunity to once again congratulate all the award winners for their contribution and look forward to seeing them next year with a new set of awards” Ilyas added.

Urban Company is APAC, and Middle East’s largest home services company. Bhavya Sharma, Director- Communications & ESG, Urban Company, talks about the growing importance of gig workers for companies and the economy, the challenges, as well as the importance of their skilling and training.As per a NITI Aayog Report in 2022, the proportion of gig workers among the total workforce rose from 0.54% in 2011-12 to 1.33% in 2019-20 and will have an estimated 2.35 crore people employed as gig workers by 2029-30. This exponential rise is attributed to several reasons such as increased Internet penetration, rising demand for flexible work, a young employable population, and a need to improve livelihood. Excerpts from the interview:What are the challenges with employing a gig workforce?One of the biggest challenges in building a services marketplace is having a skilled workforce. Despite the presence of a strong informal services and contract labour sector in India, less than 5% of the workforce is formally skilled, compared to 75% in Germany and 96% in South Korea. As a result, skilling, reskilling, and upskilling the country’s youth, to make them employable is critical.The other big challenge is matching the availability of service professionals and consumer demand. A strong technology backbone is necessary to ensure sync between demand and supply, especially during peak times. Through technology, key aspects (such as pricing, availability optimisation, professional assignment optimisation, and incentives) smoothen out mismatch and offer a competitive advantage.What are the initiatives and programs that Urban Company has introduced for its partners?Urban Company has always invested in the growth and development of its service professionals. We have identified and work towards the following four partner enablement pillars:Improved earnings: As per our recently published Urban Company Earnings Index, in Q4 FY 2022, partners who delivered at least 30 orders a month, earned about INR 31,000 per month, with the top 20% earning over INR 40,000 per month. Further, according to the findings of PGA Labs’ Earnings Benchmarking Study, Urban Company partners earn at least 60% higher net monthly earnings than their offline counterparts while working for considerably fewer hours (almost 50% less).Training & upskilling: One of our largest areas of investment is training and upskilling of our service professionals. We train the service professionals on both technical and soft skills through our physical and digital training infrastructure. The training programs range from 4 days to 45 days, depending on the candidate’s skill level and profession chosen. Upon successful completion of the training and clearing of the final assessment, service professionals also get Skill India certificates.Since 2014, the company has invested more than INR 150 crores in through a network of over 100 training centers pan India, and an in-house team of 200+ full time trainers.Safety net: Urban Company also offers a safety net to its partners in the form of insurance and access to financial support. All active partners on the UC platform in India are covered under a comprehensive health insurance plan of up to Rs 2 lakhs and 12 free medical consultations for self and family, whichever is applicable. They also have access to the Group Life and Accidental Insurance cover. Some of the key aspects covered under the policy are life insurance (Rs 6 lakh), disability cover (Rs 6 lakh), accidental hospitalisation (Rs 70,000), accidental OPD treatment (Rs 10,000), among others.Wealth creation: To ensure that our service professionals also benefit from the growth of the platform, in 2022, we announced an industry-first Partner Stock Ownership Program (PSOP). Under this plan, we have so far granted stocks worth more than Rs 5.2 crore to about 500 partners.Overall, these initiatives demonstrate our commitment to the well-being and professional growth of our service professionals. A strong testament to Urban Company’s commitment towards partner development has been our ranking in the recently launched Fairwork India Ratings, where Urban Company scored the highest among industry peers on the principles of fair pay, fair conditions, fair contracts, and fair management.Please throw light on your partnerships with NSDC, PSOP program, and the vast network of training centers?In 2022, we further strengthened our partnership with NSDC on training, financing and promotion of skill-based services in India. Under this partnership, all Urban Company service professionals will be provided co-branded QR-coded digital certificates upon successful completion of the training and clearing of final assessment. By virtue of this partnership, all service professionals will also become members of the Skill India portal (SIP). Further, these certificates will be available on both the NSDC’s Skill India portal and the Urban Company app, enabling customers to view details of the professional delivering the service.In 2022, Urban Company announced an industry-first Partner Stock Ownership Program (PSOP). We have set up a fair and meritocratic process for awarding these shares, considering the performance of service partners and their longevity on the platform. The entire process is rule-based and transparent, with an advisory panel providing complete guidance.Under this plan, we have so far granted stocks worth more than Rs 5.2 crore to about 500 partners. In order to build a diverse and inclusive partner ecosystem, of these 500 recipients, 30% are female partners from the Beauty & Wellness vertical. Further, among the cities, Bangalore had the most number of partner shareholders at 26%, followed by Delhi NCR (22%), Mumbai and Pune (together accounting for 16%) and Hyderabad (15%).What is special about Urban Company’s Cleaning Training Programme?Cleaning services is one of the most booked services on the Urban Company platform. This vertical has received so much customer love because of the experience we deliver on the back of a solid training program. We have a unique training program that covers everything – from technical aspects pertaining to stains and chemicals to grooming and soft skills. Our training centers have mock setups of kitchens, bathrooms, living rooms that allow service professionals to get practical training before they go live on the platform.What is special about Urban Company’s health insurance for partners, loans, etc.?The company also provides health insurance coverage up to Rs 600,000, including personal accident insurance, and partners have access to health insurance benefits up to Rs 200,000. The company has launched a comprehensive health insurance policy in partnership with ACKO Insurance that provides coverage of Rs 2 lakh to all UC Plus service partners. Additionally, the platform provides loans to its partners through tie-ups with NBFCs. These loans are small-ticket personal loans typically in the range of Rs 10,000-50,000 and are easily accessible via the app.What is the vision of Urban Company when it comes to upskilling its partner network?Urban Company’s goal is to train and upskill 500,000 service partners by 2030, including at least 200,000 women service partners.How has the pandemic affected your operations and how did you deal with them?The impact of pandemic on business operations was limited to the early stages of the pandemic due to lockdowns and other restrictions. However, since then, our business has only scaled higher.We expanded our geographic footprint from about 20 cities to 55+ in total. We also introduced new services such as haircuts for men and women, nail art services, laser hair reduction for women and more.

The ftNFT Phygital Space is holding the Grand Opening ceremony on March 16th in Dubai Mall. After which, it is hosting the International NFT Awards during a Gala Dinner at Armani Hotel.The ftNFT Phygital Space is the second shop opened by ftNFT, following the grand success of their first-ever phygital shop at the Mall of the Emirates. Providing an immersive virtual experience, the shop holds a massive gallery with various forms of art being portrayed for all visitors to see. The Grand Opening is taking place on March 16th, and after the initial ceremony, ftNFT will hold a Gala Dinner at Armani Hotel, hosted by the esteemed magician, Luca Gallone. During the dinner, ftNFT will be presenting the very first International NFT Awards in the UAE. Several accomplished NFT artists, influencers, foundations and brands will be presented throughout the event to celebrate their achievements. Some of the many nominees for the awards are: the Al Jalila Foundation, Jetex, Huawei and Dubai Police.It is worth mentioning that ftNFT unveiled its first ftNFT Phygital Space franchise in Yas Mall in Abu Dhabi. This is the debut to an annual NFT Awards ceremony that ftNFT will be hosting moving forward, endeavouring to commemorate all aspects of the NFT industry and beyond.

Snap Inc. has unveiled a new feature in Family Center that will enable parents to set limits on the type of content their teens can consume on Snapchat. Family Center was launched last year to support positive parental control and a safer digital future.The feature will also allow teens to notify their parents when they report an account or a piece of content to Snap's Trust and Safety team. This is coupled with the publishing of Snapchat’s new eligibility Content Guidelines, all of which seek to make Snapchat a better, safer place for Snapchatters.On Snapchat, there are two places where content can potentially reach a large audience: Stories is Snapchat’s content platform, where content creators, Snap Stars, and media partners provide trusted news, entertainment, sports and other genres. Stories is not an open platform – and creators and partners must abide by content editorial guidelines.Spotlight is Snapchat’s entertainment platform, where Snapchatters can watch fun and creative content created by members of the community.Family Center aims to offer parents the tools to gain insight into who their teens are communicating with, in a way that simultaneously respects their teens’ autonomy. Snap will continue to roll out additional tools over time to help make Family Center more customized to the needs of individual teens as well as their parents.Georg Wolfart, Head of Policy at Snap said, “From the start, Snapchat was designed to be different. As opposed to traditional social media platforms, Snapchat was made to provide a private, positive and safe platform to interact, which includes what content is consumed. This is why Family Center was made to ensure both privacy and safety. In our recently published whitepaper with PwC and RLC, Snapchat was ranked the #1 happiest platform when compared to other apps. Snapchat provides a non-judgemental platform to enhance real relationships with the people and things you love. We are deliberate about the type of content we allow on our platform, and our policies are designed to uphold these standards.”Snapchat reaches more than 90% of 13-to 34-year-olds in the Kingdom and 71% of parents. As countries in the MENA region continue to adopt emerging technologies, it is imperative that safe online spaces for the region’s youth are prioritized. In recent years, the UAE has emphasized the need to enhance digital well-being, providing a safe environment for everyone, but especially teens and children. Snapchat realizes its responsibility towards its users and the wider community and is dedicated to remaining a safe, fun, and curated platform.

Hoko Agency Middle East, a leading luxury agency and event creator in the sport, entertainment, blockchain and technology industries, has announced a new partnership deal with Alfa Romeo F1 Team Stake, which will see Hoko Agency represent the Formula 1 team as one of its sponsorship agencies. As a leading global entity with strong ties to the UAE in particular, Hoko Agency will represent Alfa Romeo F1 Team Stake across the world, with a particular focus on the Middle East and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.The newly announced collaboration extends Hoko Agency's existing relationships with the world of Formula 1 - the agency's portfolio includes multiple deals with teams and individual drivers within the sport. Working with Alfa Romeo F1 Team Stake brings a new level of depth to Hoko Agency's strong sporting associations.To further support the partnership with Alfa Romeo F1 Team Stake, Hoko Agency has also announced that it will open a new office in Saudi Arabia's capital city, Riyadh. The latest office joins the agency's global network, which includes offices in Dubai and Abu Dhabi in the UAE, and Singapore. Launching a Riyadh office will allow Hoko Agency to further support the aims and goals of its agreements with Alfa Romeo F1 Team Stake, as well as strengthening the agency's presence in the Kingdom during an exciting time of growth and development across the country.Speaking on the announcement, Bally Singh, Founder and Chairman of Hoko Agency, said: "We're thrilled to welcome Alfa Romeo F1 Team Stake into our growing portfolio of partnerships. As a premier team in the sport of Formula1 and a keen pursuer of next generation engagement opportunities - such as the metaverse, Alfa Romeo F1 Team Stake represents an exciting opportunity to branch out and seek innovative collaborations that will establish solid connections for many years."Hoko Agency has built a solid network of partnerships that includes representation from across the range of sectors it focuses on - particularly in the fields of crypto, blockchain, and Web 3.0. Amongst others, its partnerships include leaders such as cryptocurrency exchange OKX, MoneyGram International - a cross-border P2P payments and money transfer company, and Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), an international financial centre and free zone in the UAE's capital.Hoko Agency is committed to building bridges between industries such as entertainment and sports - including Formula 1. This crossover enables Hoko Agency's partners to access and unlock new value, while discovering increasingly popular ways to keep fans and customers engaged across varied channels.Over the past eight years, Hoko Agency has wowed audiences in the UAE with its luxury hospitality offerings during the Abu Dhabi Race Weekend, held each year to coincide with the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Hoko Agency's presence during the Race Weekend has grown consistently over the years, becoming an increasingly compelling proposition for premium guests and international celebrities alike. 

The Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry organized a meeting with the affiliates of Tijara 101, the Small and Medium Enterprises Center, which is one of the Chamber's most significant initiatives. Tijara 101 was launched to support young entrepreneurs and encourage them to participate in the business and economic landscape.The meeting was attended by HE Mohammad Ahmed Amin Al Awadi, Director-General of Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI), as well as Ibrahim Rashid Al Jarwan, Director of SCCI's Economic Relations Department, and Mona Omran Ali, Director of Tijarah 101 Center.During the meeting, the chamber discussed the latest developments related to affiliates’ projects and explored ways to overcome any challenges they may be facing. It also reviewed the services provided to them and discussed opportunities for affiliates to participate in the Chamber's events, trade missions, and exhibitions that are relevant to their business activities. The Sharjah Chamber and Tijara 101 affiliates also explored ways to collaborate and benefit from the SCCI services to further support their projects.Supportive EnvironmentWelcoming the affiliates of Tijarah 101, Al Awadi emphasized that this meeting reflects the Chamber's commitment to maintaining close communication with them and extending continuous support.He further underscored the importance of the center's affiliates in contributing to the strategic initiatives of the Emirate of Sharjah and enhancing its reputation as a key hub for innovative businesses.Additionally, Al Awadi highlighted the Chamber's relentless efforts to create a supportive environment for the affiliates by integrating all its sectors and providing the requisite infrastructure to facilitate the implementation of cutting-edge projects, enhance their capabilities, and address any challenges they may encounter. He added that the Chamber will spare no effort to empower young entrepreneurs passionate about building regional and global brands.Al Awadi lauded the pivotal role played by Tijarah 101; a critical initiative launched by the Sharjah Chamber that receives undivided attention. He spoke highly of the Chamber's steadfast commitment to supporting and encouraging entrepreneurs to establish and expand their businesses by offering commercial offices to the affiliates to help launch their ventures.Al Awadi also urged the center's affiliates to take advantage of the services provided by Expo Centre Sharjah and participate in the events it organizes, in addition to those hosted by the Sharjah International Commercial Arbitration Centre (Tahkeem). Furthermore, he emphasized the Chamber's numerous privileges granted to the affiliates, serving as a vital incentive to facilitate the growth and development of their businesses.At the end of the meeting, the center's affiliates expressed their gratitude and appreciation for the pivotal role played by the Chamber in extending their support and assistance, allowing them to establish their projects successfully. They stressed that Tijarah 101 Center served as an ideal platform to launch their entrepreneurial aspirations, acting as a prominent business incubator that furnished them with invaluable guidance and counsel to navigate their path towards success.

Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) has been recognised as the second most valuable Middle Eastern utilities brand and its brand value has risen by 30%, according to Brand Finance, the world’s leading brand valuation consultancy. HE Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD&CEO of DEWA has been ranked 3rd among the top CEOs in the Middle East as per the Brand Guardianship Index 2023 issued by Brand Finance.Brand Finance notes that leaders who build the most sustainable legacy for their businesses are those who balance the needs of investors, employees, customers, partners, governments, regulators and the media. Brand Finance uses a balanced scorecard of measures that capture the ability of a CEO to act as the guardian of their company's brand and a steward of long-term shareholder value.The Brand Guardianship Index includes three main pillars including 'Equity' factors which reflect current perceptions, 'Performance' factors which reflect the tangible results of these perceptions, and 'Investment' factors which support future performance. These three pillars are informed by various sub-measures. DEWA’s results surpass major European and American utilities in several key performance indicators. Losses from electricity transmission and distribution networks were reduced to 2.2% compared to 6-7% in Europe and the USA. Water network losses were also reduced to 4.5% compared to around 15% in North America. DEWA has achieved a new world record in electricity Customer Minutes Lost (CML) per year. Dubai recorded 1.19 minutes per customer, compared to around 15 minutes recorded by leading utility companies in the European Union.  

Dubai Lynx, MENA’s Festival and Awards for creative excellence in branded communications, has tonight revealed this year’s winners at the live Awards Ceremony. Among the winners were some notable firsts, including Saudi Arabia's first Grand Prix within Mobile, alongside their first Gold in Radio & Audio. The United Arab Emirates received a Silver Lynx within Glass: The Award For Change for the first time. Jordan was awarded within Creative Effectiveness for the first time, taking home a Bronze Lynx.Ian Fairservice, Vice Chairman, Dubai Lynx, said, “After a successful return to a physical event yesterday, I’d like to congratulate our 2023 Dubai Lynx Award winners, for setting the creative benchmark in MENA for a 16th year. It has been fantastic to bring MENA’s creative community together to network, learn and be inspired by the rich mix of speakers and champions for creativity in the region. A huge thank you to all our Jurors for their hard work and expertise in selecting this body of work.”Simon Cook, CEO, LIONS, added, “We can see lots of exciting shifts taking place in the Middle East and North Africa and this year’s winners really showcase the level of excellence coming from the region and the new trends emerging from a ‘post pandemic’ body of work. The deep insights from this year’s work will be explored in the Dubai Lynx Creativity Report, providing the official rankings for this year’s top performing Networks, Agencies and Companies from across the region.”This year’s Grand Prix winners are:Brand Experience and ActivationFrom 177 entries received, 16 were awarded: 2 Gold, 5 Silver, 8 Bronze Lynx Awards and the Grand Prix that went to ‘The Unstainable Thobe’, Heinz, Wunderman Thompson, Dubai, United Arab EmiratesCreative CommerceFrom 44 entries received, 4 were awarded: 2 Silver, 1 Bronze Lynx Awards and the Grand Prix that went to ‘The Hidden Room’, Home Box, Leo Burnett, Dubai, United Arab EmiratesCreative EffectivenessFrom 19 entries received, 4 were awarded: 1 Gold, 1 Silver, 1 Bronze Lynx Awards and the Grand Prix that went to ‘The Elections Edition’, An Nahar Newspaper, Impact BBDO, Dubai, United Arab EmiratesCreative Strategy

Bringing together the journeys of some of the world’s most inspiring female leaders in arts, sports, politics, hospitality, financial services and beyond, Mastercard has unveiled a coffee-table book, ‘Lasting Legacy - Honoring 25 Visionaries to Celebrate 25 Years of Priceless’. Launched during Women’s Month 2023, the book marks the 25th anniversary of Mastercard’s renowned Priceless platform, which has been connecting people to their passions for a quarter of a century.Mastercard is committed to creating a more equitable world for all and this project marks the company’s latest milestone in unlocking opportunities and celebrating the role of women in society. By exploring the role of these trailblazers, the book aims to inspire readers to take action in their own lives and communities to close the gender gap and create a more inclusive future.The legacy piece highlights the journeys and impact of women including Raha Moharrak, Adventurer; Sconaid McGeachin, Director of Communications and Marketing at COP28 UAE & Former Senior Vice President Communications at Expo 2020 Dubai; Ambareen Musa, Founder & CEO of Yabi by Souqalmal; Laila Mostafa Abdullatif, Director General of Emirates Nature-WWF; Nona Gaprindashvili, Chess Legend, and Ola Doudin, Co-founder & CEO of BitOasis, among others.“This book has been a true labor of love for us, and a testament to the women who are driving progress and uplifting communities around the world. It is our hope that the stories in ‘Lasting Legacy’ will encourage readers, regardless of their gender, to pursue their passions and make a positive impact on society, to inspire generations to come,” said Beatrice Cornacchia, Senior Vice President, Marketing and Communications, Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa, Mastercard.“Throughout my journey, I was always surrounded by extremely amazing women from whom I draw inspiration from. Ranging from family, friends to the team that makes Sarah’s Bag. Never underestimate the power of being inspired. It’s the drive behind every remarkable project.” – Sarah Beydoun, Founder & Creative Director of Sarah’s Bag.‘Lasting Legacy - Honoring 25 Visionaries to Celebrate 25 Years of Priceless’ represents the evolution of Mastercard's Priceless platform, which has progressed to reflect the company’s ongoing transformation and the changing world of consumers. As Priceless marks 25 years, Mastercard continues to tap into people’s passions as it enables opportunities for people the world over to pursue their passion and purpose.The book will be available from 14 March 2023, and be available online, across libraries, universities, schools, and on BooksArabia.com.

The FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup is headed back to the United Arab Emirates, after the FIFA Council appointed Dubai as host of next year’s tournament at the 21st FIFA Council meeting held in Doha, Qatar, today.Additionally, the Seychelles is set to host its first-ever FIFA tournament in three years’ time, with the FIFA Council also awarding hosting rights for the 2025 edition of the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup at the meeting in the Middle East.Dubai played host to the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup in 2009 and, 14 years on, the tournament will return to the Arab world for its 12th edition.Subsequently, the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup will arrive in Africa for the first time for edition No. 13. With the Seychelles securing hosting rights for the tournament, a nation from every confederation will have organised the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup in the 20 years since the inaugural tournament in Brazil in 2005.In 2025 the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup is set to be staged in Victoria, on the island of Mahé, surrounded by crystal clear waters and coral reefs.Following today’s FIFA Council meeting in Qatar, FIFA Director of Tournaments, Jaime Yarza, congratulated Dubai, and the Seychelles for being appointed as hosts for the next two FIFA Beach Soccer World Cups.“This is a very exciting moment for Beach Soccer as it is the first time that FIFA has simultaneously appointed hosts for two editions of the tournament,” Yarza said.“We are delighted to go back to the UAE where FIFA hosted one of the best Beach Soccer tournaments in history in 2009.“At the same time, in 2025 the Seychelles will be hosting its first FIFA tournament, which will complete the tour of the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup being hosted in all six confederations.“63 million viewers around the globe watched the last edition of the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup in 2021, with each match securing an average viewership of over 2.2 million viewers. This was an enormous increase compared to the previous edition in 2019, so we are confident that in 2023 and 2025 the focus on, and passion for, Beach Soccer will increase again.”The FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup promises goals galore – in 2021, the tournament recorded an average of 9.4 goals per match, the highest goals per match ratio of any FIFA tournament in history.Key dates and further information regarding the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup in 2023, and 2025, will be released by FIFA in due course.

Royce PLC has appointed John Kelly to the role of President – Middle East, Türkiye and Africa (META), with immediate effect. Previously Kelly spent six years as Senior Vice President, Europe, Middle East and Africa, for the firm’s Civil Aerospace business.Kelly started his career with Rolls-Royce in 2001, joining as a graduate trainee in the Defence business, where he rose to become a senior manager before joining Civil Aerospace.In his new role, Kelly will assume group-wide leadership and representation across the META region for engagement with senior stakeholders in government and industry.Rolls-Royce employs over 300 specialists in the Middle East, including those engaged in engineering and technical roles supporting commercial aviation, industrial and defence customers. It has had a substantial presence in the region for more than 50 years.John Kelly said:“My vision is to ensure Rolls-Royce builds on the solid foundations it has established across the META region and for each of our business units. While we are renowned for excellence in civil aerospace, we will leverage opportunities for all the Rolls-Royce businesses, providing solutions for the region’s major infrastructure projects and industrial customers. Our technology can play a fundamental role in enabling the transition to a low carbon global economy.”With bold ambitions for the future, Kelly is committed to growing partnerships across META which reflect Rolls-Royce’s core engineering and technological innovations. As the region looks towards COP28, set for Dubai later this year, these are anticipated to increasingly focus on sustainable aviation, decarbonisation solutions and the energy transition, all of which are embodied in Rolls-Royce’s net zero commitments.

Hope Ventures, the investment arm of Hope Fund and producers of the entrepreneurship-themed reality television show, Beban, has announced the conclusion of its second season, whereby entrepreneurs pitched for equity investment in front of a panel of regional investors which aired on Bahrain TV, AlRai TV, Dubai TV, and the region’s first and biggest video-on-demand platform, Shahid.Beban was created in alignment with Hope Ventures’ mission of facilitating investment opportunities for promising entrepreneurs with high-potential, scalable businesses alongside strategic investors of the private sector who can accelerate these businesses’ growth into regional and international markets.Through its first and second seasons, the show successfully shed light on a total of 62 entrepreneurs from the Kingdom of Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates and featured 28 investors representing the private sector from Kuwait, the Sultanate of Oman, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and the Kingdom of Bahrain.Beban has also successfully facilitated the co-investment in local and regional opportunities by the public and private sectors alongside one another, with the total investments exceeding USD 6,260,000 raised by 30 businesses.The show saw the provision of over USD 320k worth of perks, courtesy of 21 value-add partners across both seasons, where entrepreneurs gained access to unique business development opportunities in areas where they need the most support, such as marketing and PR, bookkeeping and accounting, and sales, among many others.In addition to access to business perks, Beban participants benefited from the intensive training bootcamp, which was delivered by professionals and industry experts in preparation for their pitching on the show.Beban has continued to grow and reach new arenas throughout both of its seasons, with season 2 being the first television show in the MENA region to be 100% powered by renewable energy through Hope Ventures’ partnership with The Oil and Gas Holding Company B.S.C (closed) (“nogaholding”) and the Electricity and Water Authority (EWA). Another milestone of Beban season 2 was the introduction of ‘Beban Crowdfunding,’ an equity-based crowdfunding platform that allows viewers to invest in-real time in opportunities pitching on the show, making Beban the first interactive reality TV show in the world with an interactive crowdfunding element to it.His Excellency Aymen bin Tawfiq Almoayed, Chairman of Hope Fund, said: “Beban is a regional investment platform that promotes cross-border deal flow, funding and exposure to strategically accelerate the growth of promising businesses by matchmaking them with regional investors who can provide access to their expertise, networks and on-the-ground knowledge to support their expansion beyond local borders.”He added: “As a television show, Beban has left a powerful impact, educating and inspiring the pursuit of entrepreneurship while highlighting that there are no limitations to creativity and innovation once paired with hard work and dedication. Today, after Beban, who is to tell a 16-year-old girl, that she cannot be an entrepreneur, pitch her business on a television show broadcasted on the region’s biggest channels, and successfully fundraise from four strategic investors? Who is to tell a business that persisted in the LogiTech sector that it cannot have a unicorn of the same sector guide it towards international growth? Doors of opportunity are open to all, and our goal of synthesizing hope amongst the community remains to be a key objective.”Fajer Saleh Al Pachachi, General Manager of Hope Ventures, commented: “I am thrilled to be concluding season 2 of Beban with the remarkable results and impact the show has left amongst viewers. At Hope, we commend the entrepreneurs who took part in the show, and our aim remains to facilitate strategic investment opportunities for high-potential, scalable businesses alongside the private sector through Beban. The show’s distinctiveness comes from its multiple offerings that empower entrepreneurs to scale their businesses, be it the opportunity to fundraise, regional exposure, business perks, or alternative funding through Beban’s seamless equity crowdfunding platform ‘Beban Crowdfunding.’ Having concluded season 2, we are excited to welcome the new season’s entrepreneurs and look forward to facilitating more success stories in the MENA region.”Entrepreneurs looking for an opportunity to fundraise to register and participate in the show through the website hopefund.bh/beban, noting that applications close on April 30th.Beban Season 2 acknowledges its sponsors; The Oil and Gas Holding Company (nogaholding), Tamkeen Bahrain, Al Areen Palace & Spa by Accor, TRACCS, BEYON Money, Zain Bahrain, GMI, Ahli United Bank, Kuwait Finance House (Bahrain), The Benefit Company, Amakin, and Al Salam Bank for their affirmed commitment to empowering Bahraini entrepreneurs and accelerating their growth through investment, knowledge, and access to business opportunities.

SEDCO Holding, a leading Saudi investment company, launched Rowad Nomou, a financial management program intended for entrepreneurs in tech and innovation startups, whose businesses have reached a certain level of growth and are looking to acquire the necessary knowledge on how to grow their business further through external funding.The launch was followed by three Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) signings with “Monsha’at”, “Kafalah” and Dulani Business Center during Biban 2023 Forum. The agreements aim to support the nationwide financial literacy awareness and support the Kingdom’s startup ecosystem.Through these partnerships, SEDCO Holding will supply the curated “Rowad Nomou” program, which includes a series of digital videos and tools designed for entrepreneurs and startups. The program will be available on the new Rowad website. SEDCO Holding will also collaborate with the partners to share knowledge, organize financial management workshops, training programs and educational sessions.Commenting on the launch, Mohammed Mosly, Chief Operating Officer of SEDCO Holding, said: “The business environment in Saudi Arabia witnessed a great shift, as Saudi Vision 2030 outlined goals to be achieved in the startup ecosystem front. This includes increasing the contribution of SMEs from 20% to 35% of the country’s GDP, which will positively impact the economy, sustainably develop society, and propel the growth of companies. As such, Rowad program aims to educate entrepreneurs and develop their financial management and planning skills to ensure that they can fulfil their roles of achieving sustainable growth in the Kingdom. To accomplish this, Rowad program aims to support entrepreneurs and startup owners learn how to manage their finances. This will in turn raise the number of successful, locally owned businesses within the Kingdom, aiding Saudi Arabia achieve growth, development, and prosperity.”"Rowad Nomou" program will offer a comprehensive content covering the fundamentals of financial management, financing, financial resources, accounting, profit and loss accounts, balance sheets, cash flow, and Islamic banking services. The program will also tap into types of financing available, the investment preparation process, business and financial models, valuation, due diligence, and investment closure.The program’s modules begin with short introductory videos from inspiring presenters from across the Kingdom’s startup ecosystem – successful founders, investors, legal and financial consultants – sharing key insights and lessons learned from their experiences. Topics are taught through a variety of digital learning components, including diagrams, illustrative animations, and interactive exercises.The program also includes necessary tools that enable the owners of SMEs to overcome challenges in securing financing throughout the various stages of their business and startup’s growth journey, starting from the seed funding to private equity investments.Additionally, a study conducted by “Rowad” program revealed that the difficulties of securing funding and financing, along with the competition in the markets, are among the most critical challenges facing SMEs, which hinders their continuity. It is shown that 79% of companies close their business within the first three years of starting their commercial activity. The study also revealed that most entrepreneurs manage their finances themselves and obtain funding through soft loans or family support, which makes financial awareness programs essential for ensuring business continuity.The newly launched “Rowad Nomou” program follows the success of the “Riyali” financial literacy program, which is a pre-existing program SEDCO Holding launched in 2012.

Robotic solutions provider Mic Robotics has hired Prism Digital, Dubai-based full-service digital marketing company, to design a complete brand-new mobile-first, SEO-friendly website.Mic Robotics is a leading provider of robotic solutions with expertise in the field of indoor robotic solutions providing brand new intelligent delivery robot solutions for customers.The mandate includes creating a sleek new modern website powered by mobile-first technology, offering an enhanced customer experience. The website is custom designed to incorporate product listings and ZOHO enquiries where vendors of Mic Robotics will be able to get all the information they need.The Progressive Web Application (PWA) website, which is driven by mobile-first technology for an enhanced user experience, has recently been launched in the UAE and is now ranking on top Google SERPs for more than thirty keywords for the location. PWA websites function on low-bandwidth networks and offline as well. Websites like IKEA, Facebook, Instagram, and Netflix all make use of the PWA platform.Eason Chen, General Manager, Mic Robotics, said: “In an effort to achieve our company’s vision, we recognized the need for a modern website and increased visibility on search engines. We are extremely happy to partner with Prism Digital, given their massive body of experience and we are really appreciative for the support of the impressive team for the past one year. We look forward to working with them in the future for additional services.”Lovetto Nazareth, Managing Director, Prism Digital, comments: “We are thrilled to be working with Mic Robitics as a respectable and reputed robotic solutions brand. With our 20+ years of experience managing websites, we understand the modern day dynamics of customer demand and look forward to adding strategic value to the company’s vision. The new Mic Robotics website and the strategic search engine optimization services will help Mic Robotics reach out to customers looking for intelligent and automated delivery solutions.”The React JS and Laravel-built website can be used as both a website and a mobile application as it is an open-source MVC framework and custom-built PWA solution that provides brands with flawless Mobile-first user experience and API connects to their preferred ERP and inventory systems. PWA websites enable brands to increase on-site conversions by over 80% by providing an effortless mobile buying experience.

Ezra, the microlending fintech which provides ‘easy and rapid’ credit solutions across Africa and emerging markets, has announced the appointment of Andrew Goodrich as its Chief Risk Officer. This appointment is a key milestone in Ezra’s ambitious expansion strategy to support the financially underserved in emerging economies.Bringing with him more than 30 years’ experience to the role, Andrew will oversee the data engineering, predictive analytics, and credit risk/fraud functions at Ezra, progressing, ensuring business optimisation is achieved through enhanced standardisation and credit risk management governance. In addition, he will be tasked with streamlining efficiencies within these functions across the many markets that Ezra operates.Andrew, who has spent much of his life in South Africa, will be based out of Ezra’s Dubai office. Prior to joining Ezra, Andrew held the position of BankTech Executive at MTN Group, Africa’s largest mobile network operator. During his tenure, Andrew was accountable for defining, establishing and driving the BankTech strategy, a new credit product unicorn vertical within MTN Group. Andrew has also worked as Credit Risk Director with JUMO, where he established the credit risk, prediction and fraud analytics structure, focused on standardisation, and drove enhanced prediction and credit risk value to the internal and external stakeholders.Some of Andrew’s other career highlights involve working for a number of start-ups. These include a niche credit risk solutions consultancy, which was successful in assisting several start-ups in South Africa, as well as an e-commerce / digital credit provider, and numerous fintech and finserv businesses throughout Africa and Asia.In his new role, Andrew will report directly to CEO, Erwan Gelebart, and will be part of the company’s leadership team.Commenting on his appointment, Andrew Goodrich said: “I’m excited to help drive a financial inclusion agenda with a forward-thinking company like Ezra. My mandate will cover the full spectrum of credit risk by serving financial credit in a responsible manner, especially in emerging markets, where we have an opportunity to help our customers to get their foot onto the financial services ladder. I relish driving a sustainable approach so that we can build long-term relationships with customers, supporting and providing them with relevant credit products.Overall, risk management is essential for maintaining the balance between providing access to credit and protecting both lenders and consumers. I am excited to help drive our company’s vision and, with our partners, leverage alternative credit scoring to make a difference to peoples’ lives.”Commenting on his appointment, Erwan Gelebert, CEO at Ezra said: “We are thrilled to welcome Andrew to the team. With decades of experience in the consumer finance and financial services industry, Andrew will play an integral role in helping to fortify our presence, especially in emerging markets where we work with banks, telecoms, mobile wallets and utilities, to help companies to innovate faster and fulfil their customer needs at scale.”

Biban 2023 Saudi Arabia’s flagship startup and SME forum has brought leading entities from around the world together to sign a series of landmark agreements worth approximately $13.8 billion in support of the startup community.Organized by the Small and Medium Enterprises General Authority of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (Monsha'at), the event held from March 9 to March 13, 2023, at the Riyadh Front Exhibition & Conference Center has set a new benchmark for partnerships, with a diverse range of collaborations and initiatives being launched to empower entrepreneurs.The fifth and final day of the forum brought more regional and global organizations together to usher in a new era of Saudi entrepreneurship in line with Vision 2030 powered by state-of-the-art programs, innovation and effective joint-working.Notable highlights throughout the event included agreements made by the Saudi Development Bank to support entrepreneurs and SMEs with $6.4 billion, the Small & Medium Enterprises Bank to provide support estimated at $2.8 billion, and the Kafalah Program with a $1.5 billion agreement with diverse entities.Monsha’at also announced an MoU with Huawei Tech Investment Saudi Arabia Limited to enhance the digital transformation of the Kingdom’s SMEs, in addition to launching a partnership with Saudi Cloud Computing Company (SCCC) Alibaba Cloud. MoUs were also signed with the Ministry of Energy and Nine66 a Savvy Games Group company.Another major announcement at Biban 2023 arrived with the confirmation that local sellers in Saudi Arabia will gain access to Amazon’s global market in the US, Europe and Asia.Creating an enabling environment for global leaders, experts, and industry professionals to network, collaborate, and pioneer solutions to pressing business challenges, Biban 2023 was a diverse showcase of entrepreneurial excellence. The forum set the stage for the future of entrepreneurship, providing next-generation SMEs and startups vital access to all-important insights, resources and connections.Biban 2023 also hosted the final round of this year’s Entrepreneurship World Cup: a startup pitch competition and support program, co-hosted by the Global Entrepreneurship Network (GEN) and Monsha’at. The Global Finals featured 100 up-and-coming startups from all over the world representing 53 nations. The tournament offered competitors the chance to win $1 million in cash prizes and benefit from access to start and scale-up capital, new connections and ideas. White Helmet, a Saudi-based company that provides a platform to manage and monitor construction operations remotely from anywhere and at any time was announced, on Day 4 of the Biban forum, as the winner of the EWC grand-prize: a US$300,000 share of the $1 million prize pot.In 2nd place was NDR Medical from Singapore, receiving a US$20,000 prize, with the third place going to Hera Health from the US with a $150,000 prize.

The Retail Summit, an annual event providing unprecedented access to hear from global retail giants on the future and movement of the retail sector, remains the ultimate industry networking event on the global calendar, and commences today and tomorrow.The highly-anticipated two-day summit brings all industry players under one roof, from international brands to local franchise partners, hosted at two iconic locations including Atlantis, The Palm and the recently-launched Atlantis, The Royal. The Retail Summit is dedicated to being the catalyst for international brands who are looking to either establish an in-market presence or sell via cross-border ecommerce to the United Arab Emirates. The future epicenter of trade, Dubai is the fastest-growing economy in the world, making it a prime location for brands looking to expand their global footprint by setting up operations and tapping into the vast potential of the region. The Retail Summit gives local brands the opportunity to expand into international markets by meeting mentors to widen professional networks and create partnerships, allowing regional companies to reach international heights.The top echelon of regional and internationally-renowned retailers and franchise specialists will provide extensive insights into the successful concepts of international brands, in which attendees can interpret locally and roll out in their respective and relevant markets.Over the course of 2 days, attendees will meet executives from major global retailers including fashion icon Tommy Hilfiger, Michael Ward, CEO of Harrods, Kristina Blahnik, CEO of Manolo Blahnik, Jo Malone, Founder of Jo Loves,  David Gandy, Founder, Wellwear, Manju Malhotra, CEO, Harvey Nichols and Tom Athron, CEO of Fortnum & Mason, to name a few.Accompanying these retail giants are regional master franchise specialists such as Chalhoub Group, 6thStreet, Magrabi, Apparel Group, Souq.com, Amazon, Sultan Center Group, Alsulaiman Group, Papa John’s, Majid Al Futtaim, Al Tayer, Al Shaya, Azadea, Kamal Osman Jamjoon, Landmark Group, LIWA, Noon and Namshi.The summit runs in partnership with Dubai Chambers. Commenting on the occasion, Mohammad Ali Rashed Lootah, President & CEO of Dubai Chambers, said: "Backed by a significant growth in the e-commerce market, Dubai continues to be a competitive destination for retailers and industry stakeholders who look to capitalize on the emirate's strong and sustainable economic fundamentals, solid digital infrastructure and its thriving business ecosystem. We value the contribution of this industry to Dubai's economy and its image as an international retail hub.""Public and private partnerships provide a critical driver for innovation and development in the retail industry. By joining forces, both sectors can leverage their respective strengths to create a more sustainable, competitive, and inclusive retail ecosystem," he added.Gary Thatcher, CEO and Co-Founder of The Retail Summit, shares, “I am very proud of The Retail Summit team for working so diligently as we enter the final moments before the event. We believe that the third-edition is going to be the biggest yet as we draw a big focus on both the regional and international connectivity”.

Leading e-commerce experts discussed the prospects, trends, and peculiarities of the e-commerce industry in the MENA region. Discussions ranged from business models in e-commerce, such as marketplaces and D2C channels, to digital marketing, data analytics, and approaches to e-commerce business development.The conference featured an impressive lineup of speakers, including distinguished industry leaders, such as Anshuman Anand, Vice President of Apparel Group, Jonathan Flender, Digital and E-commerce General Manager at Al-Futtaim, Aadil Shaikh, Regional Product Lead at Amazon, Ivan Gudkov, E-commerce Vertical Lead at TikTok, Abhishek Shah, Co-founder and CEO of RSA Global, and Mohamad Anas Derieh, Head of E-commerce at Arla Foods, among many other esteemed experts.The conference was opened by Daria Tkachenko, CEO of Sellematics and Sellscreen, the companies that organized the conference, and Leo Dovbenko, CEO and Co-founder of YallaMarket and YallaHub, and partner of the Marketplace & D2C ?onference 2023.Daria Tkachenko presented an incredible report on the benefits of analytics services for customers, and demonstrated trends, strategies, and forecasts for e-commerce in the MENA region. She spoke about how the MENA region is the fastest-growing market in the world with 25% predicted growth, and shared data insights from Sellematics showing that the number of sellers in November had increased by 6% compared to August, and that there was a significant increase in revenue in all categories in the Noon UAE marketplace. She also highlighted the importance of analytics for e-commerce success. All the data insights were received from the Sellematics service.Leo Dovbenko, the conference partner, discussed the growth trends in the region and the unique market dynamics that set the MENA region apart from the rest of the world. He shared details of YallaHub's marketplace aggregator, which has already helped launch 40+ successful brands in the region. Dovbenko emphasized the importance of a solid GTM (Go-To-Market) strategy for launching new products in the market.The Marketplace & D2C ?onference 2023 was an inspiring event that showcased the MENA region's potential for e-commerce growth. Given the impressive turnout and the quality of the discussions, it is clear that the e-commerce industry in the region is poised for further expansion, and we can't wait to see what the future holds.

8 in 10 women in the UAE workforce highlight that the opportunity to progress to top leadership positions is key for them, with 73% feeling they have opportunities to lead at their workplace. This is according to a survey conducted by leading management consulting firm, Kearney. The survey reveals 61% of UAE’s workforce think more women in leadership roles will positively impact their organization, with 39% seeing the future top leader of their current organization to be a woman. The study conducted ahead of International Women’s Day 2023 explored the sentiment around women in leadership positions, the path to progress and the challenges faced.The UAE is ranked as a leading country in gender equality in the region[1], with women making up 66% of public sector workers and 30% in leadership roles[2]. The last decade has seen multiple policies that support inclusivity and diversity come into play, aimed at facilitating women’s role in the workforce. While there have been positive strides towards a more equitable work environment at a national level, the survey reveals that leaders in the private sector still have work to do to pave the way for female talent.81% of the women surveyed claim that it’s difficult for them to get the support they need to take on leadership roles. When asked about the challenges faced in the workplace, a quarter (25%) of women stated their goals are too ambitious, 21% felt the organizational culture at their current workplace does not encourage them to lead, and 18% stated they face discrimination by their coworkers.“The UAE has a strong commitment to empowering women at work for the development of the local economy, as part of We the UAE 2031 Vision, as well as the realization the UN SDG Goal 5 of achieving gender equality. The policies and host of national initiatives that promote an inclusive and balanced work landscape have been key to driving increased female participation in the workforce and at leadership positions. To support ambitious women aiming to climb the career ladder, business leaders in the private sector have a major responsibility to provide women with the relevant support and training to progress in their careers and open up opportunities for them to take a seat at the leadership table,” commented Isabel Neiva, Partner at Kearney Middle East & Africa.When questioned on how their organization supports their career development, only 26% claimed that they receive regular training and development and 22% said they are offered opportunities for regular career reviews and/or promotions.Having a leadership team that is genuinely committed to diversity and inclusion was flagged as a key priority for 81% of respondents (both men and women), emphasizing the important role that current business leaders play in accelerating the achievement of a more diverse and equitable workplace. 61% reveal their current organization has diversity, equity, and inclusion targets, including having more women at the board level, however, only 16% of those claim that these have been publicly announced. 27% believe the organization does not have such targets, and 12% were unsure.“Diversity, equity, and inclusion are proven pillars of success and provide the basis for future growth of organisations. To accelerate the pace of change, a forward-thinking approach must be instilled from the top of the hierarchy, from the senior leadership team, trickling downward into management teams and the workforce. Setting diversity targets and publicly stating them is an important step towards enforcing accountability in organisations, to ensure that the leadership team works towards hiring and nurturing female talent, and to provide them with the tools and opportunities needed to progress,” concluded Chiara Riffaldi, Partner at Kearney Middle East and Africa.

Dubai, United Arab Emirates: Roxy Cinemas is bringing back some of the best movies of 2023 back on the big screen. Guests can sit back, relax and watch some of their favourite Oscar nominated films including Elvis, Top Gun: Maverick, Avatar: The Way of Water, The Fabelmans, and Triangle of Sadness, for only AED 40.ELVIS: Whilst on a mission to transform the mainstream rock and roll culture of the USA, singer Elvis Presley uses his fame to highlight racism within the countryTOP GUN: MAVERICK: Thirty years of service leads Maverick to train a group of elite TOPGUN graduates to prepare for a high-profile mission while Maverick battles his past demons.AVATAR: THE WAY OF WATER: Jake Sully and Ney'tiri have formed a family and are doing everything to stay together. However, they must leave their home and explore the regions of Pandora. When an ancient threat resurfaces, Jake must fight a difficult war against the humans.

Leading global communications agency, Ruder Finn, today announced the expansion of Atul Sharma’s role as CEO of Ruder Finn India, which comprises Ruder Finn India and RF Thunder India. After leading Ruder Finn’s growth in India for the last four years, Sharma is now also being appointed the role of Head of Middle East as part of the company’s planned footprint expansion. Sharma will bring together a new team to expand the firm’s network and set up operations in the Middle East region to meet the growing demand for public relations, marketing communications, digital, and corporate reputation in this region.“We are delighted to appoint Atul as the CEO of Ruder Finn India and Head of our new ventures in the Middle East,” said Kathy Bloomgarden, CEO, “RF India’s transformative growth has been led by a strong leadership team under Atul. Atul has been leading the charge on consulting for our clients on emerging technologies with the growing team in India. Further, we have envisioned paving our way in the Middle East for some time, and I am confident that Atul will help us to tap into the market as we mark our next growth phase in that region.”Sharma joined Ruder Finn Asia in 2018 as Managing Director, Vice President of Ruder Finn India, responsible for overall management and operations, and establishing Ruder Finn as a major player in the India market. With a transformative leadership style, Sharma has led Ruder Finn India to become the fastest growing PR firm in India, building its sectoral expertise across Technology, Brand, Corporate, Auto, Entertainment, Education, Lifestyle, B2B, and Start-Ups, amongst others. The India office has grown multi-fold in the last four years with a strong focus on technology, data analytics and insights and storytelling at its core. Sharma has brought on board extremely competent talent across all the five offices in India. Ruder Finn India is also the first PR firm in the region to launch Web3 Practice to help brands understand and build communities for their various stakeholders.Sharma will continue to lead his team in India, which has experienced exponential growth in staff in the last four years, as well as grow the team in the Middle East as he spearheads the initiative to expand Ruder Finn’s footprint in the region. In addition to his work at Ruder Finn, Sharma also acts as President of the PRCAI (Public Relations Consultants Association of India) wherein he is leading various initiatives to make the PR industry more professional, ethical and prosperous.“It is an honor to be named CEO of the Ruder Finn India Group, which has been recognized as one of the fastest growing mid-size public relations firms in the region, with a strong portfolio of clients backed by exceptional talent,” said Atul Sharma, CEO Ruder Finn India & Head Middle East, “I am also excited about the opportunities in the Middle East for its strong presence in sectors including energy, luxury and retail. I am looking forward to helping build and establish the Ruder Finn presence in the GCC markets.”“We are thrilled to have Atul expand his role. As a respected industry veteran his strong understanding of business growth but also staying ahead of the curve with innovation makes him a strong leader to drive this next chapter of growth for us,” said Elan Shou, Regional Director, Asia, Ruder Finn, “We are certain with our footprint expanding globally, we will truly be able to integrate and drive more synergy for global mandates across locations especially in newer sectors like defense, Web3, aggregator economy etc.” 

MoEngage, the insights-led customer engagement platform, has been recognized as a “Strong Performer” in The Forrester Wave™: Cross-Channel Marketing Hubs, Q1 2023 report. MoEngage has received top scores possible for eight criteria: Customer Profiles and Preference Management, Descriptive Analytics, Scheduling and Automation, Mobile (experience orchestration), E-commerce and Marketplaces (experience orchestration), Experience Optimization, Performance Management, and Performance (strategy). The report also recognized MoEngage’s scalable data ingestion, AI-driven visualization, performance reporting, global scale, local approach to innovation, and regional development. “We are thrilled to be named a “Strong Performer” in The Forrester Wave™ report. We believe the scores are a testament to our ability to serve enterprise customers’ needs, support cross-channel use cases, and provide global go-to-market focus. Over the last two years, cross-channel marketing has become critical for any consumer brand’s personalization and customer engagement strategy. We will continue to build new capabilities, deeper integrations, and stronger local support to empower brands to onboard, engage and retain customers across channels and touchpoints,” said Raviteja Dodda, CEO & Co-founder of MoEngage.Today, MoEngage is used by more than 1,200 global consumer brands such as Ally Financial, McAfee, Flipkart, Domino’s, Nestle, Deutsche Telekom, Travelodge, and more. Specifically, it has more than 105 customers in the Middle East and Africa region across industries such as retail and e-commerce, banking and finance, telecom, airlines, healthcare, media, entertainment , travel and hospitality. It added more than 75 customers in 2022 not only from UAE but also Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, Egypt, Lebanon, Morocco, Nigeria, South Africa, Israel, Tanzania and Turkey.The Forrester WaveTM highlights Leaders, Strong Performers, Contenders, and Challengers. In its 26-criterion evaluation of cross-channel marketing hub (CCMH) providers, Forrester has identified the most significant ones and researched, analyzed, and scored them as part of this report. Forrester recommends brands look for providers that support sophisticated cross-channel experiences at scale, helps deliver both business and customer outcomes, and ease human workloads with AI-based recommendations. You can access the full report here.

Myco, a web3 video streaming, production, and distribution company, has announced the selection of EssenceMediacom by GroupM as its official global media purchasing and planning agency. By this cooperation, Myco will be able to take use of EssenceMediacom's media planning and buying skills to strengthen its brand and increase its global reach. Additionally, it will help Myco expand its market share and reach a larger audience, solidifying its position as a top brand in web3 video streaming, funding, production, and distribution.Myco is a distinctive platform that gives viewers and artists alike authority because it is a completely decentralised video ecosystem. While content creators make money by producing it, viewers make money through watching it. Within a completely decentralised ecosystem, the platform allows live monetisation, crowdsourcing, gating NFTs, and fractional ownership of content. Myco also offers AVOD and will shortly introduce SVOD and FAST capabilities.In addition to the recently launched live sports with Watch & Earn mechanism, Myco has seeded, funded, and curated more than 50 film and TV productions over the past year through its self-sustaining ecosystem.The Myco platform currently has over 100,000 user-generated videos, 500 top content creator channels, and around 1.5 million registered users from around the world. Additionally, it offers premium exclusive content as well as a selection of original film creations (MyOriginals). The platform is powered by its own native cryptocurrency (MContent), which is traded on several exchanges and is accessible on the BNB Smart Chain (BSC - BEP20).

An exclusive seven-month agreement was established between Adform, a prominent independent advertising technology platform, and Digiseg, a global provider of cookie and ID free audience data in Saudi Arabia.Clients of Adform in Saudi Arabia will have access to Digiseg's exclusive household audience data thanks to the cooperation. Digiseg divides entire nations into neighbourhoods of 100–500 households and overlays statistical information on home type, life stage, household income, and other factors. Cookies and other deterministic identifiers like UUIDs and MAIDs are not used by Digiseg. Through the usage of this cookie-free data, advertising campaigns on channels including display, video, and mobile may be better targeted and personalised.The collaboration is anticipated to give Saudi Arabian advertisers a potent new tool to enhance their campaigns. With Digiseg's demonstrated effectiveness, brands can reach the right audiences and increase conversion rates while reducing costs.

SolutionBuggy, India's largest manufacturing consulting platform dedicated to small and medium scale enterprises, gears up for overseas expansion by foraying in the Middle-east region. Looking at the huge potential in the Middle-East market, SolutionBuggy intends to open a new office in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE).The manufacturing consulting platform currently has offices in Noida and Bengaluru, but is working on projects all over India. Through the successful completion of projects in markets like Nepal and Switzerland,  it has already initiated its establishment in the global market. The company also plans to expand into countries in Africa like Ghana, Zambia, and Nigeria.Talking about the company’s expansion plans, Arjun N, Founder and CEO, SolutionBuggy said, "Previously dependent on oil, the Middle East market is now looking at new industries and investing extensively in them, including textiles, chemicals, drone technology, agri-tech, and organic fertilisers. After completing more than 3000 projects in India, our team began receiving numerous enquiries from the Middle East region, initially to see whether our company could compete with some of the quotes they had from China. The clients we worked with had complete faith in us as a result of our ability to demonstrate transparent and superior quality services, and greater access to a large pool of talented experts located throughout India and managed by a single point of contact i.e., SolutionBuggy. As a result, we were rewarded with the complete implementation of a silk textile manufacturing unit setup in the UAE.""We see enormous potential in developing countries for industrial facilities. Many times, businesses have been caught in a bind with equipment that is either not producing the desired results or requires a specialised workforce to operate. In these situations, SolutionBuggy as a platform gives access to both new and established sectors, allowing them to improve their workflows and hire the best personnels for their projects. Therefore, whether an ethanol plant is built in Mirzapur or Zambia, we have the engineering know-how to complete the project." shares Guruprasad Bangle, Co-founder & Chief Technology Officer, SolutionBuggy.SolutionBuggy is focusing on the markets in Southeast Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and Brazil in industries like food processing, ethanol plants, aerospace and defence, chemicals, pharmaceuticals and electric vehicles."We are having a stellar growth rate of almost 110 percent over the last year, and this is looking at only India's business. Once we consider our order books from outside countries, we are looking at even higher growth rates," said Vikas Manral, Co-founder & CMO, SolutionBuggy.SolutionBuggy is an end-to-end project management consulting firm that is eager to grow in other locations and take on complete implementation projects for new plant setup, technology transfer, diversification, etc. Notably, the manufacturing consulting platform also collaborates with trade bodies and consults in Denmark, Israel, Germany, Malaysia and France to assist businesses from these countries in entering the Indian market through joint ventures, mergers and acquisitions, technology transfers, and contract manufacturing.

 Mubadala Arena in Zayed Sports City will come alive once again when it hosts the AJP Tour Abu Dhabi International Jiu-Jitsu Championship 2023 competitions from March 17-19. The competitions, which are open to clubs and academies from all over the world, will feature intense mat fights in the Kids, Youth, Amateurs, Professionals, and Masters divisions.The three-day championship, jointly organised by the UAE Jiu-Jitsu Federation (UAEJJF) and Abu Dhabi Jiu-Jitsu Pro (AJP), is the second set of AJP competitions in the 2023 events season. The first was the AJP No-Gi Abu Dhabi International Jiu-Jitsu Championship, which took place last month and was a huge success in terms of organisation, participation by professionals, and crowd turnout. His Excellency Youssef Abdullah Al Batran, a board member of the UAE Jiu-Jitsu Federation, said: “The AJP championships are a valuable component in the schedule of championship activities for the current sporting season and help to highlight a significant number of fresh talent aiming to build a successful professional career.”“The increased registrations for events testify to the effectiveness of the UAEJJF’s initiatives to develop the sport, broaden the pool of participants, and strengthen Abu Dhabi’s position as the world’s capital for jiu-jitsu. We always strive to offer the perfect environment for our young athletes to engage with the greatest players from clubs and academies around the world, honing their skills and improving their readiness for major international competitions.”Meanwhile, Tariq Al-Bahri, General Manager of the AJP, said: “The AJP events in the UAE along with our 150 international championships are gaining greater support as they continue to improve the players’ skills, career growth, and offer rigorous competitions among the participants. These will have a significant impact on the UAE and the capital Abu Dhabi’s capability to solidify its status as the global sporting hub and a much-sought-after destination for champions from around the world.”The competitions will feature boys and girls in Infant (Grey, Yellow, Orange) and Junior (Grey, Yellow, Orange, Green) divisions on Friday, March 17, the first day of the event, with the fights beginning at 4:00 pm. On Saturday, the action will continue with bouts beginning at 11:00 am for the boys and girls in Teen and Youth (Blue, Purple), Men’s Master 1 (Blue, Purple, Brown, Black) and Master 2 (Blue, Purple, Brown, Black) divisions. Men and Women contestants will compete in amateur (blue) and professional (purple, brown, and black) divisions on Sunday with the action starting at 11 am. Ends 

Royal Philips, a global leader in health technology, today released its first Health Trends Research United Arab Emirates (UAE) findings, shedding light on the state of local healthcare. Philips commissioned Censuswide, an independent market research consultancy, to conduct the study aimed to equip healthcare providers with insights into current health trends and public perceptions of healthcare in the UAE - enabling them to adapt to these shifts in demand to address immediate priorities and future needs.“At Philips, we believe that the study validates that the UAE is well-positioned to transition its healthcare approach from sick care, which has historically been the norm, to value-based healthcare. This transformation begins with a greater emphasis on proactive preventive measures, supported by advanced technology that enables improved health outcomes at every stage of care, including diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up care,” says Marc Antoine Zora, General Manager and District Leader, Gulf & Levant, Philips Middle East.“While residents perceive themselves to generally be in good health, they want to be more proactive, and are ready to embrace digital health technology to realize a healthier future, for themselves and our planet,” says Lucy Stewart, Head of Client Services, Censuswide.The shifts in consumer perceptions and behavior towards well-being and technology, revealed in the Philips Health Trends Research UAE, are expected to have a long-term impact on the way people think about and engage with healthcare in the future.Three key themes are particularly prominent in the findings:Healthy living and preventionThe pandemic has led to greater health consciousness among UAE residents, with 95% taking a proactive approach to protecting their health and 70% feeling more in control of their health since its onset.89% of respondents rated their current health status as good, with an impressive 88% committing to being more proactive about their health and well-being. Additionally, UAE residents are also aware of how different factors can impact their health, acknowledging that oral health can affect their general health (87%) and heart health (75%).This drive for improved health is supported by the top four factors that make it easier for people to focus on their health: a better understanding of healthy living (53%), access to and maintenance of personal medical records (52%), mentor programs that provide guided health support to keep them on track (48%) and doctors having access to their information regardless of a hospital (48%).Power of health technologyThe pandemic has accelerated the adoption of digital technologies in the healthcare sector, increasing people's trust in health technology. The Philips Health Trends Research UAE reveals that 95% of respondents believe technology can help manage their health more efficiently due to its ease of use (51%), faster access to specialists and healthcare professionals (51%), easier access to results (50%), and by allowing all their healthcare data to be stored in one place (46%).With most UAE residents believing in the benefits of digital health solutions, 67% of respondents confirmed that they are aware of telehealth. The research indicates that 90% would consider using telehealth solutions, and 72% believe virtual discussions with doctors are as effective as face-to-face examinations.The data confirms that UAE residents are largely agreeable to providing access to their personal data for developmental purposes, with 38% open to allowing all their data to be used, 37% allowing most to be used, and 20% allowing a small portion to be used.This creates considerable opportunity to truly transform healthcare by tapping into the latest innovations in telehealth that offer several advantages, including easy access to specialized healthcare professionals – regardless of their physical location, with increased opportunities to collaborate, cost savings for both patients and providers, more efficient care with shorter waiting times, and regular and systematic touchpoints: all contributing to better patient outcomes.Sustainability is a key consideration for healthcare The Philips Health Trends Research has also revealed that most UAE residents (82%) believe that sustainability should be a priority for healthcare companies. Respondents' top considerations also highlighted the importance of prioritizing practices that do not harm the environment, with 51% of respondents indicating this as a key priority. Nearly half of the respondents (48%) believe that healthcare companies should conduct their business in a sustainable manner, while 41% feel that these companies should aim to become carbon negative.These results indicate that residents in the UAE greatly value sustainable business practices; creating the heightened need for healthcare leaders to achieve sustainable healthcare.“It is encouraging to see such a close alignment between the healthcare fraternity and UAE residents,” says Zora. “Many healthcare leaders are already turning to healthcare technologies to help them replace outdated, less efficient operations and technologies in favour of sustainability. With the patient population embracing sustainable innovations, we believe the sector has an unparalleled opportunity to expand access to quality healthcare, sustainably, while improving outcomes for better healthcare in the UAE and beyond” he adds.* RESEARCH MASTHEADThe Philips Health Trends Research UAE was conducted online by Censuswide, an independent market research consultancy. There were 495 respondents in the UAE aged between 18-64 with quotas set to ensure that SEC groups and regions represented the country distribution. Gender quotas were also set to achieve a 50/50 split. The survey took place between May & June 2022.

FinaMaze has announced the appointment of Grant Niven to its Advisory Board, effective February 2023.The ADGM-based innovative digital wealth management firm made the announcement in pursuant to progress in its growth and sustainability, as it continues to provide cutting-edge financial investment services within the Fintech space. Originally from Scotland, UK, Grant has worked in several executive roles over the last 24 years spanning the technology, consulting and financial services industry, in both Europe and the Middle East. Prior to recently founding Mingzulu, a strategy & venture funding advisory, focused on the Financial Sector, (including Fintechs), Grant held a role as Head of Group Digital at Banque Saudi Fransi, (BSF), HQ in Riyadh, KSA; where he was accountable for defining and executing the Bank-wide digital vision and strategic initiatives across the organisation.Among other significant roles, he previously held a partner position within EY Middle East & North Africa (MENA)  where he led the Technology Advisory practice for the financial services sector across the region.Grant is a regular public speaker and prominent voice at leading events across the region on the topics of digital banking and ventures, Fintech, Open Finance and adoption of disruptive technologies in the financial services sector.With his rich experience, he is clearly a great addition and good fit for the FinaMaze Advisory Board; as the firm has carved a niche for itself since 2020 as an innovative digital wealth management establishment working to push beyond the limits of what has traditionally been known to be ‘possible’ in Personalised Asset Management.Speaking on his latest role at FinaMaze, Grant said: “Delighted to support the next chapter of growth for FinaMaze leadership, shareholders and end customers. Mehdi Fichtali (CEO) and the wider board's vision and ambition to transform wealth management has really caught my attention and impressed myself and fellow Mingzulu team with what has been achieved to date.  We are really looking forward to supporting the next chapter of innovation in the Wealth & Asset Management sector and honored to work in partnership with Mehdi and his team to accelerate their strategy & growth plans. The industry is ripe for disruption and FinaMaze has the smarts, people with deep wealth advisory expertise, combined with leading technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) to make not only a huge regional impact - but internationally on a global stage ”.Mehdi Fichtali is the CEO of FinaMaze, and this is what he has to say about Grant’s appointment to the Advisory Board:“We are absolutely thrilled to welcome Grant to our Advisory Board! With his extensive experience spanning over two decades at the forefront of the intersection between technology and banking, Grant brings an unparalleled wealth of knowledge to our team. As an ex-partner at one of the top four consulting firms and a former Head of Digital at a major Saudi banking group, Grant is not only a strategic thinker but also an execution guru in the digital banking space. We are confident that his expertise will prove invaluable in guiding us through the ever-evolving landscape of the financial industry, particularly in the Wealth and Asset Management space for banks in the region. We can't wait to see the amazing things we'll achieve together with Grant on board!”In his market projection for 2023 made during the last episode of “Light in the Markets Maze” – a webinar hosted by FinaMaze; Mehdi mentioned it likely being an eventful year for investing looking at the emerging trends that favour personalised asset management rather than an overall passive investment.FinaMaze has over the years introduced and actively managed both long and short personalised Smartfolios that have offered various protection options.It is expected that the firm will make a number of key appointments in line with its vision, and these would be announced within the course of the year.

Dubai Chamber of Digital Economy, one of the three chambers operating under Dubai Chambers, has brought together top executives, business leaders, and entrepreneurs in the metaverse and crypto industry for a new edition of the chamber's digital industry workshop series.The workshop was attended by H.E. Ahmad Bin Byat, Vice Chairman of Dubai Chamber of Digital Economy and board members of Dubai Chamber of Digital Economy, Hind Seddiqi, Fadi Ghandour and Dany Farha. The workshop discussed ideation, opportunities, and challenges as well as ways to drive progress in the metaverse and crypto fields. H.E. Ahmad Bin Byat, Vice Chairman of Dubai Chamber of Digital Economy, said: "Dubai has a healthy and vibrant digital ecosystem welcoming digital companies across various economic sectors and the adoption of the metaverse is rapidly growing.""The workshop on the metaverse and crypto industry is part of a series of digital industry workshops we continue to host. It is a great platform to connect like-minded leaders in the field to discover the latest developments and provide a space for meaningful discussions. The workshop reflects our commitment to positioning Dubai as a world's leading hub for Web3 and the metaverse industries, underlining our vision of creating a more connected and collaborative environment for digital businesses," he added.Dubai launched the Dubai Metaverse Strategy with the ambition of Dubai becoming one of the top 10 metaverse economies and hubs in the world. The strategy aims to attract more than 1,000 blockchain and metaverse companies to Dubai to develop Web3 technology and its applications for Dubai.Dubai has introduced its own virtual asset regime and established Dubai’s Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority (VARA) to provide a secure and progressive operating framework for the virtual asset sector. Recently, VARA announced its entry into the metaverse with the establishment of its metaverse HQ in the virtual world of 'The Sandbox', thus becoming the world's first regulator to make its debut in the metaverse.Major global crypto players such as Binance, Crypto.com and Bybit have all already moved their leadership to Dubai, favoring the emirate's ‘light touch’ approach to regulation.Dubai Chamber of Digital Economy is committed to involving all relevant parties in building a clear roadmap for innovating Dubai's digital industries.

In addition to talents associated with the Qumra projects, this year, members of the public can attend the masterclasses and Qumra screenings, providing them a unique window to gain insights on the cinematic vision of the Qumra Masters as well as the trends defining independent cinema today.Talents associated with the selected projects will take part in group and individual sessions with Qumra Masters and industry mentors in script consulting, legal, sales, marketing, and co-production advice, along with individual matchmaking sessions for projects in post-production, which are presented in a series of closed rough-cut screenings to leading festival programmers, broadcasters, market representatives, sales agents and distributors.Film projects at Qumra 2023 come from varied geographies, from Algeria to Indonesia and Mexico to Mongolia. The guests this year include acclaimed film directors, producers, film festival directors, programmers, consultants, fund managers, sales professionals, acquisition heads, script experts, distributors, video on demand (VoD) platforms and broadcasters, and other industry professionals.Qatar Museums, the Museum of Islamic Art and M7, Qatar's epicentre for innovation and entrepreneurship in fashion, design, and tech, are the Cultural Partners of Qumra 2023. The event is supported by Alwadi Doha – MGallery Hotel Collection as Official Hotel Partner; Darwish Holding (FNAC/SONY) as Official Electronics Partner; Qatar Airways as Official Airlines Partner; Aldo Coppola and Blumen Floral Art and Design. The Friends of Qumra this year are Sarajevo Film Festival, British Council and The French Embassy. The event is promoted by I Love Qatar, Qatar Living and Doha News. Qommunication is the Social Media Partner, while Deadline and Screen Daily are the Media Partners.

AppsFlyer today released its State of Gaming App Marketing for 2023, an in-depth report on key gaming trends for app developers, marketers and game studios to utilize as they navigate through a year of challenging macro trends, including the new age of data privacy. As the post-Covid era unfolds, a digital slowdown, or return to pre-Covid conditions, is taking place. While the effects are becoming increasingly apparent in metrics like overall app installs by consumers, the gaming app economy still showed resilience with nearly $27 billion invested in ad spend by gaming marketers and developers worldwide in 2022 to acquire new users. Overall, Android game app installs rose slightly, by 8% compared to 2021, whereas iOS game app installs showed a small decline, with a 5% drop. Based on advertising investment, the United States remains the largest target market for gaming app marketers by a significant margin, followed by Japan, South Korea, Germany and the United Kingdom.“If 2021 and the first quarter of 2022 was the golden age of gaming, the second half of 2022 and especially 2023 will be a time that marketers, developers and studios will need to overcome challenges to adopt highly-focused, efficient strategies for attracting and inspiring loyal, valuable players,” said Shani Rosenfelder, Director of Market Insights at AppsFlyer. “Evolving marketing budgets coupled with drops in consumer spending across some genres mean game businesses are compelled to prioritize profits over growing the sheer size of their numbers of players. Despite the hurdles, however, mobile gaming remains a lucrative powerhouse nearing three billion players globally. Marketers will continue to succeed by putting more focus on modern measurement capabilities, utilizing techniques that deliver an engaging experience while respecting user privacy, and leveraging remarketing and owned media channels further in order to offset increases in their cost-per-installs (CPI). Additionally, they will need to dive deep into the complex yet promising SKAN 4.0 from Apple, and invest more in campaigns outside of the United States, as gaming is truly a global phenomenon.”As for gaming app revenues, the State of Gaming report reveals that consumers spent the most on in-app purchases (IAP) in role playing and social casino (not real money) games. Purchases in these game categories declined mostly in the second half of 2022, leading to an overall drop in IAP revenues by 7% compared to the first half of the year. The economic downturn appears to have impacted consumer behavior in high IAP genres of role playing and social casino more than other categories like match or puzzle games, which rely more on micropayments. In-app advertising (IAA) remained the strongest driver of revenues for hypercasual, match and simulation games, though IAA revenues also declined across most genres towards the second half of 2022.Key Insights from the 2023 State of Gaming App Marketing:$26.7 Billion total gaming app install ad spend worldwide in 2022. The US commands nearly half at $12.2B thanks to its high-volume and high-cost media landscape; Japan is a distant second with nearly $2B in spend.Worldwide, Android game app installs rose slightly in 2022, iOS game app installs showed a small decline. There was an 8% YoY growth in total app installs of Android games. A -5% YoY install drop on iOS reflects the continued challenges iOS app marketers are facing following Apple’s privacy changes (despite the improvement vs. the previous 2022-2021 YoY figure of -13%). In the US, still considered the most important market for gaming app marketers, 2022 saw a 19% growth in Android app installs and -1% decline in installs of iOS gaming apps when compared to 2021.The second half of 2022 in particular was a struggle for in-game purchases with the economic uncertainty in the market. There was a -7% overall drop in in-app purchase (IAP) revenue in H2 2022 compared to H1 2022, with iOS down -13% and Android down -6%. Overall, in-app purchases on Android gaming apps were down -14% year-over year (YoY), while iOS was down -1% YoY. This was driven largely by a decline in Role Playing and Casino game genres that typically have high rates of in-app purchases, and where the economic downturn appears to have impacted consumer spend.Categories that saw largest growth in 2022 vs. 2021: 48% growth rate for Android casino games, 3x more than second-place Hypercasual and 5x higher compared to the growth rate in puzzle and Role Playing games (RPG). Casino games led growth on the flagging iOS side, clocking an impressive 17%.Cost-per-installs on iOS continue to climb: 88% is the increase in CPI on iOS from Q1 2021 to Q4 2022, shooting up $3.75 per install as iOS marketers continue to accept high prices to acquire valuable Apple users. YoY rates show a 35% jump.Marketers increasingly leveraging owned media channels: As marketers look to get more value out of their budgets, the use of owned media strategies such as push notifications, in-app messages and cross promotion is seeing a sustained rise. This has led to a significant YoY increase in the number of owned media conversions, with a 16% growth on iOS and a 34% surge on Android.“As gaming marketers continue to navigate their way through a shifting economic landscape along with privacy changes, particularly on iOS, they face fresh challenges and opportunities in regards to their app marketing efforts,” said Adam Smart, Director of Product, Gaming. “Privacy restrictions on iOS limit the ability of marketers to leverage user-level data, which was previously the cornerstone of their ability to connect campaign performance to attracting new users. Yet despite a significant rise in media costs and measurement challenges, gaming apps are still investing heavily in capturing high-quality players on iOS, and are not shifting those resources to Android even if the approach results in attracting fewer users overall. This gives greater importance to the use of privacy-enhancing tech and data clean rooms in 2023 and beyond, and will also provide advantages to those able to leverage accurate and comprehensive data for making the timeliest decisions on where, when and how to optimally invest budgets in ways that attract and retain the most valuable players.”MethodologyAppsFlyer’s State of Gaming App Marketing, 2023 Edition is an anonymous aggregate of proprietary global data from 38 billion app installs from 18.6 thousand apps measured with 10 thousand quarterly installs and $13.9 billion in total ad spend measured from January 2021 to December 2022.T

Volkswagen Oman represented by Premium Motors, the exclusive dealership of the brand in the Sultanate partnered with Oman French Association (OFA) to host Corporate Games 2023 at the French International School. OFA is a non-profit organisation registered with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and supported by the French Embassy.The series of sports activities organised by Omani French Friendship Association included 5-Aside football, 3 x 3 basketball, basketball three-point contest, tug of war and relay.Volkswagen has established itself as a family brand through various campaigns and initiatives. One of its recent campaigns was the "We Drive Football" programme, which aimed to bring families, communities and fans together through the love of soccer.Christian Nehme, General Manager of Premium Motors Oman, said: “Volkswagen's commitment to promoting family values through sports is just one example of how the company has positioned itself as a family brand, emphasizing the importance of spending time with loved ones and enjoying shared experiences like we did this event in Oman. It was fantastic that two groups that symbolize vitality, enterprise and excellence joined hands to organise this event. We were delighted to partner with OFA to bring out a fun and engaging event. Our colleagues were excited to participate in this sports and wellness programme which aimed to promote a healthy and active lifestyle.”A representative for OFA said, “Our group aims to provide a platform that promotes friendship, understanding and matters of mutual interest between French and Omani businesses and keep social communities active in Oman. We are delighted to have associated with Premium Motors and present an engaging event that saw community participate and connect with each other.”Located at Alfardan Heights at Ghala, Premium Motors is spread across three floors and designed in accordance with global standards and corporate identity.

Abu Dhabi And Al Ain – Volkswagen Abu Dhabi and Al Ain launch Ramadan offers ahead of the holy month across all showrooms. Available across a range of models, customers can expect to enjoy a five-year unlimited mileage warranty, five-year free service plan, five-year Roadside Assistance and free registration and insurance for the first year. Models on offer include the Golf GTI, Tiguan and 7-seater Teramont. Monthly price points start as low as AED2,490 for the Golf GTI, AED1,755 for the Tiguan and AED2,430 for the Teramont.Models on offer include:Golf GTI: the iconic hot hatch in its eighth-generation boasts thrilling power with more sport, sophisticated design and digital innovation. The enhanced reactivity and handling promises driving pleasure.Golf R: the most powerful Golf R to ever launch with 235kW / 320HP and capable of accelerating to 100km/h in 4.8 seconds, the all-new Golf R delivers an adrenaline packed experience with 4MOTION all-wheel drive and sports-tuned suspension.Teramont: a firm best-seller, the 7-seater offers ample space, ultimate comfort, functionality and connectivity for the whole family. 2,741 litres of boot space enables countless adventures with 3-zone climate control and easy 3rd row access. Tiguan: the dynamic SUV with progressive design is equipped with intelligent technology for a comfortable drive and uncompromised functionality and connectivity.

 Clover Infotech has appointed Ashish Dass as the Managing Partner - EMEA effective 1st March 2023. He will be driving new business opportunities in the Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) with a keen focus on Oracle Applications. Clover Infotech is one of the premium Oracle partners in EMEA and India across Applications and the underlying Technology stack.Ashish brings more than two decades of leadership experience in enterprise software and services across companies such as Oracle, Finastra, Infor, and 3i Infotech. He has been featured in the Forbes Middle East ‘Top Indian Leaders in the Arab World 2015’.Commenting on the development, Ashish Dass, Managing Partner – EMEA, Clover Infotech said, “I am glad to be onboard Clover Infotech. Clover Infotech’s strong partnership with Oracle over the years across geographies makes it well poised to deliver excellent value to customers in the region. The company is one of the first implementers of ERP Cloud products in the EMEA and comes with extensive implementation and support expertise across the Apps and Technology layer through its managed services offerings. I look forward to working with its strong base of more than 4000 skilled and certified consultants to enable companies in EMEA to modernize and digitally transform their businesses.”Commenting on the appointment, Javed Tapia, Chairman, Clover Infotech said, “I would like to welcome Ashish onboard Clover Infotech. Ashish brings diverse experience across products and services companies in the EMEA. His deep understanding and connects across the region coupled with Clover Infotech’s enterprise application expertise will enable companies in the region to deploy best-in-class solutions to accelerate business and enhance operational seamlessness.”

 Sharjah Entrepreneurship Center (Sheraa), in collaboration with Sharjah Business Women Council (SBWC) and Female Fusion, organised an event to celebrate International Women's Day.As part of the ‘Sheraa Community Talks’ initiative, the event which took place at the House of Wisdom in Sharjah, featured insightful speakers, interactive discussions, and networking opportunities aimed at helping women entrepreneurs build meaningful connections with other business owners.The event entitled "Her Story: Celebrating Women Who Inspire" attracted women entrepreneurs from around the nation and gave attendees the opportunity to gain new insights and strategies for success as well as to celebrate the incredible achievements of women in business.After a networking session where attendees had the opportunity to meet and connect with fellow businesswomen, Iman Ben Chaibah, Maryam Bin Al Shaikh and Jen Blandos, representing Sheraa, SBWC, and Female Fusion respectively, then introduced their organisations and welcomed the attendees.The founders' one-minute spotlight was a unique segment of the event where nine entrepreneurs spoke about their newly found businesses and what they needed help with from the audience to support them. The session was facilitated by the three organisations who have also been instrumental in nurturing these nine founders and their emerging companies, and helped attendees understand the challenges faced by fellow entrepreneurs and how they could lend their support.The highlight of the Women’s Day event was the panel discussion which featured two speakers from Sheraa, SBWC, and two from Female Fusion who were all dynamic entrepreneurs from diverse industries. Yasmine El Mouallem, founder of Maternally, passionately highlighted the crucial importance of maternal mental health and self-care material, and how her business seeks to fill the gaps in maternal mental health care, offering more focused support than generic social media and text groups. Dr. Muna Aldhabbah, founder of Halajary, shared her innovative vision of connecting people together and empowering women while fostering meaningful real-life relationships and supporting small businesses in local neighbourhoods.The discussion was further enlivened by Yara Bin Shakar, owner of Yara Bin Shakar Label and cofounder of House of 45, sharing her experience as a fashion designer committed to creating sustainable clothing, offering valuable tips for starting a business, and highlighting the importance of communicating one-on-one with the market. Aya Assaf, co-founder of Koala Picks, captured the audience's attention with her innovative approach to providing healthier snacks for children, stressing the need to think outside the box and to adapt to changing market demands.Pamela Lilburne, CEO and founder of Linen Obsession, which supplies department stores with top brands and has recently launched their first flagship store, expressed a strategic and analytical mindset advising the audience to focus on solving problems and build lasting relationships with clients. Finally, Ferakh Lakhany, co-founder of Arabee, showcased her passion for education and data-driven strategy, sharing her experience creating an interactive learning platform for learning Arabic and collaborating with the UAE’s Ministry of Education to improve the standard of Arabic in schools. Her customer-focused approach, design thinking, and remarkable growth over the past 5 years to 50,000+ children demonstrated how her planning had paid off.During the discussion the speakers shared their personal experiences, insights, lessons learned from their journey as entrepreneurs and explained how important it was to have organisations like Sheraa, SBWC and Female Fusion to guide and nurture them through developing a successful business. The collaboration between these three organisations showcased the power of unity and collaboration in supporting women entrepreneurs to achieve their dreams, showing them that they are not alone and that there is a supportive community out there to help them succeed.

 Amazon.eg today announced its annual Ramadan Sale event, kicking off at midnight on March 11th exclusively for Prime members, and on March 12th for all customers, running until March 21st. This year’s Ramadan Sale event includes saving benefits of up to 50% to support customers as they prepare for Ramadan, all while giving back to families and communities in need. Amazon.eg customers will benefit from the thousands of deals across every product category, including groceries, home appliances, kitchen essentials, fashion, electronics, and more, across top local, regional, and international brands including Samsung, Panasonic, Grohe, Nescafe, and more.To truly enjoy Amazon in the best way possible, Amazon Prime members in Egypt get 24-hour early access to the Ramadan Sale on Amazon.eg to begin saving before the full sale starts, and get additional savings with Prime Exclusive Deals during the sale only for Prime members, with fast and free shipping. Amazon Prime membership also gives you access to award-winning TV and movies with Prime Video, and free games and in-game content with Prime Gaming. Everyone can sign up to Amazon Prime for a free 30-day trial on www.amazon.eg/prime, then EGP 29 per month after the trial. In the spirit of giving, Amazon.eg is providing customers once again with the Ramadan Box, full of the day-to-day necessities during this holy month at an Amazon.eg exclusive price of EGP249. Customers can buy and have the Ramadan Box delivered anywhere across Egypt or choose to send to the charity organization or needy family of their choice before Ramadan. The Amazon.eg Ramadan Box includes essential grocery items such as 2 kilograms of rice, 800 grams of pasta, 1 kilogram of sugar, 700 grams of ghee, in addition to beans, oil, lentils, and tea from brands including Rehana, Lipton, Knorr, Lametna, Morgana, and Sindbad.Omar Elsahy, Amazon Egypt Country Manager, said: “Ramadan is truly one of the most exciting and meaningful times of the year in the region. We are looking forward to showing up once again as we help customers get ready for this season, alleviating budget and economic pressures. During such an important month of giving, we are thankful to be able to give Amazon.eg customers various ways to support our communities during the Holy month as they shop with us.”Ways to Save this RamadanShop with CIB: Amazon.eg customers who are also CIB credit card holders can pay in installments with 0% interest up to 6 months during the sales event, while Prime members can enjoy 10% extra discount up to EGP 150.Vodafone Cash: Amazon.eg and Vodafone are offering customers an extra 20% discount up to EGP 40 on their order when they pay EGP 100 or more using Vodafone Cash as a payment method.Shop with Banque Misr: Amazon.eg customers who are also Banque Misr credit card holders can pay in installments with 0% interest up to 12 months during the sales event.For valU Customers: Amazon.eg customers who are also valU customers enjoy 0% interest on installments up to 6 months. Ramadan Sale DeliveriesThe increased demand through the deals season is met by Amazon’s world-class last-mile operations and delivery station technologies. The company’s advanced capacity management systems, enhanced tracking, and global routing solutions will ensure a faster, more reliable, and more convenient customer experience. Today, the Amazon network across Egypt includes 22 delivery stations across cities like Cairo, Alexandria, Tanta, Ismailia, and Assiut, and several established corporate and customer service offices.Customers can make their shopping experience even easier by downloading the Amazon app to browse and shop the best Ramadan sale deals or shop directly on the website on www.amazon.eg. All Amazon.eg deliveries can be paid through online payment options including credit and debit cards.  

Dubai Chamber of Commerce, one of the three chambers operating under Dubai Chambers, has unveiled the establishment of six real estate sector-specific business groups.The new groups focus on companies operating within the real estate sector, including real estate developers, real estate valuation, real estate leasing, facility management, interior decoration / interior design services and engineering consultants. The Business Groups are platforms for constructive dialogue between stakeholders in the private and public sectors, helping companies within the real estate field tap into new opportunities, tackle industry-level challenges and address policy matters that impact this thriving market.  Commenting on the launch of the new real estate business groups, Mohammad Ali Rashed Lootah, President & CEO of Dubai Chambers, said: “The real estate sector continues to be one of the vital levers for Dubai’s economy and a major contributor to Dubai's GDP, with a share of more than 9% in the first nine months of 2022 and a year-on-year growth rate of 2.5% in the same period." “With the emirate's positive economic outlook for 2023, we know the real estate sector will remain strong due to substantial end-user demand and investor confidence in Dubai's property market. In addition, by leveraging Dubai's Economic Agenda 'D33', we anticipate enormous opportunities for residential and infrastructure construction to continue to support the emirate's economy while investment and spending for office, industrial, tourism and retail properties will grow even more; especially that Dubai’s population is expected to reach 5.8 million by 2040. Our new Business Groups representing six important real estate sectors are created to maximize growth and diversification in this vital market," he added.  The Dubai Land Department assisted in the formation of the new business groups and in identifying their economic activities in collaboration with Dubai Chamber of Commerce. "We welcome the formation of real estate business groups that will work under the governance framework of Dubai Chamber of Commerce. The launch of the business groups is aligned with our role of spreading real estate knowledge and promoting the culture of conducting sound business to the highest internationally recognized standards. Real estate business groups will provide new avenues for constructive debate as well as educational and networking forums for members to engage with key stakeholders, including the Land Department, to influence policymaking and ensure a bright real estate future," said H.E. Sultan Butti Bin Mejren, Director General of the Dubai Land Department. The rent and sales rates for real estate segments such as hospitality, residential, retail, commercial office space and industrial space all saw a significant increase in 2022. According to CBRE, occupancy rates in Dubai's office properties until Q4 2022 reached 88%, a 10% increase on the previous year's results.Lootah affirmed that Dubai Chamber of Commerce is committed to promoting the interests of its members and advocating on their behalf to maintain and enhance Dubai's favourable business environment as well as the competitiveness of the emirate's economy. "With this in mind, the launch of the six new real estate business groups is a significant initiative that will provide an open space for meaningful discussions amongst our member companies working in real estate, other industry leaders and key government stakeholders to achieve optimum results for a thriving real estate ecosystem,” he added.The launch of the six real estate business groups comes as part of Dubai Chamber of Commerce’s plan to establish a 100 sector-specific business groups by March 2023 to develop the private sector’s contribution to sustainable development and boost the business community’s competitiveness within Dubai’s economy and further afield. 

Snap Inc. has reemphasized the integral role of Augmented Reality (AR) within the shopping and retail industry at this year’s 9th Retail Leaders Circle MENA. Kickstarting conversations around the importance of immersive shopping to the modern-day Saudi consumer, Snap Inc. in partnership with PwC Middle East and Retail Leaders Circle (RLC) announced the launch of their latest white paper titled, ‘The shift towards immersive shopping: New opportunities for retailers in KSA.’The study focuses on the evolution of the Saudi digital shopper and the growing desire for brands to integrate immersive technologies that elevate the shopping experience. To build and maintain competitive advantage in the new era, retailers need to look at digital not as an add-on to their traditional business model, but as the backbone to new, hyper-responsive ways of working to attract and win the loyalty of customers that today have more choice than ever before.This is largely defined by evolving preferences as shopper behavior becomes more complex, further adding nuances to the digital footprint within KSA. Today, Saudi shoppers are demanding more convenience in digital and physical shopping, without the demand of spending too much of their free time. There is an increasing need for new modes of personalization and privacy, especially with Saudi shoppers who prefer having a transparent data security policy. Another aspect found to play an instrumental role in shaping the future of commerce is the more linear shopping journey, increasingly driven by sophistication. Artificial intelligence (AI) enables hyper-personalization, which includes leveraging real-time behavioral data and advanced analytics to offer the right promotions and tailored messages in real time.Abdulla Alhammadi, Regional Business Lead for KSA Market, Snap Inc. said: “Over the years, we have seen AR evolve from being just a mode of entertainment and self-expression, to delivering true value for both consumers and businesses. AR is already transforming the industry and is slated to metamorphosize every shopper’s journey in the near future. Today, as we ponder upon the future of retail, it's time to be agile and adapt wholeheartedly to the latest in commerce. We at Snap Inc. believe in unlocking previously unimaginable creative possibilities, helping to make the consumer journey even more personal, accessible and convenient. Together with our partners, we have seen great results among our communities and we look forward to widening the circle for AR as a tool that leads brand engagement, with a larger scope for personalization within a safe space for consumers.”Roy Hintze, Partner, Deals Strategy & Operations at PwC Middle East said: “Our latest paper shows that consumers’ shopping journeys are becoming more drawn out as they look for promotions and reduced prices. However, they are willing to a great extent to pay more for local products to support their local economies and to get convenient and more bespoke services.”Norma Taki, PwC Middle East’s Consumer Markets Leader, added: “While retailers are dealing with higher costs and supply chain issues, their challenge is to retain the loyalty of digitally savvy shoppers who are seeking the convenience of buying online with the confidence of buying in-store, they need to meet the evolving needs of this new generation of hybrid consumers who easily switch channels and blur the lines between online and offline into phygital.”Panos Linardos, Chairman of the Retail Leaders Circle said: “At the Retail Leaders Circle, we examine regionally-significant emerging trends to drive positive industry change. We see retailers exploring new ways to bridge the physical and digital divide to meet changing customer preferences. We hope this white paper will inspire more businesses to design customer journeys around digital integration, including AR, as part of the retail planning process.”According to the white paper, there is a major gap between how AR is perceived by consumers and how it is perceived by brands. Based on the Snap Inc. and IPSOS Augmentality Shift report, while 94% of brands consider AR to be primarily for fun, only 53% of consumers in KSA see it this way. Seven out of ten consumers now identify shopping as their main reason for using AR, while 84% of consumers are interested in using AR to interact with a product before buying.Emphasizing a world where online shopping is focused more on the people, not the product; Snap Inc.’s findings administer a future of retail that’s driven by self-expression that is open to different sizes and cultures. Secure AR shopping has also been found to be a fun, inclusive, and convenient way to discover, try and buy fashion and beautify. AR can showcase products, push creative boundaries, drive real sales and help reduce returns. AR try-on technology is the next evolution to transform the industry - giving anyone the opportunity to access fashion, no matter who they are or where they are. 250 million people already engage with AR on Snapchat every day and Snapchatters now play with AR more than 6 billion times a day on average.

Before digital twins and even drone-based photogrammetry were known by the public, FalconViz has been developing the tools of the future. To that extent, at the BIM and Digital Twins Exhibition 2023 in Riyadh, the company announced the launch of the FalconViz Metaverse which aims to launch the company into the new age of digitization.The Metaverse is largely considered the next era of the internet. Whilst it is difficult to single out one standard definition for the Metaverse, it is considered an immersive, interoperable, and synchronous virtual world. This new age of the internet will most certainly disrupt and transform the current social and economic structures and bring about a whole new wave of opportunity across many different sectors. The company defines the Metaverse as a 3D real-time social medium where people can create and engage in shared experiences across many modalities of converged digital and real worlds.Commenting on this huge announcement Dr. Neil Smith, FalconViz's Chief Information Officer, and Co-founder said: “At the heart of this is digital twins which we have been creating using drones and high definition laser scanning for years. Digital twinning is an industry which is projected to reach over $125 billion by 2030. Now, however, within the Metaverse, we can finally allow stakeholders to view their critical assets as they are in real life enabling an embodied immersive experience. It also allows stakeholders to simulate spaces, objects, and processes.”.The Metaverse opens new possibilities in how FalconViz interacts with the data in the future, which allows them to go from viewing data as placeable AR models to jumping into our data at 1:1 scale, with full immersion. The company can connect critical information captured in structural reports such as cracks and damage to a building and immediately jump to those locations to examine the area and gain a spatial awareness of the surroundings, and the procedures that would need to be taken to make immediate repairs. There is no limit to how they can explore the data to gain insight that is not possible from 2D plans.FalconViz is excited to announce the FalconViz Metaverse Lab in Saudi Arabia, these tools can be applied to any BIM project, and allow it to handle giga projects and deliver mixed-reality experiences. The company sees this as just the beginning, looking forward to the FalconViz Metaverse Lab contributing to achieving the Kingdom’s 2030 Vision.

StartUp Bahrain, a leading platform in the Kingdom’s entrepreneurship ecosystem, now powered by The Labour Fund, “Tamkeen”, has announced and celebrated its relaunch on its 10th year anniversary.Tamkeen and StartUp Bahrain established this partnership as part of their commitment to supporting startups and entrepreneurs in the Kingdom. As part of their relaunch, StartUp Bahrain announced that they will work on strengthening and empowering the startup ecosystem in the Kingdom of Bahrain through a new team, enhanced vision, and exciting activities, initiatives, and events for the years to come. The platform will continue to offer incredible perks like AWS Activate, free credits with FACEKI and free workshops with HyperGrowth, all to help startups grow and scale overseas.On this occasion, Her Excellency, Ms. Maha Mofeez, Chief Executive of the Labour Fund (Tamkeen) stated: “Tamkeen is committed to nurturing a thriving startup ecosystem in Bahrain. By supporting StartUp Bahrain, we are ensuring that local talent and their innovative ideas have access to a wide range of opportunities to succeed and thrive, while also positioning Bahrain as a leading entrepreneurship hub in the region, thus driving economic growth and prosperity.”She added: “Since establishment Tamkeen focused on empowering entrepreneurship and has supported during the past years more than 19,000 entrepreneurs to launch their new business ventures, while also partnering with several financial institutions to facilitate financing solutions which supported more than 7,000 small and micro enterprises.”Since its inception, StartUp Bahrain has played a pivotal role in nurturing the startup ecosystem in Bahrain with programs, workshops and events, and this relaunch on its 10th anniversary symbolizes a new beginning in its journey, with more exciting and beneficial perks aimed at supporting startups. Moreover, StartUp Bahrain aims to further accelerate the growth of startups through this revamped platform, thus making a valuable contribution towards boosting Bahrain's economy and fostering entrepreneurship in the region.Bader Kamal from StartUp Bahrain, expressed his excitement about the relaunch, stating: "We are thrilled to have StartUp Bahrain enter its 10th year with an entity as dedicated and eager to empower the startup scene as Tamkeen. The ecosystem has grown tremendously in the past decade, and we are committed to fostering the growth and support towards the next generation of entrepreneurs in Bahrain by connecting them to stakeholders through a unified platform.”Entrepreneurs in Bahrain will be able to reap the benefits of this partnership between Tamkeen and StartUp Bahrain through a variety of programs available on the platform, with more yet to be announced throughout the year. With this relaunch, StartUp Bahrain aims to play a leading role in driving innovation and economic growth in Bahrain for years to come.StartUp Bahrain is one element of a comprehensive network of support available to startups in Bahrain and the wider region, which includes Tamkeen, the Bahrain Economic Development Board, and accelerators such as Flat6Labs and Brinc, Bahrain’s first Angel Investors Company Tenmou and the biggest FinTech incubator in the region, Bahrain FinTech Bay.

 Following a report published by industry expert GSMA Intelligence (GSMAi) analysing the phenomenal telecommunications success of FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™, Ooredoo Qatar was hosted by Mobile World Live at their studios in Barcelona in an exclusive webinar during Mobile World Congress 2023.With FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ spanning 64 matches across 8 stadiums, the report described the tournament as the ultimate opportunity to truly test the power and potential of 5G, setting new benchmarks that will shape future 5G-enabled events.Top of the Table: How the 2022 world Cup set a new peak in mobile data traffic webinar was held on Day 2 of MWC, with Thani Al Malki, Chief Business Officer at Ooredoo Qatar, representing the telco leader, alongside Tim Hatt – Head of Research and Consulting at GSMAi – and Jean Lawrence, Vice President of Marketing and Communications, Cloud and Network Services at Nokia.Thani Al Malki said: “We were excited to join this webinar and share insights into our experience at FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™. For us, the event itself was a showcase of how powerful the network is, of the power of 5G, and for what it can bring for consumers; and the webinar was an opportunity for us to look at how we’re going to apply what we’ve learnt from this experience in future events, and share our learnings with the industry.”The webinar participants discussed the phenomenal data traffic witnessed at the tournament, and examined the role of 5G in managing this traffic to ensure a seamless experience for fans.Tim Hatt said: “This event was a really interesting case study for what 5G can do, with the highest grossing data traffic of all time for sports. This was the first World Cup where 5G was installed to be the baseline communications infrastructure; it was a key test for how 5G would perform, and 5G absolutely passed that and then some. The building blocks were there, but this World Cup took it to a whole new level. Ooredoo and Nokia have shown a really good template of how to do such an event on a really big scale.”With the report documenting the phenomenal network performance seen at FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™, Jean Lawrence highlighted the role Nokia’s partnership with Ooredoo played in the event. She said: “We worked with Ooredoo for years in advance to lay the groundwork with our cloud-native core, and tested it extensively. Under extreme strain, the network performed very well; we saw page load times of under two seconds, video start times of under two seconConsumer behaviour and perception was also a topic on the table. With Tim Hatt noting that a majority of consumers around the world still see 5G as merely a speed upgrade, and not yet as a driver of fundamental new possibilities, the panellists discussed how the World Cup acted as an ideal example of just what is possible with 5G, and what will be possible in the future; a factor all agreed was a crucial element in increasing uptake of the technology. Examples noted in the GSMAi report include super-high-definition video and AR-type applications in live sporting venues, and fans accessing apps for real-time analytics and player information.Looking to the future, the webinar panellists were in agreement that FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ has indeed set a benchmark for future 5G-enabled events, and that possibilities at such events will be endless: tickets with holograms; all kinds of futuristic video and audio technologies; vastly enhanced connected stadiums; augmented reality enhancing key moments such as penalty shoot-outs.Thani Al Malki concluded: “As we move towards the next World Cup in 2026 in the USA, I think we will see a lot more technology involved, and in a very experiential way. We might even predict, using analytics and AI, the outcomes of the games before match day!”

A new survey of more than 500 senior IT leaders reveals that a majority (67%) are prioritizing generative AI for their business within the next 18 months, with one-third (33%) naming it as a top priority.Despite the interest, most IT leaders have technical and ethical concerns with the technology that could impact its adoption in the coming year.The data highlights the potential of generative AI, and shows what IT leaders will need to prime their tech infrastructure, data strategy, security and ethical guidelines, and employee skills necessary for the massive opportunities ahead.Many senior IT leaders see generative AI as a ‘game changer’ and a tool to better serve customersThe majority of senior IT leaders (57%) believe generative AI is a ‘game changer.’ They believe the technology has the potential to help them better serve their customers, take advantage of data, and operate more efficiently. This outlook is echoed even among the skeptics — 80% of those who say the technology is ‘over-hyped’ agree that generative AI will help them better serve their customers.Ethical, operational concerns draw skepticism Thirty-three percent of those surveyed feel that generative AI is ‘over-hyped,’ with concerns that the technology brings the potential for security risks (79%) and bias (73%).Concerns extend beyond just those who feel the technology is ‘over-hyped’ — a majority of the 515 IT leaders surveyed are skeptical about the ethical implications of generative AI. Almost six in 10 (59%) believe generative AI outputs are inaccurate and almost two-thirds (63%) agree there is bias in generative AI outputs (e.g. misinformation and hate speech). In addition, 71% agree generative AI would increase their carbon footprint through increased IT energy use.Security risks, integration, and siloed data are top barriers to generative AI implementationBusinesses aren’t yet prepared for successful implementation: 65% of senior IT leaders can’t justify the implementation of generative AI at the moment. Surveyed leaders report major barriers to using generative AI successfully within their organization, and security barriers are particularly top of mind among those currently using the technology.Because of these barriers, nearly all respondents (99%) believe their business must take measures to equip themselves to successfully leverage the technology.Collaboration can address generative AI’s technical and ethical concernsEthical use must underpin the use of generative AI. But despite raising ethical and security concerns, leaders aren’t yet sure how to put ethics into practice — about one-third (30%) of businesses believe they must have ethical use guidelines to successfully implement generative AI within their business.The responsibility is on businesses to work together and knowledge-share to make generative AI a reality across the enterprise. Leaders see collaboration as a key tool to ensure the technology is functional and used in an ethical way.The majority (81%) of senior IT leaders believe generative AI should combine public and private data sources.Most (82%) senior IT leaders think businesses should work together to improve the functionality of generative AI technology.Over 8 in 10 (83%) senior IT leaders think businesses must work together to ensure generative AI is used ethically.“Generative AI represents a step change in how organizations across industries will analyze data, automate processes, and empower sales, service, marketing, and commerce professionals to grow customer relationships — but it comes with new risks and challenges,” said Clara Shih, CEO of Service Cloud, Salesforce.

The Bahrain Institute of Banking and Finance (BIBF) recently announced the launch of its campus on the metaverse. This digital platform will provide a comprehensive and immersive learning experience for students and professionals in the financial and business sectors. Additionally, it will serve as a "holistic platform" where students, faculty, and alumni can collaborate, generate new ideas, and foster innovation. This initiative was fully designed and developed by Bahraini talents, making the BIBF the first educational institute in Bahrain to launch its campus on the metaverse.The launch of the BIBF Metaverse will occur in two phases, with the first phase – currently implemented - focusing on establishing the BIBF infrastructure along with certain facilities, whereas the second phase will launch the auditorium and classrooms where live sessions will be conducted.The BIBF Metaverse is a virtual representation of the BIBF building that allows users to interact with each other in a simulated environment. Users can attend events, collaborate on projects, and participate in interactive learning activities, including videos and tutorials. The metaverse offers immersive learning spaces, AR capabilities, and digital media labs for students of different degrees and certificates. It is also a networking and professional development tool that allows users to connect with peers and industry experts, attend virtual conferences and events, and acquire skills for success in the banking and finance industry.On this occasion, the BIBF’s Director, Dr. Ahmed Al Shaikh, stated that the launch of the BIBF Metaverse reflects the institute's commitment to innovation and excellence in education. “By leveraging the latest technology, the BIBF is providing students and professionals with a cutting-edge learning experience that will prepare them for the challenges and opportunities of the future.” He added.Dr. Al Shaikh also mentioned, “Learning through technology is a key part of the BIBF’s vision, with a clear focus on using both VR and the metaverse to strengthen and diversify education and training through relational and immersive experiences. The technology will engage students in a new and unique form, providing an opportunity to access live, virtual classrooms with other students from across the world.”On his part, the BIBF’s Chief Operations Officer, Mr. Ahmed Naeemi stated, "The launch of the BIBF Metaverse is a significant milestone for the business sector in Bahrain. We believe that this innovative platform will revolutionise the way we teach and learn in the business industry, particularly in the banking and finance fields."“I strongly believe that interaction plays a vital role in the learning process. The way you engage with fellow students can greatly enhance your learning outcomes. While video conferencing tools may provide a 2D screen experience, leveraging virtual reality can create a more immersive sense of presence, making it feel as though you are physically present.” Mr. Naeemi concluded.

The Ninth Retail Leaders Circle MENA Summit has concluded two days of open debate around how the sector can best meet the evolving needs of the region’s consumers and develop for the future.Saudi Payments and Cenomi Group were strategic partners for the event. TikTok, Chahoub Group and Channels by stc were platinum partners.The tone for the event was set by opening keynote speaker, H.E. Eng. Ammar Nagadi Vice Minister of Economy & Planning who laid out the Ministry’s strategic priorities for the sector. Laying out the Ministry’s plan for growth, modernization and optimization, the Vice Minister said, “Our aim is to lead in the sector. To help shape the future of retail by harnessing the enormous potential of merging technologies and the retail metaverse. To transform Saudi into a regional hub for e-commerce, delivering on the promise of the digital ecosystem through state-of-the-art logistics.”Conversations on the first day focused on how the retail sector can best integrate technologies, including immersive capabilities like augmented reality, into their business models. Panels also considered the role of retail in other growth areas of the economy, including tourism, entertainment and new lifestyle destinations.The closing session was an unprecedented roundtable involving the leaders of some of the region’s largest retail groups.Patrick Chalhoub, Group President of the Chalhoub Group; John Hadden, CEO of the Alshaya Group; Renuka Jagtiani, Chairwoman of the Landmark Group and Mohamad Mourad, managing director and CEO of Cenomi Group came together to discuss how the sector might collaborate internally and with government to drive positive change.The second day turned to the impact on retail of other sectors such as tourism and emerging lifestyle destinations. Speakers also addressed the changing dynamics and increasing capabilities of the payments markets, as cash transactions fall below 50 percent of total retail spend. Also on the agenda was the growing Saudi fashion sector and the emergence of exciting home-grown brands.The event included an interactive hybrid hall where partners including Cenomi Group, Saud Payments, Visa, TikTok, Snap and the 100 Saudi Brands Initiative, among others showcased their latest technologies and plans for the region.“The Ninth Retail Leaders Circle MENA Summit has been an enormous success, bringing together the sector leaders and industry pioneers and emphasizing the centrality of the Saudi Arabian market to the regional retail ecosystem,” said Panos Linardos, Chairman of the Retail Leaders Circle. “The level of attendance and the quality of the conversation was extraordinary. The Retail Leaders Circle remains passionate about facilitating ongoing engagement and strategic collaboration to drive positive change in this vital sector.”

OSN, the regional entertainment company for premium content, announced that it has extended and expanded its partnership with Warner Bros. Discovery with multiple components, including an exclusive licensing agreement with HBO, cementing OSN as the only home for HBO programming across the MENA region.The multi-year licensing deal extends OSN’s rights to broadcast and stream content from HBO exclusively on OSNtv and OSN+, strengthening its market leading position with its unbeatable range of programming and best-in-class entertainment. As part of the deal, OSN will continue to release HBO series in the MENA region at the same time as US premieres and secures its rights for new seasons of ongoing series for the duration of the term.“OSN is, and will continue to be the only place for HBO content in the region and we are excited to expand on this long-term partnership with the studio and Warner Bros Discovery.” said Joe Kawkabani, CEO at OSN. “On the back of successes such as House of the Dragon and The Last of Us, alongside a range of other exclusive and premium series, it is clear that HBO is a leader in first-class experiences, and we look forward to delivering these and other content pieces that have secured OSN as a leading choice of platform in the region.”    The partnership also includes the extension of the distribution of Discovery Channels: Discovery, TLC, ID and Discovery Science and signifies renewed ties with Warner Bros Studios, giving OSN access to recent hits such as The Batman, Dune, The Matrix Resurrections, The Suicide Squad and more. In addition to OSN Showcase, its existing channel for brand new HBO content, OSNtv will launch a new channel dedicated to classic HBO series, including The Wire, The Sopranos and Sex And The City, showcasing the full breadth of library that the studio has to offer. Furthermore, the channels will carry the much-loved American sitcom, FRIENDS and Big Bang Theory, in addition to CNN International. In 2024, OSN will expand its kids offering with the addition of Cartoon Network channels and programming across its platforms.Jamie Cooke, GM CEE, Middle East & Turkey of Warner Bros. Discovery, said: “We’re excited to expand our partnership with our highly valued partner OSN. As Warner Bros. Discovery, we have a wide variety of content to offer and we’re delighted that we can now offer OSN’s viewers the possibility to enjoy even more of their favourite shows. No matter if it’s the newest season of Succession, their favourite episode of FRIENDS, the hit movie Dune or the newest season of Gold Rush, there is something for everyone to watch, whenever they want.”

 FinaMaze has announced the appointment of Grant Niven to its Advisory Board, effective February 2023.The ADGM-based innovative digital wealth management firm made the announcement in pursuant to progress in its growth and sustainability, as it continues to provide cutting-edge financial investment services within the Fintech space. Originally from Scotland, UK, Grant has worked in several executive roles over the last 24 years spanning the technology, consulting and financial services industry, in both Europe and the Middle East. Prior to recently founding Mingzulu, a strategy & venture funding advisory, focused on the Financial Sector, (including Fintechs), Grant held a role as Head of Group Digital at Banque Saudi Fransi, (BSF), HQ in Riyadh, KSA; where he was accountable for defining and executing the Bank-wide digital vision and strategic initiatives across the organisation.Among other significant roles, he previously held a partner position within EY Middle East & North Africa (MENA)  where he led the Technology Advisory practice for the financial services sector across the region.Grant is a regular public speaker and prominent voice at leading events across the region on the topics of digital banking and ventures, Fintech, Open Finance and adoption of disruptive technologies in the financial services sector.With his rich experience, he is clearly a great addition and good fit for the FinaMaze Advisory Board; as the firm has carved a niche for itself since 2020 as an innovative digital wealth management establishment working to push beyond the limits of what has traditionally been known to be ‘possible’ in Personalised Asset Management.Speaking on his latest role at FinaMaze, Grant said: “Delighted to support the next chapter of growth for FinaMaze leadership, shareholders and end customers. Mehdi Fichtali (CEO) and the wider board's vision and ambition to transform wealth management has really caught my attention and impressed myself and fellow Mingzulu team with what has been achieved to date. We are really looking forward to supporting the next chapter of innovation in the Wealth & Asset Management sector and honored to work in partnership with Mehdi and his team to accelerate their strategy & growth plans. The industry is ripe for disruption and FinaMaze has the smarts, people with deep wealth advisory expertise, combined with leading technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) to make not only a huge regional impact - but internationally on a global stage ”.Mehdi Fichtali is the CEO of FinaMaze, and this is what he has to say about Grant’s appointment to the Advisory Board:“We are absolutely thrilled to welcome Grant to our Advisory Board! With his extensive experience spanning over two decades at the forefront of the intersection between technology and banking, Grant brings an unparalleled wealth of knowledge to our team. As an ex-partner at one of the top four consulting firms and a former Head of Digital at a major Saudi banking group, Grant is not only a strategic thinker but also an execution guru in the digital banking space. We are confident that his expertise will prove invaluable in guiding us through the ever-evolving landscape of the financial industry, particularly in the Wealth and Asset Management space for banks in the region. We can't wait to see the amazing things we'll achieve together with Grant on board!”In his market projection for 2023 made during the last episode of “Light in the Markets Maze” – a webinar hosted by FinaMaze; Mehdi mentioned it likely being an eventful year for investing looking at the emerging trends that favour personalised asset management rather than an overall passive investment.FinaMaze has over the years introduced and actively managed both long and short personalised Smartfolios that have offered various protection options.It is expected that the firm will make a number of key appointments in line with its vision, and these would be announced within the course of the year.

du, from Emirates Integrated Telecommunication Company (EITC), announced today the appointment of it first Emirati woman CXO on the sidelines of International Women’s Day. Hanan Ahmad will now serve as the company’s new Chief Regulatory Affairs and Risk Officer. Hanan is a long serving du executive with a rich experience in the technology sector, as well strong corporate knowledge in the public sector. Her new role signifies du’s dedication to developing Emirati human capital, in line with its commitment to contributing to the UAE's goal for a knowledge-based economy.Fahad Al Hassawi, CEO, du said: “As we look ahead to broaden our impact on the UAE's ICT sector, it’s critical that our leadership strategy enables our Emiratisation agenda. Hanan has earned her reputation as one of du’s leading team members and we are thrilled to have her as Chief Regulatory Affairs and Risk Officer. With her extensive experience and expertise, we are confident that she will be instrumental in driving our regulatory and risk management efforts, while also supporting our commitment to increasing the participation of UAE nationals in the ICT industry.”In celebration of International Women’s Day, du embraces equity and continues to support talent by assisting in their development and growth as part of its leadership strategy. du is focused on developing and offering jobs for UAE National women. This can be seen in du’s Fujairah Call Centre, where du is the first telco to have a call centre managed by 100% Emirati women. Today, Emirati employees form 40.3% of the total workforce, with 50% being Emirati women across the organisation. The digital-first telco continues to invest in empowering the next wave of women leaders as they continue on the journey to becoming the employer of choice for emerging national talent.

 Vybinex Marketing Services, a leading digital marketing agency based in Dubai, is proud to announce that its founder, Mr. Shammas Kalladath, has won the prestigious "Leading Marketer Award" at Asia Fame Awards 2022 in Dubai. The award is a testament to Mr. Shammas's dedication to excellence and his exceptional contribution to the industry. Mr. Shammas's achievement is a result of his agency's success in creating 100 successful campaigns for clients. Vybinex's team of experts excels in various areas of digital marketing, including social media advertising, SEO, Google Ads, influencer marketing, commercial videography, and commercial photography. The agency uses the best tools available to audit and deliver beyond client expectations, providing high ROI and ROAS.Vybinex's expertise in digital marketing is evident in the success it has achieved for its clients. One such example is the ecommerce client that approached Vybinex for help in improving their site traffic. The agency made strategic changes in the client's digital marketing strategy, using display ads, strategically constructed blogs, and search campaigns. As a result, the ecommerce client's website saw a 23% increase in organic traffic and an ROI of over 400%.Vybinex Marketing Services is committed to delivering innovative and effective digital marketing solutions that help clients achieve their business goals. The agency's team of experts is dedicated to staying up-to-date with the latest trends and technologies to ensure that clients receive the best possible results.In response to winning the "Leading Marketer Award," Mr. Kalladath said, "I am humbled and honored to receive this award. It is a testament to the hard work and dedication of our team at Vybinex. We will continue to strive for excellence and provide our clients with the best possible digital marketing solutions."Vybinex Marketing Services has established itself as a trusted partner for businesses in Dubai and beyond. With its exceptional track record of delivering results, the agency is poised for continued success in the years ahead.