“Cloudflare has built one of the world’s largest networks that offers a unique view of Internet traffic and online activity around the world,” said Matthew Prince, co-founder and CEO of Cloudflare. “The world continues to rely on the Internet, and we are humbled to have been able to do our part to keep the world connected through protests, conflicts, and natural disasters in 2022. It’s a privilege to help build a better, more transparent and more informed Internet.”This data comes from Cloudflare Radar, a free tool that lets anyone view global trends and insights across the Internet. Radar is powered by data from Cloudflare’s global network (one of the world’s largest, spanning 275+ cities in 100+ countries), and aggregated and anonymized data from Cloudflare’s 1.1.1.1 public DNS Resolver, widely used as a fast and private way to browse the Internet.

Dubai Mall, Dubai Hills Mall, and Dubai Marina Mall are ringing in the 2022 festive season and 28th edition of the Dubai Shopping Festival with breathtaking festive illuminations, unbelievable deals, and fantastic promotions starting 15 December 2022.For this joyous season, Emaar has decked up the malls with illuminating décor ensuring to spread the festive cheer. Visitors strolling through Dubai Mall can expect to be awed by the beauty of lights and dazzling decorations spread out across various levels and locations. Witness the sparkling ornaments hanging from the ceilings along every corridor to the grand, elegantly shimmering chandelier in the Fashion Dome.Shoppers can also snap a selfie with Rudolph, who can be spotted at the iconic Dubai Mall Waterfall – a perfect backdrop for a family photograph. Also located along the promenade is a life-sized ornament, perfectly wrapped in season’s colours and surrounded by stars to encapsulate the most magical time of the year.Guests at Souk Al Bahar will be welcomed through a beautifully adorned entryway brought to life by illuminated snowflakes, lights, and more, creating the most ideal photo moment. Pedestrians and drivers passing through Downtown Dubai can revel in an array of stars, ornaments, leaping reindeers, golden stags and sparkling dandelions, all adorning the streets of the heart of Dubai.At Dubai Hills Mall, visitors looking for an impromptu festive-themed photoshoot can capture a picture right under the cluster of glimmering trees, a magnificent set-up of an Instagram-worthy festive tree, giant baubles which you can sit inside of, and an unmissable 7 feet tall reindeer decked up in golden lights.Shoppers can also head over to Dubai Marina Mall, where the scene is set with magnificently ornated trees located in the Dome Atrium and along the promenade.This year, Emaar Malls have also raised the bar with an even more incredible retail experience than last year as Dubai Shopping Festival, the most anticipated shopping event of the year, returns to its three leading lifestyle destinations, Dubai Mall, Dubai Hills Mall, and Dubai Marina Mall.From 15 December to 29 January, guests at Emaar Malls can enjoy an incredible range of purchases with unbelievable discounts across beauty, fashion, technology, home brands, and many more product ranges. Shoppers looking for the perfect gifts this season can take advantage of these promotions and purchase terrific presents for their friends and family.Adding to the incredible lineup of unmissable benefits available for shoppers this festive season, Shop Now, Pay Later, Emaar Mall’s iconic partnership programme with Emirates NBD, valid until 31 December.Whether it’s purchasing the latest fashion trends, dining at one of the esteemed restaurants, or exploring one of many entertainment attractions located in any of the malls, Emirates NBD U by Emaar card holders can enjoy three to six-month interest-free instalments on all purchases above AED 500.

42 Abu Dhabi, the UAE capital’s innovative and disruptive coding school that offers a unique peer-to-peer, gamified learning methodology, celebrated its first anniversary.The School highlighted its remarkable achievements in empowering learners to shape the digital future of Abu Dhabi by making coding education accessible to people from all walks of life.Since its launch in October 2021, 42 Abu Dhabi has enrolled 340 students, including 100 UAE national students. With flexibility being a key pillar of 42 Abu Dhabi’s learning methodology, the School is open 24 hours a day, giving students ownership of their learning journey through its peer-to-peer model.42 Abu Dhabi collaborated with leading organisations and companies across different industries and sectors to identify and develop opportunities which contribute to its success.This year, 358 job and internship opportunities were offered to 42 Abu Dhabi students, including 109 sponsorships for the UAE national students as a result of the successful network of partners that the school has built.Dr. Ahmed Al Shoaibi, Acting Executive Director-Higher Education Sector at Abu Dhabi Department of Education and Knowledge (ADEK) said: “One year ago, we launched 42 Abu Dhabi under Abu Dhabi’s Ghadan 21 accelerator programme to complement the emirate’s world-class educational ecosystem, and introduce the school’s unique learning methodology to the emirate education ecosystem. Today we mark a new milestone of making coding education accessible to people from all walks of life”.“In one year, we have made impressive strides toward realizing Abu Dhabi’s strategic vision to create a diverse and inclusive educational experience that empowers a future-ready generation of lifelong learners who can lead our future knowledge-based economy. 42 Abu Dhabi has seen huge demand, boasting impressive enrollment figures. We have also developed a strong strategic partner network that continues to play a vital role in supporting our objectives in developing our school as Abu Dhabi’s talent incubator, enabling us to foster a culture of entrepreneurship and develop the Emirate’s education sector”, he added.Marcos Muller Habig, Acting CEO of 42 Abu Dhabi, said: “Today, we reflect on 42 Abu Dhabi's journey in successfully being an agent of change. We will continue to break the limits of traditional learning by implementing our peer-to-peer model, where we enable our students to acquire coding skills through our project-based, gamified independent learning methodology. This is coupled with our unwavering efforts to bring 42 Abu Dhabi future coders together through engaging events that build on the 21st century skills required to decode their potential, opening the door to infinite possibilities and making significant contributions to realising the vision of Abu Dhabi”.“Our successful journey over the past year emphasises 42 Abu Dhabi’s influential role in fostering a digitally aware and driven generation of coders who are technically skilled and push the limits of digital innovation. This year, we achieved our target of providing sponsorships for every UAE national student in 42 Abu Dhabi. In the upcoming year, we will work on expanding our partners’ network to ensure that we continue to provide sponsorships and stipends for every UAE national that joins our school,” he added.The anniversary celebration was attended by 42 Abu Dhabi’s students and staff.During the event, 42 Abu Dhabi organised digital activations to engage attendees and foster interactions between the students, including a Motion Vending game, Digital Caricaturist, 360 Photo Booth and a Scavenger hunt.Students were encouraged to reflect the school’s pride and success by highlighting their favourite aspects of 42 Abu Dhabi on a dedicated wall, which also included 45 selected quotes from their peers. This served as an inspiration for the event’s attendees and enhanced the sense of belonging among the 42 Abu Dhabi community.42 Abu Dhabi honoured the students who have gone the extra mile to develop their skills and excel over the past year, as well as its exceptional staff. In addition, the school recognized the winner of the 42Art competition, which was established ahead of the event to empower 42 Abu Dhabi’s students to showcase their artistic talents and skills by creating and submitting digital art pieces.42 Abu Dhabi is an innovative and disruptive coding school, launched in 2020 as an initiative of the Abu Dhabi Department of Education and Knowledge (ADEK) and Abu Dhabi’s Ghadan 21 accelerator programme, which aims to drive Abu Dhabi’s ongoing development through multi-faceted investments in business, innovation and people.

A unique pop-up event organised as part of the Dubai Shopping Festival (DSF) is inviting people to experience a nostalgic recreation of Dubai in the 80s.A new addition to the DSF, organised by the Dubai Festivals and Retail Establishment (DFRE), the 10-day event, held at the Last Exit Al Khawaneej, transports visitors into a visual representation of Dubai in the 80’s and early 90s.The event is one of a series of attractions and experiences featured in the #DubaiDestinations winter campaign.The Dubai 80s event aims to capture the moment in time when Dubai was on the cusp of pivotal change.Apart from being a defining era globally, the 80s were a decade that raised Dubai and the UAE’s profile on the international map. It was a time when the country embarked on a transformative journey that made it a leading global city.Dubai 80s will explore the defining era of the city’s past, with vintage photo galleries showing pictures of Dubai before its transformation into a global metropolis, photo booths, shows, anime and live performances, old-school gaming arcades, and classic cars, all offering a blast from the past.“The event is an attempt to create a heart-warming experience of life in the decade that was a turning point in Dubai’s history. Dubai 80s invites visitors to look back and reflect on a decade in which the seeds of our current prosperity and growth were sown. Looking back, especially at the 80s and early 90s, is fascinating as this was such a transformational era for Dubai,” said Ahmed Al Khaja, CEO of Dubai Festivals and Retail Establishment."Dubai developed rapidly within the span of just a few years. The creation of the city’s modern skyline, its huge festivals, and its remarkable growth as a tourist destination all started from the 80s, which is why we wanted to highlight this specific era.”On arrival at the pop-up event, visitors will take a giant leap back in time, strolling through a main entrance with a vintage Emirati house that gives them the experience of entering an 80’s neighbourhood, redolent with spices and old music in the air.Visitors will come face-to-face with memorabilia, including 90s cell phones, swatch watches, Gameboys, old encyclopedias and floppy disks, vintage televisions and retro cassette players, gadgets that defined a generation.Guests can explore a vintage photo gallery display for a trip down memory lane, with snapshots from local artists depicting Dubai in all its past glory before its emergence as the futuristic city of today.Visitors can also retrace their childhood memories and explore comic books and cartoons that defined a generation before Marvel and DC Comics moved to the big screen. Revisiting a time when Dubai had its own superhero fanbase, visitors have the chance to re-experience their favourite comic book heroes and watch screenings of anime and animated clips from popular movies.They will also get the opportunity to explore the Gaming Arcade, built as a nostalgic 90s themed arcade with vintage arcade machines, featuring all-time favourite games such as Tetris, Mario Kart, Space Invaders, and many more. A display of classic cars will bring back memories of the automobiles of yesteryear. Visitors will also get the chance to win a host of daily prizes."This is so much more than a pop-up concept, but a whole heart-warming experience,” he added. "There is something that will resonate with everyone, from Emiratis to residents who have lived here for years," explained Al Khaja.Dubai 80s will take place at the Last Exit Al Khawaneej from 23rd December to 8th January from 4.00 pm to 11.00 pm, with free access to everyone.The 28th edition of Dubai Shopping Festival (DSF), which runs until 29th January 2023, features shopping attractions, innovative events, world-class entertainment and life-changing prizes.Featuring the ultimate retail therapy from a wide range of home-grown and global brands as well as live concerts, outdoors markets, pop-up dining and more.

The Jameel Clinic, the epicentre of artificial intelligence (AI) in healthcare at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), hosted yesterday a one-day conference titled ‘AI Cures MENASA: Clinical AI and data solutions for health’, in partnership with the UAE Artificial Intelligence Office, Community Jameel, and Wellcome. Held at the Jameel Arts Centre in Dubai, the conference was attended by H.E. Omar Sultan Al Olama, UAE Minister for Artificial Intelligence, Digital Economy and Remote Work Applications.The conference brought together pioneers in AI and health from the Jameel Clinic, including MacArthur ‘genius grant’ Fellows Professor Regina Barzilay and Professor Dina Katabi, Dr Adam Yala and Dr Shrooq Alsenan, a Jameel Clinic research fellow from Saudi Arabia, together with representatives from major hospitals and public health agencies across the Middle East, North Africa, and South Asia (MENASA) region. The conference marks the first international venture of ‘AI Cures’, the Jameel Clinic’s platform for collaboration that launched in the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic.Fady Jameel, vice chairman of Community Jameel, said: “We are excited to be able to help bring together such an inspiring gathering of scientists, policymakers, public health officials and hospital leaders at the Jameel Arts Centre in Dubai. The work of the Jameel Clinic has the potential to transform healthcare for millions of people around the world, and we are excited to see the Jameel Clinic AI Hospital Network expanding in the MENASA region and rolling out clinical AI tools around the world for equitable impact for all.”Professor Regina Barzilay, AI faculty lead at the Jameel Clinic, said: “Ensuring that the cutting-edge clinical AI research being done at MIT can be utilised in diverse clinical settings is critical to our mission at the Jameel Clinic. We look forward to combining the expertise of Jameel Clinic researchers with the expertise of local clinicians and public health officials in the MENASA region to maximise the impact of clinical AI tools on patient lives.”Tariq Khokhar, head of data for science & health at Wellcome, said: “AI tools have an exciting role to play in transforming healthcare for patients around the world and advancing health research. But first, researchers, policymakers, clinicians and healthcare managers must work together to test them in diverse settings rigorously, so we know they work for different people and under different circumstances. This will ensure they’re safe for everyone and maximise their potentially life-saving potential.”

Female investors have a role to play in steering economic sustainability by supporting female entrepreneurs, according to Ghada Abdelkader, Senior VP at Crescent Enterprises, a leading global, diversified business headquartered in the United Arab Emirates.Representing Crescent Enterprises' corporate venture capital platform, CE-Ventures at the 6th Sharjah Entrepreneurship Festival, Ghada Abdelkader said progress is being made to address the gender disparity in the investment sector with more focus needed, "Globally, Venture Capital (VC) firms are focusing on improving their Diversity and Inclusion practices as more firms clearly understand the business case. However, the pace of change is still slow”."It is generally more challenging to make substantial changes when the change requires a complete revamp of the mindset and strategies that have been followed for years. For example, we frequently evaluate global funds that boast an integrated gender diversity strategy. Yet, when we look at the teams, we find that, predominantly, decision-makers tend to be male," Ms Abdelkader added.  The discussion highlighted the unique opportunities both female entrepreneurs and investors pose for economic sustainability. However, female entrepreneurs are still underfunded, with only 2% of funding distributed to females in the US and 1% in the Middle East and North Africa region. Similarly, the representation of female investors in the US is also low, with 8-10% of GPs female, and only 2% of which are founding females, a figure even lower in the MENA region.However, it's not about suddenly investing in all women-led businesses. Instead, it's more about removing the unconscious bias from the investment decision-making process, which the MENA region has better embraced due to the relative emergent nature of the ecosystem. "I'm more optimistic for the MENA region landscape due to the relatively nascent VC ecosystem and the fact that women investors were a vital part of this ecosystem when it started. While the gender lens investing VCs are making strides in advancing the gender equity agenda, I believe it's on the non-GLI investors to build a more conducive and welcoming environment for women-led startups and founders," Ghada said.She also emphasised that investments are evaluated on the merits of the opportunity and the challenges they address, but that profit, and purpose can co-exist.“At CE-Ventures, we look to invest across sectors, with tech-enabled solutions being a core concentration. Over the past 5 years, we have invested in the areas of foodtech, fintech, and edutech as examples. Our investment philosophy is one that focuses on companies that are solving real problems, scaling globally, and that are using technology as a competitive advantage in solving the given problem.”Ghada Abdelkader made her comments during the session 'Female Investors and their Impact on the Industry' and was joined by other speakers, including Sheikha Al Mheiri, Chairwoman, Fortitude Holding and Olga Fleming, Investor and Serial Entrepreneur, and moderated by Heather Henyon, Founding Partner, Mindshift Capital.The panel was part of Sheraa's 6th Sharjah Entrepreneurship Festival 2022 under the theme 'Where we Belong', which took place at Sharjah Research Technology and Innovation Park under the patronage of Sheikha Bodour bint Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Chairperson of Sharjah Entrepreneurship Centre (Sheraa). As a founding partner and supporter of Sheraa, Crescent Enterprises is committed to supporting entrepreneurs and developing an environment for innovation to thrive. During the festival, CE-Creates’ joint venture, hatch & boost Ventures showcased its latest portfolio businesses; World of Farming, a homegrown AgriTech company that creates smart farming solutions to aid and support food security challenges; and BreakBread, a digital platform aimed at connecting food enthusiasts, hosts, and talented cooks through home-cooked meals.

ftNFT is an NFT Marketplace operating within the Fastex ecosystem powered by SoftConstruct. Home to over 8 brands, SoftConstruct offers cutting-edge IT solutions to different industries. Subsequently, the aim to level up transparency between businesses and communities led the giant tech to an ecosystem that encompasses blockchain technology. Now the Fastex ecosystem with its ftNFT marketplace intends to be a trend away from what is ordinary by having the first-ever NFT shops in the MENA region.On 22 December 2022, the ftNFT marketplace officially brought its virtual ventures into the non-virtual world by opening the first NFT shop in Dubai. The shop now welcomes its international enthusiasts at the Mall of the Emirates, one of the most popular retail and entertainment destinations in the UAE.The opening ceremony took place last Thursday with well-known Emirati faces among the attendance. Artists, influencers, and public figures carrying enthusiasm all along with the novel experiences promised by the ftNFT marketplace turned the event into a major landmark in the history of NFTs. Many prominent figures were invited to share their thoughts and insight. In addition, artists whose collections played a leading role in having a physical NFT shop made speeches and inspired many more to follow their leads.The shop is a display of collections by Amrita Sethi, AKNEYE, and many more. The first NFT artist in the UAE, Amrita Sethi’s work is an alliance between physical and digital arts. The award-winning artist crafts multimedia dynamic forms of art through sound, storytelling and augmented reality merged in physical art, NFTs and fashion. Moreover, her role as a thought leader in the Web3 space has become a source of inspiration to many. AKNEYE on the other hand is a platform that brings international artists together with a vision. Known for its distinctive sculpture collection of eyes, AKNEYE is now making a groundbreaking move to the virtual world by making its sculptures available in the form of NFTs.From a casual walk in the gallery to a 3D scanner that makes avatars for virtual reality lovers, the shop offers more than just an ordinary shopping experience. The very notion of having a physical shop was all about encouraging creativity in solid technological platforms where all the attention is on the trading side of this game. The ftNFT shop gives everyone equal opportunities to craft and personalize NFTs that can be either picked up by the five senses or experienced virtually. In other words, this is the place where the borderline separating traditional and digital art fades away.The shop found its rightful place in the Mall of Emirates thanks to the construction that Impact Group completed together with the designers from SoftConstruct. Established in 1988, in Lebanon, the Impact Group Co is an architecture company that carries out innovative and premium-quality projects on time for world-class businesses and brands.Through its first-of-its-kind shops in the MENA region, the ftNFT marketplace is shaping a community of artists, enthusiasts, and potential investors to create, buy, and sell NFTs.

Digital transformation investments in the Middle East, Türkiye, and Africa (META) are set to more than double across the 2021–2026 period, according to the latest forecast from International Data Corporation (IDC). The global technology research, consulting, and events firm says that digital transformation spending in the region will accelerate at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 16% over the five-year period, topping $74 billion in 2026 and accounting for 43.2% of all ICT investments made that year."For many organizations, the digital and tech investments they made during the pandemic to build resilience could be put to test in 2023 across key business dimensions such as customer experience, operations, and financial management, among others," says Jyoti Lalchandani, IDC's group vice president and regional managing director for the META region. "The implementation of further digitalization in critical areas and a more rapid shift to a 'digital business' approach will be key to separating the thrivers from the survivors."No matter what the economy throws at us over the coming 12 months, organizations must not lose sight of their digital aspirations. The focus should be on enabling clear and measurable outcomes, and digital spending needs to transition from building to scaling. Indeed, IDC predicts that by 2027, at least 30% of the C-suite's focus will be on scaling innovation and operating a truly digital business. Automation will sit at the heart of this process, helping to reduce the cost of IT operations, address labor shortages, and increase the velocity of innovation."Globally, IDC expects spending on digital technology by organizations to grow at eight times the economy in 2023, establishing a foundation for organizations to drive operational excellence, competitive differentiation, and long-term growth. IDC will expand on these insights as it hosts the META region's most influential technology vendors, telecommunications operators, and IT service providers at IDC Directions 2023 Middle East, Türkiye & Africa.Taking place on February 1 at The Ritz-Carlton, Dubai International Financial Centre, this in-person event will address the theme 'Navigating Disruption in the Age of Digital Business'. It will examine the very latest digital acceleration trends shaping end-user investment priorities across the region, providing essential guidance to the region's foremost ICT vendors on proven best practices for transforming themselves into new-age digital partners for their customers.To learn more about IDC Directions 2023 Middle East, Türkiye & Africa, please contact Sheila Manek at smanek@idc.com   or on +971 4 446 3154. You can also join the conversation on social media using the hashtag #IDCDirectionsMETA.

GoDaddy Inc., the company that helps entrepreneurs thrive, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Rowad 2030, a project derived from the Ministry of Planning and Economic Development, to support startups and entrepreneurs through Rowad’s Business Clinic program, supporting the country’s ambitious national agenda; Egypt Vision 2030.The MoU was signed by Dr. Ghada Khalil, Director of the Rowad 2030 Project, and Selina Bieber, GoDaddy Commercial Strategy Senior Director, International Markets.The collaboration aims to empower entrepreneurs with increased opportunities for digitization, while bolstering Egypt’s startup ecosystem, by providing specifically designed educational courses, and a 30-day free trial to GoDaddy’s Arabic Website Builder or GoDaddy Estore.Through the Business Clinic program, GoDaddy will be leading a series of workshops and Train the Trainer (TTT) sessions, covering topics such as: how to build a website, building and marketing a brand online, starting an ecommerce website. These topics aim to help entrepreneurs grow their businesses, establish roots in new markets, and widen their client reach.Dr. Hala El Said, Minister of Planning and Economic Development, commented, “I am very pleased with this cooperation, which highlights the presence of highly responsible entities that endeavor to support entrepreneurs. We believe that empowering youth, fostering innovation, and bolstering entrepreneurship are major factors in achieving the sustainable development. Therefore, we are working hand in hand with the private sector to provide a supportive ecosystem for young Egyptian people to help them boost their journey in the marketplace.”Bieber expressed that the project has great potential, “We are very pleased with our collaboration with Rowad 2030 in support of start-ups and entrepreneurs through the Business Clinic program. As a champion for small businesses and the everyday entrepreneur, GoDaddy’s mission is to empower a global community of future business leaders to flourish online. Therefore, through this program, we aim to stimulate the innovation culture to empower Egypt’s sizeable youth population in acquiring the effective tools and knowledge to grow and sustain their online businesses.”“Rowad 2030 aims to spread the culture of entrepreneurship among youth by developing their skills. We look forward to working with GoDaddy to help Egypt’s young entrepreneurs innovate and help them reach their target and new audiences through the Business Clinic program. This comes in line with Rowad 2030’s strategy to upskill a million entrepreneurs and establish 5,000 new startups by 2030; leveraging the state’s sustainable development Egypt Vision 2030,” Khalil said.GoDaddy’s partnership with Rowad 2030 is one of the latest in a series of collaborations with local communities in the region. The company has been strategically partnering with relevant entities that help accelerate entrepreneurial development, such as Fawry and Startups Without Borders, in support entrepreneurs and small business owners across the Middle East in starting and growing their businesses online.

 Dubai Future Foundation has published a report on the outcomes of the inaugural Dubai Metaverse Assembly held in September at the Museum of the Future under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of the Executive Council and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Dubai Foundation Future.The report was prepared in partnership with PwC, the knowledge partner of the Dubai Metaverse Assembly, to highlight the main recommendations that came from the assembly, as well as the major trends and applications that were discussed.The assembly was attended by around 600 technology experts and specialists from 50 countries. Over the course of two days, they participated in more than 25 workshops and panel sessions that hosted more than 30 speakers and 40 local and international institutions and technology companies.The report addresses the most important topics and discussions that arose from the assembly relating to the future of the metaverse. It focuses on metaverse applications in sectors such as business, communications, education, entertainment, gaming, travel, and real estate.The report identified four main areas that governments and companies should focus on to achieve success in the metaverse, including strengthening collaboration between the government and private sectors, developing legislation and regulations related to data protection, privacy and cybersecurity risks, defining clear roles and responsibilities for all stakeholders, and accelerating the adoption of advanced technologies and the exchange of experiences.Dubai Metaverse Assembly was the first event in Dubai to focus on the metaverse. It was hosted following the approval by His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum to launch the Dubai Metaverse Strategy in July 2022. The strategy aims to add $4 billion to Dubai's GDP to support the creation of 40,000 virtual jobs by 2030, attract 1,000 technology companies to the emirate, and position Dubai as one of the 10 largest metaverse economies in the world.His Excellency Omar Sultan Al Olama, Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, Digital Economy and Remote Work Applications, said: “Dubai Metaverse Assembly hosted the largest gathering of experts and organizations concerned with designing the future of the metaverses. The event highlighted the importance of keeping pace with technological developments and employing new applications in realizing future visions and plans and developing governments, economy, health, education and communities. It also showcased the positive impact of using new tools that facilitate people's lives and open promising horizons in the future”. Khalfan Belhoul, CEO of Dubai Future Foundation, said: “The report aims to share the insights and knowledge revealed by global experts during Dubai Metaverse Assembly with the world through a new report on the untapped potential of the metaverse. We believe it’s crucial to share knowledge on future trends, as it allows governments, businesses, and civil society to take advantage of the immense opportunities presented by advanced technologies. This report will serve as a resource for anyone seeking to understand how the metaverse will impact vital economic sectors and help create a better future for humankind built on sustainability, wellbeing and prosperity.”Guy Parsonage, PwC’s Metaverse Lead, said, “The Middle East economy is currently undergoing a rapid digital transformation leading to an industry-wide disruption across various sectors. Dubai is a prime example of this as it aims to become one of the top ten metaverse economies, with an ambition to be a role model in metaverse technologies. In line with The Dubai Metaverse Strategy, our strategic partnership with the Dubai Future Foundation (DFF) explores new and advanced technologies to create a better future, allowing us to connect between real and virtual worlds seamlessly. Furthermore, this partnership demonstrates our commitment to helping clients in their digital transformation journeys and ensuring we deliver sustainable outcomes while building trust in our society.”Governments and corporations should take the initiative to reap the inevitable socioeconomic benefits created by the metaverse, which will grow at a faster rate than internet or mobile connectivity speeds. All stakeholders must continue to explore new pathways for collaboration in the metaverse, the report found.Case studies should be the cornerstone of any new tests or projects in the metaverse, and they should be designed to foster credibility and build trust among developers, regulators and the public.The report highlights how the metaverse can add value in myriad ways. From enhancing the ability of individuals to control – and one day monetize – personal data – to helping nations achieve diplomatic parity, as evidenced by Barbados' plans to launch an embassy in the metaverse, there are endless opportunities.The control and the monopoly enjoyed by social media platforms today will be challenged by the metaverse; it has the potential to provide billions of people with richer experiences from enhanced education to intimate live performances from the world’s biggest artists and musicians.The full report is available on: (https://www.dubaifuture.ae/dma-outcomes).

The growth and expansion plan launched by stc Group at the beginning of the second decade of the 21st century was not just dead letters, but rather a realistic strategy sought by the group as a result of the technical development witnessed in the region. Over the past few years, stc group has transformed from a mere company that provides communication and internet services to a digital enabler that is considered the most prominent in the Middle East region. The comprehensive strategy launched by the group had the superlative role in endorsing digital transformation in the gulf region, as it sought to diversify investment opportunities. And during the past two years it launched many subsidiaries in the fields of cybersecurity, Internet of Things, Artificial Intelligence, cloud computing, infrastructure and 5G technologies that serve different gulf communities and support the digital transformation in the region. Today, the market value of the stc group has reached more than 187 billion riyals and the value of the stc brand reached $10.6 billion, according to the Forbes magazine classification. Furthermore, the group obtained the most valuable brand certificate in the Middle East region in the telecommunications sector, according to the classification of Brand Finance International. The success story of this development, growth and accomplishments achieved by the group extended to become the main driving force of the communications and information technology sector for both Kuwait and the Kingdom of Bahrain. How did the group contribute to transforming the status of communications and information technology in the Gulf region?The beginning of the group’s success story in the expansion and growth process was from Kuwait, where in 2008 it witnessed the birth of a new star that shone its light in the sky of communications, and its features emerged in its first steps to draw the shapes of a giant who will transfer the communications and information technology sector to a promising future. During its first year, it attracted half a million customers in Kuwait, and within only 4 years it began to achieve profitable returns for investors, and the company’s official listing on the Kuwait Stock Exchange was one of the shapes of success and growth, as the volume of retained profits increased with the development of the company’s profits. It also acquired the second place in terms of revenues and market share from the subscribers, afterwards the achievements continued until it acquired a market share of about 36% of the sector’s revenues in 2021.In the Kingdom of Bahrain, stc entered the telecom market in 2010 as the third telecom operator in the Kingdom. The group quickly became a major driving force towards achieving the digital transformation vision, as it captured 41% of the market revenues, and proved its strength in the competition to become the first operator in the mobile phone markets, carrier sector customers and operators in the Kingdom of Bahrain, as well as the fastest performing company throughout the region and the first in developing local, regional and global networks, through continuous investments in infrastructure development. It was approved as the first commercial operator of the 5G network in Bahrain, in the field of cybersecurity, and cloud computing. The company also provided services outside the scope of communications, including financial services and insurance services at the highest levels, in order to keep up with the requirements of customers' daily lives.Contributing to Kuwait’s and Bahrain’s national visions2019 witnessed the launch of the unified brand in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain. The company also launched an updated and developed a strategy that fits the company's basic objectives during the subsequent years in 2019 to enhance the process of enabling the company's digital transformation in line with the national visions in each country.In Kuwait, the Kuwait strategic Vision 2035 seeks digital transformation among the many goals set by the state, to keep pace with the internet services at all levels. stc had a fundamental and vital role in accelerating the transformation process, as the company’s acquisition of Quality-net and its transformation into “solutions by stc” had a prominent role to be the active technical arm in enabling the business sector and supporting local projects. It announced the establishment of the 5G Innovation Center in 2019, with the aim of exploring, developing and launching the uses of advanced 5G technologies. Moreover, it provided a range of digital solutions for companies that include data centers, infrastructure support and applications for companies. In addition, stc introduced an IoT strategy that allowed companies to manage their resources more efficiently and make the most of their business models.In Bahrain, stc contributed to supporting Bahrain's economic vision 2030. In terms of the business sector, the company developed a comprehensive range of information and communication technology products, including cybersecurity, asset tracking, data hosting, and cloud services to serve this sector. In terms of carriers and operators, the company has succeeded In consolidating its position as an empowered company in this field. It provided services to more than 400 national and international companies. The company also enhanced the customer service experience across all points of contact, as it always aimed to continue advancing the digital transformation in the Kingdom of Bahrain to become a digitally enabled society.Future and growth and developing performanceBased on the company's strategy and the promising projections of the institutional sector in Kuwait, the company undertook a major transformation process to meet the needs of customers and enrich their experiences in the information and communication technology field, which was highlighted in the company's strategy "AHEAD". The company was keen to improve its efficiency and internal capabilities in this sector through its acquisition on the entire capital of the Electronic Gate Holding Company in April 2022, to keep pace with the latest rapid global developments in the field of communications and information technology, and to provide the best integrated technical solutions to its individual and institutional clients. stc successfully completed its capital increase during 2022 to reach KD 99.9 million by distributing 100% bonus shares to its shareholders. During the third quarter of 2022, stc's market share reached 39.8% of the telecom sector's revenues in Kuwait, for the first time since the company's establishment, to be at the forefront of the telecom sector in terms of revenue.In Bahrain, stc has invested more than $2 billion in developing digital infrastructure. The company has remained at the forefront of launching innovative services in Bahrain, even becoming the first operator to launch 5G technology across the Kingdom. stc Bahrain has also worked to develop its innovation center and its platform for developing modern technologies for various sectors, and has also launched many digital services, including self-service machines (SSM), smart queue management service, and many other services, which contributed to providing an improved experience for customers by providing them with the opportunity to complete their transactions in a few seconds and in any time and place. The company launched a cyber security training academy, with the aim of raising awareness about potential cyber threats through its leading solutions in this field.Investing in sustainability and social developmentSince its establishment in Kuwait, stc has been able to achieve many contributions and achievements to support the local community and its social responsibility agenda. It succeeded in participating across various initiatives in cooperation with various government agencies and private sector institutions to small and medium-sized companies that aimed at supporting and empowering the Kuwaiti society to achieve sustainability in line with Kuwait Vision 2035. The company focused its efforts in key areas such as health, sports, education, entrepreneurship, and the environment. It launched several initiatives, such as the "Safe Education" campaign in cooperation with the Ministries of Education, Health, Interior, and Information, and the "Weyak" initiative to support local SMEs in enabling their digital transformation strategies.The company is keen to invest in the continuous development of its human resources, as they form the cornerstone of its outstanding performance. It is endlessly focused on providing education and development programs, as it has effectively launched its e-learning programs through many recognized international organizations, such as LinkedIn Learning and Gartner, to continue providing training and development opportunities for employees. The company also launched its training academy "Creativity Academy", which seeks to empower employees with high potentials.Under the social responsibility umbrella, stc Bahrain worked to spread the culture of innovation to a level beyond the borders of its customers, as it launched the “Jussoor” program with the aim of empowering its community service. Moreover, it launched the “Trees for Life” initiative that aimed at supporting the Kingdom’s national plans in reforestation, with the purpose of doubling the percentage of trees in the Kingdom by 2035, and launched the "Kafu" program, which was shown during the holy month of Ramadan. It is a major initiative to highlight individuals and people who have been a source of inspiration in the Kingdom over the years. It also launched the “Fereej” initiative which means (the neighborhood), with the aim of investing for families who live in difficult conditions. The company worked to educate and develop Bahraini youth and provide unique opportunities for fresh graduates looking to enrich their careers inside and outside the company through its “ICT Generation” program, which was launched recently.

 Dubai is leading the MENA region on the Global Power City Index (GPCI) 2022, issued by Mori Memorial Foundation’s Institute for Urban Strategies. After climbing up three spots globally to rank 11th on the index, the emirate also comes 4th globally on Cultural Interaction, improving from its fifth position overall on the parameter in last year’s Index.The GPCI ranks the world’s major cities according to their ‘magnetism’, or power to attract people, capital and enterprises from around the world. The rankings are derived from scores on six parameters: Economy, Research and Development, Cultural Interaction, Liveability, Environment, and Accessibility.The GCI’s rankings of the top cities in 2022 reflect the self-reinforcing strength of the world’s leading global cities. The top four cities on the list — New York, London, Paris, and Tokyo — are unchanged from 2021.Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of Dubai Executive Council and Chairman of The Executive Council of Dubai, said the improvement in the city’s rankings on the Global Power City Index reflects the leadership’s vision to make Dubai the world’s best city to live, visit and work.He added that the rankings reaffirm the success of Dubai’s human-centred model of sustainable development.“Driven by the farsighted policies of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, the emirate has emerged as one of the world’s great metropolises and a prominent global cultural centre, a dynamic hub for creativity and a destination for talent,” Sheih Hamdan noted.“The achievement reveals the richness and strength of Dubai’s vibrant cultural environment and its ethos of inclusive development that has brought well-being to its residents from around 200 nationalities.The progress in rankings on ‘Cultural Interaction' shows Dubai’s emergence as a unique bridge between cultures and markets and its ability to promote engagement between people and institutions worldwide. The progress in various international indices encourages Dubai to raise excellence further and enhance its cultural and creative assets,” he added.Commenting on Dubai’s progress in the GPCI rankings, H.H. Sheikha Latifa bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairperson of the Dubai Culture and Arts Authority, and member of the Dubai Council, said: “Dubai has evolved an integrated strategy to consolidate its position as a city of choice for cultural practices, experiences and consumption. Driven by the vision of our forward-thinking leadership, Dubai has seen remarkable development as a global cultural hub.The successful hosting of Dubai Expo 2020, one of the world’s biggest cultural events, and the growth in visitors have added to the city’s cultural dynamism. The city saw more than 11.4 million overnight international visitors in just the first 10 months of the year.The number of new businesses in Dubai’s cultural and creative industries has also seen significant growth, catalysed by our enhanced value proposition and offerings for this sector. The progress achieved in the ‘Cultural Interaction’ parametre validates the success of our strategic plans and represents a major milestone in our efforts to achieve our leadership’s vision for Dubai.”She added: “Dubai’s emergence as a major global hub for culture and creativity increases our determination to raise the emirate’s global competitiveness in these spheres.Guided by our leadership’s vision to transform Dubai into a leading city of the future, we continue to work to create a dynamic ecosystem for our cultural and creative industries and empower talent to contribute directly to the economy’s growth. We also seek to enhance the diversity of Dubai’s cultural offering in order to further enrich the experiences the city offers both residents and visitors.”The rankings of the top five cities in the ‘Cultural Interaction’ parameter have seen significant changes in the latest GPCI. Dubai has made rapid strides in this category over the last few years.The issuer of the Index, the Mori Memorial Foundation’s Institute for Urban Strategies, said GPCI 2022 rankings were significantly impacted by how cities responded to the COVID-19 pandemic, which transformed working methods, lifestyles, and economic and cultural activities in cities. Cities in the Middle East significantly strengthened their performance on various parameters.By tracking changes in international flight frequencies of cities since 2019, the GPCI analysed the responses and strategies of cities and countries to the pandemic. Dubai was the first city to reopen for international visitors since the onset of the pandemic. It also created a safe environment for holding Expo 2020 from October 2021 to March 2022.Both achievements contributed to the emirate’s rise to third ranking in the ‘Tourist Attractions’ sub-parameter within the ‘Cultural Interaction’ parameter. The emirate also saw significant growth in other sub-parameters, including ‘Number of Foreign Visitors,’ ‘Cities with Direct International Flights,’ ‘Attractiveness of Shopping Options,’ and ‘Attractiveness of Dining Options.’Although London maintained its #1 position, the city saw its score fall for the second year running. In the Economy function, scores for all indicators in both the "Market Size" and "Market Attractiveness" indicator groups fell. Scores related to Accessibility's "Air Transport Capacity" and Cultural Interaction's "International Interaction" dropped sharply. On the other hand, London moved up to #11 in Environment, placing it one position away from achieving top 10 results across all functions.New York saw its comprehensive score improve, bringing it closer to #1 London. The city received excellent results in Cultural Interaction's "Tourism Resources" and "Visitor Amenities", jumping over Paris and returning to the #2 position for the first time since GPCI-2020. In Livability, scores for "Working Environment", which had fallen last year, improved this year. In Accessibility, scores improved due to the recovery of the number of passengers on domestic air flights, resulting in the city achieving a #1 position in "Air Transport Capacity".Tokyo had the fourth largest drop in its comprehensive score among GPCI cities, edging closer to #4 Paris. The city saw its rank fall in 4 of the 6 functions, with lower scores in "Tourism Resources" and "International Interaction" in Cultural Interaction causing a drop to #5 in that function. Unlike New York, the slow recovery of air travel for Tokyo caused a strong decline in its "Air Transport Capacity" scores in Accessibility.

A recent survey conducted by NAMA Women Advancement, in partnership with UN Women, found that 77.6% of women-owned businesses (WOB) in the UAE are led by those under the age of 40. Of the 1,000 female business owners who took part in the survey, 48.8% are CEOs and 61.4% are sole proprietors, a clear indicator that Emirati entrepreneurs, particularly young women, are making significant contributions to the GDP in emerging economic sectors.This survey was a part of the report ‘Women-Owned Businesses in the United Arab Emirates: A Golden Opportunity’, published by NAMA Women Advancement in partnership with The Economic Empowerment Section of the UN Women, which addressed the realities and prospects of Emirati women's contributions to the UAE’s comprehensive development, enhancing the sustainability of economic sectors and diversifying sources of national income.Strong business ecosystemThe report lauded the UAE’s sustainable and resilient entrepreneurial ecosystem, pointing out the massive strides the UAE has undertaken to ensure gender parity through a series of legal, policy and institutional measures over the past decade, including the simplification of access to finance. The UAE was ranked top in the world in the 2021/2022 Global Entrepreneurship Mentorship (GEM) report in terms of countries that allow for better ease of doing business.The report indicated that Sharjah aspires to build a sustainable economy by fostering youth entrepreneurship and emerging tech-led industries, enhancing competitiveness and improving business opportunities for MSMEs. Hence, a steady increase in newly registered businesses.Rise in the number of women-owned businessesThe report revealed that the number of female entrepreneurs is rising significantly, with 25,000 Emirati women entrepreneurs owning 50,000 trade licences valued at AED 60 billion in 2021 compared to 23,000 Emirati women running businesses worth AED 50 billion in 2019 and 11,000 Emirati businesswomen running businesses worth AED 12 billion in 2010.Respondents stated they were confident in their business growth plans and expressed the importance of securing financing sources. They stressed the importance of engaging women in organisations that provide comprehensive support for entrepreneurs through networking, training and advisory services.Respondents also expressed a need for training and capacity-building in business skills including commerce and digital marketing skills, financial accounting and management tools, as well as acquiring knowledge on making proposals in response to bids and tenders. Meanwhile, the report also stated that 13% are co-owners with more than 51% of shares, and 25% are business leaders with less than 51% of shares, while 72% of WOBs comprise micro-enterprises, 24% are small enterprises and 3% are medium enterprises.Comprehensive visionThe report also provides a comprehensive overview of the realities of small and medium WOBs, and the possibilities of securing financing, in addition to suggestions and recommendations on ways to achieve them and advance businesses, pointing out the massive strides the UAE has undertaken to ensure gender parity through a series of legal, policy and institutional measures over the past decade, in both public and private sectors.Main legislation driverThe report pointed out that businesswomen councils in the country were the main drivers for national business legislation encouraging women’s participation in entrepreneurship through micro businesses. Hence, Emirati and non-Emirati women were encouraged to thrive and to start their entrepreneurial journey with minimal set-up requirements.It also stressed that significant women-focused initiatives for SMEs and home-based activities gave access to thousands of women entrepreneurs to set up their businesses, including the launch of Badiri Education and Development Academy and Irthi Contemporary Crafts Council by NAMA in Sharjah, ‘Sougha’ and ‘Mubdi’ah’ by the Abu Dhabi Businesswomen Council, and ‘Intilaq’ by the Dubai Chamber of Commerce.Opportunities, challenges, and needs   A UN Women–NAMA research titled ‘Women-Owned Businesses in the UAE: Opportunities, Challenges and Needs’ indicated that 41.2% of female business leaders stated that the main challenge they face in the UAE is the lack of access to markets; 38.8% noted access to finance, while 33.5% noted high market competition.Unquestionable proofCommenting on the report and study, HE Reem BinKaram, Director of NAMA, said: “This report represents an unquestionable proof of women’s role as a major component of development in the UAE. We are working to form a comprehensive ecosystem that nurtures women's great results that contribute to the national economy, which is a pillar on which institutions under NAMA were established under the directive of Her Highness Sheikha Jawaher bint Mohammed Al Qasimi, wife of the Ruler of Sharjah and Chairperson of the SCFA. We seek to create an environment that cares for women, and provides them with opportunities to engage in comprehensive development, whether she is an at-home mother or grandmother taking care of her children, or an entrepreneur or a business owner that provides opportunities for advancing the local economy, and strengthen women’s status as a key player in bolstering the UAE’s standing.”Promising OutcomesFor her part, Dr. Moza Al Khayal, Director of the UN Women-UAE Liaison Office for the GCC, said: “Despite the challenges facing women entrepreneurs, the continuous governmental support has provided opportunities to gain extensive expertise through training initiatives organised around the country that helped establish a comprehensive ecosystem that guides women towards a bright future and accomplishments that the report has highlighted.”

In view of broadening demand from leaders/organizations in the GCC countries, KPMG Kuwait published the first edition of its flagship publication GCC Female Leaders Outlook 2022. The report is an insightful compilation of the opinions and outlook of more than 60 female leaders from the GCC region on six areas, namely: (i) Growth; (ii) New Work; (iii) Digitalization and Cyber; (iv) Innovation and Technology; (v) Purpose and ESG; and (vi) Career and Motivation.The report highlights that the GCC Female Leaders are confident about the growth prospects of their countries, sectors and companies even in the face of disruption. They are cognizant of key threats such as talent and technology risks, and are taking swift measures to stay on top of them.Speaking about the report, Karen Watts, Partner — Quality and Risk, KPMG in Kuwait said, “I am happy to announce the launch of the GCC Female Leaders Outlook 2022. Over the years, we have issued three editions of the Global Female Leaders Outlook, with the intention of voicing the perspectives of women leaders on several areas that could impact them as an individual and as part of an organization. With this report, however, we have tried to deliver something that is more relevant and in line with the GCC Female Leaders’ requirements, considering the same has shot up in recent years. I hope our readers will find it helpful and put it to good use. I would also like to thank the female leaders who participated in our thought leadership and provided us with their valuable insights, which helped us with an accurate representation of the region.”The publication features five interviews with Haya Ayman Boodai, Board Member, Touristic Enterprises Company & Dhaman Health Assurance Hospitals Company, Manal Alrubaian, General Internal Auditor, Kuwait International Bank, May Dashti, Information Security AGM, Gulf Bank, Rama Issam, Senior Manager — IT Quality Management Division, Boubyan Bank, and Salma Al-Hajjaj , GM — Human Resources at Gulf Bank to add more regional specificity to the outlook.The one-on-one interactions cover the present market scenario, impact of the COVID-19 crisis, work-life balance and, more importantly, the journey the interviewees took to become leaders in their organizations.In working on the publication, the following key themes emerged:Optimism amid adversity: While confident that the growth prospects will mature in their favor, female leaders are not undermining the risks in talent and emerging technology. Haya Ayman Boodai acknowledged the risks associated with talent and quoted, “People are key assets for any organization and the success and failure of any company is directly linked with its people. The report highlights that more than 90% of the GCC Female Leaders feel that their countries’ growth prospects will come to fruition over the next three years despite prevailing challenges.Hiring for a new reality: Female leaders are searching for more talent to fulfill the needs of digital. They are focusing on creating the right employee value proposition as well as a set of policies and culture that will support work-life balance. Talking about how work has changed after the COVID-19 crisis with regard to new talent, Salma Al-Hajjaj said, “Post pandemic, there is a belief that work can be done from anywhere and hence flexible working hours and distance working should be considered moving forward.” The report mentions that a third of the leaders want to forge a culture that will promote employee well-being and are, hence, striving to create a framework around that.Maintaining the pace of digitalization: Female leaders are eager to invest in digital opportunities and are considering adoption of a more aggressive approach to succeed in their digital investment strategy. “An organization’s digital transformation journey requires proper planning and the right leadership combined with regular monitoring,” said May Dashti emphasizing the importance of a good strategy. Adding to this, Manal Alrubaian commented, “Digital transformation is a challenge for any organization, and the main factor that can turn the challenge to motivation and opportunity is the presence of excellent expertise.”Innovating for resilience: Female leaders believe innovation will be paramount in ensuring their organization’s post-pandemic survival and are using ‘fast-failing’ initiatives as a vehicle. Speaking about the role of innovation in the technology sector, Rama Issam said, “Innovation is a fundamental tool to survive and thrive in the technology sector, as banks aim to leverage technology to build wider a customer base and better customer relationships.”Meeting ESG demands: Female leaders think ESG performance around ethnic, racial and gender concerns drives stakeholder attention. According to the report, eight in ten respondents feel that more effort should be made toward bridging the gender equality gap on a senior level. “We still have a long way to go in terms of minimizing the gender gap in technology but the effort is worth it as I strongly believe that diverse talent pools are effective,” added Rama Issam underlining the importance of having more women in technology/IT.Charting a career growth path: Female leaders have plans in place to grow their careers despite top workplace concerns in behavior-related bias, preferential treatment and transparency around equal pay. “In recent years, I have observed more and more women getting into technical fields, such as information technology and medical sciences, among other areas, which used to be dominated by males. This type of balance is really important because I believe women can excel in any field of their choosing if they are given the opportunity to do so,” affirmed Haya Ayman Boodai. Supporting this, the findings in the GCC Female Leaders indicate that almost 80% of the GCC Female Leaders have a clear idea as to how they are going to progress their career in the next three years.The report calls special attention to the gender gap in the digital era and points out that bridging it will require more than motivating women to take up a career in the digital economy. The report lays emphasis on bringing about a change in mindset that will support the roles women are playing now and will continue to, along with the emerging roles, in the new reality.The results and findings published in the report are based on the Primary Research, Global Female Leaders Outlook 2021, HQ Middle East, with the participating female leaders belonging to Middle Eastern countries such as Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.

 Saeed bin Hamoud Al Maawali, Omani Minister of Transport, Communications and Information Technology, stressed that the digital economy of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region is advancing at a rapid and significant pace, noting its major importance to GDP.He also noted the importance of promoting cooperation between the GCC and its international partners to increase the pace of digital transformation.In his exclusive statement to the Emirates News Agency (WAM) on the sidelines of his participation in the ICT Competition Middle East Regional Finals 2022, Al Maawali highlighted the need to support relevant digital economy plans and programmes, as well as enhance the cooperation between the UAE and Oman in developing the digital economy infrastructure, and attracting international investments in emerging technologies and digital industry.He also affirmed Oman’s keenness to train creative talents, through a national initiative for qualifying competencies, titled, “Makeen,” which aims to attract creative minds in the GCC, especially in Oman, as well as launch other national initiatives in the areas of self-employment, competition and software development, and encouraging the private sector.Al Maawali added that the selection of Muscat as the Arab Digital Capital for 2022 underscores the significant efforts of national authorities to progress towards the era of digitisation and digital transformation, stressing that Oman aims to offer incentives for digital companies and exchange information.He then pointed out the many areas of cooperation with the UAE in the areas of legislation, policies and laws related to smart transport, promoting partnerships with the private sector in creating investment solutions for smart transport and the transformation to sustainable clean transport, to achieve carbon neutrality in the transport sector and support research and development and technical training for workers, and other fields.

Network International (Network), the leading enabler of digital commerce across the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region, has announced the appointment of Sandeep Chouhan as Group Chief Business Transformation and Technology Officer.Bringing global experience in spearheading Business and Technology Transformations at some of the world’s leading financial institutions and payments businesses, Sandeep will be responsible for driving Network’s group-wide strategic transformation to accelerate business growth, operating efficiency and innovation in processing and acquiring products, as well as reducing time-to-market for banks, merchants and fintechs.A reputed figure in the global banking and payments industries, Sandeep most recently served as Group Chief Operating Officer of Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB). He brings with him over thirty years of consumer banking and payments experience in business management, digital transformation, technology modernisation and agile operations. Sandeep has a track record of building and running technology, digital and operations at Citi, Discover Card, Barclays, Mashreq, CBQ and ADIB.“Sandeep’s experience as a Transformation and Technology expert of leading financial institutions and payments businesses will ensure that we accelerate product innovation and time-to-market for our customers, enabling them to achieve their goals,” commented Nandan Mer - Group CEO of Network International.Sandeep Chouhan – Group Chief Business Transformation and Technology Officer at Network International, added, “I am honoured to be joining the MEA region’s most prominent payments enabler, and absolutely thrilled to be spearheading innovation and strengthening our technology offerings to provide world-class digital services to our customers and create the next-generation payments ecosystem.

Trend Micro, a global leader in cybersecurity solutions, recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Saudi Cloud Computing Company (SCCC) Alibaba Cloud to protect the enterprises of Kingdom of Saudi Arabia from the evolving threat landscape and to promote the localization of cybersecurity solutions in Saudi Arabia.During a special ceremony at the inauguration of Trend Micro’s MEA HQ in Riyadh, SCCC Alibaba Cloud’s Chief Executive Officer, Eng.Talal Albakr, and Trend Micro’s Area Vice President and Managing Director for the Middle East and Africa, Dr. Moataz Bin Ali, signed the agreement in the presence of His Excellency Haytham Alohali, Vice Minister, Ministry of Communications, and Information Technology.In 2022, Alibaba Cloud became the world’s first hyperscale cloud provider to enter the Saudi Arabian market, offering its services through Saudi Cloud Computing Company (SCCC). SCCC Alibaba Cloud and Trend Micro will collaborate to provide cutting edge solutions that benefit the customers of both companies. Together, they will share cybersecurity best practices, insights and explore opportunities for hosting Trend Micro’s innovative data lake in Saudi Arabia. The data lake will allow Trend Micro and its partners to offer advanced threat defense solutions from inside Saudi Arabia. The two organizations will also work together on the localization of cybersecurity solutions and practices across the kingdom.“SCCC Alibaba Cloud is committed to enhancing collaborations with partners in various markets to provide tailormade cloud solutions that will empower businesses across industries and help them to thrive in the digital age,” said Eng. Talal Albakr, Chief Executive Officer, SCCC Alibaba Cloud. “With the advent of technology and accelerated digital transformation, our partnership with Trend Micro will go a long way in supporting enterprises across Saudi Arabia in navigating the evolving threat landscape.”“Trend Micro is committed to protecting the digital transformation journeys of Saudi Arabia’s enterprises and communities,” said Dr. Moataz Bin Ali, Area Vice President and Managing Director, Trend Micro, Middle East and Africa. “Today we take another major step as we embark on a new journey of innovation and partnership with SCCC Alibaba Cloud. The threat actor is becoming more sophisticated by the moment, and we will do everything in our capacity to empower the kingdom’s organizations so that they can continue to thrive in the new digital era.”

 Airbnb today announced the launch of the Dubai remote working hub, a one-stop-shop for aspiring remote workers in partnership with Dubai’s Department of Economy and Tourism (DET).Anyone looking to live and work in Dubai can now use the hub to find inspiration for local long-term listings as well as helpful information on entry requirements and visa policies.Earlier this year, Airbnb launched its Live and Work Anywhere initiative to identify some of the most remote worker-friendly destinations in the world. Dubai was selected as one of 20 destinations globally, alongside Canary Islands, Thailand and the Caribbean, among others.The Live and Work Anywhere programme will see Airbnb and Dubai’s Department of Economy and Tourism promote the city to remote workers seeking accommodation and guidance for their long-term stays.Velma Corcoran, Regional Lead for Middle East and Africa at Airbnb, said, “Dubai is a global leader in facilitating remote working. As this trend continues to accelerate, we want to work together to make it easier for people to enjoy the newfound flexibility to work and travel, and help the city harness the economic benefits of this new type of tourism.”Millions of people are now more flexible about where they live and work. About one in five guests globally reported using Airbnb to work remotely while travelling in 2021 — a trend that has continued into Q1 2022, with long-term stays at an all-time high, more than doubling in size from Q1 2019. In the first three months of 2022, searches for international solo travel in the United Arab Emirates for long-term stays also grew by over 280 percent compared to the same period in 2019. Dubai ranked among the world’s top 3 cities to live for executive nomads in the 2022 Savills Executive Nomad Index.Issam Kazim, CEO of Dubai Corporation for Tourism and Commerce Marketing, said, "Dubai’s global connectivity and pro-business ecosystem combined with visa-friendly reform has underlined the city’s status as a leading hub for remote workers, building on Dubai’s commitment to nurture business growth and meeting the demands of today’s talent."The city is already home to over 200 nationalities that enjoy unrivalled career opportunities and lifestyle offerings. From world-class retail experiences, to Michelin-starred restaurants and local cuisine, sandy beaches, theme parks and a cultural scene second to none, Dubai is yet again ready to welcome the world, this time in collaboration with Airbnb."Airbnb recently published a guide for governments and destinations outlining recommendations for how communities can benefit economically from the rise in remote workers. Airbnb’s Guide to Live and Work Anywhere: How Communities Can Benefit from Remote Workers is based on Airbnb’s insights, data and experiences in partnering with 20 destinations that are embracing the potential of remote work, as well as a review of remote worker programmes worldwide.

As the cloud technology wave continues to sweep across industries regionally on the back of an ever-evolving digital-centric consumer base, players in the cloud computing space are racing towards adopting value-driven solutions in a bid to grow their market share.According to hybrid data cloud company Cloudera, this has resulted in a dramatic shift occasioned by emerging consumer preferences and trends shaping markets.In recognition that technology and innovation, especially in the cloud computing industry, remain pivotal to the growth and success of many organisations, Cloudera has reiterated the need to adopt and integrate emerging trends as part of the organisation’s digital strategy.“Cloud technology remains a top priority in every organisation because consumers have become tech-savvy and expect solution providers to lead by example. This has, in turn, led to an increase in the adoption of cloud technology for various applications, including data management. Therefore, organisations must keep an eye on new trends and innovations to help them deliver the right solutions across industries,” said Karim Azar, Regional Vice President of Middle East & Turkey.Hot on the heels of these disruptions and growing consumer expectations, the market has introduced newer products to fill emerging gaps.As the market prepares to usher in 2023, the industry should align its strategies with new trends and consumer preferences in the cloud technology space even as they plan to remain competitive in its respective strongholds; expect the development of the following trends:Adoption of the Multi-CloudThe mass adoption of cloud computing is a crucial driver of the most transformative technological trends. The industry is expected to witness multiple businesses leveraging cloud services to access newer, innovative technologies and build efficiencies in their operations and processes in the upcoming year.While 2022 has been a great year for Hybrid clouds, 2023 expects businesses to diversify their services across cloud portals. Adopting multi-cloud services enables organisations to expand their horizons regarding agility and security. Moreover, the multi-cloud technology prevents users from getting tied down to one cloud ecosystem.“Adopting hybrid and multi-cloud services provides several benefits in terms of flexibility, ease of use, and even cost savings,” Karim Azar, Regional Vice President – Middle East & Turkey at Cloudera. Sixty-nine per cent of business executives are convinced that their enterprises require a comprehensive data strategy to succeed. However, only 35 per cent believe that their current system sufficiently fulfils their requirements.Industry experts have cited the ability to manage seasonal demands, support special projects, and identify and organisation renegade workloads as some of the key reasons hybrid and multi-cloud services are necessary for businesses.Ability to manage seasonal demandsSupporting special projectsIdentification and organisation of renegade workloadsHigher Funding For Cloud Security & DurabilitySince businesses will be looking to adopt multiple cloud services for their data, security and longevity will be crucial. Although migrating across clouds exposes companies to myriad growth opportunities, it also significantly increases their vulnerability to cyber threats. Businesses will, therefore, need also to shore up their investment in tried-and-tested technologies to help them safeguard their data from any potential threats online.Upskilling for digital transformation success and business survivalThe global tech industry remains amidst a severe talent and skills shortage, impacting the ability of businesses to see through their digital transformation projects and endangering their survival.With a restricted pool of graduates with specialist data skills, having individuals with suitable skill sets is crucial. With AI and machine learning (ML) taking over everyday time-consuming tasks, employees can shift their focus onto complex tasks that require human intelligence.Going ahead, business investment in upskilling and reskilling programmes will be key to unlocking future growth and development. Complementary to this are prospects who are increasingly receptive to these programmes. Cloudera’s Limitless: The Positive Power of AI report found that most (80%) of knowledge workers were comfortable taking on new roles thanks to advances in AI/ML and data analytics, making their job easier.Digital Transformation to Save CostsInstigated by cost-cutting strategies, the priority for most businesses will likely be cost-efficient data security strategies. This includes increased use of Artificial Intelligence, and Predictive Technology crafted to identify potential security threats in advance. Finding opportunities for monetary savings offers the benefit of reducing costs, but more importantly, it enables a reallocation of budgets towards innovation projects.Substituting redundant data storage is a massive opportunity to reduce costs. Organisations can seek opportunities and evaluate cost savings using mergers. Solution providers can be challenged to demonstrate the most efficient solutions to optimise project deliveries and costs.As technological advancements grow, business leaders and employees will have more time to focus on complex tasks, enabling them to finish more in lesser time at better costs.

Strategic sustainability and corporate responsibility think-tank in the Gulf and the MENA region, Sustainable Mindz, today unveiled the 2021 Happiness@Work awards, picking out the best innovative public and private sector companies in the region for their out-of-the-box and disruptive employee engagement and wellbeing policies, resulting in overall happiness at their respective workplaces.The fifth edition of the Happiness@Work awards have been announced across several categories, and the competition to be endorsed for their commitment to make happiness at workplaces a new normal, has attracted a phenomenal number of participants this year. The Happiness@Work Award is a first-of-its-kind initiative in the region and in the last five cycles, 62 organisations have received 75 awards.“We have been negotiating an extraordinary period of challenging times and despite the uphill context, some of these companies which have been awarded have shown tremendous amount of empathy to employees, which shows their commitment to creating happy work places irrespective of constraints. We believe they are the disruptors that have dedicatedly pursued engaging their employees with positivity with focus on their wellbeing,” said Sarju Mathew, Director, Sustainable Mindz.There were 35 nominations in this year’s cycle across categories, and after evaluation by a jury panel of experts, awards were declared across eight categories to companies that have shown exceptional dedication to happiness at workplace.Abu Dhabi Police from the public sector and Paramount Computer Systems were picked out for the Happiest Workplace Award.  Abu Dhabi Police and Paramount Computer Systems also won the Best Workplace Diversity and Inclusion Program Award. The Best Workers Welfare Program was given to Zain BH B.S.C, while Paramount Computer Systems and Watermark Events Solution LLP was honoured for its Best Workplace Wellness Program.“These organisations have placed their obligation of creating a happy workplace at the centre of their governance policies and they have indeed made a difference to the lives of their colleagues. In turn, they have paved a positive path for others to follow, to change and be changed,” said Dr Saamdu Chetri, Chair of Jury, Happiness@Work AwardThe Best Employee Engagement Program category awards went to Abu Dhabi Police, Festoon, Aafaq Islamic Finance and Barjeel, while Hitachi Energy bagged the Best Workplace Diversity and Inclusion Program.

 DP World and the Saudi Arabia-based Hassana Investment Company (Hassana), the investment manager for the General Organisation for Social Insurance (GOSI) – which owns one of the world’s largest pension funds – announced today an investment of approximately US$2.4 billion (SAR9.0 billion) in three of DP World’s flagship UAE assets. This sale of a strategic minority stake in Jebel Ali Port, Jebel Ali Free Zone and National Industries Park, follows on the earlier transaction that successfully closed in June 2022.Hassana will invest approximately US$2.4 billion in a new joint venture with DP World through which it will hold its economic interest in a stake of approximately 10.2% in the three UAE assets. The investment by Hassana implies a total enterprise value of approximately US$23 billion for the three assets.[1] The Jebel Ali Port, Free Zone and National Industries Park together comprise a best-in-class group of infrastructure assets, with a solid long-term track record of growth. Combined, they form a world-class integrated ecosystem for the supply and logistics chains of over 9,000 companies from around the world, serving more than 3.5 billion people globally. The three assets generated pro-forma 2021 revenue of US$1.9 billion.After this investment, which closed on 19 December 2022, the three assets will remain fully consolidated businesses within the DP World Group, and their day-to-day operations, customers, service providers and employees will not be affected.Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, Group Chairman and CEO of DP World, said: "We are delighted to announce this new partnership with Saudi Arabia-based Hassana, which manages one of the largest global pension funds. Hassana shares our long-term vision for the UAE assets, which have a long and sustained track record of growth and resilience. We believe this new partnership will serve to enhance our assets and allow us to capture the significant growth potential of the wider market. The transaction further strengthens our balance sheet, which, combined with the continued resilience of our business, diversity in our portfolio and focus on supply chain solutions, will support our target of achieving a strong investment-grade rating for the DP World group. Overall, we believe this partnership and transaction will drive sustainable value for all DP World stakeholders."  Saad bin Abdulmohsen Al-Fadly, CEO of Hassana Investment Company, said: "We are excited to announce this new partnership with DP World and our investment in Jebel Ali, a world-class infrastructure asset with a solid long-term track record. This partnership highlights our focus and strategy to invest in critical infrastructure assets in the region that we believe will deliver long-term sustainable returns. Favourable demographics and macro-economic drivers and investment in transformational projects will continue to support growth momentum regionally, while trade between the emerging economies of Asia and Africa is also expected to thrive."

Dubai Chambers has recently convened representatives of its business groups and councils to the fourth 2022 roundtable discussion aimed at fostering public-private sector cooperation to enhance Dubai’s favourable business environment.Held on a quarterly basis, the roundtable events provide group and council representatives with a platform to discuss timely business issues, proactively identify policy and legislative priorities, and drive collective advocacy impact to advance economic and business growth in Dubai.“Dubai Chambers is committed to protecting the interests of our members and meeting the changing needs of a dynamic business environment. We advocate to improve ease of doing business in Dubai, acting as a bridge between the emirate’s private sector and its forward-thinking government. The roundtable discussions with business groups and councils are valuable communication channels that help us identify and collectively address important policy matters that impact our business community in order to create a supportive, enabling, and innovation-based business environment,” said Maha AlGargawi, Executive Director of Business Advocacy at Dubai Chambers in her welcome remarks during the roundtable.Th event featured an overview of Dubai Chambers’ strategic priorities and the emirate’s economic outlook as well as updates on current and upcoming initiatives.During the event, Dubai Chambers presented results of the latest Dubai Quarterly Business Survey: Outlook, Impediments & Incentives, 2022, Q4.According to the survey, the overall majority of businesses in Dubai have better expectations for business conditions and sales. Sentiments on business confidence and business conditions have improved and are expected to positively impact private investment in Dubai. Companies are looking to increase digital adoption in all facets including advertisement (40%), digital payments (35%), e-commerce (25%) and digital marketing (31%).Dubai Chamber of Commerce, one of the three chambers operating under Dubai Chambers, announced this year plans to establish new country-specific business councils to expand economic cooperation and non-oil trade between Dubai business community and international markets of strategic importance across Africa, Latin America and the Middle East.In addition, Dubai Chamber of Commerce aims to increase the economic sectors and activities represented by business groups to 100 by March 2023. Business groups are policy advocates for their respective sectors that unify the voice of the business community and promote the private sector’s role in economic growth.

Consumers in Saudi Arabia predominantly view digital money transfers as the preferred way to send money now and in the future, according to research commissioned by Western Union. Yet many still want the power to choose between online and retail (in-person) experiences - depending on their convenience and needs. Exclusive insights show that today almost 60% of consumers who send money abroad prefer digital money-transfer services, compared to 22% who want choice, and 17% who send cash through retail channels only.The study, which surveyed over 1,500 money-sending and receiving citizens and residents of Saudi Arabia, asked how, when and why they move money internationally. The results bolster Western Union’s recently announced ‘Evolve 2025’ (E25) strategy combining high-value, accessible digital and retail financial services. The research also aligns to Western Union data, which has demonstrated strong customer preferences to move money digitally. In the first three quarters of 2022, the Company experienced double-digit year-on-year growth in the volume of digital transactions from Saudi Arabia.When asked about how international money transfers should be offered in the future, consumer opinion among senders is mixed. More (47%) still believe that the transfer experience should be digital from end-to-end, while 44% prefer choice and 9% would still opt for cash only. In reverse, 57% of consumers who receive transfers prefer a choice, while 24% favour going completely digital. Nineteen percent would still want to collect their funds in cash only. “Since launching their ambitious National Transformation Program – Vision 2030, Saudi Arabia has made significant strides in achieving digital transformation,” said Jean Claude Farah, President of Middle East and Asia Pacific at Western Union. “The country’s visionary leaders have been steadfast in developing the necessary infrastructure to support this evolution. As a result, today it ranks seventh for its digital competitiveness among the G20, while internet penetration across the country sits at an impressive 98%. The study outcomes demonstrate that citizens and residents have been very much part of this journey – largely opting for online options over in-person experiences, as they benefit from the country’s increasingly advanced digital framework.”Receivers hold strong influence over frequency and flow of moneyThe research also shows that receivers of funds strongly influence how much and how often their senders transfer money. Overall, 34% of senders say their families or loved ones’ financial situation drives decisions on the frequency and flow of money. Sixty eight percent also say their receiver influences the company they choose to send money through, and 74% state their transfer method of choice (digital, retail or a mix) is dependent on how their receiver can collect the money.Looking at the broader macro-economic climate, a significant number of consumers expect to send (74%) or receive (66%) more money in the next 12 months. However, senders also struggle with a cost-of-living dichotomy: 73% of senders say that because cost-of-living has increased in their receiving country, they now need to send more money; yet 67% state that higher cost-of-living in their current country of residence, means they are not able to transfer as much as they did previously.“Providing a crucial link between senders and receivers helps consumers build a bridge to financial stability and opportunity,” Farah said. “As we adapt to higher costs-of-living, supporting consumers as they move up the economic ladder becomes even more important. The public and private sectors have a collective role to play here. If we collaborate effectively, we will be able to offer even stronger financial opportunities and experiences that will ultimately help them better manage their financial lives.”Women prioritize why they send cross-border money transfers differently to menThe study also shows that a greater number of women in Saudi Arabia send money transfers more often than once a month, compared to men. Nearly a quarter of the women surveyed (vs. 21% of men) say they move money multiple times within a month.Paying for family support is the primary reason why men move money (55%). While this is of utmost importance to many women as well (42%), women also place stronger emphasis on reasons such as paying for financial commitments, future savings and education payments. “Globally, women comprise slightly less than half of today’s expatriate workers,” Farah concluded. “They are more empowered than ever before, as they move internationally and shape global economies. In line with Vision 2030, Saudi Arabia is focused on attracting the finest local and international minds to bolster economic development. Their ambition to increase women’s participation in the workforce to 30% by 2030 means that ensuring greater access to financial services is imperative, particularly with the rise of new technologies.”

Cinépolis Cinemas, the largest movie exhibitor in Latin America and the third largest in the world, has signed a Management Agreement with Ithra Dubai to partner in a 10-[AY1] screen cineplex, as part of the Deira Enrichment Project which will feature their family-friendly Junior concept, as well as an outdoor rooftop screen.Ithra Dubai, a fully-owned subsidiary of Investment Corporation of Dubai (ICD), provides strategic oversight by developing projects such as the Deira Enrichment Project in Deira, a place rich in culture and overflowing with history.Lachlan Gyde, Executive Director Asset Management for Ithra Dubai commented: “We are pleased to partner with Cinépolis and welcome their international and local experience which will further reinforce our core value of enriching the lives of people we serve. The Cinema will most certainly be a valued entertainment addition to this exciting emerging community, for residents and visitors alike.”The brand has a well-established footprint throughout the GCC, with theatres in Oman, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. In the UAE, Cinépolis opened its cineplex in Sharjah Oasis Mall in 2020. Cinépolis Deira, expected to open by first quarter 2024, will be the eleventh theatre to welcome visitors under the Cinépolis umbrella.Alejandro Aguilera, CEO of Cinépolis Cinemas, said: “Deira will be the first Cinépolis project in Dubai, a metropolitan hub in which we plan to expand our presence and bring our international expertise. Our goal is to offer the best cinema experience and continue to prioritize customer experience”.The cinema will house ten screens with state-of-the-art auditoriums and will feature the brand’s signature reclining Standard and Deluxe seats, which offer an exclusive luxury viewing experience and boast personal amenities and advanced storage solutions.Catering to the needs of younger cinemagoers, Cinépolis Junior will offer a jungle gym, bean bag seating, and 15-minute intermissions halfway through the film to allow children to take a break.An alternative to traditional screens is the outdoor rooftop, which will not only provide plush and comfortable seating with high-definition viewing, but will also provide access to breathtaking views of The Creek.Cinépolis Cinemas is known globally for its legendary popcorn and delectable hot food, which the brand will be rolling out to the new Deira project.Excellent service has always been at the core of Cinépolis, and customer convenience is something the brand has always prioritized. To make the cinema experience as simple and hassle-free, one service the brand will roll out is their contactless ordering, which allows all moviegoers to book and pay for their food and beverages from the comfort of their seats, using a customized QR code.

 London-based consumer technology company Nothing, announced today the appointment of Rishi Kishor Gupta as Business Lead for its Middle East operations.Rishi, a veteran in the consumer technology space with over 15 years’ of experience, will be responsible for driving growth in the highly-competitive market, and spearheading business development and operations for Nothing in the region. With his vast experience in retail and international consumer markets, Rishi was instrumental in establishing Huwai’s operation and spearheading its strategic growth in the Middle East.“2022 has been a milestone year for Nothing with the launch of our first smartphone, Phone (1), and reaching the one million products sold mark. As we are gearing up towards 2023, it is time for us to explore new markets” said Steven Gao, VP of Growth and Co-Founder of Nothing. “We are seeing a lot of opportunities in the Middle East and I am thrilled to welcome Rishi to the team as we are getting ready to accelerate our efforts there. With his proven track record and experience, he will play a pivotal role in our region’s growth.” "I am very excited to be part of Nothing’s journey. It has been very inspiring watching Carl and the team make such a breakthrough in the industry over the last two years,” said Rishi Kishor Gupta, as Business Lead, Nothing Middle East. “Phone (1) has been one of the most anticipated smartphone launches of the year and I look forward to working with local partners so that people in the Middle East can get their hands on it.” 

Rashid Bashir has been appointed the new CEO of the Consulting practice at Deloitte Middle East. He will start his new role on 1 January 2023, succeeding Tim Parr, who is set for retirement.Mutasem Dajani, CEO of Deloitte Middle East commented, “In the last five years, and under the leadership of Tim Parr, the consulting business has witnessed substantial growth in all areas including talent, client base and offerings. We are now market leaders in digital banking, investing in client centric facilities including a digital studio in Dubai and a digital center in Riyadh.” “Tim is succeeded by Rashid Bashir who will be leading our consulting practice as it enters a new and ambitious stage of growth. Rashid has played a critical role in delivering our strategy and serving the governments of the region, and I am confident he will bring his vision for the business, understanding of the market and his passion for our people and clients to his new leadership role,” added Dajani.Rashid will transition from his current role as Chief Strategy Officer and as lead partner for the Government and Public Services practice at Deloitte Middle East.Commenting on his appointment, Rashid Bashir said, “The creativity and innovation we offer will enable and drive forward the socio-economic transformation happening across the region. We aim to be the advisors of choice in the GCC market, and I am committed to bringing the best of Deloitte to the region.” “Against a backdrop of constant change – be it climate, technological or economic – governments and the private sector will continue to transform. Our ambition is to become the largest Consulting practice in the region, nurturing the national talent and serving our clients with distinction. My leadership team will include three women partners and 12 different nationalities, championing diversity and inclusion,” added Bashir.Rashid has been advising national governments in the GCC on socioeconomic transformations and will continue to advise on large-scale government projects across the region. He has substantial experience working on some of the most complex policy issues facing governments, including economic growth, job creation, education, innovation and entrepreneurship.Rashid holds an MBA in Strategy from Strathclyde Business School in Scotland and a Master of Philosophy in Economics from The University of Glasgow. Before moving to the Middle East 12 years ago, Rashid was a strategy consultant with Deloitte UK.

 InMobi, a leading provider of content, monetization, and marketing technologies, has announced the appointment of regional leaders for its newly expanded partnership with Microsoft Advertising in the Middle East and Africa. To build the momentum with the recently announced partnership, InMobi has appointed Jacob Joseph as the Business Head for Microsoft Advertising in Middle East and Africa while Priyanka Nambiar will be the sales lead for Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) markets. They will support InMobi’s efforts to grow, retain, and enable strategic and enterprise advertisers in the UAE and wider region. In addition, Nilay Yucedag, Janette Hardman and Seun Methowe, are appointed as sales leads for Turkey, South Africa and West & East Africa.“The ramping up of the team in-market reinforces InMobi’s commitment to drive growth for Microsoft Advertising in the Middle East and Africa and will enable InMobi to better cater to customers through deeper connections, collaboration, and curated servicing across the several clusters within the region,” shared Rohit Dosi, VP and GM, Microsoft Advertising at InMobi.InMobi had recently announced the expansion of its partnership with Microsoft Advertising to lead the enterprise and strategic sales, account management, marketing, finance, collection, and billing across the Middle East and Africa.Talking about this development, Mike Luscombe, Senior Partner Sales Lead, Middle East, Africa, and Turkey at Microsoft Advertising, shared, “We are thrilled to welcome these extremely diverse and talented set of experts at InMobi to drive growth for Microsoft Advertising in the region. I look forward to working closely with each one of them and enhancing the value our clients derive from this partnership.”Welcoming the regional presence, InMobi client Vittorio Barraja, Senior Director – Biddable Media, PHD UAE said, “InMobi’s in-market presence is great news as we work to maximize impact for brands like HSBC by leveraging the Microsoft Advertising platform. The strategic approach, technology expertise, and deep knowledge brought by the InMobi team will be invaluable to advertisers in the region.”InMobi has already seen a strong uptick in the adoption of Microsoft Advertising offerings among over 50 key clients across the travel, retail, and finance, industries since the announcement of the partnership. In September 2022, Microsoft Advertising announced the availability of its offerings in over 30 new markets across the Middle East and Africa including UAE, Algeria, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Egypt, Ethiopia, Georgia, Guinea, Israel, Kyrgyzstan, Lesotho, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritania, Mauritius, Moldova, Namibia, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Réunion, Saudi Arabia, Seychelles, Tajikistan, Tanzania, The Gambia, Togo, and Zimbabwe.In addition to English, the ads are now supported in Arabic, Hebrew, and Russian languages as well.InMobi <> Microsoft Advertising Lead ProfilesJacob Joseph, Business Head – Microsoft Advertising, Middle East and Africa, InMobiJacob Joseph is the Business Head for Microsoft Advertising in the Middle East and Africa at InMobi. He is a result-driven, persistent and analytical professional with over 11 years of experience in working across enterprise and startup organizations such as Zomato, Radio Mirchi, and InMobi. He relishes using his people management and interpersonal skills to connect with and build deep relationships within the technology and advertising community.Priyanka Nambiar, Sales lead – Microsoft Advertising, GCC region, InMobiA digital media enthusiast with over 8 years of experience in sales, Priyanka has explored several avenues ranging from display ads, native advertising, content (video and podcast), and co-branded activations with her previous employers at Manorama Online and Business Standard in Mumbai and Khaleej Times in the UAE.

COFE App, the premier online coffee marketplace recently announced the signing of an agreement with the Saudi Coffee Company (SCC). As per the agreement, COFE App will be the premium online partner for SCC supporting them in amplifying their reach to coffee lovers in the Kingdom and beyond. This strategic partnership between COFE and SCC is aimed at propelling the Saudi coffee industry into the digital era, consequently empowering local producers to connect with end users with greater ease and convenience.The partnership between COFE App and SCC is set to propel the coffee e-commerce sector further, making Saudi grown beans available to coffee lovers through COFE’s mobile app. Both companies are united in the purpose to transmit technology and knowledge to the Kingdom in a number of areas, including coffee production, roasting, marketing, and sales, as well as all other activities, in order to promote the Kingdom as a frontrunner in the sector.Commenting on the agreement, COFE App Founder & CEO, Ali Al Ebrahim expressed: “It is a proud moment for us at COFE to be working with SCC. We hope that this partnership will help in giving Saudi coffee the visibility and reach that it truly deserves. Through our work in Saudi, we hope to take this integral part of our culture and tradition to the world. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank everyone involved in making this possible. It is truly the beginning of something great.”The platform has seen wide-spread acceptance from users in the Kingdom and was listed as the Top 10 Most Downloaded Food Delivery and Restaurant Apps (2021) in the kingdom in a survey conducted by Communication & Information Technology Commission (CITC) of Saudi Arabia.SCC is a Public Investment Fund (PIF) company launched by the sovereign wealth fund of Saudi Arabia with a mandate to develop the Saudi coffee industry. SCC plans to invest over SAR 1.2 billion ($319 million) in the national coffee sector over the next ten years to increase annual output from 300 tons today to more than 2,500 tons by 2030. Saudi’s domestic coffee market was estimated to be worth $1.96 billion in 2021, and is expected to grow to $2.78 billion by 2025.“It is a pleasure to be partnering with COFE App. Their passion for the cumulative growth of the coffee industry is very evident, and we are happy to say that they share both our vision and values. Coffee is a very integral part of Arabian culture and we wish for the world to witness it through our efforts. We hope that this partnership is the beginning of coffee lovers discovering the nuances of Saudi coffee and how it is ready to compete with some of the best producers in the world,” said Mohammed Zainy, Marketing Director of Saudi Coffee Company.As KSA transforms into a digital growing economy with a focus on locally grown coffee beans this might just be the next big thing in the evolution of the global coffee market.

SoftConstruct is an international tech giant that holds over 8 brands offering IT solutions to various industries, with over 300 partners and over 16 offices worldwide. As such, they had a vision to delve into the virtual and create ftNFT, a unique NFT Marketplace operating under the Fastex ecosystem – which in itself also includes Fastex Exchange, FastexVerse, Fastex Pay, Fastex Chain, FastToken and FirstTicket. Now, ftNFT is a concept that is meant to bring together all NFT and Crypto enthusiasts to a platform where they can interact with and experience these innovative services in a whole new way.People have started to pick up on all the noise surrounding this opening. The ftNFT shop has been turning heads and getting lots of attention and with good reason. The services it strives to bring forward have never been done in a physical form before, such as the ability to browse, buy and sell NFTs in person. Visitors can also interact with and look through a unique variety of physical art and even create 3D avatars of themselves through a professional 3D Scanner.When attending the grand opening, guests will have a special opportunity to meet NFT artists and exhibitors in person and to learn about their work firsthand. Among the attendees will be Amrita Sethi, the first NFT artist in the UAE and one that has created an original style of bringing art to life and vice versa through Voice Note Art. We will also see a wide collection of AKNEYE, a number of hand painted and unique eye sculptures, alongside the exclusive art toys by Chiko & Roko, all exhibited within the shop.Together, this creates a fully immersive virtual and personal experience within the shop. The establishment of ftNFT Shop brings forward a new era of virtual-to-reality integration and interaction in our world. It opens up new roads to endless new avenues for virtual exploration and allows interaction with NFTs and the Metaverse like never before. The special pass required to take part in the grand opening has been created in the form of a free NFT that a visitor can claim in order to gain entry to the grand event.Everything established by the ftNFT Marketplace has been with the intent to bring forward creative and bright ideas, and allow people to monetize their art while being able to trade with other collections. The first ftNFT Shop will be opened in the Mall of the Emirates, and the second will soon follow in Dubai Mall. By bringing these possibilities to two of the most luxurious shopping centres in the UAE, we make it possible for anyone to come in, learn more about the marketplace and take part however they like.The opening of the first ftNFT shop in the Mall of the Emirates is coming up on the 22nd of December. It’s beginning to excite all enthusiasts and inquisitive minds alike. Soon, we will be able to unveil the project and make the world of NFTs available to everyone.

Global security leader Forcepoint today announced the appointment of three sales leaders in response to global market demand for Data-first SASE security. The company has promoted Myles Bray to Chief Revenue Officer and Thierry Bedos as Senior Vice President of EMEA Sales. It also appointed James McCarthy as Senior Vice President of North America Sales.The security industry continues to shift from teams managing multitudes of point products to a converged SASE platform that reduces the security management burden, risk and costs to businesses of every size. The company has made significant investments the last two years to accelerate its converged security platform offering, and Forcepoint is the only security company today delivering single-vendor Data-first SASE. Today’s appointments further build on the company’s commitment to help transform the industry by simplifying security.In his new role as CRO, Bray has the core mission of enabling businesses to simplify their approach to security, building on Forcepoint’s leadership as a single-vendor provider of SASE. He will report to CEO Manny Rivelo. As the new executive sales leaders for EMEA and North America, respectively, Bedos and McCarthy will report to Bray.“We are truly moving into the next phase of security where it becomes both a business accelerator and competitive differentiator. Companies need to streamline and simplify operations, including their approach to security, to compete and thrive amidst a recession. The converged capabilities of a single-vendor SASE platform present a compelling opportunity to provide more control and agility in how organizations secure their business and critical data anywhere it can be accessed,” said Manny Rivelo, CEO of Forcepoint.Rivelo continued, “I am bullish on Forcepoint’s SASE market opportunity heading into 2023, and we are deepening the collective strength of our global sales leadership for this exact moment in the industry. Myles, Thierry and James are outstanding leaders who have made significant contributions in their respective roles as security sales leaders for more than a decade. With this team, Forcepoint will be a force multiplier in the SASE global market in 2023 and beyond.”Myles Bray joined Forcepoint in May 2021 as Senior Vice President of EMEA Sales. In that time, he was pivotal in taking to the EMEA market Forcepoint ONE, the company’s all-in-one cloud platform for Security Service Edge (SSE), the security half of SASE. Forcepoint ONE sales have consistently grown exponentially quarter-over-quarter since its Q1 2022 launch. Previously, Bray held executive roles leading sales and channel strategy across Europe, the Middle East and Africa for security companies such as Arqit, F5 Networks and Forescout.“Businesses trying to control access to data and systems are contending with their workforces using more apps and devices than ever, which translates into more complexity. The demand for simplicity is driving adoption of security convergence, with 8 out of 10 organizations expected to deploy a consolidated SSE platform, within the next three years,” said Bray. “I look forward to the strategic contributions both Thierry and James will bring to exponentially grow Forcepoint’s Data-first SASE business and partner with customers and the channel across our key territories in the next year and beyond.”Thierry Bedos joined Forcepoint in April 2022 as Vice President for Southern Europe. During his tenure, Bedos’ hands-on leadership style, customer-first mindset and strategic channel partner relationships helped Southern Europe continue to be one of the most successful regions in EMEA. Prior to Forcepoint, Bedos held senior sales leadership roles at Proofpoint, SAS and McAfee, where he was Managing Director of the company in France for nine years. James McCarthy brings over 25 years of sales leadership experience to his role as Senior Vice President of North America Sales. Prior to Forcepoint, McCarthy served as the first Head of Sales for Tel Aviv-based tech start-up Cyera. He has also held senior sales leadership roles at companies such as global communications leader BT, IBM Internet Security Systems, and Digital Guardian.

Callsign, the pioneer in digital trust, has predicted 2023 will be another year of fraud with emerging ‘new’ fraud vectors causing a further erosion of digital trust in banks, telecoms, social media, ecommerce platforms and other digital providers.Looking forward to 2023 and based on customer interactions and conversations with security experts in both the public and private sectors around the world, Callsign predicts the following:Prediction One: Dormant account takeovers become mule accountsDormant accounts occur when consumers do not access or close their online accounts for an extended period of time. These dormant accounts are exactly what fraudsters seek to utilize to launder funds obtained through unlawful activities.These dormant accounts are then used for illegal purposes by recruiting mules through deceptive social media posts and adverts, phishing, and easy money scams.“Fraudsters manipulate mules by asking them to receive money and make purchases or send funds to other accounts. Bank accounts that suddenly switch from being inactive to active do raise red flags, but it is the account holder who will be punished if caught rather than the perpetrator in most cases. We predict 2023 will see a sharp rise in dormant account takeovers by fraudsters using mules,” said Chris Stephens, Solutions Engineering, Callsign.Prediction Two: The rise of Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) fraudThe Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) model has become increasingly popular in the Middle East.Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) companies around the region share similar characteristics, such as offering convenience, interest-free payments, encouraging purchases, flexible repayments, and quick account opening approval. Nonetheless, they are all vulnerable to fraud in the retail sector.“In the race to attract customers and win market share, some BNPL companies have forgone standard security protocols to the extent that crypto exchanges have better controls as a whole. We predict 2023 will begin to see BNPL exposed to friendly and refund frauds, accounts opened with stolen credentials, bot attacks and more,” said Stephens.Prediction Three: Deep fake technology growthScammers are already using Deep Fake technology to convince consumers to buy products through impersonation, visual identification, and other means.“Sadly, we predict deep fake technology fraud will escalate partly because there are few tools on the market that can identify, counter, and stop these frauds. The technology is rapidly evolving, and the prediction is that it will be used to defraud the public on a scale similar to other sophisticated frauds.”Prediction Four: Enter player 2 with the dodgy identity in the MetaverseWeb 3.0's seamless connectivity across platforms, hardware, and networks has the potential to enable people to connect, collaborate, and interact for learning, socializing, and conducting business in the metaverse. Unfortunately, it has all the potential to mirror the current online world, which is rife with fraud and fakes."Everything wrong from a security perspective with social platforms today will be considerably worse in the metaverse of tomorrow. If the metaverse is open to all in one giant decentralized world, how are people going to be protected from digital compromise?”Prediction Five: New cycle of victimsDespite fraudsters running rampant across all industries with a large scam playbook, 2023 will see a new population of people who have never fallen victim to fraud before. These could be people moving into environments where security is lax or those who are the subject of sophisticated and personalized attacks.“According to Callsign’s Digital Trust report, consumers in the MEA region have higher levels of digital trust than in other regions. If we are to see a more positive outlook in 2024, much more needs to be done to protect consumers by the public and private sector,” concluded Stephens.

Dubai Chambers has hosted a Canadian food and beverage trade mission for a B2B business matching event at its headquarters in Dubai. The event aimed at connecting Canadian food and beverage companies, with representatives from Dubai’s food and beverage industry. In attendance were Mohammad Ali Rashed Lootah, President & CEO of Dubai Chambers, and H.E. Radha Krishna Panday, Ambassador of Canada to the UAE.A total of 195 business matching meetings were conducted with Dubai stakeholders and companies, providing the Canadian trade mission with opportunities to cooperate and create partnerships that unlock the potential of the food and beverage sector.“Canada has long been a strategic trade partner for the UAE and Dubai Chambers’ role is to connect Dubai and Canadian markets, bringing together relevant parties to facilitate events and meetings to further strengthen bilateral trade and commercial relationships. F&B is a major, profitable business industry in Dubai and foodservice, in particular, is receiving growing interest amongst investors. Therefore, we are bringing together Canadian and Dubai companies to explore and capture the opportunities emerging from this important sector. Growing trade relations with Canada will advance mutual business opportunities in the food and beverage sector as well as support the UAE’s food security ambitions,” said Lootah.Echoing similar sentiments, Radha Krishna Panday, Ambassador of Canada to the UAE, added, “Dubai Chambers is a long-standing and trusted partner for Canada. Together, we have strengthened the business ties between our countries, and we are always looking for opportunities to move the relationship forward. We are grateful to Dubai Chambers for welcoming our food and beverage delegation from Canada this week, and for hosting a successful business-to-business program.”In recent years, the UAE government has significantly increased its focus on food security, as it aims to ensure that the economy remains competitive and fully prepared to meet future challenges for the next 50 years.UAE consumer foodservice sales value reached AED44.5 billion in 2021, an increase by 16.4% compared to 2020, according to Euromonitor. By 2026, UAE consumer foodservice outlets sales are expected to reach AED55 billion and grow with a CAGR of 4.3%. Under the UAE National Food Security Strategy 2051, the country is developing international partnerships to diversify food sources, enhancing local food production with advanced technologies, and adopting legislation and policies to reduce food waste. The strategy offers investors the certainty and policy stability required to pursue long-term opportunities in the sector.Through business matching programs and other collaborative initiatives, Dubai Chambers provides both Dubai and Canadian businesses the unique opportunity to cooperate and create partnerships that unlock the potential of the food and beverage sector to enable further mutual economic growth and expand trade opportunities between the two countries.

Dubai-listed Sukoon, formerly known as Oman Insurance Company, confirmed on Tuesday its plans to acquire a significant stake in Arabian Insurance Company – Takaful – Ascana Insurance. The company said it has signed a share purchase agreement to acquire a majority stake in excess of 93%. The deal was signed with the shareholders representing the stake and is still subject to regulatory approvals. However, in a separate statement, Ascana clarified that it’s not a party to the transaction. Sukoon said the acquisition is in line with its strategy to diversify its sources of business and consolidating its UAE and GCC presence, allowing it to enter the takaful or Islamic insurance market. The company said it will submit an offer to the remaining shareholders of Ascana, giving them the option to sell their shares to Sukoon or to remain as a shareholder in Ascana. “The takaful market is an important and growing one. We are very pleased with this transaction that will not only strengthen our market position but will also broaden our ability to meet more customer’s needs,” said Jean-Louis Laurent Josi, CEO of Sukoon. “With this transaction, we are also capitalising Ascana’s deep expertise in the takaful market. Our objective will be to ensure that Ascana could leverage as much as possible our own capabilities, notably in terms of underwriting and digital, to increase its customer reach and further improve their customer experience.” Ascana’s statement said the transaction remains subject to regulatory approvals from the Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA) and the UAE Central Bank. “As of the current date, Ascana has not been approached in respect of this transaction or in respect of an offer to the entirety of the shareholders,” the statement said. 

TECOM Group PJSC, (the “Company” or the “Group”), has broken ground on the Innovation Hub Phase 2 in Dubai Internet City, as Dubai’s legislative framework and ease of doing business attract a high volume of international companies and investors. The Group is expanding its leasing portfolio to capture the increasing demand in Dubai’s commercial real estate market underpinned by the emirate’s economic development and the government’s pro-growth strategies.The AED442 million new investment underscores TECOM Group’s commitment to expanding and tailoring its portfolio to emerging sector needs and attracting global companies. It will offer customers high-quality commercial office properties, state-of-the-art office spaces and HQs tailored to customer specifications.Abdulla Belhoul, Chief Executive Officer of TECOM Group, said: “TECOM Group remains a pillar for Dubai’s business hub proposition. New regulatory frameworks and the ease of doing business are accelerating economic growth and reinforcing investor and business confidence. We’re seeing the success of our leadership’s economic diversification strategy reflected in our commercial and industrial real estate portfolio performance this year due to an influx of new companies and talent.“Across our portfolio, existing customers are expanding their operations, complemented by an inflow of new foreign investment. Bespoke solutions like the Innovation Hub address the need for high-quality commercial spaces, helping strengthen Dubai’s position as an attractive global business and talent hub. It also cements TECOM Group as the emirate’s largest commercial real estate owner and our key role in driving innovation and business growth development in Dubai.”TECOM Group’s Q3 2022 financial performance reflected the upward trend in the commercial real estate market. Revenue came in at AED 490 million, increasing 12.48% year on year (YoY), driven by rising occupancy levels across the portfolio, especially office, warehouse, and worker accommodation.The Innovation Hub Phase 2 expands TECOM Group’s assets with two high-end office buildings, four boutique offices, retail spaces and more than 800 parking spaces. To be completed by 2024, the Innovation Hub Phase 2 will provide more than 355,000 square feet of gross leasable area (GLA).Launched in 2018, the first phase of the Innovation Hub is almost at full capacity, providing tech giants like Google, Hewlett-Packard, Gartner and China Telecom a base in the region. With additional stages in the pipeline, the completed Innovation Hub project is expected to add more than 1.2 million square feet of space for technology, education and new media businesses of all sizes to the Group’s portfolio.TECOM Group has cultivated a global business and technology hub under Dubai Internet City. Today, it represents a complete community of Fortune 500 companies, SMEs, start-ups and entrepreneurs. Recent additions include Motorola Solutions and Intel, while longstanding customers 3M, Visa and Meta upgraded to new headquarters this past year. Dubai Internet City also features over 15 innovation centres powered by customers like Visa, MasterCard, SAP, Google and 3M, which are promoting digital transformation region-wide.Commenting on behalf of Dubai Internet City, Ammar Al Malik, Executive Vice President – Commercial Leasing, TECOM Group PJSC, said: “Dubai’s pursuit of a knowledge and innovation economy relies on a robust technology framework. For more than 20 years, Dubai Internet City has provided the necessary infrastructure and environment where the complete tech community can converge. Ready-to-use facilities like our Innovation Hub enable customers to hit the ground running. Expanding our district’s commercial offering to cater to the Emirate’s growing business appetite will enrich our global community with innovation-driven brands and talent.”According to the CORE Dubai Market Report Q3 2022, the Emirate is seeing growth in new licenses and residents, boosting demand in the commercial leasing sector. The report also found that citywide office occupancy levels are the highest since the peak in 2014, up to 83% in Q3 compared to 78% last year.

 In 2023, the economic climate will continue to be shaped by reducing costs and increasing efficiency. Many companies are therefore looking to the future for innovative technologies that can help here. Today, Cisco outlines the seven technology trends for 2023 in the areas of security, increasing network efficiency, sustainability, and AI.Reem Asaad, Vice President, Cisco Middle East and Africa said: “The dominant theme throughout these trends is the pace of technological evolution that is continuing to accelerate. These technology trends are on the rise in our region and are shaping the future of every business across all industries, driven by ambitious national visions that are putting technology at the heart of governments’ initiatives in the Middle East and Africa. Today we are at the intersection of a vast potential such technologies hold, and the challenges that should be mitigated through robust security measures.” “One of the key highlights we’re witnessing today more than ever is that businesses need to consider the social context of their actions. Increasingly, we see a focus on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) in the region. Whilst we realize that achieving sustainability is complex and multifaceted, what’s certain is that technology continues to play a pivotal role in driving ESG agendas for governments and enterprises,” she added. Sustainability and AISustainabilityNet Zero will drive common standards to meet sustainability goals with advancements in Power Over Ethernet (PoE) design and hardware to transform data centers for a more sustainable future. Networking and APIs will become more advanced within data center platform management to monitor, track, and change the use of energy. IT vendors and equipment partners will be more transparent in their reuse of hardware (circularity) to move the needle with the sustainability processes.Responsible AI In 2023, we will see multiple, highly publicized instances of artificial intelligence used by some individuals and organizations to achieve unethical and socially destructive objectives. Industry, governments, academia, and NGOs will come together to begin hammering out a framework for governing AI in an ethical and responsible manner to mitigate potential harm. This framework will be based on principles such as Transparency, Fairness, Accountability, Privacy, Security, and Reliability and will ultimately be applied to model creation and the selection of training data as defining principles of AI systems.IT Security TrendsQuantum CryptographyTransmitting keys is a fundamental risk to security, as they can be harvested and decrypted later. Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) is poised to be particularly impactful because it avoids any distribution of the keys over an insecure channel. In 2023, in preparation for a post-quantum world, we will see a macrotrend emerge with adoption of QKD in datacenters, IoT, autonomous systems, and 6G.Application and API SecurityAs modern cloud-native applications are becoming drivers of business, protecting the underlying application environment is critical. In 2023, developers will get more and more support from various development tools that speed up development cycles and allow them to manage and secure distributed application architectures with an emphasis on delivering exceptional, secure digital experiences. We will also see continued movement toward tools that allow security experts to collaborate seamlessly on these outcomes.Business Efficiency and ResilienceOptimizing Multi-cloud ArchitecturesAs deglobalization and issues around data sovereignty accelerate, in the year ahead we will see a noticeable shift in how companies leverage multi-cloud architectures. While 89% of enterprises are adopting a multi-cloud strategy for a variety of reasons (geopolitical, technical, provider diversification), the benefits come additional complexity in connecting, securing, and observing a multi-cloud environment. We will see a big move toward new multi-cloud frameworks such as Sovereign Clouds, Local Zone Clouds, Zero-Carbon Clouds, and other novel cloud offerings. This will create a path toward more private and edge cloud applications and services ushering in a new multi-cloud operating model.Full-Stack Observability tied to Business OutcomesThe problem with monitoring has always been too much data with too little context and business correlation. The evolution of application monitoring toward full stack observability will increasingly provide a view relative to business context. When applied systematically, this will drastically speed up response and optimize business operations in real time. In 2023, business context will become widely recognized as an integral part of monitoring and visibility outcomes.Internet of Things (IoT) makes supply chains more resilient??Enterprises and logistics providers will increasingly utilize IoT to bring full visibility into their supply chains in 2023. IoT and other technologies will not only play a larger role in bringing resiliency and efficiency into supply chains but will also improve cybersecurity and IT/OT network management. As a result, enterprises and logistics providers will reconfigure supply chains around predictive and prescriptive models including smart contracts and distributed ledgers. This is a major transition toward more sustainable business practices and circular supply chains.

Abu Dhabi main index edged 1.566% higher Monday, supported by First Abu Dhabi Bank (NBAD) gaining 1.520%, to close AED17.360. ADQ, under the brand known as Asmak, continues to break records, closing 0.390% higher at AED410.Dubai's main share index followed suit and rose 0.335%, led by a 1.880 % gain by property blue chip Emaar, which closed at AED5.950, 1.880% up on yesterday's session.

 The World’s Coolest Winter” campaign, which is carried out by UAE Government Media Office in cooperation with the Ministry of Economy and the entities concerned with tourism, culture and heritage in the country, has launched its new website.The website offers users an interactive experience as it provides information about the most important tourist attractions in each Emirate in both Arabic and English languages.The new website (https://worldscoolestwinter.ae/ar) comes as a part of the efforts aiming at further supporting domestic tourism and outbound tourism to attract tourists from all over the world.The third edition of the campaign adopts the theme "Our Heritage" in favor of highlighting the rich Emirati values and culture and its distinct features that include hospitality, tolerance and solidarity.The website lists the most famous local souks including the Friday Market and Al Bahar souk in Fujeirah, and the Gold souk.The campaign’s website provides a map of the famous cycling paths in the country, as well as a number of UAE islands, which are considered among the most beautiful tourist destinations for visitors and tourists, in addition to a guide for places that allow caravan camping and its requirements.The website also presents a number of locations called the “Hidden Gems of the UAE”, such as the Hatta secret pool that was named by this name as a result of its location between the high rocky mountains, which makes it a hidden place that individuals can reach only after walking through the mountains. Visitors can sit near the pools, relax, swim, or enjoy fishing.The campaign’s website also highlights the most famous hiking paths in the country and a number of places that offer unique and fun activities for children.

 Forbes Middle East has released its annual list of MENA's Top 50 Most-Funded Startups, celebrating the mission-driven young businesses attracting investor attention. Combined, the 50 startups on the 2022 list have raised $3.2 billion in funding, up from $3 billion in 2021.The startups had to have been founded no earlier than 2015 and have raised a minimum of $20 million in total funding to be considered for the list. Startups that were acquired, merged, went public on stock markets, or didn't provide sufficient data on funding and investors, were excluded. Cut off for funding was November 10, 2022.Agri-tech business Pure Harvest Smart Farms climbed from second place in 2021 to secure the top spot this year, having raised $387 million in total funding. In June 2022, the U.A.E.-based startup formed an alliance with Al Dahra Group, increasing the total operating capacity under its management to over 22 hectares. Buy-now-pay-later Fintechs Tabby and Tamara retained their top five positions at second ($275 million) and third place ($216 million), respectively.Fintech companies dominated the funding landscape in 2022, with 21 listees attracting $1.3 billion in total funding. E-commerce (10) and delivery and mobility (four) made up the remaining top three most-populated sectors, raising $576.7 million and $299.6 million, respectively.The startups on the 2022 list represent nine MENA countries. For the third consecutive year, the U.A.E. reigned as the country with the most active startup ecosystem, with 18 startups raising $964 million in total funding. Saudi Arabia is home to 12 startups raising $946.7 million, while 11 startups are headquartered in Egypt, raising $508.5 million.The ranking features 112 cofounders. Only 10 startups are led by solo founders. Noureddine Tayebi is one member of this minority. His ride-hailing, delivery, and payment platform Yassir ranked fifth after becoming the most-funded startup in North Africa with $193.25 million in total funding.Of the 50 startups, 19 are newcomers to the ranking. One newcomer penetrated the top 10—regulated crypto-asset exchange Rain Management. The Bahrain-headquartered startup ranked sixth after raking in $118 million. Beyond securing millions in capital, many new entrants also cemented valuable partnerships, future-proofing their offerings in the market. For example, Egyptian digital payment solutions platform PaySky partnered with Visa to launch the Yalla Card and Yalla Super App in the Middle East. Meanwhile, proptech Huspy acquired three brokerages on its home turf of the U.A.E.: Home Matters, Just Mortgages, and Finance Lab.Click here to view the full ranking of the Top 50 Most-Funded Startups In MENA 2022.Top 5 Most-Funded Startups In MENA 20221 Pure Harvest Smart FarmsTotal funding: $387 millionHeadquarters: UAE.Established in: 20172 TabbyTotal funding: $275 millionHeadquarters: Saudi Arabia, U.A.E.Established in: 20193 TamaraTotal funding: $216 millionHeadquarters: Saudi ArabiaEstablished in: 20204 TruKKerTotal funding: $203 millionHeadquarters: Saudi ArabiaEstablished in: 20165 YassirTotal funding: $193.25 millionHeadquarters: Algeria, Tunisia, MoroccoEstablished in: 2017

As things came to a close at the most successful Sharjah Entrepreneurship Festival to date, this 6th edition of the two-day extravaganza, created and organised by Sheerah, attracted over 5,000 visitors, future business leaders and aspiring entrepreneurs to Sharjah Technology and Innovation Research Park (STIRP) this past weekend.It was clear to see the lasting effect that was made this year at SEF 2022 as the energy at the Impact Stage was palpable as a large crowd gathered to witness the closing speech from Sheerah CEO, Najla Al Midfa, as well as the highly anticipated awards ceremony honouring standout entrepreneurs and winners of this year’s SEF Hackathon.The festival has continued to grow from strength to strength and has doubled the amount of speakers at talks and discussions since last year, going from 70 speakers to almost 140 speakers this year, providing visiting entrepreneurs knowledge and insight that could literally have a hand in their future success.Al Midfa congratulated everybody that attended SEF for making it such a successful festival and reminded everyone that they were the real focus, to always stay determined and keep going, saying “We are always on the verge of our greatest adventure”.After the closing speech the MCs prepared the audience to hear the winners of the SEF Hackathon, powered by ICT Fund, to a great applause, and called Engineer, Mohammad Al Hajri, to the stage to present the awards, on behalf of ICT Fund. The third place for the award went to Badran, second place to Decode, and overall winners and first place went to Read my Voice.Next, the winners of “iCodeJr”, the SEF Coding Championship were announced, and CEO of iCodeJr, Hannan Moti was called to the stage. For the Junior Cadet track, Gopika Shendy took the stage and the audience's hearts as the huge sign announcing her achievement was bigger than her. For the Junior Captain track, Mohamed Jefran scooped the awards and for the Junior Colonel track, Waleed Afridi took the honours.Rashid Sahoo, Director of Business Center Management of Sharjah Media City was invited onto stage to hand over the award for the SEF Startup Pitch Competition which went to ‘Optimize’. Ayesha Jasem, Head of Business Development Section of Sharjah Business Women Council was then called up to grant the winner of the Women Founder Track their award, which went to Takalam and the winner of the Tourism track went to Simly and was presented by Karim El Marmari, Marketing Manager at Sharjah Commerce & Tourism Development Authority.The anticipated SEFFY awards winners were then invited on stage with Zohare Haider, Founder of Jalebi.io receiving the Inspiring Founder Award, Fatema Al Hammadi receiving the Promising Future Entrepreneur Award and the Best Pitch Award went to Fortyguard.There was a huge round of applause and congratulations to all of the winners as the MCs wished them all the best in the next stage of their entrepreneurial journey.

 Husni Al Bayari, Chairman & Founder of D&B Properties affirmed that Dubai's Master Urban Plan for 2040 will have a transformative effect on the city's residential sector. The plan, which was announced last year, aims to make Dubai one of the most sustainable and livable cities in the world. Some of the key initiatives include developing new neighborhoods, expanding public transportation, and increasing green space.‘It is about creating a futuristic city that blends technology and sustainability with human-centric living’‘At D&B Properties, we anticipate strong demand for eco-friendly properties across all segments’‘The Urban Master Plan is an expansive strategy that seeks to create an environment where residents can live, work, and play in a safe, secure, and sustainable way’With a population of over 3 million people, Dubai is one of the most dynamic cities in the Middle East. In recent years, it has become a hub for technological innovation, international trade, and luxury tourism.Chairman & Founder Husni Al Bayari stated: “At its core, the Dubai 2040 Urban Master Plan is about creating a futuristic city that blends technology and sustainability with human-centric living. We are already witnessing a shift in the consortium of investor and buyer inquisition for sustainable and tech-savvy properties in Dubai, with many developers having upcoming projects that cater to the environmentally conscious wave. The 2040 Master Plan will further bolster this economic growth while also promoting sustainability and social justice. At D&B Properties, we anticipate strong demand for eco-friendly properties across all segments.”To ensure that this city remains at the forefront of global development, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President & Prime Minister of the UAE, and Ruler of Dubai, has given approval for the second phase of the 2040 master plan.The Urban Master Plan is an expansive strategy that seeks to create an environment where residents can live, work, and play in a safe, secure, and sustainable way. It includes major improvements to infrastructure, transportation options, and public safety initiatives that are set to benefit all aspects of life in Dubai. With these developments come immense opportunities for investors and homeowners alike.One of the primary goals is to ensure that high-quality housing is available to all residents of Dubai. To achieve this goal, new developments are being built across different parts of town that offer apartments and villas tailored towards different lifestyles and budgets.These projects range from affordable housing units designed for families on tight budgets to luxurious properties made for those who can afford a more extravagant lifestyle. This means that there is something available for everyone - no matter their budget or lifestyle preferences.The creation of an avenue connecting every residential neighborhood is the focus of Phase II of the master plan. It comprises identifying a location within residential neighborhoods and constructing it in accordance with the linked street network to improve the ease of mobility for residents.Another key focus area is creating incentives for growth in commercial real estate investment. By encouraging businesses to invest in commercial spaces within Dubai’s urban core, it creates job opportunities and encourages economic growth throughout the city.This helps create an environment where businesses can thrive while also helping drive demand for residential properties nearby due to increased employment opportunities within easy commuting distance from home.The plan outlines a vision for how the city will continue to grow and develop in order to meet the needs of its citizens in the future.The ten core efforts that make up the next phase of development include improving urban centers, Dubai Real Estate Strategy, Urban Farming Plan, Preserving Urban Heritage Plan, Creating the 20-Minute City Policy, and a Pedestrian Network Master Plan.HH Sheikh Mohammed recently stated: “Today, we have a clear vision for the development of Dubai’s urban infrastructure and housing sector until 2040. Our goal is for Dubai to be an eco- and pedestrian-friendly city, and a city with a high yield from urban agriculture.”

Amrita Sethi a pioneer and thought leader in the web 3 space, and the UAE’s first NFT artist has joined the advisory board of the Middle East, Africa and Asia Crypto and Blockchain Association (MEAACBA).The Advisory Board of the Association is made up of notable practitioners and business owners, who will provide advice and support to the MEAACBA Board. The Advisory Board will also act as an expert resource for the Association Members, answering questions and helping start-ups and innovators to develop their companies.MEAACBA Board Chairman, Jehanzeb Awan, said: “We are delighted that Amrita has joined the Association. The unique way she combines physical artwork, NFTs and fashion with augmented, virtual reality and artificial intelligence has made her a global leader in the multimedia art genre. We are excited to have her as an advisor to the Association and know members will benefit from her experience and counsel through a range of initiatives.”Amrita moved into art following a successful career in the banking world, which lead to the creation of her multimedia art genre, SoundBYTEs(c) and her own language called The AlphaBYTEs. She was selected for Expo 2020 and has created one of the world’s largest augmented reality murals and the first of its type in the Middle East.“The crypto and blockchain sector is on a journey which requires education, transparency and regulation. Through the Association I hope I can help support the development of all three of these areas, especially education, so that we can foster innovation and talent.” added Ms Sethi.Further information is available on the MEAACBA website www.meaacba.org

Lebanese drinks giant Kassatly Group Holding has started work on a new plant in Cyprus under “Boutique Beverage Bottling Int’l Ltd” as part of ambitious plans to move the brand from a regional powerhouse to a global player.The mega plant in Ypsonas, Limassol, should be fully operational by the end of 2023, with the company aiming to make the island home within a year, creating 100+ jobs.Founder Akram Kassatly said: “The tax incentives in Cyprus are attractive, but it is the geographical advantages to Europe, Africa, the Gulf countries and the Americas, which are most appealing to us and, most importantly, having Mediterranean and European seals on our products, something coveted by consumers worldwide.”Discussing the logistics of moving an integral part of the business to Cyprus, Mr Kassatly said the input, advice and professionalism of the Invest Cyprus team had made the experience both enjoyable and pain-free.“Invest Cyprus played a huge role in our decision to make Cyprus our base,” he said. “Each step brought a positive surprise, namely exceptional and fast responses from the moment we submitted our business plan to the planning department’s prompt assistance to make the new plant a reality.”Welcoming the Kassatly Family to the island, Invest Cyprus Chief Executive Officer George Campanellas said it was always “a pleasure” to accommodate companies in their search for new markets in Europe and beyond.“Kassatly Group Holding has long been a leading regional player with its innovative beverages, so to be involved in the next phase of this pioneering company’s development is hugely rewarding.“As the national authority responsible for attracting foreign investment and providing certainty to foreign companies operating in Cyprus, we are delighted to be able to provide the kind of platform that an ambitious company like Kassatly Group needs in order to fulfil its global aspirations.“With Cyprus situated at the crossroads of Europe, Asia and Africa – something complemented by a highly-skilled, multi-lingual workforce, robust legal framework and business-friendly environment – it makes the island the ideal investment destination for business.”

A new survey by Bayt.com, the Middle East’s #1 job site, spotlights the career goals Middle East professionals will focus on in 2023. The 2023 New Year’s Resolutions Poll reveals that a majority of MENA professionals (91%) feel positive about 2023 and 88% have made resolutions for the new year.Personal AmbitionsAlthough 79% of respondents are pleased with their professional and personal growth during 2022, most MENA professionals are focused on improving aspects that have a direct impact on the quality of their lives. Among professionals who are making personal resolutions, popular ones are saving money (63%), exercising and following a healthy diet (18%), spending more time with friends and family (14%) and taking more vacations (5%).Interestingly, most respondents are optimistic about their ability to stick to their resolutions – 31% said that they have achieved all their resolutions for 2022 and 35% said they have achieved most of their resolutions for the year.Ola Haddad, Director of Human Resources at Bayt.com said: “A majority of MENA professionals are not only up for a challenge next year, but also view it as a means to enrich their professional and personal life. MENA professionals display a growth attitude, as they are eager to learn and develop and have ambitious goals for 2023. To attract and retain talent, companies must provide the incentives, work-life balance, and professional progression possibilities that employees demand.”Career AmbitionsCareer-related New Year's resolutions are popular among MENA professionals who aim to improve their career prospects in the coming year. These include finding a new job (56%), learning new skills at work (21%), getting a promotion or a salary raise (20%) and improve relationships with colleagues and managers (3%).Among professionals who are looking for new jobs, a whopping 74% are thinking of making a complete change in the industry they currently work in. Whilst looking for new jobs in 2023, respondents will look for career growth opportunities (31%), work-life balance (25%), flexible work arrangements (25%) and competitive salary (20%). Survey respondents use online job sites (69%), company websites (18%), social media (9%) and virtual job fairs (4%) to look for new jobs.Professionals in the MENA region also shed light on their expectations from employers and areas of improvement that could be taken into consideration in the new year. These include providing more training and learning resources (53%), more rewards and benefits (20%), more feedback and support (15%) and being more flexible with timing (12%).Data for the New Year’s Resolutions Poll 2023 was collected online from November 2 to December 4, 2022. Results are based on a sample of 2,988 respondents from the following countries: UAE, KSA, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, Palestine, Syria, Egypt, Yemen, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya and Sudan among others.

The UAE’s Leadership continues to champion gender balance as a national priority. The SDG 5 Pledge to Accelerate Gender Balance in the UAE Private Sector has a target of increasing the representation of women in leadership roles to 30% by 2025 to ensure their full and effective participation at the highest levels of decision making.Her Highness Sheikha Manal bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, President of the UAE Gender Balance Council (UAE GBC), wife of His Highness Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Presidential Court, affirmed that, the UAE, under the dedicated leadership of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE, is continuing to make substantial strides and achieve prosperity in various sectors while actively contribute to supporting global efforts aimed at achieving the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.Her Highness said that the UAE GBC has intensified its efforts during the past years and will continue it during the coming period in cooperation and partnership with all state institutions to implement the directives of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, to enhance the competitiveness of the UAE globally and its position among the best countries in terms of gender balance.Her Highness expressed her pride in all companies that have signed the SDG 5 Pledge, emphasizing their willingness to work closely with the government to advance SDG 5 and gender balance in the UAE private sector and country more broadly. The "SDG 5 Pledge to Accelerate Gender Balance in the UAE Private Sector", has a target of raising women’s participation in senior and middle management roles to 30% by 2025.On 15th December, 18 additional local and multinational companies signed the Pledge, bringing the total to 56. Signatory companies are from a range of sectors including law, healthcare, defense, finance, energy, and professional services.The Pledge has four main pillars: ensuring equal pay and compensation; promoting gender equitable recruitment and promotion; reviewing company policies and programs to advance gender balance; and transparency through annual reporting to the UAE Gender Balance Council.The newest group of 18 companies who signed the Pledge did so during an event organized by the UAE GBC at the Capital Club in the Dubai International Financial Center (DIFC),During the event, HE Shamsa Saleh, Secretary General of the UAE GBC, delivered a speech on behalf of HH Sheikha Manal bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, where she expressed her thanks to all the companies for their dedicated support and cooperation with the Council to achieve the vision and goals of the UAE at the local and global levels.Companies who signed on December 15 include: Emirates Group, First Abu Dhabi Bank, Easa Saleh Al Gurg Group, Kaman, Chalhoub Group, Aramex International LLC, Jacobs, APCO Worldwide, Omnicom Media Group MENA, Kraft Heinz MEA, Crescent Enterprises, Saab,, Dentons & Co., Clifford Chance, Charles Russell Speechlys LLP, TVM Capital Healthcare, Brunswick Group, and Russell Reynolds Associates.In turn, corporate officials affirmed during the signing ceremony of the pledge their companies' commitment and the private sector, in general, to work closely with government to enhance gender balance in the UAE.This Pledge is the result a longstanding partnership between the UAE Government and the private sector, and is a direct result of the efforts of the Private Sector Advisory Council on Sustainable Development Goals, in cooperation with the National Committee for Sustainable Development Goals, represented by the UAE Gender Balance Council and the Federal Center for Competitiveness and Statistics Centre.

More than 100 exhibition booths provided insight into some of the businesses targeted towards entrepreneurs and featured industries such as Real Estate, Fintech, e-Services Start-ups and host of others at SEF 2022. The booths allowed visitors to SEF to meet the change-makers and innovative entrepreneurs who are already well on their journey to building growing business empires as well as enquire about their businesses to gain valuable knowledge.SEF provides these opportunities to both attendees and business owners to network, share their innovative ideas and creative business models and give visitors a chance to learn about sustainable businesses and how they’ve found a balance between commerce and customer’s needs and their understanding of market variables.