Economy & Business
Business news, economic analysis, fintech innovations, startup ecosystems, and market trends shaping Saudi Arabia's digital economy and Vision 2030.
HITEC Dubai 2019 Opens with a Focus on Future
the Middle East’s largest hospitality technology show for hotels, organised by Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals (HFTP®) and Naseba, and endorsed by Dubai Tourism, opened today with a focus on future. The 2-day event, that is being held at the Festival Arena by Intercontinental at Dubai Festival City, brings together the world’s leading technology […]
Linesight’s Middle East data centre pipeline worth over US$400m
International construction consultancy, Linesight, is leading the way in successfully delivering data centre developments throughout the Middle East, with a current pipeline of on-going projects worth in excess of US$400 million. The company’s expertise in cost estimation, tender management and appointment as well as strategy implementation has resulted in a 30-40% increase in […]
Wamda invests in Cash on Delivery alternative Tabby
Wamda has invested in UAE-based financial technology (fintech) startup Tabby, a platform leveraging proprietary technology to improve current inefficiencies in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) payment landscape. The platform offers consumers the option to ‘buy now and pay later’ or to pay in multiple installments for goods bought online. Wamda’s investment is part […]
Bargain Hunters Mark Your Diaries: SOUQ.com’s 11.11 Extravaganza is Around the Corner
SOUQ.com customers are set to enjoy thousands of deals this November with the 11.11 sale. Taking place from 11th – 13th November 2019, SOUQ.com will offer customers thousands of bundles and deals, across a wide range of categories including fashion, beauty, electronics, toys, consumables, furniture and books. SOUQ.com KSA General Manager Saleem Hammad said: […]
TechKnowledge wins the SME Gulf Capital Digital Business of the Year Award
TechKnowledge has been named the ‘Digital Business of the Year’ at the SME Gulf Capital Digital Business of the Year Award ceremony held on September 25, at the Ritz Carlton DIFC, Dubai. The Awards identify start-ups, innovative SME’s with exemplary products and services, the SME’s who invest in their employees’ environments, customer strategies and the […]
Mohamed bin Zayed Inaugurates EDGE, An Advanced Technology Conglomerate, Poised to Transform Defence Industrial Capabilities
): His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces today inaugurated EDGE, a company set to reposition the UAE as a notable global player in advanced technology. With the digital era creating unprecedented challenges and opportunities, EDGE is positioned to […]
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Infor Appoints Saudi Bugshan Barmaja as New Alliance Partner for Middle East & Africa
Infor, a global leader in business cloud software specialized by industry, today announced that Saudi Bugshan Barmaja Co.Ltd, the major diversified business group headquartered in Saudi Arabia, has been appointed an Infor alliance partner for the region. As an alliance partner, Saudi Bugshan Barmaja will be deploying a range of Infor solutions including Infor […]
Chinese tech firm Huawei to Donate Equipment to AURAK
Chinese tech giant Huawei is to donate equipment to the American University of Ras Al Khaimah (AURAK) to set up the first Huawei ICT Academy in the United Arab Emirates. Representatives of Huawei visited the AURAK campus to initial the agreement and met the university’s President, Professor Hassan Hamdan Al Alkim. AURAK is the first educational […]
Gartner’s 2019 Hype Cycle for IT in GCC Indicates Public Cloud Computing Will Transform Businesses
The 2019 Gartner, Inc. Hype Cycle for IT in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states predicts that hype around public cloud computing will grow in the next two to five years. However, it will take more than 10 years for this technology to translate into mainstream adoption. “Countries in the GCC are aggressively transforming from […]
Ajman Bank Wins Sharjah Gulf Nationalization Award
Ajman Bank, one of the leading Islamic financial institutions in the UAE, was named the winner of Sharjah Gulf Nationalization Award at the Sharjah Economic Excellence Awards. The coveted accolade was presented by H.H. Sheikh Abdullah bin Salem bin Sultan Al Qasimi, Deputy Ruler of Sharjah and Deputy Chairman of Sharjah Executive Council to […]
Hiperdist Showcases Its ‘Digital Technology Capabilities’ At GITEX 2019 with Microsoft
— Regional Value added distributor Hiperdist, in collaboration with Microsoft, participated in the GITEX Technology Week, held recently in the UAE. The company showcased its ecosystem of partners, such as Microsoft, Palo Alto, Ongo, Pactsoft, VaporVM, Procomix, Alibaba Cloud, etc. across its main focus areas – ‘Cloud’ and ‘Security’ with a focus on ‘Enabling Digital […]
96% of GCC Businesses Rank Customer Experience as Priority in 2020
Customer experience will be a top GCC business priority in 2020, agreed upon by 96 percent of the region’s IT decision-makers, according to a new YouGov survey launched today at GITEX Technology Week. In the YouGov survey of 304 GCC IT decision-makers, 80 percent ranked customer experience as “very important,” and 16 percent as […]
Saudi Arabia strategic partner for GITEX represented by ‘Fasah’
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is participating in GITEX Technology Week 2019 as the strategic partner of the exhibition in its 39th edition, represented by the unified national system for all import and export activities (Fasah). The smart logistics platform is showcasing its latest technology, whereby visitors to the Fasah pavilion were introduced to the […]
Samsung Pay and Finablr Announce Cross-Border Payments Partnership
a global platform for payments, and Samsung Electronics America today introduced the Money Transfer feature in Samsung Pay. This new in-app international money transfer service, a first of its kind in the U.S., offers users seamless and secure cross-border payments to 47 countries through a variety of payout methods, all within Samsung’s native mobile wallet. […]
SABB the first bank in the Middle East, North Africa & Turkey to go live with SWIFT gpi for Corporates .
Saudi British Bank (SABB), one of Saudi Arabia’s leading financial institutions, and SWIFT, global member owned cooperative and the world’s leading provider of secure financial messaging services announce today that SABB is the first bank in the Middle East, North Africa and Turkey (MENAT) region to go live with SWIFT gpi for Corporates service (g4c). […]
$100M fund raised to invest in tech startups in the MENA region
Regional venture capital firm, BECO Capital, has today announced the successful close of its second fund at $100 million. This figure is well in excess of BECO’s initial $80 million target, driven by the significantly improved technology investment landscape in MENA. To-date, BECO Capital has made 22 investments across its two funds and has […]
American University in Cairo Moves to Ellucian Cloud
the leading provider of software and services built to power higher education, today announced that the American University in Cairo (AUC), an Ellucian customer since 1995, has decided to move its Ellucian Banner student information systems (SIS) to the cloud. Moving its SIS to the cloud is the first step in AUC’s larger mission to […]
F5 Networks Appoints Mohammed Abukhater as Regional Vice President for Middle East and Africa Sales
F5 Networks today announced the appointment of Mohammed Abukhater as its new Regional Vice President of Sales for the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region. An experienced leader working with high-performing sales and channel teams across the GCC and Africa, Abukhater has over 16 years’ industry knowledge in the technology sector. Based in Dubai, he […]
Digitalization Boosts the Regional Energy and Facilities Management Market
The digital transformation of the Middle East’s energy and facilities management across industry verticals will continue driving the market to record-high business volumes in the medium term, the newly appointed CEO of Middle East facilities management leader Enova announced today. Big Data analytics is helping to enhance energy efficiency across Smart Cities and mega-events, […]
Gartner Says Global Device Shipments Will Decline 3.7% in 2019
Worldwide shipments of devices — PCs, tablets and mobile phones — will decline 3.7%, according to the latest forecast from Gartner, Inc. Gartner estimates there are more than 5 billion mobile phones used around the world. After years of growth, the worldwide smartphone market has reached a tipping point. Sales of smartphones will decline […]
Public Sector Finance Professionals Seek a More Radical Future, Finds Global Research – but Challenges Lie Ahead
The public sector’s image as a place where little or no innovation happens is challenged in a global research report from ACCA (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants), Innovation in public finance. The report reveals that 91% of public sector respondents said some kind of innovation was happening in their organisation, with slightly less – […]
Signify named Industry Leader in the 2019 Dow Jones Sustainability Index
Signify (Euronext: LIGHT), the world leader in lighting, has announced that it achieved the status of Industry Leader in the Electrical Components and Equipment category of the 2019 Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI). Signify’s overall score is 88 out of 100 points, demonstrating the continued progress they are making on implementing sustainable measures in all aspects […]