Newsletter #03
Mohammed Azim Ansari
Ex-IDC, BCG, e& | FinTech | Digital | Tech | Strategy | Consulting | Advisory | Analytics | Growth | Market Research | KSA Vision2030 | Startups | Entrepreneur | Consultant
Latest MENA News
亚马逊 has launched a hassle-free experience within their portfolio of Amazon Payment for retailers that enables stc pay ?and integrates seamlessly with the business's website or mobile app allowing them to reach over 8.5 million stc Pay customers.
The Saudi Central Bank – SAMA announced granting permits to three innovators to test their Open Banking solutions in the Regulatory Sandbox. These companies are: Tarabut , SingleView , and Drahim | ????? for Financial Technology.
Dubai-based BNPL, Tabby increased its debt facility to $350mn as the startup pushes ahead with growth plans. The financing round was led by Partners for Growth , Atalaya Capital Management and Treville Capital Group . Tabby’s last funding round valued the company at $660m. It has over 4 million active users in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait and has partnered with more than 15,000 businesses.
With the impact of COVID-19, rising interest rates have compelled many countries to declare that they face the possibility of a recession. In Saudi Arabia, the economic climate is comparatively brighter. Banking assets surpassed SR3.5 billion ($931.6 million) in the second quarter of 2022, three years ahead of time, indicating that strong growth is already underway and will only continue to drive the industry forward.
The Saudi Central Bank – SAMA granted " Spotii in a Box " and " MADFU | ????? " permits to carry out Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) solutions pursuant to Saudi Central Bank Law and Finance Companies Control Law for providing finance to customers wishing to purchase products or services from merchants without incurring term financing costs.
Saudi Real Estate Refinance Company (SRC) has announced that it has entered into an agreement with Ginnie Mae, a US government-owned corporation operating within the Department of Housing and Urban Development, for sharing of policies and regulations in the housing finance sector.
Saudi Authority for Industrial Cities and Technology Zones (MODON) has attracted over 405 billion Saudi riyals ($108 billion) in investments from the private sector, the authority said in an Arabic press statement. The number of factories opening in 36 industrial cities reached 5,926.
Ooredoo Qatar recently hosted a Modern Cloud Office Event with its longstanding strategic partner 微软 . The event was designed to introduce business customers to the ways in which Ooredoo can be a one-stop shop for all their ICT needs, particularly with Microsoft cloud services and AI-powered solutions.
With initial work on Release 18 in 3GPP started in 2022, commercialization of 5G-Advanced networks is expected from 2024. Zain KSA CTO outlined the company’s network vision in an interview, highlighting the scenarios and use cases most important to Zain KSA as it moves to 5G-Advanced. It will enable increased sustainability by using AI and machine-learning data-driven designs to improve the user experience and enhance network operations.
In interview, CTO of Du Telecom UAE, announced the operator’s ENABLE2027 network framework strategy that was created to support the company’s vision of becoming a preeminent provider of digital services. It is a blueprint for key components of the future digital network architecture, which includes evolved access technologies, next generation operations, cloud automation and network as a service, borderless resource harmonization, and energy efficiency.
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Beyon , a Bahrain-based international telecommunications and technology group, has announced the completion of Phase 2 of its solar park, a major milestone in its journey towards carbon neutrality. Beyon’s Solar Park Phase 1 and 2 at Ras Abu Jarjur will generate 3.6 GWh of clean energy annually.
Artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to deliver real value in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries by as much as $150 billion (Dh550.5 billion), equivalent to over nine per cent or more of GCC countries' combined GDP, says 麦肯锡 's latest research report on AI.
China Telecom Global signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with stc to explore opportunities in the IoT sector, focusing specifically on connected car projects in Saudi Arabia. In a statement, the pair highlighted how Chinese automobile companies had solidified their presence in Saudi Arabia through exporting vehicles, creating an opportunity around the next-generation of connected transportation.
The ???? ????????? ??????? ???????? (CST) signed two MoUs with 微软 Arabia and 甲骨文 during the Saudi Special Economic Zones Investment Forum. The objective of these agreements is to foster cooperation and explore the opportunities for cloud computing and informatics, with the ultimate goal of serving common interests and achieving mutual objectives.
Latest Global News
Technology startups and investors from Singapore and Middle East and North Africa (MENA) nations are pursuing bilateral business opportunities and strengthening their ties through partnerships and financial participation. According to the analysis by MAGNiTT and Expand North Star , at least 16 startups from Singapore have scaled to MENA so far, attracted by the region’s strategic geographic position as the gateway between Europe, Asia and Africa, large and growing consumer market and increasing appetite for technology.
Venmo has launched a new account and debit card offering for teenagers in the US aged 13 to 17, due to be rolled out in June. The Venmo Teen Account will allow parents to monitor transactions, manage privacy settings, send money to their teen, and will help parents to educate their teens on creating healthy financial habits.
苹果 kicked off its 2023 Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) Monday with several announcements. Apple's CEO, Tim Cook announced the most anticipated Apple Vision Pro augmented reality headset. The Apple Vision Pro blends the real world with the digital world and is the first Apple product a user can look through and not out. It can be controlled naturally with a user’s eyes, hands and voice.
Serve Robotics , Uber 's spinout company creating autonomous sidewalk delivery robots, is expanding its services following a successful first year of operations in Los Angeles. Under the expansion, Serve will bring 2,000 additional robots to streets across the U.S. in a collaboration with Uber Eats.
苹果 's biggest supplier 富士康 will start manufacturing iPhones in the southern Indian state of Karnataka by April next year. The project will create around 50,000 jobs. Bloomberg reported Foxconn planned to invest $700mn (￡566mn) on a new factory in the state and the project is valued at $1.59bn.
China-based smartphone vendor HONOR established a subsidiary in Shanghai to develop chip designs. The domestic company looking to fill a gap caused by ongoing US restrictions on advanced semiconductors. In addition to designing chips, Honor’s subsidiary will reportedly develop AI application software and handle sales. It will be the former Huawei smartphone sub-brand’s fifth domestic research centre.
蚂蚁集团 , which operates Alipay+ , has added mobile wallets from three countries to enable digital payments for tourists in Thailand. The three new mobile wallets include Alipay HK of Hong Kong, Kakao Pay of South Korea, and Touch ‘n Go eWallet of Malaysia. Alipay of China has been accepted in Thailand since 2015.