Newsletter #04
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
Abdul-Aziz Al-Onaizan, CEO of ??? ?????? | Bank Albilad , has expressed his pride about the banking leadership of Bank Albilad and its completion of the technical permit requirements as the first bank in Saudi Arabia to enable the open banking services as per the open banking regulatory framework
NymCard , the leading payments infrastructure provider in the MENA region, has completed the acquisition of Spotii in a Box , a prominent Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) Fintech operating in key markets including KSA, UAE, and Bahrain.
Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Investment and the Royal Commission for Riyadh City | ?????? ??????? ?????? ?????? launched the Regional Headquarters Program in 2021 to attract global companies to open their headquarters in the Kingdom. The Ministry of Investment says there will be "ample supply" of commercial space for companies complying with its regional HQ requirements.?
The service providers had allocated more than 6,000 communication towers in Makkah, Madinah, and the holy sites to serve pilgrims, marking an increase of 74%, in addition to increasing the number of 5G towers by 1,205% to more than 2,900 towers and providing more than 10,500 Wi-Fi access points. The infrastructure preparations were doubled for this year’s Hajj to cope with the return of the number of pilgrims to pre-pandemic levels.
The alliance is a major milestone to offer flexible, robust, and cost effective EMV 3D secure authentication solutions for PayTabs Global merchants, banks, and processors across the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.?
Following a one-year compliance grace period, PDPL is now in place and coming into force on Sept. 14, 2023. Banks, financial institutions and companies failing to comply fully with the PDPL could receive a fine of SR3 million ($800,000) or imprisonment for up to two years.
施耐德电气 , a global leader in the digital transformation of energy management, signed an MoU with the The Royal Commission for AlUla (RCU) to provide state-of-the-art technology in AlUla. Schneider will advise RCU on the most advanced technologies and innovative energy management solutions that can be harmoniously integrated within the living environment of AlUla, leading the way for more sustainable tourism ranging from renewable energy and power distribution to smart micro grids, intelligent buildings, data centers and electric mobility infrastructure.
NEOM and Volocopter share a joint vision of creating a better future through innovative, clean technology. After receiving special authorization from the Kingdom’s aviation authority, the electric Vertical Take-Off and Landing (eVTOL) completed its test run in NEOM for the first time. The flight test lasted over a week and built on 18 months of collaboration between NEOM, the GACA - General Authority of Civil Aviation - Saudi Arabia , and Volocopter, with the aim of implementing and scaling an electric UAM ecosystem and testbed in NEOM.
The app enables merchants to expand their services beyond POS terminals and cash-based transactions. The OMPAY Merchant App is a mobile-based business platform providing cashless payment solutions for local businesses where merchants can digitize their billing processes without any extra-added or hidden costs.
The global credit rating agency, Moody's Corporation ’s said Kuwaiti banks have a sound capital and strong liquidity. They also indicated that the total assets of Kuwaiti banks is $375.27 billion, topped by Kuwait Finance House with $120.79 billion, followed by the National Bank of Kuwait with $118.73 billion.
QNB Group , in collaboration with IBM ?and its ecosystem partner, Mannai InfoTech have delivered an innovative, pioneering and engaging Digital Banking experience to its customers. The project aimed to deliver a seamless Digital Banking experience for QNB's customers by implementing a futuristic Omni Channel solution.
Majority-owned by Bank ABC , Arab Financial Services boasts numerous ground-breaking end-to-end digital payment services and solutions. AFS will use its expertise and longstanding experience in digital payments to advance the existing systems and provide consultancy, training, and knowledge transfer in Libya.
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In an effort to boost Saudi-Chinese relations, the Kingdom's Minister of Communications and Information Technology, Abdullah Al-Swaha, had an official visit to China to meet government officials and leaders. The visit comes in light of strengthening Saudi-Chinese relations which will promote the?growth of the Kingdom’s digital economy and achieve prosperity in the fields of innovation and space in line with Vision 2030.
Adyen , the global financial technology platform for leading businesses, has partnered with CAFU , the on-demand fuel delivery company in the UAE, to completely optimize the payment landscape for Electric Vehicle Charging (EVC) and fuel delivery services. Adyen's end-to-end platform enhances payments, protects revenue, and supports international expansion for fuel delivery service CAFU.
DIFC 's plan for the Dubai AI & Web 3.0 dedicated campus spanning over 100,000 square foot over the next five years is to become a global nexus for R&D, investment, and innovation, attracting over $300 million in collective funds, over 500 global AI and Web 3.0 start-ups, and to create over 3,000 jobs by 2028.
Apps 360 will offer comprehensive solutions including end-to-end inventory management, product catalogue capabilities, secure payments, user order tracking, internal team management, etc. The new Apps 360 is part of etisalat by e& 's strategy to cater the growing need for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) to have a robust digital platform to enhance their brand value, connect with their customers online and provide first-class customer service.
Partnerships with 华为 and other tech companies involve collaboration in areas, such as infrastructure development, technology transfer, knowledge sharing, and capacity building to push Qatar's ICT sector growth. In line with its expansion plans in Qatar and its commitment to support the country’s digital transformation, ICT ecosystem and digital economy, Huawei also opened a new state-of-the-art office in Qatar.
Dubai Electricity & Water Authority - DEWA ’s Research and Development (R&D) Centre has developed an in-house, versatile gateway that connects terrestrial sensors to satellites and ground networks. The gateway has various physical, operational technology (OT) connectivity and IoT edge protocol libraries to support the latest IoT networks like LoRa, Wi-Fi and BLE.
? Latest Global News
Alef Aeronautics' electric flying car, its Model A, got FAA approval for test flights. Alef claims the EV has a driving range of 200 miles and a flight range of 110 miles. The Californian automaker said last week that it had received a Special Airworthiness Certification from the Federal Aviation Administration for its Model A flying car, which it said marked the first time such a vehicle has received legal approval to fly from the US Government.
高盛 is looking to end its 苹果 partnership, severing a relationship that helped vault the iPhone maker into the finance world. Apple and Goldman Sachs recently introduced a long-promised high-yield savings account. However, Goldman Sachs is in talks to have American Express take over, The Wall Street Journal reports.
Orange group’s plan to work out a partnership with 法国巴黎银行 for Orange Bank’s two-million-strong customer portfolio in France and to develop financing solutions for mobile devices. The talks with BNP Paribas form part of Orange’s wider intention to progressively withdraw from the retail banking market in France and Spain following a strategic review of its banking business?
Operators are focusing on two areas in their sustainability efforts: a move away from inefficient and power-draining legacy networks and transport systems, and the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) solutions to automate networks to reduce inefficiencies and improve network performance.
Network infrastructure and 5G technology provider 诺基亚 has signed a new long-term patent license agreement with 苹果 to replace the current deal between the two companies that is set to expire at the end of 2023. The deal enables Apple to use the Finnish company's technology in its products, covers Nokia's inventions in 5G and other technologies.
The S.E.C. said the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange mixed billions of dollars in customer funds and secretly sent them to a separate company controlled by Binance ’s founder.
Singapore will progressively deploy more patrol robots across the city-state after more than five years of small-scale trials. The robots are equipped with cameras, sensors, speakers, a display panel, blinkers and a siren. An extendable mast with a 360-degree camera gives an on-the-ground view to officers in a situation room.