MEA Business - December 2020 by MEA Business

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Business News for the MEA region

Introduction

he Covid-19 pandemic has changed the world we live in as well as the entire business landscape. There is no way to sugar coat the devastating impact the current situation is having on businesses throughout the region, especially when most analysis speculate that the worst is yet to come. Despite the apparent doom and gloom, just like all challenges before, we will get through this tough time and as a business community we will learn and grow as a result. The editorial staff of MEA Business are committed to reporting the positive business developments in the Middle East and Africa, as well as highlighting the business opportunities that already exist in the two regions. We also want to provide a platform for business leaders to share ideas, engage in constructive debates and form strategic partnerships. Our ultimate aim is to equip business leaders and professionals with the practical and tactical skills to thrive in the Middle East and Africa. With an emphasis on positive news stories, case studies and inspirational interviews, MEA business will inspire readers towards personal development and overall business success. The magazine is arranged to provide clear and concise informative sections including news sections on the Middle East and Africa, CEO interviews and market updates. We also include an essential event directory, which highlights the must-attend virtual and physical events in the region. Finally, in each issue of the magazine we include several focused reports and brand views. Our reports provide the all-important tools, to enable you to maintain a critical edge in the area highlighted. Our reports cover a range of sectors and industries, Aviaiton, Finance, Technology and Hospitality, to name but a few. The magazine and news service we offer are available on a variety of platforms, these include our printed magazine, e-magazine, website, and social media. Furthermore, we include augmented reality elements in some of our features to provide our readers with unparalleled coverage on the latest developments.

Kenneth Mitchen

Publisher, MEA Business

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CONTENTS

NEWS MIDDLE EAST 6 Smart Dubai to Take Part in the 40th GITEX Technology Week 2020, Highlighting Dubai’s Leading Role In Building A Smart City 8 Covid-19 Vaccine update: IATA prepares the world for the largest and most complex global logistics operation in history. 10 G20 Saudi Arabia Summit Briefing Book, features high-profile voices on the world's most pressing challenges

NEWS AFRICA 12 African Development Bank supports continental strategy on COVID-19 with US$27.33 million 13 Emirates partners with FlySafair to strengthen travel options in South Africa

ANALYSIS SECTION 14 According to a new report, up to 121 million travel and tourism jobs and US$3.4 trillion GDP could be lost globally without a coordinated approach.

08 30

OPINION PIECE 16 Middle East banks still face a digital dilemma and it’s not the technology

MEA Business WEB: www.mea-biz.com EMAIL: info@cme-media.com PUBLISHED BY: Creative Middle East Media FZ LLE, 19th Floor, Creative Tower, Fujairah Creative City, PO Box 4422, Fujairah, UAE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR AND PUBLISHER : Kenneth Mitchen Email: ken.mitchen@mea-finance.com

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APPOINTMENTS 18 Middle East Business Leadership Appointments

COVER FEATURE (TECH TRENDS) 20 Future Technology Trends 24 Digital transformation and Smart City Trends 26 T he Technology Trends shaping Business and the Financial Services Industry 28 T op Cybersecurity Trends to Watch for in 2021: The Hacking of Time, ML Data Poisoning, Data Privacy Implodes, & More 32 2021 Predictions for the Tech Industry

PARTNER CONTENT 34 How GITEX 2020 Will Showcase a New World of Work 36 ICT Infrastructure Advancement an Impetus for the Financial Community to Embrace New Opportunities in the 21st Century

AVIATION 40 Emirates SkyCargo is set to become the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s first dedicated airside cargo hub for Covid-19 vaccines

AWARDS 42 The Aviation Achievement Awards 2021 44 MEA Finance Awards

LIFESTYLE 46 Panerai Watches

08 34

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News Middle East

Smart Dubai to Take Part in the 40th GITEX Technology Week 2020, Highlighting Dubai’s Leading Role In Building A Smart City This year’s event coincides with Smart Dubai’s fifth anniversary, and the entity’s participation is set to shed light on the progress it has made in its mission to transform Dubai into the world’s smartest and happiest city.

mart Dubai has announced its plans to participate in the 40th GITEX Technology Week, taking place on December 6-10, 2020, at the Dubai World Trade Centre, where it intends to showcase the latest developments in terms of city-wide smart transformation and the positive impact digitization is making on people’s lives. Furthermore, Smart Dubai will be highlighting collaborative efforts u n d e r ta ke n i n p a r t n e rs h i p w i t h government entities when faced with the current global crisis, as well as the solutions developed to overcome them and move forward with digital development plans. This year’s event coincides with Smart Dubai’s fifth anniversary, and the entity’s participation is set to shed light on the progress it has made in its mission to transform Dubai into the world’s smartest and happiest city, as well as the advancements recorded across various strategic digital transformation plans and projects. Smart Dubai will also be looking to underline the importance and role of technology in facilitating people’s lives and supporting various city sectors. Several government entities will be joining Smart Dubai’s pavilion to showcase their existing and new services. “GITEX Technology Week presents a

prominent international platform that brings together leading global figures from the technology and smart city sectors to discuss and exchange ideas,” asserted His Excellency Younus Al Nasser, Assistant Director General of Smart Dubai, and CEO of the Dubai Data Establishment. “It is an ideal opportunity for governments, companies, and individuals to get a closer look at international smart city trends, and explore best practices and success stories in the sector.” “We take part in this year’s edition of the event as we celebrate the five-year

His Excellency Younus Al Nasser, Assistant Director General of Smart Dubai, and CEO of the Dubai Data Establishment

Business News for the MEA region

anniversary of the establishment of Smart Dubai,” H.E. added. “This makes us more determined to position Dubai as a leader in terms of smart cities, and as a city that has developed its own unique approach to providing innovative services and initiatives, employing advanced technologies to make people’s lives easier and happier.” “These services have demonstrated their effectiveness in addressing global challenges such as the COVID-19 outbreak, where they offer solutions to curb the impact of such crises on various sectors,” H.E. Al Nasser said. “This, ultimately, allowed Dubai to set the standard among smart cities, offering a successful model to be emulated around the world.” GITEX Technology Week 2020 lends its support to the international efforts to relaunch economic and investment activities around the world, as well as to reactivate vital communication channels. It brings influential stakeholders from technology and business sectors back together to set growth strategies that take these new developments into account and aim to achieve a set of ambitious objectives in the decade ahead.

WE TAKE PART IN THIS YEAR’S EDITION OF THE EVENT AS WE CELEBRATE THE FIVEYEAR ANNIVERSARY OF THE ESTABLISHMENT OF SMART DUBAI

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News Middle East

Covid-19 Vaccine update: IATA prepares the world for the largest and most complex global logistics operation in history. IATA's Guidance for Vaccine and Pharmaceutical Logistics and Distribution provides recommendations for governments and the logistics supply chain in preparation for what will be the largest and most complex global logistics operation ever undertaken.

he International Air Transport Association (IATA) released guidance to ensure that the air cargo industry is ready to support the large-scale handling, transport and distribution of a COVID-19 vaccine. IATA’s Guidance for Vaccine and Pharmaceutical Logistics and Distribution provides recommendations for governments and the logistics supply chain in preparation for what will be the largest and most complex global logistics operation ever undertaken. Reflecting the complexity of the challenge, the Guidance was produced with the support of a broad range of partners, including the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and the International Federation of Freight Forwarders Associations (FIATA). The guidance includes a repository of international standards and guidelines related to the transport of vaccines and will be updated regularly as information is made available to the industry. Accompanying the guidance, IATA established a joint information-sharing forum for stakeholders. "Delivering billions of doses of a vaccine that must be transported and stored in a deep-frozen state to the entire world efficiently will involve hugely complex logistical challenges across the supply chain. While the immediate challenge is the implementation of COVID-19 testing measures to re-open borders without quarantine, we must be prepared for

when a vaccine is ready. This guidance material is an important part of those preparations,” said IATA’s Director General and CEO, Alexandre de Juniac. Key challenges addressed in IATA’s Guidance for Vaccine and Pharmaceutical Logistics and Distribution include: • T he availability of temperaturecontrolled storage facilities and contingencies when such facilities are not available • D efining roles and responsibilities of parties involved in the distribution of vaccines, particularly government authorities and NGOs, to assist safe, fast and equitable distribution as broadly as possible • C apacity & Connectivity: The global route network has been reduced dramatically from the pre-COVID 22,000 city pairs. Governments need to re-establish air connectivity to ensure adequate capacity is available for vaccine distribution. • F acilities and infrastructure: The first vaccine manufacturer to apply for regulatory approval requires the vaccine to be shipped and stored in a deep-frozen state, making ultra-cold chain facilities across the supply chain essential. Some types of refrigerants are classified as a dangerous goods and volumes are regulated which adds an additional layer of complexity. Considerations include availability of temperature-controlled facilities and equipment and staff trained to handle

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IATA’s Director General and CEO, Alexandre de Juniac

time- and temperature-sensitive vaccines. • B order management: Timely regulatory approvals and storage and clearance by customs and health authorities will be essential. Priorities for border processes include introducing fasttrack procedures for overflight and landing permits for operations carrying the COVID-19 vaccine and potential tariff relief to facilitate the movement of the vaccine. • S ecurity: Vaccines are highly valuable commodities. Arrangements must be in place to ensure that shipments remain secure from tampering and theft. Processes are in place already, but the huge volume of vaccine shipments will require early planning to ensure that they are scalable.

News Middle East

G20 Saudi Arabia Summit Briefing Book, features high-profile voices on the world's most pressing challenges The Publication contains contributions from prominent world leaders and international bodies.

specific issues. Tawfig Al Rabiah, minister of health, spotlights how the Saudi presidency is accelerating progress in health care, from R&D to digital solutions, while Mohammed A Al-Jadaan, minister of finance, calls for a results-oriented pandemic response. Minister of commerce Majid bin Abdullah Al Qasabi explores how the Saudi presidency is seeking to reinstall trust in the multilateral trading system, and Ahmed Al-Khateeb, minister of tourism, looks at the impact of COVID19 on tourism â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and offers solutions to getting the sector back on its feet.

G20 Virtual Summit, Hosted by Saudi Arabia

he G20 Virtual summit hosted by Saudi Arabia took place on the 21, 22 November 2020. The Summit Briefing book (G20 Saudi Arabia) was published alongside the virtual event, it features prominent voices from government, the business world and civil society. The aim of the publication series is to help global stakeholders better understand the challenges we all face in meeting the demands of the world, today. The pandemic was the main talking point in this year's edition. The publication contains exclusive interviews from world leaders such

as Argentinian president Alberto FernĂĄndez who talks about the need for a new international architecture. In addition, Brazil's president Jair Bolsonaro calls for cooperation in these exceptional times; and Charles Michel, president of the European Council, explores how we can build back better after COVID-19. The publication also includes core agenda issues identified by Saudi Arabia in its year as host: empowering people, safeguarding the planet, and shaping new frontiers. Saudi ministers feature prominently, offering thought-leadership on several sector-

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There are further contributions from Dr Hamad Mohammed Al-Sheikh, minister of education, Abdulrahman AlFadley, minister of environment, water and agriculture, HRH Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, minister of energy, and Abdullah A Alswaha, minister of communications and information technology. The prestigious line-up of authors also includes voices from the Arab Monetary Fund, the Islamic Development Bank Group, the World Health Organization, the OECD, the United Nations World Tourism Organization, UN Women, U N E S C O, O P E C a n d I N T E R P O L . The Riyadh Summit is the latest in an auspicious series of official publications of The Global Governance Project and the G20 Research Group.

News Africa Africa News

African Development Bank supports continental strategy on COVID-19 with US$27.33 million The African Development Bank (AfDB) has approved a grant of US$27.33 million to the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC)

n response to a request by the Bureau of the African Union Heads of State and Government, the African Development Bank (AfDB) has approved a grant of US$27.33 million to the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC). Awarded under three key components – technical assistance and capacity building (US$19.33 million), institutional support (US$7 million) and contribution to the African Union COVID-19 Response Fund (US$ 1 million) – the grant is to support implementation of the Africa Joint Continental Strategy for COVID19 Outbreak. It will enable Africa CDC to provide technical assistance and capacity building support in combating the COVID19 pandemic and mitigating its impact in 37 African Development Fund eligible African Union Member States. “The fight against COVID-19 is far from being over”, said H.E. Amira Elfadil Mohammed, Commissioner for Social Affairs, African Union Commission. “This generous financial support from the African Development Bank will help strengthen the capacity of Africa CDC to respond to the COVID-19 and future pandemics. It will help improve the capacity of National Public Health Institutes of Member States, support evidence-based epidemic intelligence, strengthen infection prevention and control, and support the Regional Economic Communities”. “The expected outcome from the Bank’s collaboration with the Africa Union is a stronger Africa CDC able to rapidly coordinate emergency assistance across

Africa, particularly in low income member countries, beyond the current COVID-19 response, working in collaboration with other development partners, including those in the private sector”, said Dr Abdul Kamara, Ethiopia Country Manager, African Development Bank. In February 2020, Africa CDC developed a continental strategy to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, aimed to enhance cooperation, collaboration, coordination and communication while preventing severe illness and death and minimizing social disruption and economic consequences due to the pandemic. The strategy was validated by the African ministers of health in February and endorsed by the Bureau of Heads of State and Government in March 2020. Although Africa has not recorded very high number of COVID-19 cases and deaths as in other continents, the impact of the pandemic has been very high on the continent, exerting intense pressure on the already fragile health system and

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adversely affecting the socioeconomic situation on the continent. Since the validation and endorsement of the continental strategy, Africa CDC has continued to leverage resources to provide technical and material support to Member States in their response to COVID-19. In June 2020, Africa CDC rolled out the Partnership to Accelerate COVID19 Testing (PACT), an initiative that has enabled it to bring partners together as a collective to expand testing, contact tracing and treatment of COVID-19 cases across the continent. “We see PACT as a movement that allows us to do certain things very quickly. Since it was rolled out, testing, contact tracing and treatment have improved across the continent, but we are not there yet. What this tells us is that what we are doing is working and we must intensify our efforts. This is why partnership with institutions like AfDB is very important to us”, said Dr John Nkengasong, Director of Africa CDC.

Africa News

Emirates partners with FlySafair to strengthen travel options in South Africa Through the arrangement, Emirates and FlySafair plan to offer the ease of single-ticket travel and through tagging of baggage for travellers transferring from Emirates' three gateways Johannesburg, Cape Town, and Durban to FlySafair domestic points in South Africa, such as Port Elizabeth, East London and George

mirates airline and FlySafair recently announced an interline agreement , opening up connections for customers to selected routes on FlySafair's network in South Africa. Through the arrangement, Emirates and FlySafair plan to offer the ease of single-ticket travel and through tagging of baggage for travellers transferring from Emirates' three gateways â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Johannesburg, Cape Town, and Durban to FlySafair domestic points in South Africa, such as Port Elizabeth, East

London and George. Customers can also take advantage of connecting to FlySafair's points, without backtracking to their initial destination when catching their flight back to Dubai. Customers can book their travel with EK offices and travel agencies. Badr Abbas, Senior Vice President Commercial Operations for Africa said: "We are pleased to begin our interline partnership with FlySafair. Their network complements our South African presence, providing an array of connections for our customers,

which makes this a natural partnership. Together, we will open up new travel opportunities, and more choice for customers wishing to travel domestically. We look forward to working together and strengthening our relationship into the future." Kirby Gordon, Chief Marketing Officer at FlySafair said: "Today, we are excited to announce the launch of our interline agreement with Emirates Airline. The superb service and vast route network that Emirates offers is world-renowned, and we are proud to have partnered with them in providing customers greater connectivity when travelling." He added: "We are in a very fortunate position whereby we were able to restart operations in June this year. As of November, we will be operating at our full capacity again, which will see us operating just over 75% of the available domestic seat capacity in South Africa. International traffic is still very limited given the various restrictions in place, but we are happy to report that there has been a slow and steady uptick in the volumes of flights we are selling through our connection agreements like that with Emirates." Emirates resumed its operations into Johannesburg and Cape Town on 1 October, and Durban on 8 October, and is presently operating 17 flights a week into South Africa. Emirates has put in enhanced safety measures in place across all of its onboard and on ground touchpoints. The airline continues to stimulate passenger demand through connecting customers via Dubai from close to 100 destinations, as well as building more connection opportunities in South Africa through partnerships like FlySafair that provide customers more convenience and flexibility.

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Analysis

According to a new report, up to 121 million travel and tourism jobs and US$3.4 trillion GDP could be lost globally without a coordinated approach. Focus on sustainability, demand evolution and health and hygiene to aid recovery of travel and tourism sector

globally coordinated approach is needed for the travel and tourism sector to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new report by global consulting firm Oliver Wyman and The World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), which represents the global Travel and Tourism private sector. An estimated 121 million travel and tourism jobs and an US$3.4 trillion in global GDP could be lost as 90% of the global population are adjusting to life under travel restrictions and others stay home in fear of the virus revealed the report titled. According to the report, four macro-trends will lead the way through recovery and beyond. Demand Evolution •

Preferences towards predictable and trusted destinations

• Domestic vacations and the out doors Health and Hygiene • Concerns on protocols and crisis situations • Readiness to health protocols Innovation and Digitization • Acceleration of digitalization in the travel & tourism sector for a seamless experience • Contactless technologies Sustainability • Heightened public awareness and increased importance of wildlife / envronmental impact

and build the sector’s resilience,” said Matthieu De Clercq, Partner at Oliver Wyman. According to WTTC’s 2020 Economic Impact Report, during 2019, travel and tourism was responsible for one in 10 jobs (330 million in total), making a 10.3% contribution to global GDP and generating one in four of all new jobs.

Matthieu De Clercq, Partner at Oliver Wyman

• Growing demand for businesses’ support for local community inclusion and diversity The report also highlights that enhancing the current seamless travel experience, embracing the integration of new technologies and enacting global protocols are essential to rebuilding traveler confidence. It showcases the need for the public and private sectors to work together to recover the millions of jobs impacted, rebuild traveller confidence, and build the sector’s resilience. “As full year passenger numbers are forecasted by IATA to reach only 30% of 2019 levels in the Middle East, the implications to the travel and tourism sector brought on by COVID-19 were severe, leaving no traveler, businesses, workforce, and community untouched. As such, it has become essential for public and private sectors to work together to recover the millions of jobs impacted, rebuild traveler confidence,

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With continual efforts being deployed to rebuild global consumer confidence and encourage the return of safe travels, Oliver Wyman’s second edition of the Traveler Sentiment Survey revealed that nearly 20 percent of global consumers are confident to travel now with interest in leisure travel remaining strong and presenting a growth since May. As the Middle East carefully monitors the opening of its borders to tourists and works through reestablishing travel confidence, there is a growing need for governments and institutions to be proactive in showcasing the highest safety and hygiene standards that are being adopted regionally. De Clercq added: “It is notable that leaders have remained strong and steadfast in the face of adversity with governments in the Middle East having affirmed their commitment to supporting global travel and tourism. This is apparent through the efforts and investments directed towards launching incentives and facilities to support the sector such as streamlining travel and visa processes, improving safety and security, expediting the development and testing of a vaccine and recognizing the sovereign right of states to control the entry of foreign nationals.

Opinion

Middle East banks still face a digital dilemma and it’s not the technology An opinion piece by Spyros Salpeas, Head of Professional Services IMEA at Orange Business Services

pyros Salpeas is Head of Professional Services IMEA at Orange Business Services Middle East retail banks are still facing a unique set of challenges as they navigate the digital transformation journey. From regulatory hurdles to tech savvy mobile customers and disruptive non-traditional competitors, they risk becoming passengers or worse – irrelevant spectators to the industry’s transformation. Today, FinTech is a fact of banking life and the emerging digital players are linking with the major social media

platforms, powered by the Cloud, to create rapid scale and reach mobilehungry customers. As with any digital transformation, the challenge, the opportunity and the risk does not lie in the technology but in a much more fundamental area of the bank – the culture that lies at the heart of every institution. There’s no doubt that the Middle East financial services sector is distinctive. In some regions such as Europe, retail banks are experiencing rapid deregulation and disruption from nontraditional competitors including social

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media platforms, mobile operators and others offering payments and loans to consumers. Meanwhile, the Middle East banks are tied to a highly regulated environment. There is a pressing need for greater digital innovation within the region’s traditionally conservative banking industry. If not the banks, who is driving the innovation and can banks harness this or collaborate with these innovators? Clearly, banks are looking for the ultimate ‘win-win’ – ways to reduce costs and improve customer experience at the same time, through the greater convenience of digital services. Internet and mobile banking is so much quicker and cheaper, more convenient and personalised, with banking services delivered through one simple portal or device.

Smartphones are driving the adoption of mobile banking – meeting the demand for a simple, controlled and comfortable experience. Where the customers go, the banks must follow – and it’s a game of catch up. Meanwhile, the region’s growing community of innovative FinTech startup companies is leaping ahead – a risk but also an opportunity for those banks that can respond by creating effective digital collaborations. Those that can’t are going to miss out – because customers have started using FinTech tools and it’s becoming a habit. According to Deloitte’s inaugural Middle East FinTech study (June 2020), 82% of Middle East banking customers surveyed are willing to start using FinTech solutions, however only 22% of Middle East banking customer offer FinTech solutions today. So, there is obviously a gap in the market and the potential for significant growth.

Arabia, is characterised by a willingness to adopt innovative solutions offered by banks; in particular, when it comes to peer-to-peer money transfers, account aggregation and automated investment advice. In other words, customers are crying out for innovation that offers speed, service and simplicity. How can banks respond (and who should lead)? In fact, financial services functions integrate well with the internet and social media platforms but the challenge for banks is not technology; the biggest challenge of all is to change the internal culture of banks themselves and their low appetite for risk, including caution when it comes to external collaborations with startups. The digital dilemmas that banks face are the challenge to win internal support and funding for digital initiatives, especially

82% OF MIDDLE EAST BANKING CUSTOMERS SURVEYED ARE WILLING TO START USING FINTECH SOLUTIONS. The market opportunity for digital and mobile banking is significant, and not only in the bankable segments of the population; for example in Egypt, 40 banks compete for the 10 million people with a bank account, while the other 90 million people live without bank accounts – but with mobile phones. One of the very distinctive characteristics of the GCC is the large expatriate population that remits a significant amount of earnings and savings to families in the home countries. Traditionally this was done through exchange houses and banks, with significant margins – and cost to the customer. Today, a remittance can be done quickly and at minimal cost directly by the customer via a mobile device with a local telco. According to the Deloitte study, customer behaviour across the Middle East, and especially in Saudi

when the benefits cannot be clearly quantified, and there is still a lack of clarity on the ‘ownership’ of digital within the banking environment. As the Deloitte study also confirms, the FinTech ecosystem is evolving rapidly when it comes to deploying innovative solutions, but it is struggling to attract additional financing that will boost its footprint and impact. When someone needs money, a bank can be a very useful partner. The Deloitte findings also suggest that while banks are keen to engage with FinTechs they are reluctant to integrate FinTechs into their strategy, preferring to take a ‘wait and see’ approach. This level of institutional caution presents a major risk and means that banks are – again, according to Deloitte – not leveraging the full suite of FinTech solutions/ features to address customers’ needs

Spyros Salpeas, Head of Professional Services IMEA, Orange Business Services

and requirements to enhance the daily banking journey and experience. This sounds like it could be the obituary for the banking sector. Chief digital officers (CDOs) in banks will naturally be looking to initiate digital innovation, while the chief information officer (CIO) may be more focused on the legacy platform, and the SVP Retail will be looking at customer services. The final owner of the bank’s digital platform and customer digital experience may still be unclear within the organisation. According to the EY GCC Digital Banking Survey 2017, 28% of those surveyed disagreed to some degree that digital transformation through FinTech innovation is a strategic initiative championed by board or senior management in their organisation; 57% stated that there was no individual delegated with the responsibility for innovation and a clear mandate. Banks are reacting with the role of the CDO growing and this is leading to more innovation with a sand box approach to testing new digital solutions before launching to market. Inevitably, one of the other main challenges is time; whereas a bank strategy might traditionally have been based on a three-year planning and execution period, today strategy is a constant and may look ahead no more than three months, as digital disruption accelerates. As it becomes clear that banks are in a race for digital transformation, it’s also becoming clear that ‘culture’ is the major barrier they are facing.

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Appointments

Middle East Business Leadership Appointments We take a look at the comings and goings of some of the Middle East Regionâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Leading Executives and Professionals.

Amadeus

Jumeirah

Gulf Air

Amadeus has announced that Jamel Chandoul is appointed Senior Vice President Retail Middle East and Africa, effective January 1st, 2021. Chandoul has achieved considerable success since joining Amadeus in 2011. He succeeds Antoine Medawar who will retire at the end of the year. He will also assume a regional leadership role responsible for the Travel Channels business across the Middle East and Africa.

Jumeirah at Saadiyat Island Resort, Abu Dhabiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s luxury beachfront hotel and long-term member of the Jumeirah Hotels and Resorts portfolio, recently announced the appointment of Savino Leone as General Manager at the prestigious hotel. Savino has had a successful international career spanning more than 25 years. His experience includes prestigious roles in countries that include Japan, Egypt, the UK, Dubai and France.

Gulf Air, the national carrier of the Kingdom of Bahrain, announces the appointment of Mrs. Shams Al Doseri as Country Manager for its Muscat station. Mrs. Al Doseri will represent Gulf Air in the Sultanate of Oman after gaining a wide experience in sales and outstation roles. Mrs. Al Doseri, will be the first Bahraini female to run a Gulf Air outstation.

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Cover Feature

Future Technology Trends The Covid-19 pandemic has turbocharged the drive towards digital transformation and technology adoption in the Middle East and around the world. MEA Business takes a look at the current and future trends shaping the region.

E-COMMERCE

UAE eCommerce sector to continue upward trajectory as digital payments boom during COVID-19

he UAE eCommerce sector is expected to see continued growth as more UAE consumers demand online payment options and merchants increasingly recognize the need for an online presence during the c o ro n a v i r u s p a n d e m i c , reve a l s ‘The United Arab Emirates (UAE) eC ommerce Landscape 2020’, a joint study by Dubai Economy and

Visa, the world’s leader in digital payments. The report reflects market activity over the last 12 months and, in particular, the impact of the COVID19 outbreak, highlighting key trends a n d i n s i g ht s d ra w n f ro m V i s a ’s transaction data on how and where consumers have been spending – in addition to new challenges and opportunities that the crisis has

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created. With many consumers and merchants experiencing the convenience of eCommerce for the first time during the lockdown, the shift to shopping online is expected to hold long-term as consumer confidence in digital payments surge across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.

The Impact of COVID-19: Acceleration of eCommerce and Digital Payments The June 2020 findings of another study, Visa’s Stay Secure consumer survey2 in partnership with Dubai Economy and Dubai Police showed that 49% of UAE consumers surveyed have been shopping online more because of the pandemic, with three out of five (61%) now using cards or digital wallets more to make payments online instead of opting for cash on delivery. Increased trust in the safety, speed, and convenience of contactless payments, were the top reasons cited for their increased preference for online payments. Additionally, a developed logistics infrastructure, financial account penetration and support for digital p a y m e n t s , i n c re a s e d re t a i l e r s ’ adoption of eCommerce platforms and government policies which support innovation and entrepreneurial activities are all drivers for eCommerce growth in the UAE. Initiatives such as the Mohammed Bin Rashid Innovation Fund Accelerator have also been launched by the UAE Ministry of Economy to further boost the sector. This shift to paying online also means eCommerce will account for a bigger share of total UAE card payment transaction values in 2020, compared to pre-pandemic predictions; up from 19.7% to 21.9%3. This figure is expected to continue upward, with eCommerce payments estimated to account for 28.2% of the total UAE card payment transactions value. Findings from the Dubai EconomyVisa study also show that while UAE consumers still prefer to pay using credit cards (c. 35% of transactions), the use of debit cards to shop online has increased by more than 7% between 2018 and 2020, pointing to a higher degree of trust in the transaction process that is reflective of a maturing market. Increased card on file tokenization and Click to Pay capabilities have also led to repeat purchases as well as higher

H is Excellency Sami Al Qamzi, Director General of Dubai Economy

frequency and ease of online shopping, fueling further growth in use of credit and debit cards as a method of payment. His Excellency Sami Al Qamzi, Director General of Dubai Economy, commented: “The increasing shift to digital payments

M arcello Baricordi, Visa’s General Manager for Middle East and North Africa

from the ‘UAE eCommerce Landscape’ study will lend strategic support to our future initiatives in enhancing customer happiness through innovative cashless and contactless transaction solutions.”

UNLIKE REGULAR FINANCIAL SERVICE PROVIDERS, FINTECH PROVIDERS OPERATE IN A MORE FLEXIBLE AND AGILE MANNER TO ADAPT TO NEW SERVICES BASED ON EVER-CHANGING DEMANDS. is not only a strong testament to the efficiency of the infrastructure and regulatory framework in the UAE, but also an indicator of the growing confidence among consumers and businesses in the country. Dubai Economy has prioritised digital payments as a key enabler of the ease of business and smart transformation that will set Dubai apart as a competitive global business hub. We focus on offering innovative digital adoption solutions to the diverse community of businesses, entrepreneurs and consumers with whom we engage constantly, and the prevailing pandemic crisis has provided us with valuable insights on their changing preferences and requirements. Cashless payments and eCommerce are definitely on a faster trajectory than anticipated, and we look to translate this unprecedented growth into an opportunity for businesses of any size to establish and enhance their presence online. The key takeaways

UAE eCommerce landscape vs other markets Based on the latest transaction data from Visa, the ‘UAE eCommerce Landscape 2020’ report also compares UAE to mature and emerging benchmark markets including the US, UK, Australia and Singapore, as well as Brazil, South Africa and Malaysia. According to the report, in the wider Middle East, North Africa, and South Asia (MENASA) region, the UAE represents the biggest annual spend per online shopper at $1,648. Additionally, the UAE continues to maintain a healthy lead in average transaction size compared to both mature and emerging eCommerce markets. The average transaction value in the UAE was $122 in 2019-20, compared to $76 in mature markets, and $22 in emerging markets. Correspondingly with more merchants going online and a wider selection of

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products available in the eCommerce space, consumer demand and online sales volumes have also multiplied. Marcello Baricordi, Visa’s General Manager for Middle East and North Africa, said: “The digital payments ecosystem in the UAE and wider MENA region was already experiencing strong growth, but the pandemic has helped accelerate the pace of change and progress. We’ve seen a number of adoption barriers reduce as the demand for eCommerce and contactless commerce skyrocketed during the lockdown. We call these habit forming behaviours as more consumers and merchants have now experienced the security, convenience and range of online commerce and we anticipate this trend to continue post-pandemic. Because of this, businesses that work to adapt to this new world of eCommerce and digital payments have the best chance at both recovery and thriving. All merchants regardless of size must now think beyond just adapting and focus on their medium and long term strategy. Our report, in collaboration with Dubai Economy, is designed to share our insights and help businesses spark new

and innovative plans.” Bringing in-store experiences online will be important to retain recent online shopping converts. The ability to experience a product is a key reason for in-store shopping but there are now many tools that can help replicate the process online. The use of augmented reality technologies offers a rich buying experience enabling online shoppers to visualize the products they are interested in from the comfort and safety of their homes. D e l i ve r i n g a s e a m l es s p a y m e nt experience is a non-negotiable factor in the success of eCommerce. According to the report, more than half (58%) of UAE consumers surveyed by Visa in 2020 were found to have abandoned their online shopping cart because of authentication delays or failure. Solutions like Visa’s Click to Pay button help to reduce that friction. Additionally, making online payment the norm and eradicating cash on delivery will reduce the cost, complexity, and risk for online merchants. Building and maintaining trust in online purchasing remains an ongoing activity for eCommerce businesses,

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and for customers new to online shopping, retaining them online even as stores reopen requires confidence and reassurance. In the UAE, Visa has been working together with the Dubai Economy and the Dubai Police to educate consumers on the safety of digital payment via card and mobile. While almost every business has been impacted by the pandemic in some way, small businesses have struggled the most. Helping small merchants move online so they can survive challenging market conditions must be a priority for the communities they operate in. By offering innovative payment solutions, Visa’s priority in this environment remains to help businesses thrive both online and offline. “With the perfect set of supportive factors – from digital-friendly policies to relief measures, high internet, smartphone and social media penetration, and world-class infrastructure – there is no market better equipped than the UAE to take eCommerce and the payments ecosystem to the next level,” Baricordi concluded.

Technology Trends

Digital transformation and Smart City Trends Kyoto Technologies is one of the fasted growing IT System Integrators in the region. MEA Business Magazine spoke to Pankaj Singh, Regional VP, to discuss technology trends as well as the keys to their success.

Tell us about your organization? Since our establishment in 2017, we have become one of the fastest growing IT System Integrator in the region. Driven by passion and hard work, we help our clients build stronger, more agile and innovative businesses. Rather than dwelling over past achievements, we look forward to the enormous opportunities that are emerging from the growing shift to digital business. We invest in new solutions and acquisitions, build our capabilities, and develop our teams to ensure that Kyoto is well positioned to help clients explore the vast opportunity – and deliver on the potential- of this new digital era. Kyoto enables global enterprises to optimize their operations, manage their costs and invest in innovations

that unleash new potential across their organizations. What makes us unique is our ability to conceptualize, architect and implement new and expanded capabilities, allowing our clients to transform legacy models making their business an organization built on world-class operations. Kyoto also brings technology to the market with the most complete value proposition in the industry. We simplify the complexities of the IT industry, solving not only our customers’ technology problems, but also their business challenges. What makes you unique? 1. Distinguished References Our outstanding record in catering to the Cloud & security needs of the top players in all the industries we work with, armed with years of experience and extensive know-how, allows us to

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offer, not just products or services, but customized comprehensive solutions that suites our clients and future needs 2. Fostering Relationships Our priority is to build strong lasting relations with our customers, and our partners. We see our clients’ business as ours, and we work continuously on bettering and fostering global partnerships, in order to provide optimum support to our customers 3. Know-How Our people are our strongest asset. Over the years we have built a team of experienced, highly qualified, and regionally recognized technical support staff, that provides 24/7 support to our customers. In line with our goal to spread our knowledge, and build a base of highly qualified security professionals, we have established an Academy for the training and qualification of IT graduates that will provide them with theoretical and practical experience, and enrich the scene of Cloud Infrastructure & Security in UAE and the region. 4. Not Products but Solutions We enable our customers to maximize the utilization of their available tools. Through our experience with use cases, and familiarity with various attacks, accumulated through the years, we are able to customize our clients’ systems to tune themselves and distinguish real threats from false positivity, thus saving our customers time and resources and allowing their security team to ad-

Being partnered with the top global IT vendors, like Microsoft, Mimecast, Inspiretech, Spirent Communications, Fresh works, Fortinet & Citrix facilitates us to provide the best solutions. Our 4 business practices are Infrastructure, Digital, Security and Services

Kyoto Technologies,Pankaj Singh, Regional VP

dress the real attacks. 5. Multi-Cloud Consultancy Practice We offer Hybrid Multi-Cloud management solutions for Organizations to enable end-to-end visibility into their Hybrid Multi-Cloud environment, Hybrid Multi-Cloud Migration and Hybrid Multi-Cloud Orchestration. A dedicated team of certified cloud consultants and solution experts, work closely with our customers to understand your business requirements and challenges. What Services do you offer? In today’s fast moving markets, companies no longer just want a vendor who responds to requests at a minimal cost - they need an innovative partner that can quickly turn ideas and projects into value-generators with minimal cash burn, and that’s what we do.

How has the pandemic effected the pace of digital transformation? Although it seemed that the pandemic had slowed down the digital transformation journey of many organizations and businesses, however, technology has the magical ability to help business and people transform in puzzling situations like the pandemic. Digital transformation has become more compelling now for large enterprises to small-medium companies, Gov dept.’s to education, healthcare, livestock, agriculture, media and for many other sectors. Let’s look at a few key areas of technology that will help business and lives sustain and grow. • • • •

Presence in virtual world Digitizing Everything E-Commerce Cloud Adoption

How will smart cities change the way we live and work? It’ll take some adjusting, but the technology is here, and we will be asked to change with it. The development of smart cities has just begun to gain traction. As this technology evolves, it will start affecting most aspects of a resident’s life—most notably by increasing their transportation options. Using a network of sensors, smartphones and Wi-Fi, a key goal for smart city planners is to smooth out traffic flow while seamlessly integrating several modes of transportation. For a commuter that might mean using a single smart phone app that allows them to hail a ride-sharing

vehicle, or get on a train bound for downtown, then hop on an on-demand micro-shuttle that will drops them off at their office. These communities are on the cutting edge of a transportation revolution that will allow residents – as well as commuters and tourists – to travel quickly, safely and easily. Smart Cities will become more accessible places to live and work. Businesses will be able to provide goods and services more efficiently. And Technology plays an essential role in that transformation. Which future technology excites you most? The past few years have seen an abundance of technological innovation impacting Generation Z to greatgrandparents alike. In a world where babies learn to use an iPad before turning the page of a book, packages are delivered via drone, and travellers to Japan can opt to stay in a robot-staffed hotel, one may wonder what’s next. Here are five technologies to get excited about. • • • • •

4D Printing Beacon Technology Connectivity Next generation Authentication Battery Advancements

THE PAST FEW YEARS HAVE SEEN AN ABUNDANCE OF TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION IMPACTING GENERATION Z TO GREAT-GRANDPARENTS ALIKE.

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Technology Trends

The Technology Trends shaping Business and the Financial Services Industry Finesse is a leading systems integrator and digital transformation company which operates in over 10 global locations. MEA Business talks to Sunil Paul, Co-Founder & MD and Eljo J P, Director & Chief Business Officer. Tell us about your organization? Finesse was incorporated a decade ago, with a vision to build a global system integration company which would positively impact the lives of people. It is a trusted name for enabling digital transformation and alleviates over 300 enterprise clients across BFSI, Education, Energy, Healthcare, Public Sector, Telecom, Travel & Logistics among others. Finesse thrives to orchestrate distinct strategic approach to enhance our client’s business value. It ensures improved efficiency, considerable reduction of costs, effectiveness and realizing business goals to stay relevant in the constant evolution of market. With the dedication of Finesse’s 400+ professional team, we have proudly won more than 50 International Awards and accolades, and is successfully operating in over 10 global locations What technologies would transform the financial service industry? Key trends that will shape the Banking and Financial Services Industry (BFSI) will include going mainstream with digi-

tal transformation, by using cost-effective technologies like AI Chatbots, Big Data Analytics, Blockchain, API Banking, Cloud migration, Robotic Process Automation, Customer Experience Management, and Zero Trust based Cybersecurity solutions. Artificial Intelligence (AI) - Embracing Artificial Intelligence in the BFSI sector would help in enhancing customer service by giving them access to banking operations 24/7, AI helps to detect fraud, reduce repetitive tasks which would lead to increase in revenue and profitability of the organization. Blockchain – Blockchain technology is well advanced to enable bilateral settlement by eliminating midpoint failures, delays and collateral costs. The technology also minimizes credit risks and exchange spreads. Blockchain makes use of cryptography to combine contents of several new blocks with the existing blocks so that the previously stored information is protected. Cyber Security solutions - As the number of attacks climb up and regulators take a closer watch, the pressure to act on safety measures mounts up like never before. Banks & Financial institutions globally are fast adapting to new

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generation Cyber security approaches like Zero Trust and implementing solutions for Microsegmentation, Multifactor authentication, Privileged Identity & Access management, Secured App protection which are the need of the hour to avoid sophisticated cyberattacks. What are your solutions and services for the financial services industry? inesse assists over 120 financial instiF tutions globally including 80% of the banks in UAE. We have a large portfolio of BFSI solutions & services that includes AI Chatbots, Blockchain, Core Banking, API / Digital Banking, Cloud Transformation, Customer Experience Management, Trade Finance, Treasury, GRC, Regulatory Reporting, Basel III & IFRS-9, Credit Control & Management, Payments, Fraud Management, Robotic Process Automation and more. We also have a dedicated Cyber security practice, which covers Infrastructure & Cloud Security, Application security assurance, Security intelligence & analytics, Digital Identity, Data protection & Privacy.

Sunil Paul – Co-Founder & MD Finesse

the same time improve efficiency with their core business. Can you throw us some light on your banking process outsourcing services?

Eljo J P – Director & Chief Business Officer - Finesse What makes you Unique? Finesse began its journey a decade ago – firmly guided by its vision to positively impact the lives of people around us, using technology advancements. Finesse consultants possess excellent functional, operational, and technical knowledge of the BFSI, Education, Energy, Healthcare, Public Sector, Telecom, Travel & Logistics and the most trending transformation products & solutions currently used by global organizations.This experience has proven valuable to our clients as the team identifies and implements industry best practices and leverages on real life experience to implement solutions that are proven and best suited to our clients. Finesse helps our clients to focus on their core business by providing end to end managed services for their technology environment & non-core business processes. The Finesse proposition goes far beyond the transaction benefits of resource outsourcing and focus on delivering business efficiency & results by bringing to bear our deep technology and domain expertise to all our engagements. This model helps our clients to optimally manage costs & risks and at

We help banks & financial institutions to increase their efficiencies and reduce costs in their operational business functions with automation and managed services. We are thus positioned as strategic partners in our client’s outsourcing endeavor. By understanding their strategy, growth plans-, short- and long-term needs and deliverables, we create and deliver high performance, reliable, and sustainable digitized business solutions. Finesse’s approach to BPO (Banking Process Outsourcing) combines a comprehensive transformation of the backend processes of a bank or financial institution with a collaborative approach to delivering the services so as to improve customer satisfaction. Some of our Banking process outsourcing services are Managing Post Dated Cheques, Credit Analysis Services, Cheque Processing, Cash Management & Remittance Unit Services, Reconciliation, EDMS Scanning Verification, KYC Updates & Verification, Call Centre & Document Verification, Factoring Process Services. How do you see the outlook for the industry after the pandemic? Remote working models, digital technologies and virtual meetings and interactions have been the way of life this year, prompted the demand to fast embrace digital transformation technologies. It has forced moving to cloud which was always delayed by several operational and compliance issues. The setting up of local data centers by cloud majors has resulted in fast rolling out products and services which will create better customer experience and take the banking comfort to a different dimension. Banking with the choice of your pro-

vider without any geographical limitations will soon to become a reality. A huge number of financial institutions have now invested in cloud technology to work collaboratively with employees and partners irrespective of their location. This is going to be an era of hyper personalized services. To attain a competitive edge, it is imperative for organizations to deliver personalized services to customers though digital transformation technologies. How about your presence at GITEX 2020? Finesse is regularly participating at GITEX for the last 8 years and this event is indeed very strategic for us to meet up with our clients and partners who visit us not just here from UAE but those who come down from across the globe. This is going to be further interesting for us as this is going to be our first face 2 face event from the time pandemic started and we can’t wait to meet our industry peers. Also, this is the first time we have seen World Blockchain Summit, GISEC & GITEX to be combined together. With our strategic interest in Blockchain & Security domains as well, we are definitely going to make use of the show to our best.

TO ATTAIN A COMPETITIVE EDGE, IT IS IMPERATIVE FOR ORGANIZATIONS TO DELIVER PERSONALIZED SERVICES TO CUSTOMERS THOUGH DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES.

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Technology Trends

Opinion: Top Cybersecurity Trends to Watch for in 2021: The Hacking of Time, ML Data Poisoning, Data Privacy Implodes, & More Morey J. Haber, Chief Technology Officer and Chief Information Security Officer, Brian Chappell, Director, Product Management, & Karl Lankford, Director, Solutions Engineering of BeyondTrust reveal the Top Cybersecurity Trends to look out for in 2021.

eyondTrusts’s annual cybersecurity predictions are projections of possibilities we see emerging based on shifts in technology, threat actor habits, and culture. However, sometimes the most impactful trends materialize completely out of left field. We have all been reminded and humbled by this in 2020. COVID19 has not only upended lives, but truly effected a paradigm shift in how businesses and employees work. This has also had profound ramifications for securing the people and IT assets of enterprises. So, as we soon turn the rip off burn the page for 2020, we look ahead with hope, but also brace ourselves for the new tricks and wrinkles cyber threat actors are bound to unleash. By anticipating what’s next, we can all be better prepared to reduce security exposures, while helping our businesses compete and thrive.

Prediction 1: The Hacking of Time — Network Time Protocol (NTP) and Windows-time-based servers will become a protocol of interest to hackers. These protocols help control the timing of everything transaction-based within an organization. If the timing is off, everything from licensing servers to batch-based transactions can fail, creating denial of service attacks in key infrastructure on the Internet and within the backend processes of an organization. Prediction 2: Poisoning of Machine Learning Training Data — As machine learning becomes more widespread within enterprises for making automated decisions, attackers have a new vector to consider. After a threat actor steals a copy of the original training data, they will begin to manipulate the models generated by injecting poisoned data into the training pool, creating a sys-

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tem that has learned something it shouldn’t. This manipulation will have a multiplying effect due to the automatic processing by downstream applications, destroying the integrity of any legitimately processed data. Prediction 3: Weaponized AI, Now Just Another Tool in the Attacker Toolkit — Threat actors will leverage machine learning (ML) to accelerate attacks on networks and systems. ML engines will be trained with data from successful attacks. This will allow the ML to identify patterns in the defenses to quickly pinpoint vulnerabilities that have been found in

similar systems/environments. Data from all subsequent attacks will be used to continue to train the cyberattack engine. This approach will allow attackers to zero in on entry points in environments far more quickly and stealthily as they will be targeting fewer vulnerabilities with each attack, evading tools that need a volume of activity to identify wrongdoing. Prediction 4: Deepfake Everything — Expect to encounter a new wave of deepfakes that challenges us to believe whether the entity on the other side of an interactive chat window or video call is human or not. For instance, you could soon have interactive sessions with past presidents or even deceased love ones. We will increasingly be in situations, unbeknownst to us, where we are engaged in communication with

deepfake technology rather than with a real person. Prediction 5: Cyberattackers Set up Shop at the Network Edge — New attack vectors will target remote workers and remote access pathways. Cybercriminals will continue to wage social engineering attacks and also try to exploit common home devices that can be used to compromise an individual and allow for lateral movement into a business. Social engineering attacks will primarily involve various forms of phishing, including by email, voice, text, instant messaging, and even third-party applications. We foresee remote workers to reign as the number one attack vector for exploitation in 2021. Prediction 6: Data Privacy Implosion — In 2020, the European Union (EU) court system overturned the governance for protection provided by the EU-U.S. (United States) “Privacy Shield.” Throughout 2021, businesses will scramble to adapt to this expansion of data privacy regulations and the potential implosion of established policies based on challenges in the court systems. International businesses will have to adapt quickly to reengineer how they process client data. Businesses that operate in multiple states must consider how they manage data per state, process it in a centralized location, and codify how they develop procedures around data deletion and breach notification. Prediction 7: Social Media Attack Vectors Thrive in the Era of Social Distancing — Expect attackers to move beyond

Morey J. Haber, Chief Technology Officer and Chief Information Security Officer - BeyondTrust

just targeting individuals through social engineering to targeting businesses as well. Poor authentication and verification practices will allow social media-based attacks to be successful. Malicious QR codes or abbreviated URL’s could also be employed to obfuscate the malicious website. Since the social media controls around posting, verification, and URL redirection are so poorly managed, expect new attacks to flourish. Prediction 8:Cybercriminals Play Puppet Master with Compromised Human Identities — To reduce the cost of an attack and improve profitability, cybercriminals will target individuals directly to gain an initial foothold in the environment by using non-cyber forms of coercion (bribery, extortion, etc.). These attacks will primarily focus on public figures (politicians, actors, activists, executives, etc.). As more of the human target’s sensitive personal data is stolen digitally, the pressure will mount for individuals to carry out

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nefarious actions or have their data and privacy exposed to the public.

secure verified identities will increase through 2021 and beyond.

Prediction 9:Cyber Insurance becomes Mandatory & Cybercriminals Rejoice — Cybercriminals will target large brands with insurance policies. The insurance policies will pay out to release stolen data rather than face paying out on the policy to cover any remedial action, providing attackers with a new stream of income.

Prediction 11: Most Successful Attacks will be from Well-known & Largely Preventable Attack Vectors (D’oh!) Lamentably, this prediction proves itself correct year after year. The majority of successful attacks still hinge on exploiting well-known and entirely preventable vulnerabilities. While some of the vulnerabilities may be relatively new, there is usually plenty of time to address them before compromise occurs. If you can’t get on top of your vulnerabilities, layer your security so that attackers find themselves without access to privilege when they do infiltrate your network. An exploitable vulnerability is a problem, but considerably less so when it doesn’t lead to privileged access.

Prediction 10: Who goes there? Friend or Fake? The Rise of Identity-Centric Security — As systems and services move out of the traditional network/ data center environment, security leans more heavily on proof of identity. A verified identity could now be the only ‘key’ needed for all access. Attacks on the mechanisms that maintain and

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Final word Every year we say it, but every year it’s worth saying again: being prepared for what’s ahead makes all the difference between being proactive and reactive. There is copious data showing that those enterprises with more proactive ITW security postures prevent more threats, identify potential security issues faster, incur fewer breaches, and minimize damage from attacks more effectively than less prepared organizations. And, one more prediction for 2021: We predict a resurgence in optimism, and we’re throwing some of ours your way, along with a dose of the best intentions and any cybersecurity bits of wisdom imparted from this blog.

Technology Trends

Opinion: 2021 Predictions for the Tech Industry Danny Allan, CTO and SVP Product Strategy, Veeam reveals his top 7 Technology predictions for 2021 Developers will have more say in technology direction and data strategy of companies We will see an aggressive “shift to the left” across all industries, where 32

CIO’s will depend more on their development teams to guide the technical direction of the company. Historically, development teams have taken a top-down approach to move their data to the cloud, but – as

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have many things in the world – this changed with the pandemic with the reinforcement of cloud-based environments. In 2021, we’ll see DevOps teams continuing to have far more say in the data strategy process, and as a result we’ll see a greater increase in the mobility of workloads, correlating with an increase in cloud data management techniques.

A greater focus on protecting and managing work collaboration platform data in the cloud Distributed workforces were already on an upward trajectory but have been completely kicked into overdrive with the COVID-19 pandemic. With many companies extending workat-home opportunities through midnext year, reliance on cloud-based collaboration platforms such as Microsoft Teams and Slack, will only increase. This means even more teams will be looking to harness the power of the cloud to store an influx of data from collaboration platforms. In 2021, this will create more focus, awareness and need for data protection and management for collaboration software.   With the decline of hardware, soft ware-defined models will become more prominent Appliances will diminish in their attractive as we shift towards software-defined models. 10 years ago, appliances where these shiny new toys that everyone wanted to get their hands on, however they have not had the staying power we predicted they would. In fact, we’ve seen a shift towards backup-as-aservice and away from appliances. Remote work in the pandemic had a real impact on how we dealt with hardware in 2020 that will continue i nto 2 0 2 1 a s s of t wa re - d ef i n e d models take center stage. Machine learning will become democratized in the cloud around data. Already, we are seeing organizations recognize the unlimited opportunities available to them through data they have already collected. Data re-use will be a big trend we see organizations shifting

consistency of privacy regulations at the federal level.    IT spending will rebound after 2020 – security and hardware will be at the top of the list.

Danny Allan, CTO and SVP Product Strategy, Veeam

to 2 0 2 1 , w i t h m a ny l eve ra g i n g the power of machine learning to help them do this. This is still in the emerging stages; however, i t s a d o p t i o n w i l l i n c re a s e a s organizations recognize how it can help them analyze and re-use data that they already have. By leveraging machine learning in the cloud, organizations will ultimately become smarter. Compliance regulation fines won’t see an uptick – they’re going to continue trending down. Data privacy and privacy regulations will continue to gain traction in 2021. In particular, I predict we will see the first proposed federal regulations around privacy in the New Year. However, compliance fines will continue on the downward trend we saw in 2020. We saw a massive jump in compliance fines in 2019, which solidified how seriously GDPR, CCPA and others needed to be taken. Now that this attention has been received and the awareness is there, the shift will be more towards more

Despite the economic turbulence brought on by the pandemic in 2020, we’ll see a five to 10 percent increase in general IT spend in the New Year. Allocations will likely focus most on security, general system modernizations (backup, applications, cloud migrations, etc.) and refreshing hardware. In addition, organizations will take a look at what was on “hold” in 2020 to address IT spend that happens on an annual re c u r r i n g b a s i s . F o r exa m p l e , hardware should be refreshed every three years, and if the pandemic halted an organization’s attention to hardware, it’s fair to say that will make its way to the top of the list in 2021. Developers will have more say in technology direction and data strategy of companies We will see an aggressive “shift to the left” across all industries, where CIO’s will depend more on their development teams to guide the technical direction of the company. Historically, development teams have taken a top-down approach to move their data to the cloud, but – as have many things in the world – this changed with the pandemic with the reinforcement of cloud-based environments. In 2021, we’ll see DevOps teams continuing to have far more say in the data strategy process, and as a result we’ll see a greater increase in the mobility of workloads, correlating with an increase in cloud data management techniques.

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Gitex - Partner Content

How GITEX 2020 Will Showcase a New World of Work Business leaders have continuity top of mind, and they’ll be looking to GITEX Technology Week to discover a hybrid, flexible, new future of work, writes Nidal Abou-Ltaif, President, Avaya International

ITEX Technology Week is an exceptional event and we are always eager to participate in it. It’s the perfect opportunity to find out about the latest technical solutions that the top vendors have developed to enable business sustainability and the globalization of work.

and the Asia Pacific region. Early on, we recognized that this will be a challenge this year, so we got ready to take Avaya at GITEX live to more than 150 cities and hundreds of our customers around the world, through a daily live broadcast. I am excited to have been able to mobilize my team

But this year, given the circumstances, things are a little different. GITEX is billed by its organizers as this year’s only in-person technology event, but it goes without saying that travel restrictions are imposing new patterns and models of business and marketing on companies. That includes the way that we as an industry participate in exhibitions, conferences and other events.

We like to think that this is an example of Avaya being stronger than ever, and showing that it is ready to deal with the challenges the future holds - based on our growing capacity for cloud-based innovation that delivers practical solutions to real-world business challenges. What to expect at GITEX this year

How to participate in a global tech conference today Ye a r o n y e a r, w e ’ v e h o s t e d customers and partners at GITEX, from Europe, Africa, the Middle East

and our partners to deliver on this mammoth initiative. It’s going to be our greatest show.

Nidal Abou-Ltaif, President, Avaya International

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Look out for ‘composable’ solutions t h a t h e l p b u s i n e s s e s a c h i eve sustainability, meet the challenges of the shift to work from anywhere, a n d m o re i m p o r ta n t l y, d e l i ve r on the overarching demand of an accelerated path to digital

transformation. At Ava ya , we’re h i g h l i g ht i n g a cloud-based framework to deliver incredible customer and employee experiences in the ‘work-fromanywhere’ world, which has emerged over the course of the year. Expect to see solutions supporting the creation of the digital workplace and future customer experience center. We’ll be in that space d e m o n st ra t i n g t h ro u g h c o re capabilities combined with one of the industry’s richest ecosystems. Based on Avaya OneCloud, these technologies enable organizations to ‘compose’ solutions – using different elements to deliver desired outcomes – to create multiexperiences for employees and customers that are just as meaningful in the digital realm as they are in person. people to better work together from anywhere. And to enable the future, organizations will move from simple video-conferencing solutions to fullscale workstream collaboration.

G a r t n e r a s s u m es t h a t 75 % of organizations using Workstream Collaboration will have it fully extended to all employees - up from 45% in 2019.

We’ve seen this trend throughout the year - our customers have business continuity top of mind, and we are working with them to enable a hybrid, flexible, new future of work that enables even greater engagement w i t h c u sto m e rs w h i l e ke e p i n g employees safe.

This is about replacing the familiar system of using disparate tools to c o l l a b o ra te v i a sta n d a l o n e applications with configurable workspaces built on top of workflows. Workstream collaboration empowers teams to communicate in context through the integration of chat, voice, video, and meetings with business workflows and external applications.

To find out more about the new world of work, visit us at GITEX – it promises to be the show of a lifetime. I look forward to seeing you there.

In terms of what that future looks like, we believe that the new world w o r k i s a n y w h e re : c o g n i t i v e , unplanned, fluid. It will use advanced technologies like AI to enable

Gartner predicts that by 2022, 70% of teams will rely on Workstream Collaboration as their primary means of communicating, coordinating, and sharing information. By 2023,

The new world of work I n d e e d , ex p e ct m u c h of t h e innovation on show – from a lot of technology vendors – to be geared towards addressing the new world of work.

Ava ya ’s p re s e n c e a t G I T E X Technology Week is in partnership with E xtreme Net works, Verint Systems Inc., Semafone, Koopid, Imperium, Calabrio, IR and Nectar. Visit Avaya at Stand Z1-B10, Zabeel Hall, at Dubai World Trade Centre between December 6 and 10, 2020, or join online using the GITEX Unlimited platform.

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Finance

ICT Infrastructure Advancement an Impetus for the Financial Community to Embrace New Opportunities in the 21st Century The Internet is quickly becoming an integral conduit of nearly all economic and social aspects and activities occurring in our societies. The new Internetdriven age has brought forth an enormous opportunity and potential for financial gains, socio-economic development and growth, wealth-creation and prosperity, as well as poverty elimination and human development. Yet, as Bocar BA, Chief Executive Officer, SAMENA Telecommunications Council explains, digital divides persist, and inequalities continue to affect progress towards the economic and social development of different regions, countries, households and individuals.

ccess to broadband and the many services and content t h a t a re d i s s e m i n a te d through it is essential for people to par ticipate in today â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s modern world. Since July 2016, the UN considers access to the Internet a basic human right. Moreover, access to the Internet, and more specifically, broadband connectivity, is essential to the achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which were adopted by all United Nations Member States in 2015 as a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure that all people enjoy peace and prosperity by 2030. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, most people have recognized the central importance that access to a good broadband connection carries. The health crisis, however, has also laid bare the inequalities and divides that

are increasing because high-speed access to the Internet is very uneven. To put things in perspective, to this date, some 3 billion people still have never accessed the Internet. Recognizing Broadband Connectivity Gaps The primary reasons why people do not use or have access to broadband connectivity are threefold: there is a persistent coverage gap, an upgrade gap, and an adoption gap. While the coverage gap relates mainly to uneconomical, often rural and hard-toreach areas, the upgrade and adoption gaps can be found anywhere across the globe, with the Global South being most strongly affected. The causes for these gaps, in turn, are manifold as well, which are attributable to structural, economic, socio-economic and cultural variables. However, one recurring theme remains in

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Bocar BA, Chief Executive

Officer, SAMENA Telecommunications Council

SAMENA countries, especially in the GCC region, are largely on track, having adopted Digital Economic Visions or Agendas with horizons up to 2030, that set out key objectives and steps to be taken to further digital transformation toward building Digital Economies. Moreover, efforts are being made in reviewing current legacy regulator y frameworks, including on topics such as net neutrality, market definition, competition (also from Internet platforms), national broadband networks, and consumer and data protection.

effect: lack of the necessary funds and financial means to roll-out and upgrade infrastructure and provide relevant content and digital services as well as affordable devices and equipment. Th i s i s p a r t i c u l a r l y s o i n a re a s t h a t g e n e ra te o n l y a l ow o r n o reasonable rate of investment return. The investment requirements to meaningfully bring the rest of the world online are significant, totaling an estimated US$428 billion, which has been shown in a new study by ITU. SAMENA Council's advocacy efforts and collaboration with global

industry bodies point to the need for a holistic approach for overcoming such digital connectivity gaps. Such an approach should be based on infrastructure development, good governance, capacity building and on engaging strong local communities that can support the ecosystem. Three key principles will determine the successful adoption of such an approach: First, it should be ensured that the basic requirements for building digital economies are in place, such as national and, as applicable, regional Digital Economic Programmes or Agendas. From a policy perspective,

Second, the evolving role of Telecom Operators should be understood well and refined in accordance with the requirements dictated by the SDGs for overcoming digital divides. The Private Sector can assume a key role in closing the Digital Divide with regards to all identified areas. It already takes a prominent role in providing both content and services as well as the infrastructure that delivers the content and services. It is, therefore, essential to ensure that the Private Sector, in particular telecoms operators, are sufficiently incentivized to make clear investment c o m m i t m e n t s i n t o a p p ro p r i a t e infrastructure to enable provision of advanced digital services. It is critical that appropriate enablers are in place. For example, to take advantage of emerging technologies such as 5G, AI and big Data, Telecom Operators will need to be able to â&#x20AC;&#x153;cloudifyâ&#x20AC;? and virtualize and build carrier clouds, w h i c h i n c l u d e s t h e sto r i n g a n d processing of personal data outside the home country. Moreover, in order to enable 5G services, the license durations need to be extended to a time span of at least 20-25 years to allow for a better financial planning horizon. Lastly, co-operation building efforts between the Private and the Public

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scale and systems in place.

WHILE THE DEBATE ON FINANCING AND FUNDING BROADBAND IS OFTEN ONE CARRIED OUT AMONG ICT STAKEHOLDERS ALONE, IT SHOULD BE CARRIED INTO ALL ECONOMIC SECTORS. sectors to advance ICT infrastructure a n d d i g i ta l s e r v i c e s s h o u l d b e accelerated, as this is key to to bridging digital divides. Given the complexities of the digital ecosystem and its constantly evolving nature, consensus building through multi-stakeholder dialogue and partnerships is therefore fundamental. Overcoming Digital Connectivity G a ps i n C o o p e ra t i o n w i t h t h e Financial Community Prevailing approaches and practices, methods and mechanisms of funding, financing and investment i n t o c o n n e c t i v i t y, w h i l e h a v i n g served to connect half of the world’s population, are now failing to master the enormous task of providing sustainable Universal Digital Access for all. Therefore, new approaches to financing, funding and investing into connectivity must be identified and implemented in collaboration with all ICT stakeholders and other industries that all rely on and derive benefit from broadband connectivity. The UN Broadband Commission’s Working Group on 21st Century Financing and Funding Models for Sustainable Broadband Development is currently exploring what types of innovative financing, funding and investment models, mechanisms, and strategies can bring Universal Digital Access to the un-connected . Moreover, the UN Broadband Commission’s Working Group on School Connectivity in its

Working Group Report identifies the best funding and financing models to specifically connect schools around the globe, including a deep dive into costs, possible sources of public and private funding, possible public financing mechanisms and expected returns to private and public investors. Different options for financing and funding broadband are being put forward by various ICT stakeholders. These range from: spot approaches of infrastructure roll-outs, including community, privately-run municipality and operator subsidy broadband models; technology-based solutions s u c h a s b u i l d i n g m u l t i - o p e ra to r shared core and access networks; creation of Special Purpose Vehicles or introduction of digital taxes; the establishment of dedicated ICT Funds into which companies that provide digital servicesa in a jurisdiction are obliged to contribute; reviewing and repurposing of Universal Service Funds; social impact investment and demand aggregation; to “Pay and Play” models where recognition would be given for investments in network infrastructure to recognize and incentivize partnerships and innovative approaches developed by digital economy players, and many more. Which type of approach is suitable will significantly differ depending on local economic and s o c i o - e c o n o m i c c o n t ex t s a n d circumstances, the degree of regional integration, as well as country size and

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While the debate on financing and funding broadband is often one carried out among ICT stakeholders alone, it should be carried into all economic sectors. This is particularly relevant to the Financial Sector, which can play a leading role in advancing the goal of bringing connectivity to the unconnected. Broadband networks are the fundament and conduit that can facilitate the development of new inventions, new and improved goods and services, new processes, new business models, and thus can catalyze direct impact on living standards and the quality of life. They can also enable the scaling and improved performance of finance solutions and services. It is therefore a great opportunity for the Financial community to engage with the ICT sector and assess the opportunities fo r c o l l a b o ra t i o n o n f i n a n c i n g , funding and investing into broadband infrastructure development. B ro a d b a n d a c c e s s h a s evo l ve d from being a luxury good to a basic human right with utility character, advancing the data-driven economy. However, expansion of broadband a n d i t s p ro l i fe ra t i o n w h e re i t currently does not exist can only be made possible with new funding a n d f i n a n c i n g a p p r o a c h e s . To ensure that digital transformation is inclusive and generates equitable o u tc o m e s , t h e re i s a n e e d fo r current and future stakeholders to rethink broadband and investment. All stakeholders need to contribute in a more institutionalized way and increased public sector engagement is called for. More efforts need to be undertaken jointly by all stakeholders across different economic sectors to identify and develop new approaches to financing, funding and investing into connectivity

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Aviation

Emirates SkyCargo is set to become the world’s first dedicated airside cargo hub for Covid-19 vaccines The dedicated anchor hub for cold chain storage and distribution of the vaccine will include a rapid response team that will coordinate and action international vaccine requests.

years, through our continuous investment in capabilities and processes for the transport of temperature sensitive pharmaceuticals, Emirates SkyCargo has managed to position Dubai amongst major global pharmaceutical customers as the year-round preferred point of transit for their valuable cargo. Setting up a dedicated airside hub for COVID-19 vaccines is a keystone project harnessing our network, reach and competencies to positively impact the lives of people around the world.”

mirates SkyCargo is stepping up its readiness to handle the logistical complexities of distributing a potential COVID-19 vaccine globally by creating the world’s first dedicated airside cargo hub for the vaccine in Dubai. The air cargo carrier is taking a global leadership position by announcing that it will be re-opening its Emirates SkyCentral DWC cargo terminal in Dubai South to serve as a dedicated anchor hub for cold chain storage and distribution of the vaccine. The freight division of Emirates has also set up a dedicated rapid response team to coordinate requests from the various

partners involved in the international vaccine distribution ecosystem and to streamline the carrier’s response to vaccine transportation requests. HH Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Emirates Chairman and Chief Executive said: “Dubai is well positioned to serve as a gateway and distribution hub for COVID19 vaccines to the rest of the world. We have the infrastructure and logistics connections, and a geographic location that puts markets representing more than two-thirds of the world’s population within an 8-hour flying radius. Over the

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World’s first dedicated airside hub for COVID-19 vaccine Emirates SkyCargo’s vaccine hub in Dubai South will be the largest dedicated airside facility in the world for COVID-19 vaccines. The Dubai hub will allow the air cargo carrier to fly in vaccines from manufacturing sites globally, store and prepare shipments for regional and global distribution. Emirates SkyCentral DWC has over 4,000 square metres of temperature controlled GDP certified dedicWated pharma storage area allowing for large scale storage and distribution of the potential COVID-19 vaccines. Overall, it is estimated that the facility can hold around 10 million vials of vaccine at a 2-8 degrees Celsius temperature range at any one point of time. The state of the art infrastructure at Emirates SkyCentral DWC is also complemented by one of the world’s larg-

est fleet of Cool Dollys helping protect temperature sensitive cargo during transit between the aircraft and cargo terminal. Additionally, the availability of a large number of temperature controlled trucking docks and the proximity of the

volume of time critical requests for crossborder vaccine movement that will follow the successful introduction of a vaccine. Through a combination of scheduled and charter flights, the cargo carrier will then be able to fly the vaccines to markets

EMIRATES SKYCARGO HAS MANAGED TO POSITION DUBAI AMONGST MAJOR GLOBAL PHARMACEUTICAL CUSTOMERS AS THE YEARROUND PREFERRED POINT OF TRANSIT terminal to the aircraft parking gates will ensure rapid and efficient clearance of cargo for further distribution. In addition to cold storage, Emirates SkyCargo will also offer dedicated zones for value-added services such as re-icing and repackaging of vaccines for global distribution for its customers. The extensive size of the facility, which can potentially handle millions of vaccine doses, along with the creation of a dedicated team to handle and execute requests will allow Emirates SkyCargo to be able to effectively handle the large

where they will be most needed. Emirates’ pharma transportation capabilities Emirates SkyCargo is harnessing decades of experience gained from transporting temperature controlled pharmaceutical products and vaccines for global manufacturers to develop innovative solutions that will meet the challenge of distributing a potential COVID-19 vaccine globally within a short timeframe. Since 2016, the air cargo carrier invested substantially in its capabilities for the

transportation of temperature sensitive pharmaceuticals. This included the introduction of a specialised product – Emirates Pharma – and the development of dedicated GDP certified ‘fit for purpose’ infrastructure pharma both at Dubai as well as at major origin and destination points under its pharma corridors programme that currently covers more than 30 cities. Emirates SkyCargo has moved more than a quarter million tonnes of pharmaceutical cargo in the last four years. With its fleet of modern and efficient all wide-body aircraft and a network that currently spans more than 130 destinations across six continents, combined with the strategic geographic location of its Dubai hub, Emirates SkyCargo will be able to rapidly move vaccine shipments from manufacturing sites to the vaccine hub and then onwards to the rest of the world on a combination of scheduled and passenger flights. Emirates SkyCargo’s network covers all major pharmaceutical clusters and manufacturing locations, facilitating the eventual transportation of the COVID-19 vaccine once manufacturing commences.

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Aviation Awards 2021

The Aviation Achievement Awards 2021 The Aviation Achievement Awards 2021 will honor Aviation Achievements for the period of February 2020 to February 2021 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; the most challenging year in Aviation history. The Aviation Achievement Awards was established in 2013 to highlight industry excellence.

h e Av i a t i o n A c h i eve m e n t Awards 2021, will take place on the 16th February 2021. The virtual event will include a range of awards for Commercial Aviation, Air Cargo and Business Aviation organizations. In addition to the virtual event a special Award winnersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; presentation and photoshoot will take place during MEBAA Show Dubai 22-24 February 2021.

The Aviation Achievement Awards was established in 2013 to honor exceptional a c h i eve m e n t s a n d key a v i a t i o n milestone. Previously the Awards formed part of the Aviation Annual Gala Evening, however due to the Pandemic the Gala Evening was postponed to November 2021 during the Dubai Airshow. The Aviation Achievement Awards will be judged by a panel experts who will focus

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on exceptional examples of resilience, innovation, safety and excellence during the pandemic. For more information on the Aviation Achievement Awards 2021 please visit www.aviation-awards.com and for more information on the Aviation Annual Gala Evening 2021 please visit www. aviationgala.com

Awards

Congratulations to all the winners of the 2020 MEA Finance Awards

The MEA Finance Awards 2020 recently took place in Dubai, UAE. The list of winners is now available.

EA Finance Awards 2020 took place on the 10th November 2020, the awards highlight excellence in the banking and Financial services sector. The event was organized by MEA Finance Magazine, the regionâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s leading industry publication that provides dedicated news, interviews and opinion pieces on finance, banking, Islamic banking, technology, and

wealth management. MEA Finance Magazine organized the awards programme to recognize outstanding institutions that lead the industry and shape the financial landscape in the Middle East and Africa. The Awards benchmark and promote excellence and standout performance within the banking, finance, and financial technology sectors.

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Kenneth Mitchen, Executive Director and publisher of MEA Finance Magazine presents TIM HAYWOOD, General Manager, Regional Vice President of Walton International Group Limited with the award for Best international real estate investment firm award

Awards

The MEA Finance Awards 2020, list of categories and Award winners: FINANCIAL SERVICES 1. Best Retail Bank (UAE) - Mashreq Bank 2. Best Retail Bank (Saudi Arabia) - Al Rajhi Bank 3. Best Retail Bank (Bahrain) - Ahli United Bank Bahrain 4. Best Retail Bank (Egypt) - ADIB Egypt 5. Best Islamic Bank - ADIB 6. Best Commercial Bank (UAE) - Commercial Bank of Dubai 7. Capital Markets Transaction of the Year - Odin Investments 8. Best Global Bank in the Middle East - Standard Chartered Bank 9. Best SME Bank - National Bank of Fujairah 10. Best Takaful Provider - Noor Takaful 11. Best Private Bank - GFH Financial Group 12. Best Wealth Management Firm in the Middle East - BNP Paribas Wealth Management 13. Best Investment Bank - NCB Capital 14. Best Trade Finance Provider - The Saudi British Bank 15. Best Transaction Banking - Standard Chartered Bank 16. Best Cash Management TechnologWy Provider - Infosys Finacle 17. Best CSR Programme – Financial Institutions - Aafaq Islamic Finance

TECHNOLOGY 30. Best Mobile Banking Solution (Saudi Arabia) - Bank Albilad 31. Best Mobile Banking Solution (UAE) - Mashreq Bank 32. Best Mobile Banking Solution Provider - Infosys Finacle 33. Best Neo Bank - FAB – Payit 34. Best Online Banking Service - Bank Albilad 35. Best Cybersecurity Implementation - Help AG 36. Best User-Experience - FAB - Payit 37. Best Digital Transformation Technology Provider - Maveric Systems 38. Best Digital Transformation (UAE) - Commercial Bank of Dubai 39. Best Digital Transformation (Saudi Arabia) - Tayseer Finance 40. Best Digital Transformation (Bahrain) - Ahli United Bank 41. Best CSR Programme – Financial Technology Provider - DDCAP Group 42. Best Payment Solutions - Edenred 43. Best Payment Solutions Provider - Temenos 44. Best Cybersecurity Provider - Trend Micro 45. Best Communications Infrastructure Provider - United MAK Group & IPC 46. Best Core Banking Service Provider - Temenos 47. Best Digital Banking Innovation Provider - Avaya 48. Best Islamic Finance Banking Software Provider - Path Solutions

COVID-19 RESPONSIVENESS SPECIAL AWARDS 18. Best Retail Response to the Covid-19 Crisis - Ajman Bank 19. Best Commercial Response to the Covid-19 Crisis - Mashreq Bank

INVESTMENT AWARDS 20. Best Private Equity Firm - Alkhabeer Capital 21. Best International Real Estate Investment Firm - Walton International Group Limited 22. Best Brokerage Solutions Provider - ADSS 23. Best Investment Management Firm (UAE) - Century Private Wealth 24. Best Investment Management Firm (Saudi Arabia) - Alkhabeer Capital 25. Best Investment Management Firm (Bahrain) - GFH Financial Group

SERVICE PROVIDERS TO THE BANKING SECTOR 26. Best Investment Consultancy Firm - Century Financial Consultancy

49. Best Islamic Fintech Solutions Provider - DDCAP Group for Ethos Asset Facilitation Platform 50. Special Achievement in Digital Innovation - BPC

LEADERS IN BANKING AND FINANCE 51. Outstanding Leadership Award - Ebrahim Oboud Baeshen, Office Managing Partner, KPMG Saudi - Jeddah 52. Banker of the Year - Hisham Alrayes, Group CEO and Board Member, GFH Financial Group 53. Best Technology Executive of the Year for Financial Services Mohammed Kateeb, Chairman & CEO, Path Solutions 54. Best Technology Leadership Award - Ashar Nazim, Founder and CEO, Aion Digital

27. Best Research & Consultancy Firm - KPMG 28. Best Digital Transformation Consultancy Firm - Arqitek 29. Best Ratings Agency - S&P Global Ratings

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Lifestyle

Strap Lines Today, almost every device near you shows the time but watches still fascinate, with an enduring appeal coming from a place where precision engineering meets jewellery and practicality joins status. Here, Panerai describes the provenance and processes bringing you one of the key components on their highly desirable products, the strap.

ore than keeping yourwatch attached to your arm, what is in a watch strap? A refreshed new look, character and a quick and simple way to personalize your watch. Ever since Panerai first presented their watches to the public, they offered owners great versatility for their prized time pieces with simple and quick strap interchangeability to suit their personal preferences. Owners are now able to pick additional straps from a variety of materials including leather and rubber, in a wide range of colours and varying buckle Today, almost every device near you shows the time but watches still fascinate, with an enduring appeal coming from a place where precision engineering meets jewellery and practicality joins status. Here, Panerai describes the provenance and processes bringing you one of the key components on their highly desirable products, the strap.

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR AND PUBLISHER Kenneth Mitchen ken.mitchen@mea-finance.com COMMERCIAL DIRECTOR Nap Estampador nap.estampador@mea-finance.com Tel : +971 50 100 5488 SALES DIRECTOR Andrew Cover andrew.cover@mea-finance.com Tel: +971 50 931 3236

styles.Straps are increasingly important to watch owners and in response. Alligator Straps The parts of the hide used in creating a strap are those with the most even square-scale pattern (TEC = Toutes Ă&#x2030;cailles CarrĂŠes), taken from the head, the belly and parts of the tail of the animal, yielding about four to five straps per skin. Following harvesting it takes a further eighty steps, some carried out by hand to produce a finished alligator strap. The leather used by Officine Panerai is carefully sourced from farms in Louisiana, U.S.A. Our suppliers are committed to the highest standards of responsibility in accordance with the CITES agreement, giving their assurance that such farms themselves contribute to the stable growth of wild alligators, thus protecting this endangered species. Rubber Straps Caoutchouc straps are high-tech products derived from natural rubber, guaranteeing the best quality and

EVENTS AND MARKETING MANAGER Cris Balatbat crissyb@mea-finance.com Tel: +971 58 594 4818 SENIOR DESIGNER Florante Magsakay f.magsakay@mea-finance.com Tel: +971 52 570 1811 ADMIN AND FINANCE MANAGER Marilyn Nainque marilyn@mea-finance.com Tel: +971 58 5025836

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Reworked textile NATO strap

a lengthy durability. They provide invaluable technical properties such as water resistance, form stability and skinfriendl ness combined with long-lasting comfort when worn. It is the ideal strap material for sports and leisure activities with the caoutchouc straps available in many different designs and colours. Thanks to the characteristics of this material, rubber straps are particularly suited to the submersible watches and to watch lovers who prefer timepieces with a more sporting and dynamic look. Textile Straps Canvas is a synthetic material with a typical linen look. The fabric owes its typ cal linen structure to its warp and wef threads, together with a material-specific beige colouring to lend a classic sporty touch, making it the perfect companion for Panerai watches. This material has a firm yet soft to the touch texture, guaranteeing lightness but high resistance to wear. This material is reworked to offer customers NATO straps to freshen up the look of their watch.

WEB ASSISTANT Marie Orayan web@mea-finance.com FEATURE CONTRIBUTORS: Adrian Murdoch, Mushtak Parker, Walter Sebele editorial@mea-finance.com

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Smart Dubai to Take Part in the 40th

African Development Bank