Gulf Business - December 2020 by Motivate Media Group

REVEALED: WINNERS OF THE 2020 GULF BUSINESS AWARDS

DECEMBER 2020

DESIGNING A NEW PATH Kuwaiti entrepreneur Noor Bin Eidan is defying stereotypes to carve a niche for herself

p.40

US elections: Impact of the Biden presidency on different sectors

p.43

Special Report: Why the GCCâ€™s gaming sector is scoring big

BD 2.10 KD 1.70 RO 2.10 SR 20 DHS 20

Gulf Business

CONTENTS / DECEMBER 2020

The Brief An insight into the news and trends shaping the region with perceptive commentary and analysis

Awards 2020 All the winning companies and business leaders at the 2020 Gulf Business Awards

Special Report: Gaming Hereâ€™s why the gaming industry is set to witness a boom in the GCC

gulfbusiness.com

Cover Story: A new pattern Kuwaiti businesswoman Noor Bin Eidan reveals how she challenged stereotypes to create her brand

December 2020

CONTENTS / DECEMBER 2020

Lifestyle

Sponsoring sport p.60

Winter wonderland p.65

An eye on the future p.66

“It’s been 35 years since we started the airline... and it’s been a hugely successful one driven by all the people in the business who have worked so hard to get us where we are today” -Sir Tim Clark, president of Emirates and winner of the 2020 Gulf Business Lifetime Achievement Award

The SME Story Interviews with entrepreneurs and insights from experts on how the regional SME ecosystem is evolving

Editor-in-chief Obaid Humaid Al Tayer Managing partner and group editor Ian Fairservice Group director Andrew Wingrove andrew.wingrove@motivate.ae Acting editor Aarti Nagraj aartin@motivate.ae aartinagraj Deputy editor Varun Godinho varun.godinho@motivate.ae varungodinh Tech editor David Ndichu david.ndichu@motivate.ae Contributor Zainab Mansoor editorial.freelancer@motivate.ae Senior art director Olga Petroff olga.petroff@motivate.ae Art director Ángel Monroy angel.monroy@motivate.ae angel__monroy Photographers Jitendra Jangir Cover: Ángel Monroy

General manager – production S Sunil Kumar Assistant production manager Binu Purandaran Production supervisor Venita Pinto Chief commercial officer Anthony Milne anthony@motivate.ae Group sales manager Manish Chopra manish.chopra@motivate.ae Senior advertising manager Ravi Dutt ravi.dutt@motivate.ae Group marketing manager Dominic Clerici dominic.clerici@motivate.ae Group marketing manager Anusha Azees anusha.azees@motivate.ae

Vol. 25. Issue 8. December 2020 Printed by Emirates Printing Press, Dubai

Follow us on social media: Linkedin: Gulf Business; Facebook: GulfBusiness; Twitter: @GulfBusiness; Instagram: @GulfBusinessMagazine

HEAD OFFICE: Media One Tower, Dubai Media City, PO Box 2331, Dubai, UAE, Tel: +971 4 427 3000, Fax: +971 4 428 2260, motivate@motivate.ae DUBAI MEDIA CITY: Office 508, 5th Floor, Building 8, Dubai, UAE, Tel: +971 4 390 3550, Fax: +971 4 390 4845 ABU DHABI: PO Box 43072, UAE, Tel: +971 2 677 2005, Fax: +971 2 677 0124, motivate-adh@motivate.ae LONDON: Acre House, 11/15 William Road, London NW1 3ER, UK, motivateuk@motivate.ae

December 2020

gulfbusiness.com

CHRONOMAT

Luring visitors

The Brief 8 10 11 13 18

Tokyo 3.4

5.8

2.4

5.5

1.7 2.1

5.4

1.9

5.3

Barcelona 3.8

1.4

Madrid 4 Vienna 3.3

6.5

2.6

New York 3.8

Dubai 3.4

7.3

2.9

London 3.9

Singapore 3.3

DEC

Brand strength

Assets

Paris 4.4

1.2

5.2 5

1.7

Moscow 3.9

5.2

1.1

SOURCE: CITY BRAND BAROMETER BY SAFFRON

ILLUSTRATION: GETTY IMAGES/MALTE MUELLER

Aviation Social Technology Energy Healthcare

Cities with the strongest tourism brands based on their assets and reputation

The long vaccine journey First we had to wait for a vaccine to be developed. Now that we are almost there, the behemoth process of distributing it looms large p. 9 gulfbusiness.com

December 2020

The Brief / Aviation

ILLUSTRATION: GETTY IMAGES/MALTE MUELLER

RESHUFFLING PRIORITIES

A N A LY S I S

Resetting travel The Covid-19 pandemic has altered the course of the travel industry. What are travellers looking for? Zainab Mansoor reveals more

he Covid-19 pandemic has arguably been the biggest disruptor to the aviation sector in recent times. In addition to the virus having infected over 60 million people and impacted billions worldwide, social lockdowns and border closures have proven to be a cul-de-sac for the airline industry, one that was intrinsically built – and essentially thrives – on people’s mobility. The numbers highlight the dire situation: Airlines are expected to lose $84.3bn in 2020, while revenues will fall 50 per cent to $419bn from $838bn in 2019, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) estimates. While airlines strive to introduce measures to rally flattened demand and restore passenger confidence, the travel experience and customer expectations may have likely changed forever. 8

December 2020

Visitor drop

The Middle East is expected to see a huge drop in travellers in 2020 compared to 2019 203m

60m

2019

2020

Regional demand was significantly hammered as governments enforced containment measures to mitigate the virus. While travel in recent months may have picked up pace, the outlook remains grim; the Middle East is expected to see 60 million travellers in 2020 compared to the 203 million in 2019, while a full return to 2019 levels is not expected until late 2024, IATA confirms. Regionally as well, the pandemic appears to have completely modified passenger behaviour. In the UAE, more than 90 per cent of passengers will alter their flying habits even after the Covid-19 pandemic is over, a global airline survey by Inmarsat revealed. The survey, that recorded the views of 9,500 respondents from 12 countries, including more than 500 UAE-based passengers, suggested that those surveyed in the Gulf nation are more concerned about having to quarantine than the risk of catching the virus itself, either on a plane or while abroad. Respondents in the UAE also raised concerns over uncertain border closures while travelling, which may leave them unable to return to the country. Trust in airlines is also a key differentiator while choosing to travel, as over a quarter of those surveyed in the UAE said they would fly only with airlines they trust. Meanwhile, 52 per cent confirmed that reputation now weighed more when opting for an airline than it did prior to the pandemic. SILVER LINING

Nearly half of the respondents in the UAE have been on at least one flight since the onset of the pandemic – the third highest rate after India and the US – lending credence to the country’s traveller base, the survey revealed. Furthermore, UAE travellers remain eager to take to the skies in the imminent future, but would do so confidently if specific measures are adopted. In an attempt to improve the travel experience for UAE passengers post the pandemic, the research identified certain actions for airlines. These include: elevated service and priority boarding, and digital solutions that minimise touchpoints and engagement. Meanwhile, accelerated adoption of digital solutions and innovative technologies will provide a major boost for aviation players seeking to rebuild operations; almost 50 per cent of those surveyed in the UAE confirmed that inflight wi-fi is now more significant than it was prior to the pandemic, while 86 per cent of passengers in the country believe preordered contactless catering would boost confidence when flying. gulfbusiness.com

ILLUSTRATION: GETTY IMAGES/FANATIC STUDIO/GARY WATERS

The Brief / Healthcare

A N A LY S I S

On track

The behemoth task of delivering billions of coronavirus vaccines worldwide lies ahead for logistics firms, writes Bloomberg columnist Chris Bryant

n normal times, globe-spanning logistics groups such as Deutsche Post, FedEx Corp. and United Parcel Service quietly keep the economy humming. Covid-19 has recast that unassuming role in a more heroic light. When the pandemic history is written, the logistics industry will deserve a volume. “UPS-ers are essential workers,” the US company’s boss Carol Tome told investors recently. Their most important task — quickly and safely delivering billions of doses of a coronavirus vaccine worldwide — still lies ahead. The massive demand and the ultra-cold temperatures required to store some promising vaccine candidates will provide an unprecedented logistical challenge. Thanks to early preparation and heavy investment, the companies think they’re in good shape to tackle it. Happily, for shareholders, the vaccine effort could further juice the industry’s strong recent earnings and share price performance. The logistics groups have been under immense strain, so it’s hard to begrudge them their good fortune. Bulk deliveries were hit early in the pandemic gulfbusiness.com

10 billion

doses of the vaccine will need to be shipped in the next two years

when businesses and factories were closed, so couriers suddenly had to deliver more to residential addresses, which is more expensive. When land borders closed and passenger planes were grounded, the industry was also called upon to get personal protective clothing and ventilators where they were needed. Right now, the companies are focused on saving Christmas. An unprecedented volume of holiday gifts will be purchased online this year. Deutsche Post’s DHL express-delivery unit expects holiday season volumes to be more than 50 per cent higher than in 2019. As housebound populations “buy more stuff,” the big parcel networks have pounced on the golden opportunity, hiring tens of thousands of workers. Most businesses have imposed surcharges on customers to reflect the difficulty of delivering during a pandemic. Because of their large fixed costs, express-delivery networks make more money when more packages flow through them. Deutsche Post’s operating profit jumped by almost half year-on-year in the July to September quarter. The German company expects full-year free cash flow to exceed EUR2bn ($2.4bn) and operating profit of up to EUR4.4bn ($5.2bn), a record. Since a March low, its shares have doubled. FedEx’s have almost trebled. Airfreight has become particularly lucrative. Much of the world’s air cargo normally travels in the bellies of passenger jets, which have been grounded. Deutsche Post and FedEx benefit from their absence because each company owns hundreds of dedicated airfreighters. Shipping an estimated 10 billion doses of the vaccine will make yet more demands of airfreight, requiring some 15,000 flights over the next two years, Deutsche Post estimated in a recent study. Some potential vaccines will need to be stored at very low temperatures, which plays to the strengths of big logistics providers. UPS has invested in two giant “freezer farms” in Kentucky and the Netherlands, capable of storing millions of doses at temperature as low as -80 Celsius. FedEx has more than 90 cold chain facilities worldwide and plans more. However, the e-commerce shift is likely to be permanent, and analysts say airfreight markets could remain tight for at least a couple more years. If a vaccine leads to increased trade flows, the logistics groups will benefit. As with Amazon.com, the delivery industry risks a backlash if it’s seen to profit excessively from the pandemic. But if vaccines are delivered safely and our holiday gifts arrive on time, the companies will have earned our gratitude, and a commensurate reward. December 2020

The Brief / Social COMMENT

Zaib Shadani PR consultant and media trainer at Shadani Consulting

ability to interact with customers and mimic reallife interactions, makes it a very attractive go-to solution for businesses. For marketers, however, this presents a unique opportunity whereby they can use chatbots to not only provide instant customer service, but also be a source of direct interaction for information and data collection. More recently, the use of chatbots has expanded, and they are being used in creative ways to help drive customer engagement and website traffic. Chatbots are not going anywhere and we will only see them becoming more prevalent as time goes on.

Voice activated search becoming the norm

Top digital marketing trends for 2021 A look at the priorities that will potentially drive global marketing strategies post Covid

020 will go down as a year that altered the course of history. One of the major implications of the Covid-19 pandemic has been the fact that it has accelerated a switch to all things digital. The world has had to adapt the way that it communicates and does business – social media usage has skyrocketed, businesses have adopted a ‘virtual’ way of working and work from home (WFH) has become an accepted business practice. As we head towards the end of the year, there is no reverting back to the ‘way things were’. Here are the leading digital marketing trends expected for 2021.

Rise of the chatbot If you’ve had an e-commerce transaction go wrong or had a food app order mishap, chances are you’ve had to deal with a chatbot. The growth of online and e-commerce purchases, coupled with a chatbot’s 10

December 2020

This trend pays tribute to our most famous virtual assistants: Siri, Google Home and Alexa. Over the last few years, people have been using digital voices to assist them with nearly everything: playing music, checking the weather, setting alarms and getting directions. Voice search has also been integrated into many of our everyday tech devices like smartphones, laptops, tablets and more. Thanks to the ease and convenience it provides, voice activated search is predicted to further hit a high in 2021. In line with this trend, there lies a great opportunity for digital marketers, who must look at stepping up their business’s SEO game. If we consider the fact that the future of search is voice, then marketers must be cognisant of this trend and choose keywords for SEO optimisation that are compatible with what people are accustomed to asking a virtual assistant. Textbased search is going to be a thing of the past soon, so in order to ensure that your content is visible, one must ensure it is optimised for both voice and text search.

The integration of AR and VR The two major technological advancements that are ready to overtake the present and future of business are undoubtedly augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR). From product development to storytelling and creating engaging content, AR and VR have emerged as the heroes of this pandemic and allowed marketers to bring experiences to life – albeit virtually. While video content will prevail as a dominating force in the years to come, the next ‘big thing’ that will have a major impact in 2021 is the use of AR and VR to create 3D environments that strengthen the emotional bonds between a brand, its products and the customers. Many brands have already started implementing AR into their customers’ regular shopping experiences – for example Ikea customers can now access an AR app and see a 3D illustration of furniture gulfbusiness.com

The Brief / Technology The real impact of AI

How will artifical intelligence create value for organisations? HIGHEST POTENTIAL IMPACT DISPLAYED

in their home spaces before making a purchase, or Asos customers can take the ‘The virtual walk’ where they see a real-world vision of their favourite garments on a virtual model.

A new era of ‘shoppable posts’ Online shopping has seen a major uptick during the pandemic and ‘shoppable posts’ are fast becoming the norm, rather than the exception. With the breadth of shoppable posts spanning all major social media platforms including Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and Pinterest, businesses have tremendous power to maximising their e-commerce presence across a multitude of platforms. Customers can easily click on the shopping icon of any product showcased on a company’s Instagram feed and either be directed to the e-commerce website page or go straight to check out. Either way, it’s easy, convenient and hassle free.

SHORT FORM VIDEOS ARE DOMINATING – THEY’RE A QUICK FIX FOR BRANDS THAT WANT TO CONNECT WITH THEIR CUSTOMERS AND STAY TOP OF MIND. THEY’RE MEMORABLE, EASILY DIGESTIBLE AND CAN PUSH ENGAGEMENT Domination of short-form video content Video content is all set to solidify its position as the GOAT (greatest of all time) of content marketing in 2021. The pandemic has only highlighted its importance and the demand for video is not going to be slowing down anytime soon. It is fast becoming a cornerstone of any business’ marketing strategy and brands have already made tremendous progress with their video content strategies. But most noteworthy is the fact that short-form video content is emerging as a front runner. While long-form content still has a place, short form videos are dominating – they’re succinct videos and snippets that are a quick fix for brands that want to connect with their customers and stay top of mind. They’re memorable, easily digestible and can push engagement. One only has to look at the astronomical success of TikTok during Covid-19 to see the appetite of consumers for short and snackable-sized content. gulfbusiness.com

$777.1bn

Retail Consumer packaged goods

$486.3bn

Travel

$479.7bn

Transport and logistics

$474.8bn

Automotive and assembly

$404.9bn

SOURCE: MCKINSEY ANALYTICS

Li Shi President of Cloud and AI Business Group, Huawei Middle East

COMMENT

The cloud connection In the post-epidemic era, cloud computing will accelerate the digital transformation of global industries

Tech is the key

Most executives say cloud computing has been helping their business get through the crisis

Agree 80%

SOURCE: GLOBAL DATA

n 2020, the Covid-19 epidemic has had a major impact on people’s lives around the world. In response, many enterprises are accelerating digital transformation and maintaining business and production continuity through remote work and online collaboration. Cloud-based collaboration software became ubiquitous during the epidemic, allowing billions of teleconferences to be held worldwide every day. Technology is critical to the survival of businesses, according to a new study by research institution Global Data, with more than 80 per cent of executives saying cloud computing and networks are key to helping their businesses get through the crisis. In fact, the perception that is emerging is that entrepreneurs have experienced a ‘digital enlightenment’ during the epidemic. In the post- epidemic era, all industries will accelerate digital transformation, either actively or passively, to better adapt to future market challenges. Healthcare has always been an important industry for everyone, especially this year. Cloud computing and AI technologies have been widely used by medical staff in the fight against the epidemic. Researchers are also using cloud computing-based AI December 2020

technologies to analyse vaccines in the US, Europe, and Asia, which can effectively shorten the vaccine development process. With increasingly developed communication technologies, patients can access the healthcare cloud anytime and anywhere to obtain transparent, customisable, and cost-effective solutions and evaluate outcomes. Cloud computing is helping the healthcare industry move towards valuedriven and consumer-centric patient care. The transport industry is also a very typical example. Under the tide of economic globalisation, large cities are becoming an important part of the world’s urban system serving as production hubs, science and technology centres, educational and cultural hubs and world trade centres. However, with the influx of population, large cities face more and more challenges in traffic management, which are difficult to solve by traditional means. In many large global cities, traffic management departments are trying to improve the situation by using various technologies, including updating intelligent traffic sensing devices to obtain clearer and more accurate traffic data. Building a unified traffic management system based on a cloud computing platform can coordinate the handling of traffic signals and emergency cases. Using multiple connection technologies, including 5G, will also optimise data connections between traffic sensing devices and the traffic management system, ensuring that massive data can be aggregated and analysed in a timely manner. Advanced AI analysis algorithms can in turn analyse and support decision-making for congestion prediction, route analysis, and traffic signal control, and decision-making suggestions could be sent to the traffic control department and frontline traffic police through the network. The integration of these new technologies effectively improves the urban transportation environment. In addition to improving benefits for traditional industries and large-scale enterprises, emerging digital technologies such as cloud computing and AI will also provide new opportunities for small and medium-sized enterprises to improve operation efficiency, promote innovation, expand market and financing channels, and facilitate remote operations during the epidemic. In the Middle East, SMEs account for more than 90 per cent of the total size of enterprises and contribute 70 per cent of GDP. Helping SMEs accelerate digital transformation will bring significant benefits to local economic development. Post-pandemic, as businesses move towards driving sustained growth, they must focus on the three main areas that shaped the trend this year: remain consumer-oriented; gain business independence; and ensure intelligent delivery. These trends will 12

December 2020

ILLUSTRATION: GETTY IMAGES/YAGI STUDIO

The Brief / Technology

ADVANCED AI CAN SUPPORT DECISIONMAKING FOR CONGESTION PREDICTION, ROUTE ANALYSIS, AND TRAFFIC SIGNAL CONTROL

have a greater impact when combined, and businesses must focus on meeting social and individual needs around the globe for optimal practice. Digital transformation is entering the next stage as “intelligence”, which is the key strategy for the future development of global cities, industries and enterprises. Research by Gartner shows that the need for business resilience has never been more intense. CIOs are trying to adapt to changing circumstances and design future-oriented businesses. This requires that the organisation be sufficiently intelligent, reorganised and reformed. The intelligent business architecture and ‘anywhere’ operations mode that is implemented based on the cloud computing platform, AI, 5G, and IoT technologies is the key to future enterprise development. Only companies that take advantage of the combination of these technologies for continuous digital transformation will have the chance to thrive over the next few years. gulfbusiness.com

The Brief / Q&A INTERVIEW

Antonio Cuccarese Business development manager, Metito

Explainer: How is the GCC’s alternative energy industry faring? Environmental concerns are propelling the usage of alternative energy for a sustainable future The alternative energy industry has grown in the wake of rising environmental concerns. What are the key trends that you’ve seen?

With growing environmental concerns, climate change and extensive energy requirements for lifeline projects and communities around the world, many emerging economies established policies on alternative energy use and set national targets for a more sustainable future as they modernise their energy sector. The demand for renewables continues to grow and the sector is responding with the introduction of more systems and intelligent solutions to optimise the use of alternative energy solutions. There is a growing trend for digitalisation and artificial intelligence (AI) with the use of big data to implement smarter ways in delivering the variable renewable energy (VRE) into the power grid – increased use of solar panels, wind turbines and other types of clean energy systems. There is also a rising trend of integrating different renewable energy systems and/or traditional and renewable sources to create hybrid systems – which Metito has experimented with successfully in some of our latest projects.

on government budgets and allowing other national priorities to be addressed. With private companies investing and operating projects with support from the government or municipality, PPP projects are managed more efficiently and milestones are kept on-track especially for the long haul (20-25 year concessions). For those entering this space, what are the primary challenges?

Funding, shortage of advanced financial/ project finance expertise for alternative energy PPPs, shortage of technical expertise and weak institutional frameworks, all could limit the development of PPPs. But with the right mix of political will and adequate planning and preparation from involved organisations, renewable energy projects formed out of PPPs are highly achievable and could be a great success. What are the key initiatives taken by GCC governments to grow this space?

It is now evident that being 100 per cent

carbon-neutral in terms of power consumption provides substantial benefits to the environment and the economy. Through its ‘Energy Strategy 2050’, the UAE government allocated over $163bn to meet its goal to increase the contribution of clean energy sources in the total capacity mix to 50 per cent (44 per cent renewable and 6 per cent nuclear) by 2050. This goes hand in hand with the UAE’s Vision 2021 strategic plan to generate 27 per cent of its energy requirements from clean sources. In Saudi Arabia, the National Renewable Energy Programme (NREP) and the King Salman Renewable Energy Initiative are formed as strategic initiatives under Vision 2030 to maximise the potential of renewable energy in the kingdom. Oman’s National Energy Strategy now envisions to derive 30 per cent of its electricity from renewable sources by 2030, while Bahrain’s National Renewable Energy Action Plan (NREAP) and National Energy Efficiency Action Plan

ILLUSTRATION: GETTY IMAGES/SMARTBOY10

How significant are public-private partnership projects to propel the alternative energy industry?

The construction of projects in the alternative energy industry which are often too large, and complex, requires considerable CAPEX and takes time in planning and development. These can be mega water projects where governments and private entities may opt for concessionbased models under different financial structures. In many cases, public-private partnerships (PPPs) are crucial to access sustainable funding that can drive the industry forward without putting pressure gulfbusiness.com

December 2020

The Brief / Startups INTERVIEW

(NEEAP) demonstrate a full commitment to shift the country towards more efficient consumption of energy with the use of renewables. Looking ahead, what is the future of the solar energy sector?

Very bright indeed. With the impact of the pandemic that has underscored the importance of sustainability, solar energy has become one of the crucial renewables to accelerate green growth. We can definitely expect more solar developments and projects, and this is evident by the upsurge of demand in photovoltaic (PV) panels. According to

a four-year outlook report produced by SolarPower Europe, the world’s PV capacity would increase from around 630 GW (Gigawatts) at the end of this year to more than 1 TW (Terawatts) in 2022 and 1.2 TW by the end of 2023. At the end of 2024, the world would have 1,448 GW of solar. In addition, with the advent of digital transformation, the solar energy sector is welcoming smart AI and blockchain-driven technologies. This will consequently make the equipment even more affordable and accessible to more users and will upgrade the efficiencies of the systems as well as the delivery of results.

A N A LY S I S

Gaining traction

Bahrain’s startup ecosystem has covered substantial ground, writes Zainab Mansoor

he GCC region has witnessed an unprecedented wave of digital adoption, with enterprising startups deploying disruptive technologies in recent years. From food delivery to retail and transportation, consumers in the region have adopted digital solutions across several facets of life. This digital drive has given innovators the impetus to thrive, leading to the emergence of engaging startup ecosystems. While the Covid-19 pandemic may have proven to be a roadblock for industries and economies worldwide, the regional startup ecosystem has remained fairly resilient, with MENAbased startups securing $659m in investments between January to June this year, tantamount to 95 per cent of the full-year 2019 funding, startup data platform MAGNiTT’s report revealed. While larger regional economies such as the UAE and Saudi Arabia continue

December 2020

to be trailblazers, smaller nations aren’t too far behind. Bahrain has launched several support initiatives to bolster its startup landscape. The Bahrain Economic Development Board (EDB) launched StartUp Bahrain, an ecosystem that brings together corporates, investors, incubators, educational institutions, and the government to promote the local startup space. In 2019, EDB also announced a fast-track setup process for international startups. With reforms and several private and public sector initiatives, Bahrain’s entrepreneurial landscape has grown substantially. The kingdom was listed among the top 100 destinations for startups worldwide in 2020, as per the StartupBlink rankings. It also featured among the world’s top five fastest-growing ecosystems with less than 1,000 startups, The Global Startup Ecosystem Report 2020 revealed. Meanwhile, on the back of enacting several regulatory

reforms, Bahrain secured a spot among the 10 most improved economies in the Doing Business 2020 report. “Bahrain’s startup sector has grown exponentially, supporting startups not only financially, but also educating the current and future business owners coming together to become the perfect support system to allow businesses to reach their global potential,” asserts Khalifa Al Mannai, founder of mobile app Evergo. Attending to consumers’ lifestyle needs, the Evergo app enables users to schedule and book appointments, sessions, and call-back services. Four categories of service providers – online sessions, clinics, salon and spa, and vets – are currently available on the app. “Evergo is an all-in-one scheduling platform for onsite appointments with a streaming service for online virtual services,” Al Mannai notes. “It was designed to simplify the workflow of its business users by providing an end-to-end solution offering real-time availability, booking, and payments with the option of having that booking conducted virtually. Evergo also aims to simplify the user’s lifestyle needs by consolidating all the bookings one would require in a single mobile app.” Going forward, the company intends to increase the number of categories of service providers. “Evergo is built as a tool and not a sector dependent application,” he adds.

gulfbusiness.com

ILLUSTRATION: GETTY IMAGES/CSA IMAGES

The Brief / Future

Rehan Khan Principal consultant for BT, educator and novelist

COMMENT

Sleeping for the job There is a huge cost to the effectiveness of an organisation due to sleep deprivation

few more clicks on the mouse, a couple more swipes on the smartphone, and I’ll get off to bed. But it doesn’t happen. Instead when I glance at the time, the promise of getting to sleep early has gone by the wayside. Tomorrow night, I console myself, I’ll get to sleep early so I don’t wake up feeling like a train wreck. We’ve all inflicted this fickle behaviour upon ourselves and regretted it, but the impact is not only personal but also organisational. In fact, there is a huge cost to the effectiveness of an organisation due to sleep deprivation. According to Gallup, 40 per cent of Americans get less than the recommended seven to nine hours every night. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has labelled this lack of sleep a “public health epidemic” due to the huge health and performance gulfbusiness.com

Sleep deprivation

A significant share of Americans don’t get enough sleep

40% sleep less than seven to nine hours every night

SOURCE: GALLUP

costs associated with not getting enough sleep. In a study by Professor Vicki Culpin from Hult International Business School, her team monitored the sleep behaviour of 1,000 professionals at all levels, and the impact of sleep on workplace performance. The team’s findings suggested that lack of sleep can fundamentally hinder a manager’s ability to perform at their peak and lead to other damaging physical and emotional side effects. “It is common for managers and colleagues to look at a lack of focus or motivation, irritability, and bad decision making as being caused by poor training, organisational politics or the work environment. The answer could be much simpler – a lack of sleep,” she says. In addition, there are also the physiological impacts on the individual. One of them is an erosion of the immune system – a topic of much debate in the middle of a global pandemic. According to research undertaken by the Harvard Centre for Healthy Sleeping, sleep deprivation may decrease the ability to resist infections, such as the common cold. In one study cited by Harvard, the researchers found that people who averaged less than seven hours of sleep a night were about three times more likely to develop cold symptoms than study volunteers who got eight or more hours of sleep when exposed to the cold-causing rhinovirus. In addition, those individuals who got better quality sleep were the least likely to come down with a cold. When you add a bad diet and little exercise into the mix such as when we’re confined to the house during a lockdown, then our energy levels – and productivity – can spiral out of control quickly. When I found that lack of sleep was affecting my ability to perform at work, I created a night-time routine so that my alarm went off at 9pm. This meant I would now start getting ready to go to sleep. For me this meant closing all my electronic items, being in bed by 9.40pm, reading for 20 minutes and then falling asleep at 10pm, so that I could wake up a 5.45am and feel really fresh. It had a huge boost on my performance and helped clarity of thinking. You need to work out a bedtime routine which works for you and the cultural context in which you find yourself. However you run it, you should be aiming to get between 7-8 hours of uninterrupted sleep. I appreciate that if you have young children, then of course this is not always possible. I fondly remember my own children turning up beside my bed early on a Saturday morning and asking me to switch myself on at 6am. Either way if you want to become more effective and help your organisation do so, then settle down, relax, put your head to the pillow, and sleep for the job. December 2020

PARTNER CONTENT

Skills of the future The world of work is changing and developing new skills is the only way to keep pace with this change

020 has been a year of disruption, to say the least. Almost every aspect of our lives has been impacted by the Covid19 pandemic, forcing us to change our way of thinking. The job market is no different – Covid-19 has unfortunately triggered one of the worst employment crises since the Great Depression. According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), unemployment is projected to reach nearly 10 per cent in OECD countries by the end of 2020, up from 5.3 per cent at year-end 2019, and to go as high as 12 per cent should a second pandemic wave hit. A jobs recovery is not expected until after 2021. The figures paint a grim picture, but they also throw up another finding – the marketplace is more competitive than ever before, and only the fittest survive. Having the right skills, therefore, is crucial to winning the race. Against this backdrop, here’s an overview of some skills that will be crucial for future employment. • Artificial intelligence – Statistics show that between 2015 and 2018, there has been almost a 100 per cent increase in job postings seeking AI or machine learning skills. You only need to look around and you will see how AI is integral to our daily lives – Uber drivers follow maps which advise them on the best route to take in order to reach their destination as quickly as possible and e-commerce websites provide shopping suggestions based on browsing history. In the future, several industries are going to be AI dependent, which means organisations are going to actively seek AI-trained talent, making it a valuable skill for the future. Interestingly, a study by leading market intelligence firm IDC states that even during the pandemic, the number of AI-related jobs could increase globally by 13 to 16 per cent. • Complex problem solving – This is not a new skill, rather it is one that will never go out of fashion. In the future, problem solving will be all about having the mental elasticity to solve

December 2020

Dr. Paul Hopkinson Associate head of Edinburgh Business School for Heriot-Watt University Dubai and academic lead for Heriot-Watt Online

In the future, problem solving will be all about having the mental elasticity to solve problems we may have never envisioned and coming up with solutions in a dynamic landscape

problems we may have never envisioned and coming up with solutions in a dynamic landscape. Data from the report The Future of Jobs by the World Economicw Forum backs this up – 36 per cent of all jobs across all industries are expected to require complex problem-solving as one of the core skills. • Embracing change – This may be an obvious skill, but it is likely to assume far greater importance in the future. Consider this – 2020 has seen employees adjust to working remotely and switching completely to videoconferencing. Workplaces are already more diverse than ever before, and this is a trend which will continue, necessitating individuals to respect and work with others of varying race, culture, language, political or religious beliefs, etc. And we are seeing digital transformation taking over industries. All of this points to one thing – the need to embrace and accept change. Embracing change will require our brains to be flexible and cultivating this as a skill will enable us to see change not as a burden but as an opportunity to grow and innovate. The question then which naturally comes to mind is – how does one future-proof oneself in such a dynamic world? There are several ways to pick up new skills – by learning from an expert or mentor, by shadowing a team whose skills you wish to pick up or by reading relevant literature. You could also consider doing a course or degree that will help you develop the skills that you are after. For example – Heriot-Watt University Dubai’s highly acclaimed degrees – MSc in Managing Innovation and MSc in International Marketing with Digital Marketing – can help prepare potential candidates for employment, as they are designed keeping real life requirements in mind. These programmes attract students from all around the world, creating a rich learning environment where international experience and practice is shared, and ultimately endowing students with skills to make them successful in their future workplace.

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ILLUSTRATION: GETTY IMAGES/VECTORPOCKET

The Brief / Economy

COMMENT

Professor Greg Clark Global head of Future Cities and New Industries, HSBC

Planning the next urban cycle The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the future development of cities in the MENA region is set to be significant

he Covid-19 pandemic has had dramatic impacts on the way people move around and share spaces in cities. Caution about viral spread could have long-term repercussions on behaviour and appetite for public transport and public space use in cities. The current need for physical distancing and facemask wearing may make way for increased fear associated with public spaces and gatherings in the future. A Covid hangover that, if taken to the extreme, might see the end as we know it of public squares, conventions centres, CBDs, sports stadia, stations, airports, trains and buses. The risk is that the Covid after-effects will reshape our cities in ways that are unsustainable, unproductive, and more unequal.

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That is one of several socio-economic imperatives that the new HSBC City reports suggest that the regionâ€™s largest cities will need to address as they look to build back better in the post-Covid era. The reports, which cover Abu Dhabi, Cairo, Dubai, Istanbul and Riyadh, observe that many cities are considering how to manage and organise urban spaces with new public health imperatives in mind. Doubts are being raised about the appeal of cities in the next cycle. The risks associated with density, proximity, and global connections are currently much more widely asserted than the economic, social, and environmental benefits that cities provide. This poses a collective challenge for cities and their civic and business advocates to emphatically communicate the

essential role of cities in the post-Covid growth cycle, particularly the impacts that they have on social mobility, sustainable systems of land use, and innovative ecosystems. As the reports show, to generate growth and revenues in the next cycle, we need to optimise cities; without them we will not have the growth economy required to finance public services for growing populations. Global hubs from Asia to Europe to North America are now preparing for a whole cycle of change. One of the positive experiences of this pandemic is the increased sense of social responsibility. It is impossible to ignore the social and economic inequalities that have been revealed and magnified, and these will form a new key priority. Social responsibility will be increasingly linked to climate and planetary sustainability. For instance, the lockdown experience will pave the way to a more local and sustainable economy and lower waste attitudes. Increased social responsibility may place more emphasis on impact investing and philanthropic investment in NGOs. It will also likely result in the prioritisation of universal access to healthcare, with renewed focus on inclusion and tackling inequality. These social and environmental imperatives will shape key elements of the new normal. They will be picked up in cities and nation states in different ways, mediated through cultural and political systems, but they will be traceable to Covid-19. As cities and nations revise their budgets, in the context of increased digital economy and mobility, we may see new taxes, charges and levies applied to generate revenues and investment capital, as well as new PPP models, and revised approaches on wealth and corporate tax. How effectively different nations and cities are perceived to have handled the different stages of the pandemic and transition has become subject to unprecedented scrutiny. Cities may be judged more by businesses on the competence and success of their crisis management. There is a new drive for healthy cities. And for cities that manage the crisis well and are seen to succeed in optimising urban economies while safeguarding public health and planetary wellbeing, there may be a boost of global confidence and enhanced reputation to enjoy. December 2020

The Brief / Healthcare INTERVIEW

Going strong Here’s how technology is changing the face of healthcare in the wake of the pandemic healthcare system more resilient for future health threats. In particular, digital-health technologies in the areas of telemedicine, remote health monitoring and medtech should see further up-side potential over the longer term, given the political tailwinds, momentous demographic forces across the world, the rise of chronic diseases associated with ageing, as well as the growing financial burden of medical care.

If you could mention four ways technology is changing healthcare systems around the world, what would they be and why?

Electronic health records (EHR) are definitely one of the technologies that most of us can relate to during our visits at the doctor’s office. Remember the days when administrative assistants had to maintain a huge quantity of paper medical records, which were often manually written in an illegible manner that rendered them inaccessible for patients? Therefore, the desire to reduce manual processes and improve efficiency is leading to the further digitalisation of medical files in the form of EHR. Telemedicine is also changing the way healthcare providers deliver their services to patients. Due to shifting consumer preferences for convenience and affordability, consumers can gain access to an extensive range of medical information anytime and anywhere. Put differently, healthcare is no longer limited to the specific opening hours and confines of the doctor’s office, but it also includes locations like your home, workplace or holiday destination thanks to digital technologies. The third technology is in the domain of mobile health. These may include blood glucose monitors and patches that track medication adherence of patients. In fact, they were already deployed to improve the overall experience of diabetic patients due to the increasing prevalence of the disease worldwide. Finally, a lot of progress has been achieved in the field of medtech. Take intraocular lenses (IOLs) for instance. These lenses are medical devices that are implanted inside the eye to replace the eye’s natural lens. Given the growing prevalence of myopia across the world, patients may opt for IOL surgery procedures to correct the refractive error caused by myopia due to medical, cosmetic or lifestyle reasons. Post Covid-19, what will a resilient healthcare system look like?

The weakness of the present healthcare system revealed by the Covid-19 crisis, along with the rise in chronic diseases associated with lifestyle changes and a rapidly ageing population worldwide, has certainly highlighted the urgent need to make our 18

December 2020

Dr. Damien Ng, Next Generation analyst at Swiss wealth manager Julius Baer

HEALTHCARE IS NO LONGER LIMITED TO THE SPECIFIC OPENING HOURS AND CONFINES OF THE DOCTOR’S OFFICE

How prepared are the healthcare systems in the Gulf countries to face a post-pandemic world?

As data from Johns Hopkins University revealed, there were nearly 85,000 (193 deaths per million population), 352,000 (160 deaths per million population), and 148,000 (53 deaths per million population) confirmed cases in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and the UAE as of November 12, respectively. One of the reasons for the comparatively low mortality rate in the Gulf region lies in the readiness of countries like the UAE and Bahrain to use diagnostic tests to stem the further spread of the coronavirus. After all, if the virus is invisible to the naked eyes, there is no way medical professionals can identify and eventually tackle the problem. In addition to the diagnostic tests, citizens should work hand in hand with their local public-health authorities to overcome the health crisis. This includes following the recommendations from their local health authorities and the World Health Organization on social distancing rules and the wearing of a mask. This way, our society will be better prepared to tackle present and future pandemics. According to your recent research, digital health, genomics and extended longevity are the three trends that will shape the future of healthcare. Why specifically these?

It is no secret that medical bills have been rising over the past few decades due to a combination of factors ranging from a growing incidence of chronic diseases associated with lifestyle changes to the global phenomenon of population ageing and extended longevity. This inevitably has the effect of exerting immense financial burden on families and individuals, particularly those with lower incomes, as they are more gulfbusiness.com

The Brief / Healthcare

Genomics, in particular in the area of precision medicine, will undoubtedly exert a positive effect on the way health professionals care for their patients. For instance, two persons having breast cancer may be suffering from the same cancer type but at the molecular level under the microscope, the cancerous cells may look very different between both individuals. Put differently, tailormade treatments for individuals should gain greater importance in the future as gene-based diagnoses and therapies become more personalised for the patient.

ILLUSTRATION: GETTY IMAGES/SOPHONK

How will technology benefit healthcare facilities as well as older patients?

likely to struggle with the unaffordability of medical resources. It is for this reason that governments, medical professionals and insurance companies are increasingly turning to digital-health technologies to keep a lid on burgeoning healthcare costs. At the same time, we must not forget that there are still around 6,000 diseases that do not have a cure despite the tremendous medical progress that has been achieved over the past few decades, rendering the research and development of genomics ever more important. gulfbusiness.com

~6,000

diseases around the world that still do not have a cure despite the medical progress

Ageing is often associated with the onset of chronic diseases like diabetes and Alzheimerâ€™s, as well as other age-related health conditions concerning the eyes, teeth and ears. In view of the increasing frailty of old age and their shifting lifestyle preferences for greater autonomy and independence, a wide range of services and support such as blood-glucose monitors and hearing aids have been made available for senior citizens via health technologies. Furthermore, hospital readmissions may be required for some post-operative patients due to the onset of health complications. This could include elderly cardiac patients suffering from infection at the site of a surgical incision or discharged patients experiencing indistinct symptoms such as dizziness or a spike in blood pressure. As most of these concerns could be monitored and effectively treated without hospitalisation, physicians are increasingly turning to mobile-health technologies to minimise readmissions and improve outcomes. December 2020

The Brief / Infographics

Plotting a greener future

The 2020 EPI Framework The framework organises 11 issue categories and two policy objectives, with weights shown at each level as a percentage of the total score Ecosystem Vitality

Climate change 24%

Environmental Health

Countries around the world are refining policies and aspiring to address environmental challenges for a sustainable future

Ecosystem services 6%

Ecosystem vitality

Waste management 2% Heavy metals 2%

Fisheries 6% Water resources 3%

Environmental Health

Sanitation & Drinking water 16%

The greenest countries

Biodiversity & Habitat 15%

Polution emissions 3%

Air quality 20%

Agriculture 3%

Top 10 EPI ranked countries in 2020 with their scores Denmark

82.5

Luxembourg

82.3

Switzerland

81.5

United Kingdom

81.3

France

Austria

79.6

Finland

78.9

Sweden

78.7

Norway

77.7

Germany

77.2 0

100

In the middle... There is room for growth for the Middle East countries

Ecosystem Vitality

Israel

65.8

UAE

55.6

Kuwait

53.6

Jordan

53.4

Bahrain

51 0

December 2020

Environmental Health

100

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Top of their class Top 5 countries in selected categories

Ecosystem Vitality CLIMATE CHANGE

United Kingdom Romania France

Botswana 90.0

84.6 81.9

Switzerland 50

BIODIVERSITY & HABITAT

95.0

Denmark

81.6

Scope for improvement

100

DRINKING WATER

98.8

Finland

100 100

90.4

Australia

98.2

Iceland

Poland

89.0

Sweden

98.2

Netherlands

88.8 88.3

France 80

AIR QUALITY

91.6

Zambia

Germany

Environmental Health

100

98.1

Norway

97.9

Switzerland

67.4

Iceland

100

KUWAIT

100

66.5 56.6

18.9

Climate Change

100

41.3

41.2

GCC countries fare differently in the four key categories

100

67.1

49.7

100

48.6

12.1

QATAR

BAHRAIN

Biodiversity & Habitat Air Quality Sanitation & Drinking Water

80.9 67.2 59.3 48.6 37.5

38.8

37.4

38.9

SAUDI ARABIA

“The pursuit of economic prosperity often means more pollution and other strains on ecosystem vitality. But at the same time, the data suggests countries need not sacrifice sustainability for economic security or vice versa”

UAE

58.3

36.4 28.2

OMAN

SOURCE: ENVIRONMENTAL PERFORMANCE INDEX 2020 BY YALE CENTER FOR ENVIRONMENTAL LAW & POLICY, YALE UNIVERSITY AND CENTER FOR INTERNATIONAL EARTH SCIENCE INFORMATION NETWORK, COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY

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December 2020

The Brief / Lightbox

Boeing 737 Max airplanes sit parked at the companyâ€™s production facility in Renton, Washington. On November 18, 2020, the US Federal Aviation Administration cleared the Max for flight. The aircraft has been grounded since March 2019 after two deadly crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia 22

December 2020

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PHOTO: DAVID RYDER/GETTY IMAGES

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December 2020

COVER STORY / NOOR BIN EIDAN

As women empowerment takes centre stage in the region, Kuwaiti entrepreneur Noor Bin Eidan reflects on her journey to build her brand and reveals how women can be better integrated into the regional economic ecosystem

A DONE DEAL BY AARTI NAGRAJ

December 2020

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December 2020

“The feeling of achievement and happiness we experience when things are done is priceless. That’s why we named the company Done”

December 2020

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COVER STORY / NOOR BIN EIDAN

As we come to the end of 2020, there is almost a palpable sigh of relief in seeing the back of a year that has been arduous and challenging on multiple levels. And yet, it would be amiss if we did not recognise some of the positives that it has brought – specifically when it comes to gender equality.

The US elected its first woman Vice President-elect in Kamala Harris; the US’ Fortune 500 companies saw a record number of women leaders in 2020 at 37 – up from 33 in 2019; and New Zealand passed a bill to ensure equal pay for men and women. Coming to the region, labour laws in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain have been amended in recent times to bridge the gender-pay gap between men and women with changes including offering more rights to women in the workplace and prohibiting pay discrimination. But it has been a long journey to reach this point, as Kuwaiti businesswoman Noor Bin Eidan has experienced in her entrepreneurial journey. Setting up her interior design business in what was traditionally considered a “man’s world” was no easy task, she admits. And yet she persevered. The result: her company — Done Interior — has now expanded beyond Kuwait’s borders, with the enterprising leader looking to further grow its reach. “I started arranging and decorating my room from an early age. This laid the foundation that design was my dream. This dream and passion of designing places turned into a reality in 2004, when my aunt invited me to decorate her place. That’s where it all started and I have never turned back,” explains Bin Eidan. “The first challenge in starting a business was that I was a woman in what was considered a man’s world. It was difficult and I often landed in trouble – especially during my freelance days, when some of the workers never turned up to work after taking an advance gulfbusiness.com

payment. But my real challenge was the negative attitudes. Playing multiple roles – from project manager to accountant and concentrating on design – was challenging during the early years. Many people thought I would stumble and give up, but my family was extremely supportive during this time,” she says. Crediting her parents – specifically her mother – for being her inspiration, the interior designer managed to slowly build her team from three people in 2013 to now over 100 employees operating in four divisions. The company presently offers all kinds of bespoke furniture and interior accessories, and also has a manufacturing unit to create the designs. “The feeling of achievement and happiness we experience when things are done is priceless. That’s why we named the company Done,” Bin Eidan says.

PANDEMIC PRESSURE While the economic impact of the coronavirus has been felt across the region, Kuwait was hit particularly hard by the plunge in oil prices this year. In September, the country’s sovereign credit rating was downgraded for the first time by Moody’s Investors Service by two levels to A1, on par with China and Saudi Arabia. In a report in October, the ratings agency also stated that among GCC states, Kuwait remains most exposed to the prolonged decline in oil prices caused by the pandemic, with a -29.2 per cent impact on oil and gas revenues. For Bin Eidan, the impact on her business was substantial, mainly because of the lockdowns the country imposed this year. “These are unprecedented times. Covid-19 is not just a health crisis, but it has also resulted in a massive economic crisis. Initially, the first and second quarters took a large hit in sales with lockdowns and widespread store closures,” she says. In the first half of the year, sales were down by nearly 80 per cent compared to the same period in 2019. “It has been a tough time and everyone worked hard to manage their situations. As an entrepreneur, I truly believe in hard work, team spirit and support. Our priority with respect to the business was to survive. We have also supported our staff to the maximum extent possible, because in the end, health and lives matter most.” However, she adds that the signs of a market recovery post the Eid holidays have been encouraging, with sales picking up. “In the third quarter, we had our best monthly figures in the company’s history. This is mainly because of travel restrictions and the fact that locals are buying from the local markets,” she explains. “We are hoping for the best, with 2020 ending on a good note.”

A DIFFERENT DESIGN What the pandemic has also brought in – not surprisingly – is the buzz-phrase ‘new normal’. The changing dynamics of how we live and work as we adapt to the current situation is going to have longer-term implications across the board, according to experts. With wide-ranging impact expected across sectors, the interiors space is also not immune to the transformation. With health taking centre stage and the pandemic creating a sudden shift in the way we work, commercial projects will certainly see new requirements, explains Bin Eidan. “We are now aware of the relationship between our health and our work environment. This will naturally change the design of commercial places. Technology will be crucial in our workplaces, December 2020

so we need to design workplaces by accommodating them. Other major factors that affect the designs of commercial places’ interiors are ventilation and surfaces,” she says. In a recent report, consultancy McKinsey stressed that workplaces of the future will need to be redesigned to support organisational priorities. “Although offices have changed in some ways during the past decade, they may need to be entirely rethought and transformed for a post–Covid-19 world. Organisations could create workspaces specifically designed to support the kinds of interactions that cannot happen remotely. If the primary purpose of an organisation’s space is to accommodate specific moments of collaboration rather than individual work, for example, should 80 per cent of the office be devoted to collaboration rooms?” it said. “In the office of the future, technology will play a central role in enabling employees to return to office buildings and to work safely before a vaccine becomes widely available.” Even on the residential side, experts predict that there will be a shift in the requirements of investors when it comes to the way the buildings are designed. “Covid-19 has significantly made customers think of ‘needs’ rather than ‘wants’. “Spending excessive time at home has reflected their thoughts and desires towards ‘functionality’ along with ‘appearances’. Moreover, people have started regretting not paying enough attention to their houses regarding the aesthetic and the design,” opines Bin Eidan. “Clients’ requests have also immensely varied after emerging from the lockdown since indoor activities served as their only escape during that period. Hence, they now have a different perspective, which is basically putting more attention into their houses and trying to accommodate their needs with the design they desire.”

CROWDED SPACE The pandemic has also shaken up the dynamics of the players within the wider real estate industry and the interiors segment in 28

December 2020

particular. Already a crowded space, it has now made it more challenging for operators to attract business. “Interior design is one of the most competitive businesses. There is always huge competition to attract new clients and take up new projects. So even if you are highly talented and way ahead of your rival in terms of design, it requires a different skillset to keep your business competitive. The key to being successful in this industry is to get noticed,” states Bin Eidan. “Many new players started to emerge recently. But I believe that the best design will drive clients to you. Designs speak on your gulfbusiness.com

COVER STORY / NOOR BIN EIDAN

behalf. We are successful as we have interior designing, retail and manufacturing, they complement each other and they provide me and my team with freedom of design and selection. “As the chief design officer, it’s my responsibility to get these designs right. I keep up with the latest trends and changes that take place in the interior designing sphere and adapt them based on my design style and selection. Our project lifecycle is structured to provide high-quality consistent output during all stages while executing the project. This give us the edge to stay ahead of the competition,” she adds. The interior design industry is closely tied to the property market, which has seen a slump across the GCC this year. However, the expectation is that the industry will pick up again in 2021, even as the UAE prepares to host the global Expo in Dubai and other major infrastructure projects gather pace across the Gulf region. According to Bin Eidan, there are several opportunities opening up in the regional markets. “To a certain extent, the market is getting saturated, but again there are always new openings. If you talk in the context of the local GCC market, many new initiatives by local governments came into force encouraging entrepreneurship and supporting the housing market, which in turn has led to the creation of new demand for furniture and interiors. There is always a demand for fresh designs and innovative concepts. Gone are those days where only the expe-

be opening to the public. Apart from this, we successfully started our operations in a project division in Turkey after establishing an office in London. We have also expanded our manufacturing facilities and introduced new product lines. Now we are concentrating on acquiring manufacturing facilities abroad to support our demand,” she says. According to her, in the current global context, expansion into international markets is more the norm than the exception. “An international expansion strategy is crucial in business expansion plans. I believe successful international expansion avoids the risk of dependency on one single domestic market. This diversified market presence will give Done Interior a balanced and steady growth,” she adds. Bin Eidan also says her personal goals mirror her professional ambitions. “I want to take my designs to the world stage and I think I am taking steps in the right direction. I believe a successful vision is an image of the actual results achieved by taking actual efforts.” But the entrepreneur also hopes to become a role model for the aspiring women leaders of the next generation. She already has a strong voice through her Instagram channel, where she has over 275,000 followers. “These days a lot of debates are taking place in the GCC about the role of women in the community and in economic life. This is a good sign that we are heading in the right direction. In the past decade alone, many initiatives have been taken by the GCC countries to improve female empowerment through measures such as increasing access to education, healthcare and employment. However, our participation in the workforce remains less than 30 per cent although we account for up to 50 per cent of the total population. There is a long road ahead, and steps have to be taken towards encouraging women to gain a share of public employment and encouraging women’s entrepreneurship,” she stresses. According to her, the biggest hindrance that women in the workforce face is pressure exerted due to local norms and traditions originating from the patriarchal system. “Due to these norms, opportunities in education, employment and public participation are limited,” she opines. “This can be overcome only through education and public enlightenment. This has to start at home, and parents need to educate both boys and girls of the present generation equally and independently. They have to lead by example and be modern in thinking while also having respect for cultural and traditional values.” The businesswoman also urges youngsters to follow their dreams. “My personal vision is to be a woman of positive influence on the younger generations, to motivate them to discover and develop their potential and live life to the full.” Having designed her own path and now paving successful patterns for the future, Noor Bin Eidan is certainly not holding back.

“There is always a demand for fresh designs and innovative concepts. Gone are those days where only the experienced players enjoyed monopolies over the market. If you have fresh ideas, different perspectives and generate innovative conceptual designs, new entrants can also be successful in the industry” rienced players enjoyed monopolies over the market. If you have fresh ideas, different perspectives and generate innovative conceptual designs, new entrants can also be successful in the industry,” she says.

PROMISING PATTERNS For Bin Eidan, preparations are already underway to expedite her company’s expansion plans. “We had started working on a new branch in 2019, but it was on hold due to the Covid-19 situation. In the first quarter of 2021, our new store in The Avenues - Kuwait will gulfbusiness.com

December 2020

FEATURES / GULF BUSINESS AWARDS

Celebrating success The Gulf Business Awards 2020 honoured the companies and business leaders who persevered in the face of a pandemic to stand tall and support the regional business landscape

s we come to the end of 2020, a year that will go down in history for disrupting life as we knew it and heralding in the socalled ‘new normal’, Gulf Business is honoured to have had the opportunity to applaud and celebrate the regional companies and individuals who managed to not just survive, but also thrive in this tough environment. In line with the altered landscape we are in, the 2020 edition of the Gulf Business Awards was held virtually on November 26, providing an opportunity for hundreds of people to attend the prestigious ceremony. The bespoke presentation, interspersed with videos about the year that was, as well clips from our judges, also saw a surprise guest appearance from legendary actor and comedian John Cleese, who had a special message for the winners. Now in its eighth edition, the event saw 31 trophies handed out to the winners across various industries as well as special business excellence categories. We also saw the introduction of new categories in recognition of the major trends we have seen in regional economies including four awards within the technology space as well as accolades to honour the Sustainability Company

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GOLD SPONSOR

December 2020

Tom Urqhart hosted the virtual event of the Year, Disruptor of the Year, and Covid19 Heroes of the Year.

John Cleese congratulated the winners in a surprise appearance at the awards

Gulf Business also thanks our expert panel of judges, who went through the five nominees within each category to collectively decide on the winners. • Dr. Habib Al Mulla, executive chairman, Baker and McKenzie Habib Al Mulla • Mona Ataya, CEO and founder Mumzworld.com • John Martin St. Valery, chairman, British Business Group, Dubai and Northern Emirates • Ian Fairservice, managing partner and group editor-in-chief, Motivate Media Group • Andrew Wingrove, group director, Motivate Media Group

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Gulf Business 2020 Lifetime Achievement Award winner

Sir Tim Clark, President, Emirates Airline The Emirates journey that Sir Tim Clark has led from the helm has been incredible, to say the least. When he stepped on the shores of Bahrain in 1975, little would Sir Tim Clark have dreamed that the Gulf region would help him soar to the dizzying heights he’s now reached. Having joined the Emirates airline founding team in 1985 as head of airline planning, he went to become its president in 2003 and has been instrumental in steering the Dubai carrier to become the world’s largest international airline. Emirates started with two leased aircraft and now boasts of the biggest widebody fleet in the world. It flies to over 150 destinations globally, transporting millions of passengers every year. Prior to Emirates, he built his reputation as a talented route planner at Gulf Air. He also held the position of managing director of Sri Lankan Airlines until 2008. A fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society, this stalwart of the regional aviation industry also holds an honorary doctorate from the University of Middlesex and an honorary degree from the Newcastle Business School at Northumbria University. After 35 years at the job, and having received numerous awards and honours – he has also been the recipient of several Gulf Business Awards over the years – Sir Tim Clark has been awarded with the prestigious Gulf Business 2020 Lifetime Award of the year. Accepting the award from Motivate’s Ian Fairservice on the 35th anniversary week of Emirates Airline’s launch, Sir Tim Clark thanked his entire team for the accolade: “Thank you very much. I greatly appreciate

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Sir Tim Clark with the Gulf Business 2020 Lifetime Achievement Award. Below: Sir Tim Clark with Motivate’s Ian Fairservice

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receiving this award. It’s been 35 years since we started the airline – October 25, 1985, to be precise, when we started our very first flight and it’s been an interesting journey. And it’s been a hugely successful one driven by all the people in the business who have worked so hard to get us where we are today. Unfortunately, we are in a pandemic situation where the airline is still managing to keep its head above water and operate a very robust network. Hopefully we can get this going again to the levels that it used to be in the next six to nine months. “Thank you once again. I take this [award] on behalf of all the people in Emirates who have worked so hard in the last 35 years to get us where we are.”

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December 2020

FEATURES / GULF BUSINESS AWARDS

Gulf Business 2020 Company of the Year Cafu

Presented to the company that receives the best overall score from the judges, the overall Gulf Business 2020 Company of the year award was bagged by Dubai-born startup Cafu, the winner of the Disruptor of the Year award. Established in November 2018, Cafu launched the MENA region’s first on-demand car services using AI technology. Its services, which range from re-fuelling to car wash and maintenance, are now offered across the UAE with plans to expand into Oman and Egypt. Earlier this year, following the coronavirus outbreak, the company also adopted a free-delivery model in the UAE, thanks to which, between April and July, it witnessed a 75 per cent increase in active monthly users.

Gulf Business 2020 Business Leader of the Year

David Hadley, CEO, Mediclinic Middle East The individual who received the best scores from our judges came from the Healthcare Business Leader of the year category. Having joined the international healthcare firm Mediclinic Group in 1993, David Hadley worked in a variety of administrative roles before being seconded to Dubai in 2007 to oversee the opening of Mediclinic City Hospital. Appointed as the CEO of Mediclinic Middle East in 2009, he now oversees the company’s seven hospitals and 20 clinics – with over 900 inpatient beds – in the UAE. As the company prepares to expand into Saudi Arabia, there is no doubt that this executive will soon have a bigger role to play.

2020 Gulf Business SME of the Year

2020 Businesswoman of the Year

Our SME of the Year for 2020 was chosen differently. Earlier this year, Motivate Media Group ran a $1m campaign called SME Revival to support small businesses during the current crisis by offering them free marketing and advertising support. While we received several entries and 20 were chosen as the final recipients – you can see their details on the Gulf Business website – the company that scored the most points from the panelists has been decided as our 2020 Gulf Business SME of the year. And the winner is UAE-based insurance and HR technology startup Bayzat.

Lights, camera… action! Our 2020 Businesswoman of the Year is not just a superstar, but one who epitomises a truly pioneering spirit. The UAE’s first female film director/producer, Nayla Al Khaja is the CEO of Nayla Al Khaja Films and the founder of The Scene, Dubai’s first film club. She has written and directed several award-winning films, that have been showcased in many international film festivals. Her dedication to develop the UAE’s film industry, and her advocacy for women in cinema has made Al Khaja a role-model for aspiring artists across the region.

Bayzat

December 2020

Nayla Al Khaja, CEO, Nayla Al Khaja Films

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FEATURES / GULF BUSINESS AWARDS

WINNERS OF THE 2020 GULF BUSINESS AWARDS BANKING COMPANY OF THE YEAR First Abu Dhabi Bank

ENERGY BUSINESS LEADER OF THE YEAR

Mohamed Jameel Al Ramahi, Masdar

INVESTMENT COMPANY OF THE YEAR Century Financial

HEALTHCARE BUSINESS LEADER OF THE YEAR

David Hadley, Mediclinic Middle East

ENERGY COMPANY OF THE YEAR GE Power

HEALTHCARE COMPANY OF THE YEAR

Abu Dhabi Health Services Company

Covid-19 Heroes of the Year

REAL ESTATE COMPANY OF THE YEAR Danube Properties

If 2020 will be remembered for one thing, it will most certainly be the Covid-19 pandemic. And yet, while the coronavirus has wreaked havoc across the world, it has also brought out the best in many of us, as organisations embraced the spirit of collaboration and went out of their way to help others. Our Covid-19 Heroes award was introduced this year to recognise just some of the numerous individuals and companies that have made a difference during this difficult year and gone above and beyond towards helping others. Considering the remarkable work done by all the companies shortlisted in this category, we found them all worthy winners of the 2020 Covid-19 Heroes award. • Ma’an, for its ‘Together we are good’ campaign • Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives, for its 10 million meals campaign • Burj Khalifa for its World’s Tallest Donation Box initiative • Abdulla Al Ghurair Foundation for Education, for its Abdul Aziz Al Ghurair Covid-19 Online Learning Fund for Refugee Education • Alwaleed Philanthropies for pledging $30m to fight Covid-19

gulfbusiness.com

REAL ESTATE BUSINESS LEADER OF THE YEAR Arif Mubarak, Dubai Asset Management

RETAIL BUSINESS LEADER OF THE YEAR

Alain Bejjani, Majid Al Futtaim

RETAIL COMPANY OF THE YEAR

TRANSPORT AND LOGISTICS BUSINESS LEADER OF THE YEAR

Ahmed Seddiqi & Sons

Mudassir Sheikha, Careem

TRANSPORT AND LOGISTICS COMPANY OF THE YEAR

TOURISM AND HOSPITALITY BUSINESS LEADER OF THE YEAR

Emirates SkyCargo

TOURISM AND HOSPITALITY COMPANY OF THE YEAR Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority

CONSUMER TECH COMPANY OF THE YEAR OPPO

EMERGING TECH COMPANY OF THE YEAR

H.E. Mohamed Khalifa Al Mubarak, DCT Abu Dhabi

TECHNOLOGY BUSINESS LEADER OF THE YEAR Leopoldo Boado, Oracle

DISRUPTOR OF THE YEAR Cafu

SUSTAINABILITY COMPANY OF THE YEAR Careem Bike

Micro Focus

DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION COMPANY OF THE YEAR

Huawei Enterprise Business Group

BANKING BUSINESS LEADER OF THE YEAR

H.E. Abdul Aziz Al Ghurair, Mashreq

December 2020

PARTNER CONTENT

Fighting cybercrime While the usage of online payment solutions has risen, consumers must be aware of the risks and ensure they protect their data

he year 2020 was exceptional in every sense of the word due to the circumstances imposed by the coronavirus Covid-19. People’s attitudes, ideas, habits, traditions, social relationships, and behaviour have all changed. One area where the change has been considerably visible is when it comes to shopping habits – especially when it comes to payment methods. The rate of online purchases of products have increased significantly, with e-wallets and credit cards emerging as an effective alternative for consumers instead of conventional wallets and cash due to the health considerations. Credit cards are considered a safe way for commercial dealings in light of the warnings about the transmission of the virus through cash, which in turn is reflected in the growth of the global e-commerce market. Many companies have turned to online options to try and sell their products electronically, either out of conviction or due to the circumstances. But while consumers have been active in using their e-wallets, fraudsters have also started increasing their nefarious activities by targeting online users in various ways, whether through fake commercial ads, contacting consumers by impersonating banks and companies and requesting personal data, or even by using various applications and sending a message impersonating parties and institutions. This is legally known as cybercrime. The UAE has aggressively countered the issue and conducted several activities to raise awareness through various entities and institutions, including the police, banks and others. On the legal side, it has also enforced strict penalties which will serve as a deterrent to anyone who thinks about exploiting the internet to steal people’s wallets.

Xxx 2020

Yousuf Mohammed Hassan Al Bahar, Senior partner and advocate, Al Bahar and Associates Those found guilty can face imprisonment for a period of not less than a year, a fine of between Dhs200,000 and Dhs1m, or either of these two penalties. This penalty has been explicitly stated in article 12 of the federal decree-law No. (5) of 2012 in the matter of combating information technology crimes, which states: “Shall be punished by imprisonment and a fine or either of these two penalties whoever gains access, without legal right, to credit or electronic card numbers or data or to bank account numbers or data or any other electronic payment method by using the computer network or an electronic information system or any information technology means. The punishment shall be imprisonment for a period of at least six months and a fine of not less than Dhs100,000 and not in excess of

Dhs300,000 or either of these two penalties, if it is intended to use the data and numbers to take over the funds of others or benefit from the services which they provide. If the person takes over the funds of others whether for himself or for others, he shall be punished by imprisonment for a period of at least one year, and a fine of not less than Dhs200,000 and not in excess of Dhs1m or either of these two penalties.” Although the punishment is a local deterrent, it stands helpless in the event that the fraudster is in a country other than the country of the victim, so the magic solution remains in being fully aware of how we use our e-wallets. We should also avoid dealing with unreliable sites or give the passwords or hand over our credit cards to anyone as that will ensure that our data is protected.

“While consumers have been active in using their e-wallets, fraudsters have also started increasing their activities by targeting online users in various ways” gulfbusiness.com

BRAND VIEW

Phi Trends: Pandemic drives fintech focus Few investments make a more compelling case than fintech in the current economic climate, opines entrepreneur and investor Shailesh Dash, who shares his market perspective in this monthly column

ovid-19 has accelerated digitihas increased. The huge range of offerings sation of businesses across the under the fintech umbrella including payment globe, leading to an enhanced processing, online/mobile banking, digital consumer experience, operational peer-to-peer (P2P) lending, and billing sysefficiency and competitive edge. The world is tems, among others have been a lifeline for now gradually acclimatising to this new normal millions since the outbreak. With lockdowns and adapting to the changes. There has been in place, lack of access to funds and finances a sudden surge in personalising digital soluhave driven many consumers to mobile wallets tions, especially in the financial services such as Apple Pay, Google, Venmo, etc. as well industry as the pandemic has put the banking as to upgrade their credit and debit cards with system under stress. Traditional banking is tap-to-pay technology. For traditional financial increasingly looking at fintech as a long-term institutions, the significance of making robust growth strategy since the global recession digital and mobile solutions available was in 2020 has aggravated their average costquickly reinforced, boosting opportunities to-income ratio. Even prior to the pandemic, within fintech as they sought partners to colit was evident that fintech would play a pivlaborate with, and enhance and digitise their otal role in transforming the financial services existing business models. Meanwhile, income industry, but Covid-19 has undoubtedly ampliupheavals popularised budgeting apps that fied the pace of growth to unprecedented enable consumers to monitor balances and highs. A recent survey showed that 44 per plan finances; while low-cost remittance cent of the affluent millennial demographic platforms also gained traction, particularly registered for online or mobile banking for the for migrant workers. Trading platforms have first time during the pandemic, while a 200 per been another significant fintech driver, as cent rise in new mobile banking registrations heightened market volatility throughout the was noted by Fidelity National Information year propelled their usage, in particular platServices (FIS), with traffic jumping 85 per cent. forms using latest technologies to enhance Contactless payments have also seen a huge and improve trade execution and risk mitigaspike in global popularity, as restrictions have tion. Most notably, the pandemic provided an elevated the use of remote services. Performance of top fintech stocks The surge in fintech popularity and Company Market Cap Revenue EPS P/E P/B adoption is both Name (USD bn) (USD bn) (USD) Ratio Ratio* appropriate and jusPayPal 225.8 17.8 2.3 84.4 12.2 tified by the crucial role it has played Square 88.4 4.7 0.7 292.5 42.5 during the panShift4Payments 4.6 0.7 NA 14.8 demic. The digital StoneCo 21.5 0.4 2.9 130 17.4 push during the pandemic has reduced PagSeguro Digital 14.0 1.0 4.0 57.7 8.4 cu sto mer acquisition costs while *Note: Data as of November 20, 2020 the market breadth

enormous boost to the e-commerce industry, boosting online payments by consumers. The implications of the fintech industry’s multifunctional role have been extremely conducive to – and synchronised with – its massive expansion rates. The industry is anticipated to expand at a CAGR of 20 per cent between 2020 and 2025, reaching a market value of $305bn by 2025. Major companies and banks are investing deeply into expanding tech-integrated offerings to stay competitive, and these efforts are likely to drive the industry’s growth in the long run. Meanwhile, fresh developments within AI, blockchain, and other advanced technologies will continue to raise consumer demand, thus satiating the growing appetite for fintech services. Amid such strong industry dynamics, few investments make a more compelling case than fintech. In the private market, rising demand despite an economic slowdown has enabled massive fundraisings and strong valuations for many fintech companies. For instance, payments platform Stripe has witnessed incredible growth in 2020. With new funding, the firm has been expanding its offerings and making acquisitions such as that of Paystack for a reported $200m. Klarna is

EV/ Sales

10.9

EV/ EBITDA

41.13

Stock Price (USD)

52-Week High Low

192.7

215.8

82.1

11.3

1,407.7

196.0

201.3

32.3

6.2

259.9

57.4

64.4

6.7

11.3

69.8

70.2

17.7

2.3

6.1

42.6

45.8

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SOURCE: BLOOMBERG, YAHOO FINANCE

Shailesh Dash

another payments processing platform that has created ripples across the fintech sphere, with its latest $650m funding valuing the firm at $10.7bn, highlighting its attractiveness. An impressive performance by Australian fintech unicorn Airwallex (>100 per cent growth in Q3 2020 net revenue) has resulted in the firm garnering over $200m in three funding rounds since April, further enabling it to expand globally. UK-based Rapyd is another fintech player that has expanded at a staggering pace of 350 per cent to 400 per cent, and is expected to reach $100m in revenue in 2020, after a $1.2bn valuation in December 2019. The growing appeal has enabled fintech entrepreneurs including Robinhood’s Vlad Tenev and Baiju Bhatt, Chime’s Chris Britt, and Afterpay’s Nick Molnar and Anthony Eisen to achieve billionaire status during the crisis; while Klarna and Marqeta’s owners also inch towards it. Stock markets are by no means trailing, with listed fintechs’ stock prices rocketing to new highs. Fintechs have made a strong rebound in the months following the market crash in lateMarch 2020, as investor interest surged amid

improving market dynamics (Mastercard’s and Visa’s stocks surged 80 per cent and about 60 per cent respectively by August-end from their March lows; while fintech Lightspeed POS surged a whopping 323 per cent as of early November from its March lows). Amid the current volatile environment, investing in quality stocks has become imperative for investors. Moreover, market dips usually present lucrative opportunities for buying strong companies at a perceived discount, making a strong case for several fintech players. Select stocks that have shown particular potential and stood out over the last few months make a strong case for consideration. PayPal, the market leader in online payments, has returned nearly 500 per cent since its 2015 listing, and recorded sales and adjusted earnings growth at 25 per cent and 41 per cent y-o-y, respectively in Q3 2020. The firm is also growing its user base at a robust pace, acquiring complementary businesses including e-commerce to further expand its addressable market, thus making it a ‘strong buy’ in the current environment. Square is another

strong fintech firm, whose sales grew 55 per cent y-o-y in H1 2020 and beat revenue and earnings estimates in its Q3 2020 results. The firm’s stock is now 415 per cent up from March lows and 213 per cent up in 2020. A significant growth driver is its Cash App, which saw payment volumes jump 322 per cent y-o-y in Q3 2020, and offers strong potential for growth through its bitcoin technology. Meanwhile, newly listed fintech player Shift4Payments’ stock has surged 71 per cent since its listing in June 2020, and also beat earnings estimates in its Q3 2020 results. The payments processor’s business fundamentals suggest strong future prospects, with analysts rating it a ‘buy’ stock. Brazilian fintech StoneCo also presents a good buying opportunity as its stock has surpassed the market to rebound 291 per cent from April lows, while the firm’s Q3 2020 revenues also beat expectations to grow by 39 per cent y-o-y. Lastly, PagSeguro Digital, another Brazilian fintech’s stock has risen roughly 203 per cent from March lows, and 25 per cent YTD. The firm’s consistent performance (50 per cent growth in net income and 77.3 per cent annual sales growth over the past five years) is potentially indicative of a strong rise in long-term value. Demand for digital financial services has been accelerated by the pandemic, and new avenues within financial services are opening up for growth. This rising appetite has already pushed revenue, earnings, profit margins and stock prices to new highs for several fintech companies, which is evident from strong P/E multiples and valuations. Technological advancements, such as the rollout of 5G, further suggest that this trend is not likely to dim anytime soon. However, maintaining operational resilience should remain a top priority for fintech firms as many of them are transaction and volume based. Investors must keep an eye out particularly for fast-growing private fintech players that are eyeing a public listing in the coming months. Having said that, investors must also ensure that they separate the wheat from the chaff, and invest only in select companies that have a robust business model and are positioned to grow and thrive during, as well as post the current pandemic.

Disclaimer: This column is purely for academic and educational purposes. Nothing mentioned here should be taken as solicitation to trade or a recommendation of a specific trade. The author has direct exposure in recommended stocks.

REFORMING TO TAP TALENT Rules around foreign employment in the kingdom are set for an overhaul Zainab Mansoor

n a landmark announcement in November, Saudi Arabia introduced revised directives governing foreign labour in a bid to better regulate the local labour market by seeking to increase flexibility and competitiveness for workers, as well as foster job mobility. The Labour Reform Initiative (LRI), launched under the National Transformation Programme (NTP), applies to all expatriate workers employed in the kingdom’s private sector. The reforms come into effect in March 2021. The new initiative will regulate the exit and reentry visa issuance process, granting foreign workers flexibility to travel outside the kingdom after submitting a request with the employer’s approval no longer being required. Companies will be notified electronically of their employees’ departure. Similarly, final exit visa reforms will also enable expatriate workers to leave the country at the end of their contract without the employer’s consent.

December 2020

Big share As of Q1 2020, Saudi Arabia had 10.4 million foreign workers

“The kingdom’s recently announced labour reforms align well with the Vision 2030 reform plan. The aim of the reforms is to introduce more competition in the labour market, and also create conditions that make it more attractive for Saudi workers to join the private sector,” opines Ravi Bhatia, lead analyst Saudi Arabia, Sovereign Ratings at S&P Global Ratings. “Earlier limits on the ability for foreign workers to change jobs created rigidities and wage distortion in the system. Lifting these limits across several sectors should help improve the labour market’s functioning. As with reform programmes in any country, one of the most important factors will be how well the reforms are implemented and to what extent employers adhere to the new rules.” Employee mobility – which will enable expatriates to change employers upon the expiry of their work contract without the latter’s consent – arguably remains the talking point of these reforms. All the new services will be made available via the Absher mobile app and the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development’s Qiwa portal. “The stand out features of the reform are enabling expatriate workers to move employers and obtain entry and exit visas using smart applications. This will undoubtedly improve competition in the kingdom’s employment market as employers will now need to fight harder for the best talent. There may well be more recruitment incentives such as golden hello packages. We should also expect increasing sophistication in the local recruitment infrastructure,” notes Sachin Kerur, head of Middle East at Reed Smith. Luke Tapp, partner – employment at Pinsent Masons, adds: “The changes will have a very positive impact on the labour market of Saudi Arabia. The changes provide employees and companies with more flexibility when it comes to changing employers and visa sponsors within the country. Therefore, in terms of recruitment and talent acquisition, it should make the market more fluid and enable companies to attract the right people for the right roles.”

AT PAR WITH PEERS

Foreign employees 76.5%

SOURCE: GENERAL AUTHORITY FOR STATISTICS

The LRI complements similar initiatives launched by the kingdom in the past such as the wage protection system and the labour education and awareness initiative. In addition to developing labour competencies across the work ecosystem and curating a sense of balance, all these reforms are also anticipated to position Saudi’s local labour market at par with similar international peers when it comes to attracting skilled talent from across the world. As of the first quarter of 2020, Saudi Arabia had a total of 10.4 million foreign employees, constituting 76.5 per cent of gulfbusiness.com

PHOTO: TASNEEM ALSULTAN/BLOOMBERG VIA GETTY IMAGES

FEATURES / ECONOMY

The new reforms in Saudi Arabia are expected to make working conditions much more flexible for expatriates

“In the medium term and as the economy of Saudi Arabia continues to modernise and diversify, these types of changes will help to attract world class talent from all regions” its workforce, according to the General Authority for Statistics. Saudi Arabia also expects the reforms to bring about economic benefits, such as improve productivity within the private sector. Tapp at Pinsent Masons builds on this: “The financial and economic implications will be positive. The ability of companies to attract and properly compete for talent and experienced candidates already working within the country will only have a positive economic impact on salaries and business performance within Saudi Arabia. “In the medium term and as the economy of Saudi Arabia continues to modernise and diversify, these types of changes will help to attract world class talent from all regions into Saudi Arabia.” These reforms also fall in step with the NTP delivery plan 2018-2020, in which improving working conditions for expatriates, and attracting suitable gulfbusiness.com

global talent are listed as strategic objectives. “What is so important about the reforms is that they demonstrate there is no abatement in the appetite for delivering Vision 2030 and the NTP. In addition, they come on the back of other reforms. There should be no doubt as to the drive for change in the kingdom to underpin transformation in Saudi Arabia,” says Kerur. Tapp adds: “A key part of the Saudi 2030 is to diversify the economy and develop the private sectors and public service sectors such as health, education and tourism. These changes will create and facilitate a more flexible working environment and will drive healthy competition within those sectors to attract and retain talent. In the longer term, the changes will improve individual and company performance, which will, of course, help Saudi in driving towards its 2030 Vision.”

December 2020

FEATURES / POLITICS

Here’s what the business landscape is likely to look like under US President-elect Joe Biden, industry by industry

SHIFTING N

ow that the campaigning is over, the work begins for Joe Biden to start making good on the policy changes he promised. Here’s a breakdown of how a Biden presidency may affect some two dozen US industries and what might rise to the top of his agenda as he takes over from Donald Trump in January. A few giant tech companies – practically industries unto themselves – are included for good measure. There are recurring themes in this compilation: The more closely a company interacts with individual American consumers, the more pressing are matters of Covid-19 restrictions and wages. For technology and industrial companies, trade and visa policies are key. While there’s a chance Americans may not know until January whether Republicans keep control of the Senate, some executives are fine if the government stays divided because it lowers the odds of major legislation.

December 2020

Consumer segments AIRLINES Biden-era regulators may have a heavier hand than airlines felt under Trump. The Transportation Department gave airlines great leeway on consumer issues. Debates over seat space could be revived under Biden, as could the levels of aircraft carbon emissions. The DOT also has declined to mandate face coverings on planes. Potential Biden changes to the National Labour Relations Board may help union organisers at carriers such as Delta Air Lines. One question is whether a Biden administration would be more hostile to additional consolidation, especially if airlines’ finances worsen and creditors seek structural changes.

AUTOMAKERS Biden’s election cuts both ways for car companies. His plan to renew and fund more tax credits for consumers who buy electric vehicles could help manufacturers including General Motors, Ford, Tesla and Volkswagen AG that are investing

billions in electric models that still sell in small numbers. On the other hand, Biden is more likely to levy tougher emissions rules on the gas-burning vehicles that pay Detroit’s way.

MANUFACTURERS Major watch items include perennial concerns such as taxes and regulation, as well as trade – especially whether Biden will seek to improve global ties after four years of tensions stoked by Trump. The stakes are particularly high for aerospace companies in China, where a rebound in air travel offers a rare bright spot amid the coronavirus pandemic. That will put an even sharper focus on what is already a crucial market for Boeing, General Electric and Honeywell International. For defence contractors, Bernstein analyst Doug Harned expects spending priorities to be similar under either Biden or Trump because global threats are high, and building more planes and ships is a way to preserve US jobs and jolt the economy. Biden is widely expected to raise corporate taxes in line with his plan of hiking the rate to 28 per cent from 20 per cent currently. gulfbusiness.com

PHOTO: ANGELA WEISS/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES

AGENDAS RETAILERS Retailers, particularly those deemed nonessential such as department stores, could be at higher risk of more Covid-19-related closings under Biden. They also may have to contend with higher expenses, especially if Biden gets the federal minimum wage lifted to $15. That said, Biden also will renew stimulus talks with urgency, increasing the likelihood that American wallets and small businesses get a boost.

Money FINANCE Biden’s win could be good for Wall Street if he and lawmakers quickly pass a massive gulfbusiness.com

stimulus bill that boosts financial markets. But there’s a big risk for banks, hedge funds and private-equity firms over time if Biden concedes to progressive Democrats’ demands that he appoint industry skeptics to key roles at the Treasury Department, Federal Reserve and Securities and Exchange Commission – powerful entities that manage the economy and police trading. And Biden has pledged to rescind Trump’s tax cuts, which have been a boon for banks.

Technology ALPHABET It’s likely former Google employees will be

top candidates for Biden administration positions. That said, the attitude toward big tech has shifted considerably since the Obama years, and Biden may keep the tech giant at arm’s length because of concerns that Google has grown too big and powerful. Biden has spoken out specifically against Section 230, a part of a law from the early days of the internet that protects big platforms including Google Search and YouTube from being sued for things their users post. The companies contend the rule is vital to keeping the web free and open, but politicians increasingly want it changed. Biden could put energy behind the Democratic proposal to hold social-media platforms liable for the misinformation and harmful content posted on them. That could December 2020

FEATURES / POLITICS

increase the cost of moderating YouTube, or even slow growth if the company is forced to vet videos before they go up.

AMAZON.COM While a Biden administration would likely mean a break from Trump’s Twitter attacks on Amazon and its founder, Jeff Bezos, Democratic control over the White House and Congress could mean ramped-up antitrust scrutiny of the retail giant. The Democrat-led House Antitrust Subcommittee’s investigation included recommendations that, if passed into law, could place restrictions on Amazon’s ability to operate the largest online marketplace and sell its own goods in the same digital storefront.

APPLE Biden’s victory could be a major win for Apple, since he’s less likely to maintain a trade war with China and may loosen tariffs that have hurt the iPhone maker’s margins on some products. Biden also has pledged to reverse a Trump policy and offer more H1-B visas to foreign engineers Apple and other technology companies want to hire. Biden appears more likely to negotiate on antitrust issues; his criticisms about Big Tech hurt Apple’s quest to protect the way its App Store works.

CHIPMAKERS For the $400bn chip industry, Biden’s win probably will ratchet down a trade war between the US and China. Most US semiconductor makers have their products manufactured overseas, and the Trump administration imposed import tariffs that disrupted this global supply chain. Trump also slapped sanctions on Huawei Technologies and other Chinese tech companies, hurting the ability of US chipmakers to sell into the largest market for their products. In turn, China redoubled efforts to build a domestic chip industry and shed its dependence on US technology, earmarking billions of dollars for the effort. Any easing of these tensions will benefit the US chip sector.

SOCIAL MEDIA The end of the Trump era may make it easier for Facebook and Twitter to enforce their own rules without a sitting president at the middle of most debates. 42

December 2020

Biden’s arrival also might ease internal tension at the companies: Hundreds of Facebook employees held a virtual walkout in June, for example, after CEO Mark Zuckerberg refused to remove a Trump post about protests in Minneapolis. As Trump’s online platform of choice, Twitter may have the most to lose by his departure from the White House. A Biden presidency may temper political posts on TikTok, the music-video app that became a home for activist clips during the pandemic.

by central banks and governments – will be the main drivers to propel prices, said Michael Cuggino, portfolio manager at Permanent Portfolio Family of Funds.

COPPER, INDUSTRIAL METALS Industrial metals such as copper would be a big beneficiary from additional stimulus and infrastructure spending, according to analysts, including those at Goldman Sachs Group and JPMorgan Chase. The upside under a divided gov-

BIDEN HAS PLEDGED TO SPEND TRILLIONS OF DOLLARS TO SPEED UP THE TRANSITION FROM FOSSIL FUELS, SLASH EMISSIONS AND CURB CLIMATE CHANGE Commodities, energy ENERGY Biden’s victory could end up reshaping the US energy sector in years to come, although the president-elect may have limited room to maneuver if Republicans retain control of the Senate. Biden has pledged to spend trillions of dollars to speed up the transition from fossil fuels, slash emissions and curb climate change. Biden also has promised to ban new fracking on federal lands, which he may try to achieve via an executive order. Such a move would limit shale companies’ operations in several states, including New Mexico. Biden’s clampdown on emissions would reverse the Trump administration’s relaxation of environmental regulations. That potentially raises costs for the oil and gas industry.

GOLD The prospect of additional US stimulus after the election could dent the dollar and raise the specter of inflation, giving a lift to gold’s status as a store of value. Two circumstances that helped push bullion to its record – negative real yields and unprecedented liquidity provided

ernment will be more limited or delayed. Goldman says global spending on green infrastructure will fuel metals demand in the next few years, noting a “frontfooted” policy environment in Europe and China, with prospects for a similar US agenda under a Biden administration.

STEEL, ALUMINIUM These industries were a top priority for Trump’s tariffs and trade policies, and tariffs probably won’t go away any time soon under Biden, who hasn’t placed trade at the top of his first-actions list. Producers and consumers have adjusted for the 25 per cent duty on steel imports and the 10 per cent duty on aluminium, and removing them may alienate Midwesterners who helped elect Biden. It also would compel producers including US Steel, Century Aluminum and the United Steelworkers union to lobby for protections. It’s more likely Biden will keep the tariffs and embrace multilateral trade negotiations with key allies – the EU, Japan, Canada – to oppose subsidised companies in China that produce more than half the world’s steel and aluminum. Trump openly shunned multilateral trade partnerships, so this would be a big change in policy. Bloomberg gulfbusiness.com

ILLUSTRATION: GETTY IMAGES/ILIA-ART

S P E C I A L R E P O RT

GAMING IN THE GCC

SPECIAL REPORT

Scoring the right goals B Y DAV I D N D I C H U

multi-billion-dollar industry and an enthusiastic audience. The script for gaming in the GCC writes itself. A recent report by Frost & Sullivan lays bare the potential for gaming as an economic catalyst. According to the research firm, gaming in the MENA region is estimated to be worth $4.5bn. The number of Middle East gamers is believed to be over 100 million. The GCC will account for about 1.5 per cent of the global gaming market revenue by 2025, the report adds. It places Saudi Arabia in the 19th position globally in gaming revenues in 2019, at an estimated $837m. The sector is expected to grow at a 22.5 per cent CAGR over 2019-2025.

The UAE on the other hand ranks as the 35th largest gaming market in the world in terms of revenue as of 2019. Gamers in the UAE spend an average of 30 minutes per day on mobile games, the report added. Revenues from the global gaming industry are estimated to be larger than those of worldwide box offices, music streaming and album sales combined. To tap into this potential does however require substantial investment in infrastructure – both virtual and physical, a fact not lost on regional policymakers and investors. Existing and planned facilities put the GCC at the centre of this multi-billion-dollar industry. In Saudi Arabia, the upcoming $500bn hi-tech city of NEOM will have dedicated gaming/esports facilities, after the developer signed a memorandum of understanding with the Saudi Arabian Federation of Electronic and Intellectual Sports (SAFEIS). In Dubai, the TECOM Group plans to put up the Dubai X-Stadium, a dedicated esports venue it hopes will establish the emirate as a regional and global hub for hosting gaming events. Technical details have not been released, but renders envisage a futuristic stadium shaped like a giant overturned cone, connected by arcades catering to the wider ecosystem. In September, ‘The Arcade by Hub Zero’ opened its doors in the Al Khawaneej area of Dubai. The venue offers a variety of over 50 games to choose from, spanning artificial intelligence, virtual reality and motion capture genres. The facility also offers some pop culture hit video games such as Justice League, Batman and Mario Kart. Also on offer are retro classics such as Pacman and Space Invaders. In Abu Dhabi, the media and entertainment hub twofour54 is teaming up with gaming publisher Unity Technologies to develop a gaming ‘centre of excellence’ where local startups and students can learn the skills needed to succeed in the gaming industry. The training initiative will be accompanied by a subsidy package for developers, according to a statement from twofour54. The facility expects to house game development companies of all sizes, from startups to established companies, all of whom could benefit from the technical and business support services provided by Unity. Then there’s Pixel, a vast gaming complex being built at Al Qana, an upcoming waterfront destination in Abu Dhabi. Beirut-based Robocom VR has been tapped to provide the content and technology for Pixel. It will also include an esports academy to train the next generation of UAE esports stars, as well as an events space to host tournaments and a games arcade. Karim Ibrahim, CEO of Robocom VR says Pixel aims to elevate gaming in this region to match other global hotspots. “We have identified that there is a gap for gamers in the region,” says Ibrahim. “When we look at North America, East Asia, and parts of Europe, esports and gaming are prized and loved. The Middle East is no different; the community, passion, and love for gaming exist but the platform doesn’t yet. “Pixel at Al Qana aims to give our local talent that platform, to offer an even playing field with those in the other

ILLUSTRATION: GETTY IMAGES/MALTE MUELLER

ILLUSTRATION: GETTY IMAGES/YAROSLAV KUSHTA

SPECIAL REPORT continents, by providing the best gaming facilities and infrastructure in the industry,” he says. Pixel aims not only to entertain but to allow the gaming community to participate in competitive VR Leagues. Pixel will also be providing a facility for content creators, gaming streamers, or professional esports players participating in international competitions to hone their talents, adds Ibrahim. “The platform provided at Pixel is a leap in the right direction providing gamers with everything they need in terms of an immersive experience and an esports ecosystem. This is also supported by the Abu Dhabi government which wants to see gaming in this region grow by providing a space for local talents and developers to act as a catalyst for the gaming and esports industry,” he adds. Across town, Abu Dhabi Motorsport Management (ADMM), which manages the Yas F1 circuit, launched the Yas Heat esports team earlier this year. Yas Heat took part in the inaugural season of the V10 R-League, part of the Global Racing series. The team competed against motorsport household names such as Williams Esports, BWT Racing Point Esports Team, Ford (Fordzilla) and Jaesa Team Suzuki. Saif Al Noaimi, acting CEO of Abu Dhabi Motorsport Management says ADMM has a strategic focus to develop and invest in premium racing ventures, and virtual racing is a crucial pillar in this vision. “Esports, for us, was the next natural space to move into. Yas Heat is a realisation of that vision, bridging the gap between virtual and real-world racing, and providing a perfect way to engage new audiences in motorsport as well as help forge a new pathway into real-world racing,” he adds. Season one of the V10 R-League, in which Yas Heat competed, recently concluded. The team is looking forward to competing again in season two, says Noaimi. “Longer term, we are building a legacy, the next generation of racing excellence, and aiming to establish the academy element which is integrated across esports and racing. We want to help develop UAE racing talent to a level where individuals are ready to compete and succeed on the international stage,” he adds.

Training and development Just like any other sport, there’s a clear skills development path for those who want to take gaming to the next level. In addition to game creation services, business development support and academic training, the gaming centre at twofour54 will serve as a training and entrepreneurial platform for cultivating talent and launching new careers, a release by the centre says. Al Qana will also host an esports academy. “We believe the best way to grow esports in the region is to educate the public by providing numerous classes, dedicated professional coaches, and an environment to build on their skills. By growing the individual, we are growing the region,” says Ibrahim. “This will have a huge impact on the youth by highlighting team play, communication, and professionalism in gaming, as well as educating the previous generations on what gaming

From top: Pixel, a vast gaming complex being built in Abu Dhabi, will also include an esports academy The recently Launched Yas Heat took part in the inaugural season of the V10 R-League, part of the Global Racing series

has to offer when it comes to health, wellbeing, and possible career opportunities,” he adds. The University of Wollongong Dubai (UOWD) is also offering two gaming programmes. The first one is the Bachelor of Computer Science: Game and Mobile Development. This programme caters to the backend of game development, programming, design, architecture and infrastructure. Dr Michael Mallory, programme director, Media and Communication at UOWD, says the course is designed to equip learners with the skills to develop video games and related systems on computers and devices such as phones, tablets and wearable devices and to identify approaches to solving real-world problems in video games and multimedia systems. “Advances in science and technology such as human-computer interaction, the processing power of microprocessors, modelling of business processes, simulation of complex interactions, and the omnipresence of the internet have dramatically increased the scope of this field of work,” says Mallory.

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“This programme will prepare learners for various high indemand career paths in the entertainment industry, the game and mobile industry including game animator, designer, programmer, artist, and mobile app developer among others,” he adds. The university also offers a Bachelor of Communication and Media (BCM) – Digital and Social Media programme. This programme looks at the social, front-end aspects of gaming and game development. Other aspects include user experience, network culture, cyberculture, gaming aesthetics, storytelling, and gaming as a kind of transmedia. “While sitting down and writing the coding and programming for the games is extremely important, what goes into the coding, how the gamers experience the game, how the game lives in society, how it thrives, the social role of the game and many other aspects of gaming are all part of the approach we take,” Mallory explains. Meanwhile in Abu Dhabi, the Yas Heat project is hosting an ongoing Open Trials programme, intending to offer a platform for aspiring local competitors to hone their skills, progressing to a level where they can take part in tournaments around the globe, Noaimi reveals. “Our first round has completed and we are reviewing future applications with great interest,” he says.

“How the gamers experience the game, how the game lives in society, how it thrives, the social role of the game and many other aspects of gaming are all part of the approach we take” 49

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SPECIAL REPORT For Yas, the main challenge is a shortage of local well-known drivers, Noaimi says. “This is something we identified very early on in the process, and one of the main reasons we see Yas Heat as an integral part of the pathway programme to create future champions, aiming to nurture and develop aspiring local talent,” he adds. Two Emirati sisters – Amna and Hamda Al Qubaisi – who competed in the F4 event at last year’s Formula 1 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Race weekend, are a prime example of how drivers can inspire the next generation in the MENA region, Noaimi says.

Streaming Much like how TV revolutionised sports, streaming is emerging as a major force behind gaming and esports. Globally, streaming platforms such as Twitch have exploded in popularity in recent years. According to rating agency DecisionData, Twitch had an average of 7.4 million unique viewers during prime time in May 2020 in the US, more than TV hit shows like The Bachelor or American Idol. Streaming is also becoming popular in the region – StarzPlay Arabia secured the broadcast rights to the V10 R-League, having never previously shown esports. “There is a massive appetite for virtual motorsport which simply cannot be ignored, and motorsport/esports fans in the region can now access content as and when they wish via StarzPlay Arabia,” says ADMM’s Noaimi. The ability to partially shake off the stigma associated with gaming is behind its growing mainstream appeal. At best, gaming has historically been seen as a pastime of reclusive misfits; at worst, the genre has been blamed for acts of extreme violence. Playing games can teach teamwork and collaboration. It can also help teach people how to strategise, think in a nonlinear way, and develop critical thinking skills that are so vital to society today, Mallory of UOWD says. “Many games today require active thinking, they don’t follow a set path, a set template for success. This requires gamers to have to be able to adapt, be flexible, adjust, consider variables, and take a more holistic approach to thinking,” he adds. But the biggest thing going for gaming is the undeniable economic opportunity, which will only continue to grow, he says. “Not everyone will be a top-tier gamer or have the skills to compete on a high level. But the gaming industry provides a wide range of opportunities and career opportunities outside of the actual gaming. “Content creation and management, digital branding, hardware development, software development, social media management, network and platform interaction and design, and so many others are all fields I expect the demand will continue to grow,” he adds. Gaming is also today part of popular culture globally, no longer a misunderstood subculture. “Gaming is widely accepted as a recreational activity, a competitive activity, and as something to make a career out of,” says Mallory.

Future The regional demographical breakdown bodes well for gaming. More than half the population in the GCC is under 25 years of age, observes Ibrahim. “The barriers to entry, in comparison to real-world sports, are much lower, making esports inclusive, accessible and with talent the only requirement,” he explains. The UAE government has made clear the desire to see the development of digital media and a digital society. “With the support of the government, universities offering programmes in gaming, and the backing of the business community, I see huge potential for a robust gaming ecosystem in the not-toodistant future,” says Mallory. Hosting gaming events – such as conventions and competitions – are a great way to promote the UAE as a regional hub for gaming and esports, he says. “These events can help bring the gaming community together, as well as educate the general population as to what gaming is, what it can be, and what it can mean in the future.” Although Covid-19 has put a damper on live events in 2020, the action continues online, as the community waits for the space to open up next year. Last month, Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, UAE Minister of Tolerance and Coexistence, inaugurated the first edition of the UAE Tolerance Esports Games to promote the values of tolerance among the youth around the world. The virtual competition began on November 13, open to players from around the world. Set over two days, players competed in qualifiers with the finals being held and broadcasted on the second day. Meanwhile Esports Insider, a business news, media and events company, also held its ESI Digital Winter event that brings together gaming insiders for networking, education and debate. There are several esports teams based in the UAE and across the wider region, providing a solid foundation for future growth, says ADMM’s Noaimi. “The MENA region has been described as the world’s most active gaming community, so the future of regional gaming and esports is extremely bright,” he concludes.

“Not everyone will be a top-tier gamer. But the gaming industry provides a wide range of opportunities” 51

SPECIAL REPORT activity in the sector from 2018 to 2019. The expectation was for continued robust growth and investment in 2020, based on these stats. However, Covid-19 did dampen investment activity, with declines both month-over-month and year-on-year from February to April, Christoefl says.

Tournaments

Playing for keeps: The esports element B Y DAV I D N D I C H U

t goes without saying that the esports sector is booming. While much of the talk is around money spent by publishers in supporting tournaments, there’s a lucrative adjacent industry fuelled by investors, sponsors and fans. As the GCC moves to develop its esports product, nurturing the entire ecosystem will be key to success. During ESI Digital Winter, a virtual esports event organised by Esports Insider, experts explored how the ecosystem can thrive, with pertinent lessons for the GCC. Investors looking to diversify their portfolios are looking at esports, which offers much better returns than traditional assets and promises a positive future growth path. Christian Christoefl, vice president for Investment Banking at Deloitte, says there was a 25 per cent increase in investment

Hosting large esports tournaments such as League of Legends has a significant economic impact on cities, a fact not lost on regional authorities. NEOM, the futuristic city being built in Saudi Arabia, will have a dedicated gaming/esports zone. Meanwhile, Dubai has plans to build a large esports venue, dubbed the X Stadium. Ronnie Hansen, director of Sport, Culture and Media at Geelmuyden.Kiese, a media and communication company, says one of the reasons why gaming is so lucrative for host cities is the international nature of esports. Dedicated fans gather from all over the globe to cheer on their favourite stars and take in the latest trends in the sector. “For other events, even though they’re international, the critical mass is largely local or near locals, whereas esports events will have people travelling from all over the world.” Another reason is sheer demographics, says Hansen. Contrary to popular opinion, the average esports player/enthusiast is not a kid. “Fans are typically male, well-educated and relatively well-incomed. And they’re quite interested in all sorts of other cultural/social events and will frequent restaurants and bars in the host cities, in addition to hotel stays.” Although cities are increasingly attracted to hosting esports events, the level of sophistication with which they do that varies greatly. Ulrich Schulze, senior vice president – Product at ESL Gaming, which organises large-scale gaming and esports events, says the ideal host is not necessarily a large city. A megacity like New York will typically have so much else happening, any event would struggle to grab public attention, Schulze says. Additionally, such cities tend to be very expensive for travelling fans. “We are not necessarily looking for a big city name, but rather the infrastructure. And what we tend to see is that second or third-tier cities often have a stronger focus on making sure that things work well. This means there’s more room to work with them,” says Schulze. Paul Petersson Rebello, esports coordinator for Malmo in Sweden, says the relatively small city goes the extra mile to give event organisers added value when they host events there. Malmo hosted the Dreamhack Masters esports tournament in 2019, attracting over 24,000 fans during the weekend. The city was also expected to host the League of Legends European Championship (LEC) summer 2020 finals before Covid-19 struck. Hansen says event companies that can build long term assets in the host city will win in the end. “They should look beyond immediate financial gain but aim for meaningful and longer-lasting impact on the community. Events that are just

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NEOM, the futuristic city being built in Saudi Arabia, will have a dedicated gaming/esports zone. Meanwhile, Dubai has plans to build a large esports venue, dubbed the X Stadium

passing through with little local input do not receive the same sort of support from the host cities,” he adds. Having engaged local leadership helps cities that want to host esports events. “We invite local politicians to come with us on trips to watch esports to make sure that they understand gaming and esports and what they are worth,” says Rebello. Hansen notes that countries such as Scandinavia have politicians that are much younger than other countries. He gives the example of the Minister of Business in Denmark who is 31 and very interested in gaming. The Minister of Culture in Sweden, who is yet to turn 40 is also a gaming enthusiast. “Such leaders have gaming instilled in their upbringing, which helps,” he adds.

Sponsorship Millions of dollars in corporate sponsorship money is being invested in esports. Spike Laurie, head of Sales, Marketing and Business Development at Prize Payments, a platform for

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distributing winnings, says major corporate brands want to sponsor esports/gaming but don’t necessarily know where to put their money. Also, investors who want to buy into teams, are having trouble in valuing their worth. “If you were allowed to buy Manchester United football club 50 years ago at 10 times the market value, you would have thought it was a terrible deal because it would have been overpriced. Today, that price would seem like a steal. Similarly, investors are struggling to value esports teams,” he explains. Debs Scott-Bowden, account director at CSM Sport and Entertainment, says there are various pathways available for brands looking to get into esports sponsorship. They may choose a more traditional approach similar to sports teams, or sponsor tournaments. Creating content offers much more flexibility, she adds. Yann Salsedo, head of Esports EMEA at Razer, a manufacturer of gaming hardware, says esports offers brands the

opportunity to engage as much or as little as they wish. “Commitment could be as narrow as having a logo on teams’ jerseys to sponsoring tournaments or working with federations,” he says. The business model for esports sponsorship is changing as the space matures. Salsedo says Razer – for instance – chose to work with fewer teams but to deepen its relationships with those it picks. “We may choose to design future products with athletes or generate content in collaboration with teams. “We don’t want to be mere sponsors. We want to be partners and prefer long-term collaborations. We’re looking to create sound connections with teams, players, as well as communities,” he adds. Juandre Bekker, senior online manager, Europe for Samsung says the company is also not keen on mindless investing in teams and tournaments. “We are a lot more selective in what we’re doing,” Bekker says.

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Grassroots Although there has been tremendous growth in esports in the last decade or so, the sector still lacks the deep roots you would find with conventional sports. Grant Johnson, CEO, Esports Entertainment Group notes that investment in esports is lagging when compared to traditional sports: “There’s not a town in the UK that doesn’t have a soccer pitch. Yet I bet you there are not five esports facilities in the whole country. To have a healthy pro league system, you’ve got to have the underlying infrastructure as the feeder system. As investors, we do plan to be aggressively putting those facilities throughout North America and in the European markets.” But esports is more inclusive than sports and therein lies its greatest potential. Hansen of Geelmuyden.Kiese describes

“It doesn’t matter what gender you are, how you look or how old you are. It is very easy to get involved in esports and gaming in general” 56

esports as a truly agnostic product. “It doesn’t matter what gender you are, how you look or how old you are. It is very easy to get involved in esports and gaming in general.” He says communities that understand how to utilise esports as an agent of social change will derive the most benefits out of the genre. “Economic benefits are one thing but using this medium to involve young kids who are not normally engaged with community affairs is an amazing catalyst for inclusion. This is sort of the only activity where it doesn’t at all matter what your social status or your background is,” he adds. But for the sector to grow in the region and worldwide, it will have to shake off the Covid-19 blues. Gaming and esports startups have had a difficult time this year because networking events stalled, forcing them to lean on existing networks, Christoefl observes. “Decision-makers are also more reticent about making decisions around the business in the uncertainty surrounding the pandemic,” he adds. The esports live events circuit has borne the brunt of the pandemic, forcing a lot of events companies to pivot, almost going back to the old school way of doing things of developing the grassroots gaming scene, Christoefl says. That said, industry players are already looking beyond 2020. “Interest will be even bigger than before as we see no decline in the general interest. So, it’s just about making the agreements now for future events,” says Hansen. As the esports industry recovers from a difficult 2020, the GCC and its esports stakeholders can leverage the momentum to build a true gaming/esports ecosystem for the region and the world.

SPECIAL REPORT

The billion-dollar opportunity

The latest market estimates and forecasts for games and esports 28%

Europe, Middle East and Africa

$4.8bn

10%

Latin America

In 2020

Where do the gamers live? Distribution per region

2.7bn 758m 1.5bn Gamers accross the world

In Europe, Middle East and Africa

In Asia Pacific, the largest share

North America

...and what do they use to play Global games market value per device in 2020 $77.2bn

Mobile

$63.6bn

Smartphone games

$36.9bn

PC Boxed/downloaded PC games

$33.9bn $13.7bn

Tablet games $3bn

Money, money

Up in the sky

2020 esports global revenue streams TOTAL ESPORTS REVENUES

Publisher Fees 108.9m Sponsorship 584.1m

Asia Pacific

$45.2bn

Console

Browser PC games

55%

Merchandise and Tickets 52.5m

Media Rights 163.3m

Streaming 19.9m

Global cloud gaming market cap forecast

$1.1bn

$585m

2019

$950.3m 2020

$170m

2019

2020

2023

SOURCE: RESEARCH FIRM NEWZOO

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“THE WHOLE REASON I DID GAMES WAS BECAUSE PEOPLE SAID, ‘YOU CAN'T DO IT.’ I‘M ONE OF THE GUYS, IF YOU TELL ME I CAN'T DO SOMETHING, I‘LL TURN AROUND AND DO IT”

J E R R Y L AW S O N , I N V E N TO R O F T H E V I D E O GA M E CA RT R I D G E

DEC

Lifestyle

Swiss Time

Visitors from the UAE no longer need to quarantine when travelling to Switzerland. Here’s how the GCC can make a difference to the Swiss tourism industry p.65

“The League of Legends final commanded 22 million live viewers. In context, the NBA finals commanded 18 million” -Mike Davis, regional director for the Middle East and Africa at CSM Sport & Entertainment

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Montblanc x Pirelli A limited-edition slick black polycarbonate lightweight shell with wheels designed at Pirelli’s R&D labs December 2020

Lifestyle / Sports

Across the finish line From accurately measuring returns on investments to considering value-to-cost propositions, major conglomerates from the UAE are successfully navigating the sports sponsorship industry and the mega-money involved in it BY VARUN GODINHO

ccording to a recent PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) Sports Survey report, the annual growth rate for the sports market will likely slow from 8 per cent to 3.3 per cent over the next 3-5 years. However, a major driver of that market will continue to be brand sponsorships, led by investments worth tens of billions annually. Mike Davis, regional director for the Middle East and Africa at CSM Sport & 60

December 2020

Entertainment, estimates that pre-Covid, the global brand partnership industry was worth around $70bn annually. Of that, the Middle East and North Africa accounted for around $2.8bn – an amount that although far smaller than North American and European markets, still isn’t a figure to be mocked. With the Covid-19 pandemic taking a sledgehammer to the global economy, some of the hardest-hit industries including

aviation and tourism were aware that they can ill afford to drop brand visibility. “We have continued with a number of our sponsorships this year, but all of the overseas events have been scaled back and held without spectators including our two sporting events in Ireland – the Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby at the Curragh Racecourse in June and the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open which was held at Galgorm Castle Golf Club in September,” Colm McLoughlin, executive vice chairman and CEO of Dubai Duty Free told Gulf Business. “All of the events still provided us with TV coverage, so our brand was visible to the international audience and the message that ‘Dubai is Open’ was very evident,” added McLoughlin while confirming that Dubai Duty Free continued its participation with this year’s Omega Dubai Moonlight Ladies Classic in November and said that discussions were ongoing with the Dubai Sports Council about the next edition of the Dubai Duty Free Championships. “While we do not envisage a return to normalcy for any of them in 2021, we are hopeful that more will be staged next year (compared to some events being cancelled this year),” said McLoughlin. gulfbusiness.com

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PHOTO: MICHAEL STEELE/GETTY IMAGES

McLoughlin’s pragmatic comments about a return to normalcy underscore the need for brands to continue to engage with sport. As CSM’s Davis explains, statistics produced by Kantar showed that 63 per cent of people are more likely to do business with a brand that aligns itself to something they’re passionate about, 74 per cent feel more loyalty to a brand that is involved in sports and entertainment, and that brand partnerships help to humanise brands and give them relevance. “Research shows that if you perceive a brand experience to be human, you’re 1.9 times more likely to recommend that brand and 1.7 times more likely to [make a] purchase. There’s a science and methodology to brand partnerships,” notes Davis. Major companies in the UAE have pushed forward a multi-tiered and big-budget approach to sports partnerships. Abu Dhabibased carrier Etihad signed a reported GBP400m 10-year-deal with Manchester City back in 2011 that has gone beyond just a prominent logo on the team’s t-shirt. On the same day that the airline announced the mega deal in July 2011, it announced it would begin twice-daily flights from Manchester to Abu Dhabi the following month – showing that a sponsorship agreement has a long tail beyond the sports pitch.

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“Research shows that if you perceive a brand experience to be human, you’re 1.9 times more likely to recommend that brand and 1.7 times more likely to [make a] purchase”

Opposite page: The Formula 1 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix 2020 will take place on December 13 Below: Tadej Pogacar, member of the UAE Team Emirates, won the 2020 Tour de France

“The key objectives for us are to drive awareness, positive sentiment and ultimately traffic, towards both Abu Dhabi and Etihad,” says Yasser Al Yousuf, vice president of commercial partnerships at Etihad. “There are additional benefits that come with sponsorships such as access to data, and unique corporate hospitality experiences that allow us to entertain key partners with ‘money can’t buy’ entertainment experiences.” Davis cites another example of Dubaibased global port operator DP World as being “a gold standard” when it comes to deep-rooted sports partnerships that make good business sense too. DP World, a company which is already the global partner of the European Tour and title sponsor of the DP World Tour Championship, came on board as global logistics partner and title partner for the Renault Formula 1 Team at the start of the 2020 season. “They [DP World] are now considered to be a partner of choice when it comes to logistics requirements for the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance procurement office. That has allowed them to pick up business with the organisation,” explains Davis. Also earlier this year, DP World backed the multi-billion dollar Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise as its global logistics partner and also signed a long-term sponsorship agreement with Royal Challengers Bangalore. “With an overall viewership of 462 million, the T20 tournament is one of the largest sporting events in the world. Our partnerships highlight DP World’s capabilities in the business of sports, which not only includes creating value around major global sporting events, but also designing agile and responsive supply chain solutions for sports brands across global markets,” said a spokesman for DP World. DP World acquired Transworld Feeders and Avana Logistek the month before inking the agreement with RCB. Keeping its branding top of mind among nearly half a billion viewers, a very large share December 2020

Lifestyle / Sports

of which is from the Indian subcontinent, can only be good for business. THE BUSINESS OF SPORTS PARTNERSHIPS

“Covid has exposed the sports marketing industry for perhaps not being as robust a business as it should be”

The core revenue streams for the sports marketing world are broadcasting and media rights, brand partnerships, licensing and merchandising, and gate revenues. The latter two of those four streams have taken a sizeable hit due to most major sporting events being closed off to the public entirely. “Rights holders are desperate for revenue. It is a buyer’s market at the moment. Covid has exposed the sports marketing industry for perhaps not being as robust a business as it should be. Rights holders now need to think smarter and deliver more quantifiable results,” said Davis. But before Davis and his team, whose clients include DP World, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund and NEOM as well as Bahrain sovereign wealth fund Mumtalakat, talk about quantifiable results to their clients seeking to partner with sporting events, they discuss a value-to-cost ratio with them. “We establish a valuation of how much they would pay if they were to buy those rights on Above: Etihad signed a 10-year deal with Manchester City in the open market – whether 2011 estimated to be valued at GBP400m that is the media value or the hospitality value of Right: Mike Davis, the experience – and overlay them with the regional director cost of the brand partnership itself. If the for the Middle rights holders are asking for $1m, and the East and Africa value being derived from it is $4m, then you at CSM Sport & have a value-to-cost ratio of 4:1. Typically, Entertainment you’re looking for a value-to-cost ratio of anything north of 2.2:1 that demonstrates good value,” explains Davis. Determining a good value-to-cost ratio it. Research tells us business to consumer may result in negotiating a contract sucbrands spend on average 2.2 times more cessfully, but then as Davis says, the amount than the rights fee on activation. In busipaid for the contract often neglects a vital ness-to-business brands, that comes down component of any brand partnership – the to 0.83 to 1. So for every $1 I spend on my activation fee. “Often people forget when rights fee, I spend $0.8 more in activating it.” you enter into a brand partnership that you That activation fee is spent on three main pay a rights fee, but you also need to activate areas: live experiences and creating bespoke 62

December 2020

events for the brand’s stakeholders; furthering its storytelling through PR and social media; and the all-important area of measurement evaluation. “Success is measured in two areas: one is the footprint of brand partnership which is the metrics you get from what media value did you get, the levels of attendance, the number of customers or prospects you engaged with – those are quantifiable immediate results. The other is measuring the impact – if one of your objectives was to engage with customers to drive more revenue, then you need to have a way of measuring that. You need to be able to say that I invited customer X, they had this experience, and it led to this outcome.” Several brands have instituted comprehensive measurement systems – and recorded equally impressive metrics justifying their investment. “Dubai Duty Free commissions third-party brand evaluation companies such as YouGov Sport, Neilsen or SMG Insight,” says Dubai Duty Free’s CEO McLoughlin. “Last year’s Dubai Duty Free Irish Open in Lahinch Golf Club generated over $243m worth of media value of which $74.2m is for the Dubai Duty Free brand alone, while the media analysis for the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships this year generated an estimated $1.53bn worth of TV exposure for Dubai, of which $737m is for the Dubai Duty Free brand alone.” Resonating those huge returns on investment, CEO of cycling outfit UAE Team Emirates, Mauro Gianetti reportedly said last December that the team generates $400m in returns for its sponsors. With Tadej Pogačar clinching victory at this year’s Tour de France, that figure could only be enhanced. That Emirates continues to associate itself with a wide range of sports including football, rugby, baseball, horse racing, motorsport, golf and tennis, means it has one of the best represented portfolios of sports sponsorships among its UAE counterparts. Meanwhile, to encourage a more direct way for brands to measure their returns, Toli Makris, a Greek entrepreneur and mixed martial arts promoter who is also the co-founder and CEO of EX Sports, recently introduced a digital collectable platform based on blockchain technology. Through the EX platform, fans can buy collectables backing their favourite players. Should their chosen player win, the gulfbusiness.com

Lifestyle / Sports

Colm McLoughlin (third from left), at the 2020 Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships

prize money of up to $10,500 earlier this year. But Davis cautions that brands won’t have a slam dunk entry into esports which has a young, switched-on audience. “The audience within esports is very critical of anyone who comes into their ecosystem. My advice to any brand considering esports is that they need to have absolute clarity on the value they will bring to that audience.” Bringing added value to that esports audience will be EX Sport’s Makris with the THE FUTURE OF SPONSORSHIPS upcoming EFN Champions League, which If there is one sport that has leapfrogged the will be held in Dubai next competition to become year. The hybrid event one of the most soughtwill include live mixed after sports for brands to martial arts events and back, it is esports. worth of TV exposure for esports too. Each team “The League of LegDubai by Dubai Duty Free will have players particiends final commanded 22 Tennis Championships this year pating in live Muay Thai million live viewers. In and Jiu-Jitsu events, while context, the NBA finals under the same roof their commanded 18 million gaming counterparts will be competing virand basketball is the third-most followed tually on esports games including Mortal sport in the world. We’re seeing a 43 per Kombat and Street Fighter. cent year-on-year growth in the number of Overall, rather than cutting back, brands professional esports athletes coming to the have taken a counterintuitive approach market, and a 42 per cent annual tournato continue their plans with brand sponment prize money growth,” says Davis. sorship. Last month, Etihad signed a It’s reason enough for the likes of BMW multi-year sponsorship deal with the UAE Middle East, for example, to launch a threeFootball Association to support UAE’s day Fortnite Summer Gaming Festival with fans will receive tokens which can be spent within the ecosystem itself and on the participating sponsors. So for example, these tokens can be redeemed for airline miles by an aviation sponsor or for room upgrades by a hospitality partner which will thereby incentivise spends by fans and will also allow these brands to measure their returns effectively.

$1.53bn

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national football teams, including the First team, Olympic team, and the Youth teams. The new Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi will also be the new home to the UFC, another sport that can likely attract bigger sponsors as it continues to stage events despite the pandemic. With none of the other big companies in the UAE including Mubadala or ADNOC changing the course with their major sports partnership agreements, they’ve made it clear that their strategy is long-term and robust.

“My advice to any brand considering esports is that they need to have absolute clarity on the value they will bring to that audience” December 2020

Lifestyle / Travel

A Swiss state of mind The Swiss tourism industry, rattled by the Covid -19 pandemic, is plotting a hard-fought comeback beginning this winter BY VARUN GODINHO

ccording to figures shared by Switzerland’s Federal Statistical Office, last year was a record for the Swiss hotel industry. It recorded 39.6 million overnight stays, up 1.9 per cent year-on-year. Foreign visitors accounted for 21.6 million of those stays, while Swiss nationals registered 17.9 million overnight stays at hotels across the country. The Covid-19 pandemic has, expectedly, turned those numbers upside down. The government initially forecasted a 6.2 per cent contraction in the economy back in June, but subsequently revised that to -3.8 per cent in October, and a positive +3.8 per cent growth in GDP next year supported, of course, by its tourism industry (tourism-related gross value added to the Swiss economy in 2019 stood at CHF19.5bn). Helping drive traffic from this region is Matthias Albrecht, GCC director for Switzerland Tourism, who says that latest figures show a decline of 40 per cent of overnight stays in the period from JanuarySeptember 2020, most of that generated by a dip in international guests. “In the past few years, GCC tourists were responsible for roughly one million overnights in Switzerland. Daily expenditure of GCC tourists is around CHF420 per day, which meant that tourists from the GCC generated about CHF420m turnover per year in Switzerland.” He reveals that the two biggest source markets from the GCC are the UAE (35 per cent) and Saudi Arabia (35 per cent), with Kuwait and Qatar accounting for between gulfbusiness.com

Travelling from the UAE to Switzerland is possible without having to quarantine in Switzerland

11-12 per cent each, and the remaining coming from Bahrain and Oman. “The number one destination is Geneva, followed by Zurich, Interlaken, Lake Geneva Region (Lausanne and Montreux) as well as Lucerne and Lugano. Most of the GCC guests are leisure tourists and combine business, leisure and health visits. Most of them travel during the summer months.” With this year’s summer dominated by global airport closures and restricted travel, Albrecht hopes the winter cycle will provide the fillip to the industry. The Swiss winter (December-March) generally attracts CHF2bn a year. To that end, Switzerland Tourism has launched the ‘Try something for the first time this winter’ campaign which aims to introduce travellers to unique experiences such as a gourmet meal aboard a hot air balloon as you take in the sights of Geneva, paragliding from the Metschstand

“Daily expenditure of GCC tourists is around CHF420 per day, which meant the GCC generated about CHF420m turnover per year”

mountain at night, skitouring in CransMontana or staying at an igloo hotel in Igloo Village in Gstaad at the Saanerslochgrat mountain station where the snow huts can accommodate up to six people. “Conscious travel is emerging as a key trend. People expect to travel less frequently, so they want to maximise each trip with more once-in-alifetime opportunities,” explains Albrecht. The Swiss tourism industry associations have created a ‘Clean and Safe’ label that attests to tourism establishments complying with protection protocols and hygiene standards set out by the local authorities. But beyond health concerns, restrictions still apply at a governmental level. “Due to Schengen regulations, currently only Europeans and European residents are allowed to travel to Switzerland. That’s why we aim to have a procedure of ‘testing instead of quarantine’ in place and without differentiating between nationalities – a practice which is done very successfully in Dubai, but lacks acceptance in Europe so far.” However, Albrecht adds: “Travelling from the UAE to Switzerland is currently possible without having to quarantine in Switzerland.” Presently, Swiss International Airlines, Emirates and Etihad operate flights between the cities of Dubai and Abu Dhabi and Swiss cities Zurich and Geneva. “We receive feedback from our guests in the GCC and they really want to travel again. That’s why I believe that by summer 2021 [at the] latest we will see many people returning to Switzerland.” The winter season could be the Swiss tourism industry’s opening salvo. December 2020

Lifestyle / Fashion

Vision 2020

Danish family-owned Lindberg, led by Henrik Lindberg, is often referred to as the “Apple of the eyewear business”. Here’s why BY VARUN GODINHO

ou could characterise a young Henrik Lindberg growing up in the Seventies as someone who wanted to get as far away as he could from the eyewear business. His father, Poul-Jørn, was an optometrist and Henrik had realised, first-hand, the labourintensive nature of the profession that necessitated a commitment that required long hours invested daily and spilled into weekends too. “I promised myself when I was a kid and a teenager that I would never ever enter the optical business,” Henrik, the founder, CEO and creative director of Danish family-owned eyewear company Lindberg, tells Gulf Business. “So I graduated as an architect and began working as an architect.” At around the same time though, his father reached an age where he required to start wearing glasses. Dissatisfied with any of the options that were available in the market, he decided to design his own. Henrik had a keen sense of design, and Poul-Jørn approaching his son to work on the design was an organic decision. “My father asked if I could spend some evening and weekends together with him to find if we could make something. In the beginning, the idea for us was to finalise a design and then find someone who could manufacture that design. My plan was to go back to the architecture business when this was over.” But that wasn’t to be the case. The design that the father-son duo were working on was a radical one. The minimalist frame design that they conceived didn’t have 66

December 2020

screws, rivets or welded components. While Henrik says that they initially considered working with stainless steel, the family came across titanium, a material that at the time had largely been used by commercial enterprises and was extensively used in the space industry. “We came in contact with titanium which was at the time just released for commercial use. It suddenly lifted the project from being an eyewear design product to something completely new for the eyewear business.

Clockwise from above: The Lindberg by Al Jaber store in The Dubai Mall; Its top-of-theline Precious collection includes frames entirely handcrafted in Denmark; Henrik Lindberg is the founder, CEO and creative director at Lindberg

“The manufacturers we thought could help us, couldn’t because they didn’t have the machinery to bend the wire without scratching it. That was when we decided we needed to make everything ourselves. Before we could make and sell the first piece, we had to make the tools.” It led to a three-year journey to create its first collection, the AIR titanium frames. From designer to manufacturer, it was time for the brand to market itself. But rather than going the distributor route, they decided to go direct to the optometrist – a model they follow to this day – and started by attending as many trade fairs as they could to generate a buzz. Henrik recalls attending one such trade fair at the World Trade Centre in Dubai over three decades ago, during which the brand earned its first customers in the region. Since then, it has expanded to other countries in the region including Kuwait, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia which have been strong markets for it. “Today Lindberg has more than 5,000 partners in over 135 countries. We only have one boutique [of our own], but we have boutiques which are named Lindberg. In Dubai, there is one. These are customers of Lindberg who want to exclusively sell Lindberg products. We have such stores in the Middle East, China, Holland, Germany. These are good partners – not a franchise, but partners who are allowed to use the Lindberg name,” notes Henrik. In the UAE, Lindberg has partnered with Al Jaber Optical and Magrabi Optical, while in Saudi Arabia it is available through Al Badr boutiques, in Bahrain with Optica stores and Kuwait with International Optique. Henrik says that the brand has found a high turnaround of its products here in the region. “The shifting cycle of an eyewear in Western Europe is around four years, in an Arab country it is less than a year,” says Henrik, while adding, “Most of the eyewear we are selling in the Arab market is not to tourists, but the resident population.”

fter its pioneering use of titanium, Lindberg has marched forward an agenda of material innovation. It began to use acetate, which is made of cotton, and combined it with titanium to create pieces like the Air Titanium Rim Rui which has an inner rim made of acetate which is mounted without any adhesive. gulfbusiness.com

Lifestyle / Fashion

Lindberg has also worked with buffalo horn, a material whose chemical composition stubbornly attempts to return it to its original shape, and hence the Lindberg team of engineers had to work at breaking down its structure to make it suitable for its use in eyewear. Its træ+buffalo collection, for example, combines horn with fine wood variants including olive, padauk and smoked oak. The brand has also been using a new composite material, for which it worked with chemical engineers to design the ultralightweight material that combines with titanium. With all these material innovations, it is not uncommon to find frames that weigh as little as 2 grams. Its top-of-the-line Precious collection includes frames, entirely handcrafted in Denmark, and made from 18-carat yellow gulfbusiness.com

“Lindberg is the biggest manufacturer of precious metal eyewear in the world. Some of them include pink or blue diamonds which are difficult to get a hold of ”

gold, pink gold, white gold, platinum and black gold. Lindberg accepts several bespoke orders too, for which the brand also sets rare stones on the frames if the customer requests it. Henrik cites the example of an Indian customer who, around four years ago, ordered a pair of frames set with two very rare stones from the Argyle mine in Australia renowned for its pink diamonds. With the mine set to close next year, he says that the value of those two stones itself has climbed around 40 per cent since the purchase. “Lindberg is the biggest manufacturer of precious metal eyewear in the world. Some of them are made with a jeweller and include pink or blue diamonds which are difficult to get hold of. You can buy a few pieces on tender in Hong Kong once a year.” Lindberg’s positioning as being “the Apple of eyewear” means it has a firm organic following among celebrities. You’ll spot a pair on the likes of Bill Gates, Brad Pitt, Queen Elizabeth II (she favours the rimless Spirit 61 frame) and Queen Margrethe II of Denmark. It has also been appointed to the Royal Danish Court and the Danish Queen is a regular customer at the optometrist shop run by Henrik’s sister. “Fifty per cent of all the frames we sell are made specifically for one end user somewhere in the world. After we get the prescription of how long to the ear, how wide the nose, as well as the colour combination, we put it together and ship it to the optician.” While the now 35-year-old brand forges on, Henrik will eventually need to determine a succession plan. His eldest son lives in Copenhagen and works as a software engineer, while his younger son is training with the company’s toolmakers. Henrik’s sister, an optometrist who took over their parents’ optical shop after their father retired 20 years ago, is also the co-owner of Lindberg. Her younger son works as an optometrist in the shop while the older son is in a design school in the south of Denmark. “I don’t know what they want. I don’t want to press them, because this is a 24x7 operation,” says Henrik, only too aware of how he felt about the business when growing up. “I still enjoy my work and still feel I can deliver something.” Pointing towards a self-confident outlook for the business, Henrik adds, “We don’t have to cover the entire eyewear market, we only have to have a little part of it.” No one need remind him that he may have captured the most lucrative little part of it. December 2020

Lifestyle / Horology

Ticking green Brands are no longer separating the idea of sustainability and environmental consciousness from fine watchmaking BY VARUN GODINHO

rovenance, pedigree and craftsmanship have always been the pride points for the watchmaking industry. Sustainability was merely a cursory consideration, in part because these were small-batch creations made by a handful of artisans and also because of the inter-generational life cycle of the finished products that often ended up being an heirloom. “What we do in fine watchmaking is very labour intensive, so it’s a lot of energy used. Yes, there is an initial [environmental] impact when making a fine mechanical watch, but that watch is going to last decades. So, the impact over the whole lifespan is much more evened out,” states Stephen Forsey, co-founder of La Chaux-de-Fonds watchmaker Greubel Forsey. He made the remarks during a panel discussion titled

December 2020

“You cannot ignore the fact that younger generations are more conscious of the environmental and social impact of their purchases”

Means to the End of the World, held as part of the virtual Horology Forum organised by the Dubai Watch Week in October. But with the watch industry ramping up production post the Quartz Crisis, it could no longer ignore its environmental impact. More recently, however, the impetus to implement sustainable practices stems from a new kind of customer that has forced luxury brands to talk about sustainability. “It’s the consumer and the new generation forcing us in this direction. Even our employees force my family and shareholders to think beyond producing luxury watches – and to how we are producing them. Those millennials are pushing us every day,” explains Forsey’s co-panellist Edouard Meylan, CEO of H. Moser & Cie. Resonating this is Patrick Pruniaux, CEO of Kering Swiss watchmaking maisons Ulysse Nardin and Girard-Perregaux, who tells Gulf Business about this new consumer mindset. “There is a new type of consumer who sympathises with zero-waste and circular economy. You cannot ignore the fact that younger generations are more conscious of the environmental and social impact of their purchases.” Pruniaux has a well-defined action plan. He says that both Ulysse Nardin and GirardPerregaux’s sustainability strategy share targets for 2025, many of which have already been met. These targets include using 100 per cent traceable key raw materials, reducing its environmental footprint by at least 40 per cent, including carbon emissions by 50 per cent, and deploying social, environmental and animal welfare standards across its supply chain. He is also doubling down on the product innovation front. In October, Ulysse Nardin unveiled its new R-Strap, made of recycled fishing nets, compatible with its Diver, Marine and Freak X timepieces. But the real challenge is to create a watch using as many sustainable components as possible. “The biggest challenge will be to provide “habillage” – the outside design of the watch – with recycled materials that are aesthetically high-quality and luxurious.” gulfbusiness.com

Lifestyle / Horology

still want the traditional luxurious packaging box which includes materials such as wood and leather, Breitling still offers that option although it asks those customers to make a voluntary donation to charity organisation SUGi which works to restore biodiversity. Further examples among other watchGeorges Kern, Patrick Pruniaux, makers can be found among the Richemont Breitling CEO CEO of Ulysse Group, which rolled out an all-new line of Nardin and Girardwatches, Baume, two years ago that put susPerregaux tainability at its very core and eschewed the use of precious stones, precious metals or Taking a step in that direction, Ulysse animal materials. It includes cases made Nardin recently unveiled its Diver Net Confrom recycled aluminium, straps made cept timepiece that uses recycled marine from recycled plastic or even cork. materials in the construction of several comBeyond consumers, there are other ponents. “The Diver Net concept watch’s external factors also forcing the change. As case, middle, back and bezel decoration are Meylan’s and Forsey’s co-panellist, Aline fabricated from recycled fishing nets by the Sylla-Walbaum, the global managing direcFrench startup Fil & Fab. The strap is woven tor Luxury at Christie’s says, her auction from PET plastic found in the sea and transhouse has taken a stand on certain mateformed into yarn balls by the Swiss company rials and will refuse to accept them for Tide,” says Pruniaux. auctions. For example, it will not accept Estimates suggest that there are 640,000 furniture with ivory inlays even if that piece tonnes of fishing nets lost or abandoned of furniture is a 300-year-old antique and each year and that these abandoned nets the hunting of animals for their tusks was kill nearly 100,000 whales, dolphins, sea entirely legal at the time. lions, seals and turtles per year. The same principled stance applies to the It’s figures like these that prompted other watchmaking industry which might not use watchmakers such as Breitling to collaboall that much ivory, but instead relies on rate with American sustainable clothing materials like gold and diamonds extenline Outerknown, co-founded by surfer sively. “The sourcing of gold and diamonds Kelly Slater, to produce sustainable watch has financed terrorism and provoked straps. “We have created a line of recycled child labour. None of the clients buying and recyclable watch straps, the Econyl a diamond-set watch today do so without NATO straps, which are crafted from marasking for a certificate to know where it itime waste, including came from. Also, extractlost and discarded fishing ing gold involves using nets,” says Breitling CEO materials like mercury Georges Kern. which destroys the envitonnes of fishing nets Going sustainable could ronment. Tackling the lost or abandoned each be more than just trendy, it issue like traceability can year in the oceans could make good business help,” says Meylan, who sense as well. “Recently, applied for the Responwe have introduced our new watch box sible Jewellery Council (RJC) certification which is made of upcycled plastic botfor H. Moser & Cie. RJC examines and certitles. This sustainable packaging also has fies that ethical standards are upheld along a positive impact on logistics because it is the entire jewellery supply chain spanning foldable and can be shipped flat. Reducing from the extraction of the raw materials, to our carbon footprint while also reducing processing them and even to the final act of costs were winning arguments for Breitling retailing the finished products. to introduce this innovative and sustainable Chopard, another brand audited by the packaging solution,” says Kern. A smaller RJC, has also committed to full traceability and lighter box potentially reduces shippingof its gold supply chain and additionally says related carbon dioxide emissions by over 60 that it ensures that it can recycle up to 70 per per cent per box. cent of its pre-consumer gold scraps or ‘proAware that some customers spending duction waste’ in its own internal foundry. thousands of dollars on a timepiece might Kern reiterates that Breitling is striving

640,000

gulfbusiness.com

From top: Breitling has introduced a watch box which is made of upcycled plastic bottles Opposite page: Ulysse Nardin Diver Net concept timepiece uses recycled marine materials

to become a carbon-neutral brand in the near future and has introduced “supplier sustainability performance assessments and environmental life cycle assessments of our products to enable more transparency for our customers”. Pruniaux meanwhile has confirmed that the Diver Net, which was unveiled as a concept this year, will become a commercial reality available for purchase by the end of 2021 or early 2022. While making the case for a collaborative approach, rather than a competitive one in the field of sustainability, Pruniaux adds, “Our intention is not to be the first to innovate with sustainable materials, but rather to show the watch industry that it is possible to make our customers aware of recycled materials – even for luxury items. We would be very happy if our innovations were somehow ‘open-source’.” December 2020

DEC

The SME story

A dedicated hub for the regional startup and SME ecosystem

INTERVIEW

sure that hotels’ information and pictures are updated across all travel websites, travel agent databases and points of sale, thereby ensuring that potential guests can make educated and informed booking decisions.

The next step

What are some of the unforeseen challenges of becoming an entrepreneur?

This month’s featured SMEs range from a UAE-based startup facilitating the hospitality industry and an Arabic language learning app to a company that has streamlined the car rental business – trendsetters within their fields

What is the core business model of Hotel Data Cloud?

When we started HDC in 2016, our aim was to set a new standard in global hotel content distribution. Our business model caters to a two-sided market, where hotels are charged a nominal yearly fee to distribute their descriptive content and booking partners or travel agents can use it for free. What were you doing before you founded HDC?

December 2020

How has Covid-19 and its effects on the hospitality and tourism industry impacted your business?

Covid-19 has had a catastrophic effect on the tourism industry, with an estimated loss of 60 to 80 per cent of international tourist arrivals, equaling 850 million to 1.1 billion fewer tourists. Travellers lack trust and in order to work towards restoring traveller trust and confidence to reinvigorate the tourism industry, we decided to see how we could proactively assist hotels in regaining customers interest. We decided to accelerate the introduction of an artificial intelligence and machine learning based recommendation engine, specifically designed to help hotels engage and retain customers once people start travelling again. For our efforts, we were recognised by the United Nations World Tourism Organization as a ‘Healing Solutions for Tourism’ and one of the most disruptive startups in the Middle East, working to mitigate the impact of Covid-19 on tourism. We also just received $200,000 from the Lee Business School, in recognition of our innovative solutions to help the hospitality industry globally.

Gregor Amon Co-founder of Hotel Data Cloud

I am a pilot by profession, but always had a passion for entrepreneurship, so I decided to follow my calling and started a hotel room wholesale company, selling reservations to travel agencies and tour operators. I realised very early on that end customers were not receiving the latest hotel descriptions, update on amenities or other features. In turn, nine out of 10 travellers blame the hotel for wrong or missing information, not only hurting the hotel’s reputation, but also affecting its bottom line. I started HDC with my co-founder Kevin Czok, because we saw a need in the market for a centralised global database for descriptive hotel content and real-time updates. Essentially, we make

The level of rejection that one needs to face… a strong sense of self-belief is critical if one wants to be an entrepreneur, because for every one ‘yes’, you will hear 20 ‘nos’. But at the end of the day, as entrepreneurs, we don’t do things because they are easy, we do them because they are exciting, and because we have the possibility to change a whole industry.

What are your plans to scale the business?

Gregor Amon, co-founder of Hotel Data Cloud

The biggest challenge at the moment is meeting increasing client demand and scaling fast enough. At this point in our company trajectory, we are focusing on addressing this challenge by looking to engage external investors who can help to expand our teams. gulfbusiness.com

The SME Story

Which markets do you expect to become more significant over the next three to five years?

We are already serving hotels in 153 countries and are a global product from the start. The next stage in our evolution is to focus on key markets where we see potential for exponential growth. In particular the UAE, where we are working with Dubai Tourism (DTCM) and Dnata through participation in their incubator Intelak.

(Left-right) Arabee co-founders Ferakh Lakhany, Saeed Basweidan, Lenka Basweidan and Hala Al-Ali

throughout the last few years, which was accelerated this year due to the pandemic. The UAE has a large expat population including Arabs and Muslims from all over the world who want their children to continue learning Arabic when they return to their home country. We developed the Family App to support them and the larger global community of Arabs and Muslims who want their children to speak Arabic. We have established and built our brand in the UAE, and are expanding to the GCC, Malaysia and the UK. We are now part of the Hub71 incentive programme, which will help us to access markets, quickly and effectively, both locally and internationally. What were some of the challenges you came up against early on?

Beginning something new is always scary. We had a very steep learning curve. We faced the same issue as the majority of entrepreneurs in the region – money. Building a company, creating original highquality international standard content is expensive and we have taken great care to ensure that the programme works, and we achieve our vision. Did Covid-19 accelerate the development of arabee?

Lenka Basweidan Founder of Arabee Learning

We started the app development prior to Covid-19 and arabee was launched as an online learning platform for schools in 2018. However, we can definitely see an increase in interest, as more and more families are getting online. Covid-19 has changed our sales cycle for schools. We are being approached by teachers and principals instead of us calling them. They want a programme with comprehensive resources that can deliver a UAE Ministry of Education aligned Arabic language curriculum online within the restrictions currently in place.

How did the idea for arabee come about?

My children were not learning Arabic despite spending four hours per week [studying it] and they were not enjoying the language. To encourage them, I decided to learn Arabic as well. After talking to people, I realised that I was not alone – so many other parents and families were also suffering. I discussed the situation with my husband, and we came up with a plan and decided to fix the problem and make teaching and learning Arabic simple and fun.

Will arabee expand to include more than just language learning and include other subjects as well?

How is arabee different from other language learning apps?

We might, as we have invested and built a high-specification platform, and a strong framework for both schools and families that can accommodate other programmes be it languages or other subjects. We know the different education systems, so we can incorporate new programmes or subjects relatively easily and quickly. Right now we are focused on building arabee and impacting the lives of over half a million primary students here in the UAE and beyond with the Family App.

We tried other apps, but they teach topics separately such as letters, colours, numbers, etc. Children couldn’t connect and apply the language. Some apps didn’t even teach all the four skills (listening, speaking, reading and writing). Arabee takes the children on a continuous journey, using language patterns and vocabulary repetition the same way they learn their mother tongue. It has simplified the language, breaking it down into small easily understood chunks. What is the size and scale of the online language learning market within the UAE?

We have seen a huge increase in digital learning gulfbusiness.com

Lenka Basweidan, Founder of Arabee Learning

What will be your measure of success for arabee?

As part of the accelerators, we were chosen by Sheraa, C3 (powered by HSBC), and StartAd December 2020

The SME Story

supported by the Khalifa Fund. We have defined important success factors for arabee and these are not only financial, but also social impact KPIs. Within two years we want to double our numbers to 20,000 students within the UAE. For the Family App, we would love to see 10,000 downloads in the next year. However, our biggest measure of success would be for all children within the UAE to enjoy learning and speaking Arabic.

Hasib Khan Founder and CEO of Udrive How did the idea for Udrive come about?

I was running a traditional rental car agency. One day, one of my staff needed a car for an hour to do some office work and we had none of our own cars available. Then it struck me: Why are we not fractionalising the rental experience to one minute or one hour with quicker access all around the city? That is when our own internal frustration kickstarted the product you see today.

Hasib Khan, founder and CEO of Udrive

Give us a sense of the scale of your business.

Just prior to Covid-19, we had over 550 cars and were about to expand to 1,000 cars in the UAE, 800 cars in Saudi Arabia and 800 in Turkey. Today we are at 300 cars after natural de-fleeting of our older fleet and are back into the growth mode. In the next two months, we will be back to pre-Covid numbers in the UAE and are projected to reach profitability. What is the USP of Udrive?

Our service is unique compared to traditional rental because we have no humans involved in the rental process, your experience is completely managed via the app and you pay for only what you use, nothing more. You do not need to go to the rental office to get access to a car. The access to the car is your mobile. This is the biggest reason we adopted almost 200,000 customers in the UAE. How has the pandemic impacted your business?

Udrive was shut down due to the sanitisation process of the UAE which meant that our cars remained idle on the streets for approximately two months. It took us another six weeks to replace the batteries, clean the cars, sanitise and prepare them for customer use again. But due to the pandemic, we had the time to re-evaluate our strategy of “growth at all costs” to a “growth for profit” and this meant making tough decisions about what our post-Covid fleet should look like. Tell us about the entrepreneurial work you undertook in Afghanistan before Udrive.

Whilst I was finishing high school in Hamburg, I was given some of the family food business 72

December 2020

responsibilities. I went to Afghanistan and got into conversations with companies that were looking for foodstuff from Germany and [also] locally in Afghanistan. I started supplying them with foodstuff found in Afghanistan, and I was asked to handle the transportation for it too. I discovered that transportation was something that I enjoyed more than selling food, due to the hectic and operational toughness it had. I moved away from the food business and began focusing on transportation. I became one of the biggest transportation and logistics providers for the army in Afghanistan, working for the US Army, British Ministry of Defence, German Bundeswehr and many more, whilst being based in Dubai which was one of the safe cities close to Afghanistan. Do you also have other businesses, apart from Udrive, across logistics, real estate and F&B?

“OUR SERVICE IS UNIQUE COMPARED TO TRADITIONAL RENTAL BECAUSE WE HAVE NO HUMANS INVOLVED IN THE RENTAL PROCESS”

I still do have customers that I manage in Afghanistan for logistics. We provide them warehouse facilities with end-to-end service on the ground. Real estate is always a safe haven for investments. Along with my two brothers, I have developed a portfolio of properties in Germany. F&B remains a family business in Germany – we have stores that sell oriental products in Hamburg. What’s the biggest mistake you’ve made that you can advise other entrepreneurs to avoid?

Don’t assume if [things are] great, that it will always be that way. I was very fortunate to have a great advisor supporting me before Covid, who made it clear even back in January that if Covid spreads past Asia into Europe, it will only be a matter of time before it impacts our revenue. Because of his foresight, we were preparing our strategies and making choices quite early on to save the business. gulfbusiness.com

The SME Story COMMENT

Mark Dickinson Head of Motivate Academy

Full charge ahead The pandemic has been particularly tough on startups and small businesses. But for those with good ideas, there may be no better time than now

ILLUSTRATION: GETTY IMAGES/CARGO

ntrepreneurs are inherently risk takers. People who see what everyone else is doing and do the opposite, the improbable or simply the spectacular. They do it on a grand scale; succeed or fail, they go all in. That is the nature of entrepreneurism, and if ever there was a time to be an entrepreneur, it would be now. Resources abound like never before with access readily available to free information, training, trials and extensive solutions. The only question you need to ask is, “What information do I need?” and within a few seconds, the answers present themselves. The world has changed rapidly with the current pandemic and one segment that has been particularly hard hit is the startup ecosystem. According to a report from the World Economic Forum (WEF) in June, over 70 per cent of startups have had to terminate full-time employees since the start of the pandemic, and more importantly, 40 per cent of ventures were predicted to fall into the “red zone” within three months, with only enough cash for three months or less of normal operations. Added to that are the gloomy messages being sent by the large VC markets, who project a decline in investments on the scale of close to $85bn, all within 2020. Is this all bad news for startups? It certainly reads like it. However, entrepreneurs thrive in a crisis, and do the opposite of what the market does. From the global financial crisis in 2008-2009, over 50 tech unicorns emerged. Entrepreneurs create jobs and build SMEs that cause an economy to thrive. Entrepreneurs figure out a way to buck the trend, to overcome, and to win through. The same WEF report states that Covid-19 has also led to an increase in entrepreneurial activity. Companies and individuals across the world have rallied to respond to, and where possible, tackle this crisis. There has been a surge in creativity, with people and companies devising new ideas to respond to existing or emerging needs. So, should entrepreneurs step forward? Yes. Got a brilliant idea? This may be the best time to have one. The key word is leverage. With the availability of information and the shift to online working that Covid-19 brought about across

gulfbusiness.com

December 2020

The SME Story The financing gap the world, we have more talent, more resources and more creativity at our fingertips than in the entire history of humanity. Also, there is still money behind the doors, and the people who have it are struggling to figure out where to invest it and get a decent return. Now is the time to be an adventurer. Market conditions will never be what they are today: fertile, empty fields to plant great ideas. While some head for cover and hide away, entrepreneurs with good ideas can emerge. What do entrepreneurs need to succeed? First think up that one brilliant idea that can make a profit. Then take that brilliant, profitable idea and start to do it. Stay focused on doing it and use social media like never before. You can use it as much as you want. Have your account working all day long, adding value to your idea every single day. Share your idea and get feedback. Push it out there. If people get tired of you, they will let you know and they can

SMEs across the world often struggle to obtain the financing necessary to start, sustain and grow their businesses SME finance gap by region (PER CENT OF TOTAL FINANCING DEMAND)

Middle East and North Africa

84.3%

Sub-Saharan Africa

81.2%

Latin America and the Caribbean

74.1%

South Asia

67.0%

Europe and Central Asia

59.7%

East Asia and Paciﬁc

43.3%

The gap within the gap Women-owned SMEs in the MENA region are affected disproportionely by the finance gap

NOW IS THE TIME TO BE AN ADVENTURER. MARKET CONDITIONS WILL NEVER BE WHAT THEY ARE TODAY: FERTILE, EMPTY FIELDS TO PLANT GREAT IDEAS

December 2020

Male

20%

TOTAL SMES

SME FINANCE GAP

92%

80%

70%

of female entrepreneurs said that lending conditions are too restrictive and prevent them from securing funding

Fintech to the rescue New technologies are rapidly transforming the financial sector and tackling challenges that can help close the financing gap for SMEs

319

DIGITAL FINANCIAL SERVICES PROVIDERS 85% Independent

New fintech ventures operate in 22 countries across the Arab world

15% Big tech, banks and mobile network operators

16% Other countries

8% Bahrain

8% Lebanon

10% Jordan

11% Egypt

11% Tunisia

13% Morocco

WHERE ARE MOST FINTECH FIRMS LOCATED? 22% UAE

unsubscribe. Track every step of your growth. Be the entrepreneur that everyone knows. That brilliant idea that makes money grows because you have made a model that makes money. Don’t create a model that needs years to get there, but create one that attracts attention. Attention attracts investors and followers who will all wish that they had done what you are doing and they will join in with you because you are making money. Use everything you can get your hands on for inspiration. Look in the margins, look in the Apple app store and Google Play, where there are almost five million apps generating $189bn in revenues. You can broker, you can create, you can edit, you can generate – all from the comfort of your own space. There is no stigma attached to working from home, it’s part of the new normal. In fact, all the barriers to starting your own venture have been removed. It just takes you to come up with that one profitable idea.

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SOURCE: PROMOTING DIGITAL AND INNOVATIVE SME FINANCING REPORT BY THE WORLD BANK GROUP FOR THE G20 GLOBAL PARTNERSHIP FOR FINANCIALINCLUSION UNDER THE KINGDOM OF SAUDI ARABIA’S G20 PRESIDENCY

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5G, INSPIRING NEW VALUE GITEX TECHNOLOGY WEEK 2020 DEC 6 - 10, 2020 DUBAI WORLD TRADE CENTER,UNITED ARAB EMIRATES