Gulf Business - September 2021

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Starring Saudi: The kingdom’s new script

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GB Tech Awards: Celebrating innovation BD 2.10 KD 1.70 RO 2.10 SR 20 DHS 20

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Gulf Business

CONTENTS / SEPTEMBER 2021

09

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

32

Future focus Saudi Arabia has embarked on an ambitious transformation strategy

51

Special report: Top tech leaders

24

Up, up and away Virtuzone’s top executives discuss why the UAE – and Dubai specifically – offers enterpreneurs a great launch platform

The movers and shakers in the MENA’s tech sector

gulfbusiness.com

September 2021

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CONTENTS / SEPTEMBER 2021

42

GB Tech Awards Celebrating regional tech companies and leaders driving the future

72

Inside Greubel Forsey

68

The watchmaker’s CEO on adapting to change

VistaJet: Flying high The pandemic has turbocharged private aviation

74

Izu Ani: Ordering in The chef on what’s next on his plate

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September 2021

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People who see challenges differently, see the world differently.

A world where healthcare workers are better equipped to treat patients. Where energy is more sustainable and can power more lives. And where faraway places feel closer with flight that’s more fuelefficient. Because seeing a smarter, healthier, cleaner world isn’t something that’s far in the future.

It’s the world we’re building now.

76

The Swiss allure Cities to explore in the European destination

“I am President of the United States of America and the buck stops with me. I’m deeply saddened by the facts we now face. But I do not regret my decision to end America’s war fighting in Afghanistan” – US President Joe Biden

78

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 Editor Aarti Nagraj aartin@motivate.ae aartinagraj Deputy editor Varun Godinho varun.godinho@motivate.ae varungodinho Tech editor Divsha Bhat divsha.bhat@motivate.ae Contributor Zainab Mansoor editorial.freelancer@motivate.ae zzainabmansoor Senior art director Olga Petroff olga.petroff@motivate.ae Photographer Joachim Guay

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 Joelle AlBeaino joelle.albeaino@motivate.ae Group marketing manager Dominic Clerici dominic.clerici@motivate.ae

Cover: Charlie Banalo

Vol. 26. Issue 4. September 2021 Printed by Emirates Printing Press, Dubai

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

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: SD 2-94, 2nd Floor, Building 2, 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

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September 2021

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Tracking rents

4% 2%

Beijing

London

Berlin

Singapore

Shenzhen

Guanghou

SOURCE: SAVILLS RESEARCH

ILLUSTRATION: GETTY IMAGES/TREETY

Seoul

0% Hangzhou

21

6%

Dubai

SEP

8%

Miami

10 11 12 15 16

10%

Moscow

Sustainability Startups Retail Social Manufacturing

Six month rental value change

Six month rental value change

The Brief

How global rents have changed in H1 2021

Time to switch off Studies have found that spending more time being electronically connected does not lead to greater productivity p. 17 gulfbusiness.com

September 2021

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The Brief / Sustainability

PHOTO: FRANCOIS GUILLOT/MAN AS THEP

both passenger and cargo traffic requires lower-emission aircraft engines, made possible by innovations such as openfan architectures, hybrid-electric and electric propulsion concepts, advanced thermal management, and modifications to accommodate new fuels, such as sustainable aviation fuels (SAFs) and hydrogen. GE is working with partner Safran on the RISE programme, which is developing technology that could ultimately lead to an engine that would use 20 per cent less fuel and produce 20 per cent fewer CO2 emissions than the most efficient jet engines today.

Dr Dalya al Muthanna President – UAE and global chief of Strategy and Operations GE International Markets

COMMENT

Adopting a new approach Only by deploying efficient solutions can the world address both the climate crisis and the growing demand for energy and other services

T

he past decade was the hottest in 125,000 years, according to the latest United Nations report on climate change, which calls for serious global action to address a warming planet. At the same time, the International Energy Agency predicts the world will use 50 per cent more energy by 2050 than it did in 2018.

What’s more, demand is rising not only in the energy sector, but across nearly all aspects of life. Healthcare is expected to see significant increases in demand, with half the world currently lacking access to essential health services, while governments are being mandated to move decisively to deliver more and better care to their citizens.

In aviation, global travel and trade – despite the pandemic – are forecast to drive more airplane takeoffs and landings.

IATA predicts average annual passenger

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September 2021

growth over the next 20 years could be as high as 3.6 per cent, while air cargo could grow by 4 per cent a year through 2039, according to Boeing.

In many ways, growing demand in these sectors is a good sign. It means more people around the globe will be gaining access to electricity and healthcare, both of which are essential enablers of economic development and a better quality of life. Likewise, increased aviation activity signals expanding markets and new business opportunities.

The question, then, is not about tamping down demand growth – although some growth will be moderated through efficiency improvements. Rather, the urgent issue before us is how to enable this growth in a way that is sustainable.

FUTURE FLIGHT

In the field of aviation, meeting the rise in

PRECISION HEALTH

Healthcare is another sector where a sustainable approach is required to effectively meet growing need, especially in light of staffing and facility shortages for doctors and other clinicians in communities around the world. The answer is for health agencies and providers to adopt precision healthcare models that make it possible to personalise and improve the diagnosis and treatment of patients more efficiently, powered by digital and AI. LOWER CARBON

The electricity sector is a top priority in most conversations around sustainability in large part because electricity and heat production account for a significant percentage of global greenhouse gas emissions and, as noted above, demand is growing.

This means the world will require a lot of new power, and quickly. The most effective way to achieve this sustainably is through a diverse array of solutions. Build up renewable power, which generates zero emissions; pursue coal-to-gas fuel switching, which cuts emissions; leverage high tech gas turbines that are more efficient than their predecessors or run on mixes containing hydrogen; and install nuclear power, which has the advantage of generating no CO2 while providing reliable, dispatchable baseload power.

Only by deploying a wide range of technologies and solutions can the world address both the climate crisis and the growing demand for energy, healthcare, aviation and other services. Through partnership and focus, we can build a sustainable world that works for all. gulfbusiness.com

The Brief / Startups A N A LY S I S

Calling all entrepreneurs

ILLUSTRATION: GETTY IMAGES/CHIPSTUDIO

Qatar is emboldening its startup space using incentives and innovation, writes Zainab Mansoor

Q

atar is making considerable strides to station itself among entrepreneurial hotspots within the region. While the startup landscape of the country may still be relatively nascent in comparison to its regional peers, it is undertaking concerted efforts to beckon local talent towards entrepreneurship and innovation.

Initiatives undertaken by public and private entities are prompting a surge in incubators, accelerators and startups. Qatar FinTech Hub, founded by Qatar Development Bank to support the growth of the local fintech industry, offers incubator and accelerator programmes as well as hackathons. Meanwhile, Qatar Science and Technology Park (QSTP), a freezone, accelerator and incubator for tech-product development, offers multiple innovation programmes such as the Research to Startup programme, XLR8 and the Arab Innovation Academy, as well as an incubation centre. Among its multiple initiatives, QSTP gulfbusiness.com

QAR22m The amount raised by startups in Qatar in 2020, up 4.7 per cent year-on-year

announced a partnership with technology firm Microsoft last month to enhance the working environment for startups in the country, as well as rendering those incubated at QSTP eligible for the Microsoft for Startups programme.

Besides playing host to the FIFA World Cup next year – which will be a shot in the arm for Qatar and its strategic goals – efforts are also being made to back innovative and promising sportstech companies. Earlier this year, startup accelerator Qatar SportsTech (QST), founded by Qatar Development Bank, announced the completion of the fourth cohort of its accelerator programme, and opened applications for the second edition of its pre-accelerator programme EntelaQ – which is aimed at local entrepreneurs, nationals and residents with a sportstech idea or prototype.

The numbers share the optimism too: According to MAGNiTT’s 2020 Qatar Venture Investment Report, startups in Qatar raised QAR22m in 2020, up from QAR21m in 2019. F&B and e-commerce secured 23 per cent and 20 per cent of the total funding in 2020 respectively, while accelerated programmes were responsible for 33 per cent of all transactions across the country’s venture investment ecosystem.

Additionally, funding into early-stage startups increased with dwindled concentration of capital in larger deals. The share of the five largest deals in venture investment dropped from 78 per cent in 2019 to 63 per cent in 2020, providing other transactions access to more funds, the report added.

Meanwhile, the need for digitalisation last year made an impact on the e-commerce and home services sectors. “E-commerce startups saw 40x more funding year-on-year, contributing 20 per cent of the total capital deployed in Qatar in 2020. Meanwhile, the number of startups to raise funding from the home services sector went from one in 2019 to three in 2020,” the MAGNiTT report added.

Realising the potential, several startups have sprung up to leverage the opportunities and serve the burgeoning landscape. Complemented by consolidated efforts by private and public entities and a growing entrepreneurial spirit, Qatar is pacing ahead to develop an entirely new generation of business leaders.

September 2021

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The Brief / Retail

ILLUSTRATION: GETTY IMAGES/OHISHIISTK

WHAT HAS EMERGED IS A MORE ROBUST OMNICHANNEL MODEL THAT LEVERAGES THE DIGITAL INNOVATIONS OF THE PAST YEAR AND CO-EXISTS WITH THE SOCIAL FUNCTION OF IN-STORE SHOPPING

COMMENT

Mohammad A. Baker CEO and deputy chairman, GMG

A new retail model While many consumers have welcomed a return to brick-and-mortar retail, the retail business model has fundamentally evolved

T

he shuttered malls and shopping centres that dot the GCC’s retail landscape were symbolic of the economic blow caused by the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020.

Research firm GlobalData estimates the pandemic wiped out Dhs13.5bn in sales in the UAE alone in 2020. However, the recent rise in footfall at retail

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September 2021

80m

The estimated number of annual visitors to Dubai Mall

outlets and a continued surge in e-commerce transactions indicate that the worst is behind us.

Strong support by landlords during the pandemic was critical in helping retailers overcome the challenges caused by prolonged shutdowns.

Emaar, for example, announced waivers on base rent when shops closed doors due to Covid-19.

The retail sector’s revival now heralds a broader recovery of the region’s economy. In the UAE, the Dubai Chamber of Commerce forecasts that the retail industry will rebound by 13 per cent to reach $58bn by the end of 2021, supported by pent up consumer demand, Covid-19 vaccination efforts and Expo 2020 Dubai. Research also forecasts that UAE retail sales will maintain a positive 6.6 per cent annual growth in the medium term to reach $70.5bn by 2025, with store-based retailing growth forecast at a CAGR of 5.7 per cent.

Indeed, shoppers have been quick to return once stores reopened. The huge crowds that thronged this year’s Dubai Summer Surprises shopping extravaganza is just one example that underlines the positive trend that began when restrictions started easing nearly a year ago. While many consumers have welcomed a return to brick-andmortar retail, the retail business model has fundamentally evolved – both during the pandemic and as industries look to a post-Covid recovery.

In particular, the e-commerce trends that we witnessed during the pandemic are unquestionably here to stay.

At GMG, we have certainly noticed a shift in the behaviour of returning customers. GMG Sports’ e-commerce platforms reported a 200 per cent growth in sales during Ramadan as compared to the previous month. External research shows a similar trend. A recent report by online payment services provider Checkout.com notes that approximately gulfbusiness.com

47 per cent of consumers in the region expect to shop online even more frequently in 2021 than they did at the height of the pandemic in 2020.

That is not to say that e-commerce will replace brick-and-mortar stores, far from it. Across much of the Gulf, shopping malls are part of the social fabric. They are utilised not just for shopping but as a preferred setting for social interactions of all kinds. Moreover, the malls here are major tourist attractions. In the UAE, Dubai Mall alone welcomes over 80 million visitors annually.

What has emerged is a more robust omnichannel model that leverages the digital innovations of the past year and co-exists with the social function of in-store shopping.

Often, we see customers utilising our online portals to research merchandise and then come to the store to see and touch and complete the purchase.

This type of customer is often better informed, so their interaction with our salesfloor staff is more engaging and rewarding. Within this retail model, we see the evolution of the click-and-collect model, where consumers purchase goods online and collect them from the store when making their next trip to the mall to drop the kids at the cinema or meet a friend for coffee.

Today there’s also a great opportunity in leveraging social media for online shopping. ‘Social commerce’ (s-commerce) uses social media channels such as Facebook and Snapchat as mediums to promote and sell products and services. Social media penetration is near-ubiquitous in Kuwait, Qatar, and the UAE at 99 per cent, figures show.

Indeed, experts forecast that s-commerce will be one of the region’s key e-commerce trends over the next 2-5 years. Already, 14 per cent of consumers surveyed say they most frequently conduct their online shopping specifically within a social media app. A recent report by Snap says the ‘Snapchat generation’ in the UAE and Saudi Arabia alone is estimated at $425bn. Aside from traditional e-commerce, this social commerce trend could unlock millions in new revenue.

Ultimately, last year’s events require that we reshape the Gulf’s retail model in a culturally conscious way. The simple utilisation of various shopping channels – whether physical or digital – is not new. And it’s not the point. As the postCovid recovery accelerates, what matters most is how retailers devise the ideal combination of these channels for their customers and in what end they deliver authentic customer experiences. Getting that calibration right will enable businesses to reap the benefits of a rebound in consumer spending while also keeping the Gulf an attractive international retail destination. gulfbusiness.com

ILLUSTRATION: GETTY IMAGES/MALTE MUELLER

The Brief /Accounting

A N A LY S I S

Keeping books in order Carbon accounting isn’t as rigorous without strong regulations, writes Bloomberg columnist Akshat Rathi

T

here’s a dirty secret of carbon accounting, and it could soon be exposed. That’s because the assumptions most companies base their calculations on could

be wrong.

Let’s take a step back. Corporate financial accounting tells you how much a company earned, how much it spent and how much it owes. You can generally trust those numbers because most large companies employ skilled, expensive auditors to September 2021

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The Brief / Accounting A N A LY S I S

ILLUSTRATION: GETTY IMAGES/FOTOGRAFIABASICA

ensure that the figures are as accurate as possible. When companies mess up, they can expect harsh punishment from regulators, ranging from large fines to prison time. That means they have to be able to justify every figure on every line.

Carbon accounting is nowhere near as rigorous. Unlike financial accounting, almost all carbon accounting is voluntary and based on voluntary standards.

Accurate or not, the company will likely come in for praise just for trying. No matter how egregiously a carbon accountant messes up, they’re unlikely to see the inside of a jail.

While companies can be fairly accurate about the emissions they directly produce (called Scope 1), that accuracy drops rapidly when they have to account for emissions from their supply chain or users of their products (called Scope 3).

Even in the best case, therefore, carbon accounting is based on a huge number of assumptions.

You’ve probably guessed where I’m going with this. Voluntary reporting combined with a long list of assumptions presents a huge risk of getting things wrong. Let’s take one example. The US has stronger regulations on emissions reporting than most large emitters. And, yet, study after study has shown that oil and gas companies underreport their

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September 2021

ACCURATE OR NOT, THE COMPANY WILL LIKELY COME IN FOR PRAISE JUST FOR TRYING. NO MATTER HOW EGREGIOUSLY A CARBON ACCOUNTANT MESSES UP, THEY’RE UNLIKELY TO SEE THE INSIDE OF A JAIL methane emissions. Methane is the second-largest contributor to warming the planet, after carbon dioxide.

That’s a big problem on its own, but especially so because the emissions gas companies report as their Scope 1 form the basis of Scope 3 emissions reported by utilities that use the gas to generate electricity, by tech companies that use the gas to heat buildings, and on and on.

(To be sure, the burning of the gas by utilities or tech companies would be their Scope 1 emissions, which it may be able to calculate accurately. But the methane

emissions generated during the process of producing and transporting the fuel would be accounted for as those companies’ Scope 3 emissions.)

“That mistake propagates all the way up through your system and gives you a false picture of your actual carbon impact,” says Ryan Orbuch, who works on the climate team of payment giant Stripe. The emissions companies report form the basis of investor decisions and public opinion. In compliance markets such as the European Union’s Emissions Trading System, companies are required to provide accurate carbon emissions on an asset-byasset level. These cover only direct Scope 1 emissions, and companies that get those figures wrong can face fines.

Over the past six months, Bloomberg Green has been reporting on methane leaks across the world, from Australia to Canada. Many companies own up to the leaks when they show up on satellite images, but until the eyes in the skies appeared, they could have easily gotten away with it — you can’t trace a methane molecule back to its source.

It’s revelations like these that can prompt important decisions. Last year, energy company Engie halted a natural-gas deal with a US company, because Engie worried the methane leaks from the production of the fuel may run afoul of the French government’s plan to cut emissions.

Still, satellite monitoring and compliance markets cover only a fraction of global emissions. Governments don’t employ people to track every dollar, but rather rely on regulatory sticks to ensure companies don’t lie. Similarly, carbon accounting won’t be as robust as it needs to be without regulations, says Cynthia Cummis, director of private sector climate mitigation at the World Resources Institute. Without those regulations, Cummis says, “Companies do not have a lot of leverage over, say, their power supplier to give accurate emissions data.”

As the mantra goes, if you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it. If the world is serious about reducing emissions, it will have to get better at accurately accounting for it first. gulfbusiness.com

The Brief / Social Zaib Shadani PR consultant and digital marketing strategist, Shadani Consulting

brand awareness. Such initiatives are incredibly easy to run. One of the recent examples is the ‘loop giveaway’, where a freebie is offered once a person follows 8-10 new accounts.

LEVERAGE THE POWER OF BITE-SIZED VIDEOS

Video is king when it comes to getting more exposure for brands online. Video content has exponentially more views, shares and engagement than static content and with reducing attention spans, bite-sized clips are the order of the day. Brands can show customers their personality, frame their narratives and even promote products in ways that are both informative and entertaining, to ultimately build an emotional connection with viewers. In fact, short form videos are preferred by Instagram, Facebook and TikTok and are fast becoming the norm.

INFLUENCER TAKEOVERS

Five tips to re-energise your social media feed With attention spans getting shorter and competition getting tougher, there is a constant need to keep social media content fresh and exciting

R

unning a social media campaign isn’t the hard part – the real challenge is coming up with new and creative ideas that will keep audiences engaged. Followers are inundated with content and with attention spans getting shorter and competition getting tougher, there is a constant need to keep social media feeds fresh and exciting. Here are five ways to spruce up your feed.

HOST REGULAR GIVEAWAYS

Everyone loves free stuff. Giveaways are great because they permit you to reach your target audience quickly, while also allowing you to test the effectiveness of different platforms and methods. Taking the time to develop a strategy for giving away freebies can pay off tremendously in the long run, as it will enable you to interact with fans, generate more leads, start online conversations and most importantly, increase gulfbusiness.com

A social media takeover is when you enlist an influencer to help market your brand, product or service by giving them total access to your brand’s social accounts. Basically, you hand over all the reins to that individual, enabling them to post whatever they like, usually for 24 hours. This is an excellent way to use social marketing to engage your audience and help grow your business. The overall value of influencer marketing is that it allows you to piggyback on an influencers’ reach and access their follower base, while getting them to curate original content for your account. It’s a fun way to allow your existing followers to see a new perspective, while accessing a whole new demographic.

BTS ACCESS

People are always interested in what they don’t have access to – in most cases they are very curious to see the people behind their beloved brands, the support staff of their favourite influencer and everything that goes on behind the scenes and is “hidden” from view.

Giving followers access to the personal side of your business or brand goes a long way in building emotional connections and “humanising” the feed. People feel more connected to brands that share authentic moments and let them access the non-filtered side.

DO TUTORIALS AND DEMOS

These days you can find a tutorial for pretty much any topic online – from how to cook restaurant quality dishes to how to fix the engine in your car. If you have a question, there is a tutorial or demo video available to help you. People love watching such videos because they’re easier to follow than reading text. The good news is that these videos can be very easy to make. You can turn your existing content into a tutorial by speaking to the camera and adding some visuals or stickers. While many brands prefer to have polished and professional videos, one simply has to go on TikTok to see that many of the most popular videos there are shot and edited on personal phones.

September 2021

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The Brief / Q&A INTERVIEW

Nidal Haddad Founder and CEO Al Bayader International

Explainer: Where is the UAE’s manufacturing sector headed?

The recently announced Operation 300bn strategy is set to be a game changer in transforming the nation’s manufacturing sector

H

ow has the year been so far for the manufacturing sector in the UAE?

Despite the pandemic, this year has been extraordinary in the strategic direction that the leadership has set in promoting domestic manufacturing. Operation 300bn, the new strategy announced earlier this year to increase the GDP share of the sector from Dhs133bn at present to Dhs300bn by 2031, has given a fillip to industry, with the ‘Make it in the Emirates’ plan set to increase not only the manufacturing base but also tremendous in-country value.

The pandemic has in fact given a boost to local manufacturing as industries sought to be more selfreliant and create a stronger domestic value chain.

Further, the growth in e-commerce and the healthy performance of the F&B sector driven by an online model, has underlined the need to strengthen core raw material supplies locally.

government to promote localised manufacturing, I expect the nation to attract more talent from across the world. This is crucial to drive innovation in our sector. There have also been challenges in supply chain management, especially in procuring raw materials.

What kind of an impact do you expect the Operation 300bn strategy to have in the longer-term?

ILLUSTRATION: GETTY IMAGES/CSA IMAGES

I see the Operation 300bn strategy as a game changer in transforming the nation’s manufacturing sector. It sets the commitment of the leadership to boosting local manufacturing, which encourages both domestic and international investors to explore the opportunity for growth that the nation provides.

By boosting national industrial and manufacturing competencies, the strategy will create a robust supply chain and promote innovation. The impact of the strategy is already being realised as it has strengthened investor confidence and contributed to more domestic manufacturing in diverse sectors.

The long-term strategic impact will be the evolution of the UAE as a global industrial hub, serving the wider Middle East and North Africa region.

What are the biggest challenges that local manufacturers face?

A key challenge for local manufacturers has been attracting talent, given that manufacturing is still seen as ‘emerging’. With the new thrust of the 16

September 2021

gulfbusiness.com

The Brief / Future

Al Bayader recently announced the expansion of its Jebel Ali facility, and you are also constructing a mega industrial complex in Sharjah. Is this mainly aimed at domestic/regional growth or international exports?

ILLUSTRATION: GETTY IMAGES/LIANA MONICA BORDEI

Our new expansion – both through our enhanced Jebel Ali facility and the new mega-industrial complex in Sharjah – are aimed at both national level growth to meet the rising demand for food packaging products as well as for international markets.

These initiatives are aligned with our commitment

A KEY CHALLENGE FOR LOCAL MANUFACTURERS HAS BEEN ATTRACTING TALENT, GIVEN THAT MANUFACTURING IS STILL SEEN AS ‘EMERGING’ to support the Operation 300bn strategy of the nation, and mark sizeable investments by us.

We invested Dhs200m for the Jebel Ali facility expansion programme and we have secured financing to build the region’s largest food packaging industrial complex, spanning an area of 450,000 square feet, in Sharjah. When completed in 2023, it will quadruple our total production capacity to over 120,000 tonnes, which will significantly increase our exports.

Looking ahead, how much of a role do you see automation play in the manufacturing process?

Automation is at the heart of strengthening manufacturing and I see advanced technologies play a stronger role in driving the sector. The fourth industrial revolution has unleashed significant opportunities for the industry at large to achieve higher levels of operational efficiency and productivity. Our new industrial complex continues to build on our focus of promoting R&D in industry.

Lastly, do you see many more manufacturers emerge in the UAE in the near future? Which are the segments within the industry most primed for growth?

Operation 300bn is a catalyst for new manufacturers as well as for existing players to expand their operations. There will be new manufacturing initiatives and ventures across all key areas: the most important aspect in driving this is to find your niche. The new economic landscape calls for innovative manufacturing initiatives, especially as customers pivot to e-commerce. There is tremendous potential in the food packaging and the F&B industry, as well as in all retail sectors. gulfbusiness.com

COMMENT

Rehan Khan Principal consultant for BT and novelist

Stressing for less None of us enjoys a culture of always being connected if it spirals out of control

S

ummer is a period when we look forward to getting away from the humdrum of the daily routine to reconnect with family members, spend time with friends, travel and relax.

Engage with people during this period and they are much friendlier, calmer, thoughtful and all round happier with their place in the world. But it doesn’t last, we go back to work and the treadmill starts once more, we feel anxious and our health suffers. I am inclined to believe this has something to do with the way modern working environments are structured.

Gloria Mark, a professor in the Department of Informatics at University of California, co-authored a 2016 paper in which the research team connected knowledge workers to wireless heart rate monitors for 12 working days. During this period, the subjects’ heart rate variability was recorded – this technique is often used as a measure of mental stress. In parallel September 2021

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The Brief / Alan’s Corner

they also tracked the workers’ time on their computers. This enabled the researchers to accurately correlate checking email with stress levels. The researchers concluded that: “The longer one spends on email in [a given] hour the higher is one’s stress for that hour.”

Elsewhere, research teams have discovered similar patterns between checking email and happiness levels. In a 2019 study, which was published in The International Archives of Occupational and Environmental Health, the research team examined longitudinal trends in the health of a cohort of 5,000 Swedish workers. They found that continued exposure to “high information and communication technology demands” – in other words the feeling of always being connected – was related to “suboptimal” health outcomes. The pattern remained present, despite the researchers adjusting their data set for distinguishing elements such as age, gender, socioeconomic status, BMI, job strain and social support.

Leslie Perlow, who is a professor at Harvard Business School, undertook an interesting experiment with a group of consultants from the Boston Consulting Group (BCG). Perlow introduced them to a novel technique, which she called predictable time off (PTO). During the PTO, the consultants were allocated specific times every week when they were permitted to completely disconnect from email and the phone. This was done with the support of their colleagues. The result: the consultants became decidedly happier.

Prior to Perlow familiarising the consultants with PTO, only 27 per cent of the workers reported that they were excited to start work in the morning. Following the lowering in the level of communications, this number markedly rose to over 50 per cent. Correspondingly, the levels of job satisfaction among the consultants went up from 50 per cent to 70 per cent. Against the conventional wisdom, reducing the time spent on electronic communications didn’t make the consultants feel less productive. Instead, they reported that they felt they were more “efficient and effective” by over 20 points.

When Perlow probed how they ended up in this unhappy situation, the consultants stated that demands on their time crept up on them. They made themselves accessible to customers and colleagues in different time zones, and once that spiral was established, the expectation for faster response times became the norm. So others also began reaching out to them and soon they were overwhelmed.

None of us enjoys a culture of always being connected if it spirals out of control, leaving us feeling trapped. Perhaps when you are back from your summer break, recall the feeling of relaxation you had and how healthy you felt before you dive back into the frenetic world of always-on connectivity.

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Alan’s Corner Alan O’Neill Change consultant and speaker

Build your proposition There is often an over-emphasis in this region on price as if it was the most important factor in a deal

O

TO BE RELEVANT AND ADDING VALUE, WE HAVE TO THINK OF THE WHOLE EXPERIENCE WE GIVE TO OUR CUSTOMERS

ver the last few months, I outlined the explanation for the first five of my 7-Steps to Profit. It’s worth refreshing your mind on them, as they set the scene for what I want to talk about today.

Step 1, define your North Star. This is your vision and mission that gives context for all to follow. Step 2, refresh your culture. You need your entire team to behave in ways that are complementary to your North Star. Step 3, your strategy which should be updated every year. This is followed by step 4, your structure. Your organisation chart is shaped by your strategy, giving clarity and improved accountability.

And last month, I described the importance of step 5, how to connect with your customer.

This now brings me to step 6, build your proposition. This is what your customers buy from you.

Of course most startups begin their journey at this step. In the context of my ‘7-Steps’, that may seem like the cart before the horse, but of course it’s not.

It’s entirely appropriate at those early stages to start with a great idea. This is when the excitement and inspiration of the founder takes an early proposition to the market.

However, as time rolls on, organisations should fine-tune and tweak their proposition. If not, there can be a mismatch between the aspirations of the owners and what is actually being sold. But I’d like to highlight a watch-out that often emerges. I feel there is often an over-emphasis in this region on price as if it was the most important factor in a deal. Of course price is important, but is it really always about price?

I met a local business in Dubai recently that imports and distributes packaging materials within the GCC. The owner described to me the history of the company and the dynamics in its sector. As far as he was concerned, the only important issue was price, price and price again. Yet when we discussed gulfbusiness.com

The Brief / Alan’s Corner

the dynamics in his sector, there were other issues that were important to his customers, such as continuity of supply (never out of stock), quality, technical support and of course payment terms.

This organisation was missing a trick within its own abilities to achieve higher prices and therefore more margin. On that basis, I’d like to challenge you to broaden your thinking on what your proposition is made up of.

Fresh ideas to help you build your proposition

For a three-legged stool to stand upright, all three legs need to be in place. If one leg is missing, the stool will fall over. Worse again, imagine if two legs were missing, even an acrobat would struggle with that!

To be relevant and adding value, we have to think of the whole experience we give to our customers.

In this analogy, the legs of the stool are represented by product, people and place, with place referring to the physical environment (if you are a retail store or hotel) or to the route to market (if you are a B2B organisation). The three-legged stool is a very effective framework to use as a way of defining your

proposition. It is simple and versatile, and will work for all businesses.

Next month, I will expand further on each of the 3Ps. I will share a checklist for each of them to help you broaden your thinking and to refresh your proposition.

The last word

As a result of strong SEO activity online, I receive regular enquiries through my website. Generally, someone might send an email or call us up with a specific enquiry. It might be for consulting on culture or strategy, or it might be for help with employee engagement surveys. I’m mentioning this to illustrate that these services are not straightforward. They are tailored to each client. Yet, in every single case recently, the first question we were asked is, ‘What will it cost?’.

This over-emphasis on price is endemic on the supply and demand side of trade. It is an obstacle to honest and transparent business deals. Of course price is important as nobody wants to be ripped off.

But whether you are a seller or a buyer, I encourage you to take time to understand the proposition first, before you focus on price.

The Brief / Infographics

Protecting vital resources

From where and for what IN 2018

WATER WITHDRAWAL BY SOURCE Surface water 81.8% Groundwater 18.2%

Water is a finite asset and remains essential to socio-economic development, global peace, robust ecosystems and for improving the health and welfare of people around the world

WATER WITHDRAWAL BY SECTOR Agriculture, forestry and fishing 66.7% Mining and quarrying, manufacturing, constructions and energy 18.2%

Service sectors 15.1%

3bn

IN 2021

People at risk because the health of their rivers, groundwater and lakes is unknown

Access to safe drinking water is not cheap The cost of safe drinking water varies worldwide. Here is the price of a typical affordable bottle of water (500ml) and the water stress level in selected cities globally WATER STRESS

Low

Medium

High

Extremely high

PRICES IN EUROS (2021)

THE CHEAPEST Beirut (LEBANON)

0.03

Riyadh

London

Doha

Singapore

Karachi

Dubai

Hong Kong

Stockholm

Los Angeles

Oslo

(SAUDI ARABIA)

(UK)

(QATAR)

(SINGAPORE)

(PAKISTAN)

(UAE)

(HONG KONG)

(SWEDEN)

(US)

(NORWAY)

0.21

0.51

0.79

0.86

0.95

1.05

1.05

1.21

1.27

1.52

2.2 billion

People lack safely managed drinking water services

IN 2017

33% of the total global population

20

September 2021

gulfbusiness.com

Water stressed regions Number of people living under water stress under the baseline scenario* No water stress

Low water stress

Medium water stress

Severe water stress

Desalination capacity The MENA region leads globally in operational desalination plants

IN 2019

Developed countries

Middle East & North Africa 47.5%

2000 2050

4,826

Latin America & the Caribbean 2000

desalination plants

2050

East Asia & the Pacific

45.32

2000 2050

million cubic metres (m3) per day of desalination capacity

Russian region & Central Asia 2000 2050

Middle East & North Africa 2000

North America 11.9%

2050

East Asia & Pacific 18.4%

South Asia 2000 2050

Sub-Saharan Africa 2000 2050 0

1bn

2bn

*The ‘Baseline Scenario’ stems from the third Environmental Outlook published by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD, 2012). It assumes that no new policies are introduced and provides a benchmark against which the different policy variants are assessed

The particularities of the MENA region

+60% of the population live in areas with high or very high surface water stress

82%

Of the wastewater is not recycled THE IMPACT ON THE ECONOMY

6-14%

Of the GDP can be lost from climate-related water scarcity by 2050

+70%

Of the region’s GDP is generated in high or very high water distressed areas

CHALLENGES AHEAD Eleven of the 15 likely most water stressed countries in 2040 are in the region 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15

Bahrain Kuwait Qatar San Marino Singapore UAE Palestine Israel Saudi Arabia Oman Lebanon Kyrgyzstan Iran Jordan Libya

5.00 5.00 5.00 5.00 5.00 5.00 5.00 5.00 4.99 4.97 4.97 4.93 4.91 4.86 4.77

Eastern Europe & Central Asia 2.4% SubSaharan Africa 1.9%

Latin America & Caribbean 5.7%

Western Europe 9.2%

Southern Asia 3.1%

THE LARGEST DESALINATION PLANTS IN THE WORLD THOUSANDS OF M3/DAY

Ras Al Khair, Saudi Arabia Taweelah, UAE

1,036 909

Shuaiba 3, Saudi Arabia

880 Jubail Water and Power Company, Saudi Arabia 800 Umm Al Quwain, UAE 683 DEWA Station M, UAE 636 Sorek, Israel 624 Jubail 3A IWP, Saudi Arabia 600 Fujairah 2, UAE 591 Sorek 2, Israel 570

SOURCE: UN-WATER 2021; HOLIDU’S WATER PRICE INDEX; PBL NETHERLANDS ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT AGENCY; THE WORLD BANK; ELSEVIER’S SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT; AQUATECH

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September 2021

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The Brief / Lightbox

In this handout image provided by the German miltary (Bundeswehr), evacuees from Kabul sit inside a military aircraft as they arrive at Tashkent Airport in Uzbekistan on August 22, 2021. Germany has completed its evacuation mission, with more than 5,000 Afghans now having landed in the country 22

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September 2021

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PHOTO: HANDOUT/BUNDESWEHR VIA GETTY IMAGES

COVER STORY / VIRTUZONE

STARTUP STORY

MISSION SUCCESS The UAE has meticulously crafted its position as a startup hub, and similar to any venture, the path to reach the top has not been easy. In an exclusive, business setup company Virtuzone’s leaders elaborate on why they are convinced by its proposition, how entrepreneurs can emulate its example, and why the future vision looks bright

BY AARTI NAGRAJ

B

right idea. Create innovative concept.

Major hurdle. Sudden inspiration. First client. Investors confirm. Brand awareness. Regional crisis. Change in team.

Future growth.

Any successful entrepreneur can easily relate to the above.

But it is also the path that the UAE – and Dubai in particular – took, when it embarked on its ambition to become a startup hub – not just for this region, but for the world – a feat rather herculean considering its size. And yet here we are, with the country ranked first in the Middle East and fourth worldwide on the Global Entrepreneurship Index (GEI) 2020, ahead of the US, the UK and China. The country has attracted several successful founders and startups, including Souq.com (sold to Amazon), Careem (acquired by Uber), Swvl (first $1.5bn unicorn from the Middle East which is set to list on Nasdaq New York) and Anghami (first Arab tech startup to list on Nasdaq New York), among others. The country has also birthed innovative and disruptive startups such as on-demand refueller Cafu, cloud kitchen Kitopi – which raised $415m funding in the past year – and agritech business Pure Harvest, which also garnered $110m in the last year.

As a pioneer in the UAE’s business setup landscape, Virtuzone has seen the evolution of Dubai as a startup hub – how it has successfully navigated the various stages of growth – and how it is powering ahead towards the future. Set up in 2009, Virtuzone has helped more than 60,000 entrepreneurs from 180 countries set 24

September 2021

up their businesses in the UAE, and almost 90 per cent of them renew their trade licence with the company every year. Virtuzone is also seeing strong growth this year, especially in sectors such as e-commerce and fintech.

Speaking to Gulf Business, company chairman and co-founder Neil Petch, director and co-founder Geoff Rapp and CEO George Hojeige outline how the UAE has traversed through the ups and downs of a startup journey, taken risks, and dealt with challenges, and also reveal how the country is seeking to achieve the next level of growth. gulfbusiness.com

ILLUSTRATION: GETTY IMAGES/PISHIT

THE PITCH

“SO MUCH OF OUR INFRASTRUCTURE AND THE BUILDING BLOCKS ARE HERE ALREADY, AND THE GOVERNMENT HAS ALSO ANNOUNCED THAT YOU CAN HAVE 100 PER CENT OWNERSHIP. THAT’S GOING TO CREATE A HUGE AMOUNT OF POSITIVITY GLOBALLY”

PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES/JOHN HARPER

Recognising the need for a startup hub in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, the UAE started building the required institutions early on to attract entrepreneurs – not just from the region, but from across the world – to set up their businesses in the country. That has involved establishing freezones, setting up a robust ICT infrastructure, creating a strong legislative framework and pushing the boundaries of innovation to nurture the startup ecosystem.

Over the years, the UAE has adopted several measures to support the sector. Most recently, the country amended its legislation to permit foreign investors and entrepreneurs to establish and fully own onshore companies, eliminating the need for a UAE national to hold the majority share. The UAE has also started

COVER STORY / VIRTUZONE

THE TEAM

Any mentor or investor will attest to the fact that one of the most essential elements for the success of a new venture is its leadership and its people. “Most investors will tell you that they invest in founders rather than companies/ideas. They then look at the leadership team of the startup and give their vote of confidence based on that. Nobody wants to invest in a lemon and having skilled people running the startup minimises the chances of this happening,” explains Hojeige.

In the UAE, the intent of the leadership has been clear through its policies. The country also appointed its first Minister of Entrepreneurship and SMEs, Dr Ahmed Belhoul, in July 2020, highlighting the importance it is according to the sector. The public sector has also played a leading role in the establishment of incubators and accelerators, including the likes of the Sharjah 26

September 2021

“DUBAI HAS BUILT AN INFRASTRUCTURE AND A LIFESTYLE LIKE NO OTHER PLACE ON EARTH, WITH A GREAT MIX OF SKILLED HUMAN RESOURCES, PLENTY OF AVAILABLE FUNDING, AND A QUALITY OF LIFE UNEQUALLED IN THE WORLD”

Entrepreneurship Centre (Sheraa), Dubai Future Foundation and the Abu Dhabi Executive Council, which is carrying out the Dhs50bn Ghadan 21 programme.

Having an enabling leadership can also help the country take swift regulatory and legislative decisions, giving it a competitive edge.

“One of the things about the UAE is that because we’re not run by thousands of committees, decisions can be made quickly.

Hence it is easy to bring about change. I was recently talking to a friend who owns a real estate company. And he had people from the cryptocurrency space coming in, saying, ‘I want to buy four houses now’. Now the crypto world is a very much more immediate world and a jurisdiction that makes it as easy as possible for people to transact [using cryptocurrencies] is going to have an advantage, not just commercially, but also in terms of how people feel about it,” explains Petch.

“The UAE is not short sighted; it thinks ahead and so what we need to do is enable people to be able to transfer from fiat currency to crypto and vice versa. If we do it right [using technology to ensure accountability], there’ll be a massive advantage and that will start to show very soon.” gulfbusiness.com

PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES/IMAGE SOURCE

issuing long-term ‘golden visas’ to entrepreneurs, which are issued for five or 10 years and renewed automatically.

One aspect that many people may be unaware about is the number of double tax treaties (DTTs) that the UAE has signed, says Petch. The country currently has DTTs with roughly 95 countries (including two set to take effect in January 2022), according to PwC. “UAE nationals or resident individuals and UAE resident companies have access to an extensive and growing DTT network.

These DTTs may not be immediately relevant for obtaining relief from UAE taxation (as the UAE does not levy withholding tax or other forms of non-resident taxation); however, they may allow for relief from taxation in DTT partner countries,” the company states. A number of other DTTs are also at various stages of negotiation and ratification.

“So much of our infrastructure and the building blocks are here already, and the government has also announced that you can have 100 per cent ownership. That’s going to create a huge amount of positivity globally,” says Petch.

Hojeige agrees: “Dubai has built an infrastructure and a lifestyle like no other place on earth, with a great mix of skilled human resources, plenty of available funding, and a quality of life unequalled in the world.”

Adds Petch: “There are still certain limitations and that’s where companies such as ours can guide you through that complex route that sometimes exists and advise you on the best way to go about it.”

COVER STORY / VIRTUZONE

THE RISKS

Perhaps one of the biggest risks associated with a startup is dealing with unexpected crises, whether they are smaller market fluctuations or major ones such as the Covid-19 outbreak. The pandemic rattled economies, shuttered several businesses across the world and has left countries struggling to figure out the best way forward. And this is where the UAE stood out for its quick response.

The country initially enforced a lockdown, but once the situation was under control, Dubai became one of the first cities in the world to reopen its borders to international visitors in July 2020 (it has not closed them completely even once since then), and the economy has gradually gotten back on track. In 2020, Dubai issued over 42,000 new business licences, and in the first quarter

of this year, the emirate registered more than 15,000 new business licences and renewals.

Pivoting quickly and adopting a flexible approach – similar to what Dubai did – is essential for startups to weather tough conditions. “What we have learned from steering through the pandemic is that agility is key. No one had studied or experienced how to cope with such a phenomenon before and businesses who succeeded in overcoming the challenge were the ones with strong leaders who took quick decisions and adjusted their approach through hard times by reading and reacting to market conditions,” Hojeige explains.

“At Virtuzone, we implemented measures to manage cash flow and cash reserves early on, including reduced work hours, working in shifts, and negotiating payments terms with suppliers/ partners who were very understanding and helpful. We were lucky to have built a team who accepted our decisions, rose to the challenge, and trusted us to steer the ship through rough weather. Now we’ve come out the other side stronger than ever.”

Similar to any well-established startup, the UAE has also started to see other countries in the region contending to attract the same group of entrepreneurs. GCC states such as Saudi Arabia and Qatar have announced massive initiatives and campaigns to lure startups and establish themselves as entrepreneurial hubs.

“The thing with competition is that we don’t like it at the time, but competition raises your standards, and we know that Saudi Arabia, in particular with NEOM, is looking at trying to create an Estonian type smart-city set-up.

For me this is a huge opportunity for the UAE because while people [internationally] are not going to jump at the prospect of going on a holiday to Saudi Arabia – they might do in five years – what they will do now is come to Dubai and then look at doing some business in the kingdom,” states Petch.

Also, the UAE has already established itself as the region’s leading startup hub, whereas the other GCC states have yet to build such a reputation, says Rapp. According to research by Magnitt, the UAE led the regional venture capital investment growth in the first half of the year by number of deals and funding, acquiring 61 per cent of all MENA gulfbusiness.com

ILLUSTRATION: GETTY IMAGES/SORBETTO

THE COMPETITION

investments. “Furthermore, the UAE’s business climate continuously improves over time, with policies and regulations designed to provide more favourable conditions for foreign businesses and entrepreneurs. The UAE’s highly advantageous corporate September 2021

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COVER STORY / VIRTUZONE

two years (62 per cent) compared to traditional workers. Looking ahead, among adult Americans who aren’t currently digital nomads, 19 million said they plan to embark on the opportunity over the next 2-3 years and 64 million said that they “may” explore it.

To cater to this market, Dubai launched a virtual working programme last October – the remote work visa, which enables global citizens to live and work remotely from the city for one year. Earlier this year, the programme, which was designed to attract professionals, entrepreneurs and those working in startups, was also extended to cover the entire UAE. But more needs to be done to attract these nomads. “Firstly, we have to create the environment that can both be as open to them [digital nomads] as they are used to. Secondly, we need to go and market it to their friends and compatriots so that they come as well. If we do that, then the first thing that will happen is more people will come – as is already happening, but the next stage is that the people will come, set up a little business here and then they’ll [potentially look at] creating a trust or a foundation type structure here [which will include inheritance planning],” says Petch.

Another area which will help the UAE improve its competency is improving its banking structax policy (at zero per cent) gives it another edge. ture for startups. “What we have seen is that it can still Saudi has a corporate income tax of 20 per cent, be a huge challenge for new entrepreneurs to open a while Qatar levies a 10 per cent corporate tax, with The UAE’s bank account in the UAE. One solution we are seeing is exemption only granted to corporate entities wholly corporate tax the rise of digital and neobanks in the country. These owned by Qatari and GCC nationals,” he says. policy neobanks remove the traditional lengthy processes However, Petch also stresses that to stay ahead, for new businesses and entrepreneurs to open a bank the UAE, with support from the private sector, must account, and anyone can do the process from anywhere aggressively market itself as a destination that can in the world. They also generally have fewer requirements, which attract the rising number of digital nomads or those who work lessens the burden on new entrepreneurs, while easing the way for remotely. The digital nomad trend gained significant traction them to start growing their businesses. This year, we have already during the Covid-19 pandemic; an oft quoted report by US-based seen the launch of MBO Partners found YAP, the UAE’s first that 10.9 million independent digital American workers banking platform. currently describe Emaar has also themselves as digannounced they will ital nomads, an be creating their increase of 49 per own digital bankcent from 7.6 miling app, Zand, and lion in 2019. The Abu Dhabi’s ADQ report also found is also entering the that independent or neobanking arena, self-employed workwith an initial capers are much more ital of Dhs2bn likely to continue backing the project,” as digital nomads says Rapp. for at least the next

0%

“WHAT WE HAVE SEEN IS THAT IT CAN STILL BE A HUGE CHALLENGE FOR NEW ENTREPRENEURS TO OPEN A BANK ACCOUNT IN THE UAE. ONE SOLUTION WE ARE SEEING IS THE RISE OF DIGITAL AND NEOBANKS IN THE COUNTRY”

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COVER STORY / VIRTUZONE

THE FUTURE VISION

Petch coins an interesting term to describe the current status of the UAE. “Obviously you’re familiar with the term ‘brain drain’, but I think that at the moment we are experiencing a ‘brain gain’ in the UAE, and it’s our duty to help maximise that. What I mean by that term is that every day people are coming into our offices, they’re asking for support for enrolling their children in a school, or for renting a house, or for setting up a bank account in the UAE. Until now, for most part, we were helping entrepreneurs who were starting a new life in the UAE – either they just moved to the country or they were working for another company and decided to go it alone. While there’s still very large numbers like that, in my opinion, the biggest change has been this black swan event of Covid-19, which has led people to run their business from anywhere in the world.”

From a Virtuzone perspective, Petch says the company is keen on raising awareness globally about the key advantages that are present in the UAE. “We’re in a fortunate position where we can approach the government and urge for a public-private partnership, because we need to work together.”

Hojeige adds: “What we have been advocating since last year is the establishment of a borderless business economy, which will allow entrepreneurs to trade internationally without the additional challenges that geographic boundaries and traditional bureaucracies present. As the pandemic has shown us, we need to be able to do business regardless of the global scenario.

Livelihoods and economies are at stake, so while the UAE economy has proven to be resilient and agile, we need to hedge that growth and ensure our startup community will remain strong and thriving.”

While the UAE has certainly scripted a robust startup story so far, the initiatives it takes now will ensure happy endings – and new beginnings. gulfbusiness.com

ILLUSTRATION: GETTY IMAGES/IR_STONE

“WE’RE IN A FORTUNATE POSITION WHERE WE CAN APPROACH THE GOVERNMENT AND URGE FOR A PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP, BECAUSE WE NEED TO WORK TOGETHER”

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BRAND VIEW

50 and counting: Rising with the UAE Diversified conglomerate Al Masaood celebrates its golden jubilee this year alongside the UAE. Vice chairman Ahmed Rahma Al Masaood is now leading the company into the future

S

ince its establishment in 1970 as a small trading house, Al Masaood Group has exponentially grown to become a diversified business conglomerate with a robust presence in various industry verticals such as retail, energy, real estate, industry, and sports, among others. Its success as a business enterprise is rooted in its commitment to deliver value and support the UAE in achieving its ambition of becoming a leading global nation.

As the UAE marks 50 years of its founding this year, Al Masaood simultaneously celebrates its 50th anniversary. Its success story has been enabled by growing and diversifying responsibly to advance and support the country’s sustainable economic development and ensure prosperity. Through its wide network of local, regional and global partners, Al Masaood looks to the next 50 years of its journey as a period to continuously ‘Grow with the Nation’.

One of the leaders spearheading the growth of the Al Masaood Group is vice chairman Ahmed Rahma Al Masaood, an established name in the UAE business

community. Coming from a long line of business visionaries, he joins the ranks of the country’s young and progressive leaders.

Having mastered business skills early in life by observing and working alongside his father, Ahmed Al Masaood now brings in his unique entrepreneurial perspective to the company, helping shape its next phase of growth even as the UAE and the world adapts to rapid changes. In his current role, he leads several well-established regional companies of the group, including Al Masaood Oil & Gas, where, thanks to his focus on improving efficiencies while reducing costs, the company delivered exceptional results despite the oil price slump of 2018 in the Middle East.

He has also been instrumental in leading the expansion of Al Masaood Group’s portfolio and has helped establish new corporations in multiple industries.

The businessman says he is particularly motivated by the rich legacy and Ahmed Rahma Al Masaood has been instrumental in leading the group’s expansion into multiple sectors

forward-looking strategies of the UAE’s leadership, which in turn has played a role in shaping his long-term vision, which is anchored on economic diversification.

“Across the Middle East region, the UAE is one of the countries that is reputed to have sound economic fundamentals – owing mainly to its ambitious quest to become number one

Innovation and digital transformation play a critical role in the UAE’s path towards development on all fronts. Among its policies, its national economic diversification strategy has been able to strongly position the country as an important and influential regional and global economic force. There are no other programmes that hold such a powerful impact on the country’s growth and development as this strategy. It is reinforced by the government’s continuous efforts to look for ways to fasttrack its full transition to a knowledge-driven economy. Innovation and digital transformation, thus, play a critical role in the UAE’s path towards development. The power and influence of the UAE economy go beyond the Middle East. Its sustained economic strength, which enables it to face current and emerging challenges, will remain one of its distinguishing characteristics and will help catapult it into the ranks of the world’s best,” he says.

Similar to the UAE, Ahmed Al Masaood also believes strongly in the philosophy of giving back to the community. He leverages his position and influence in society to help power the nation’s future and elevate the quality of life of its people.

Committed to expanding and diversifying responsibly in support of the UAE’s sustainable growth and in line with the country’s preparations for the next 50 years, he is determined to contribute to the continuous advancement of the national economy’s Al Masaood Group was established 50 years ago and continues to grow

diversification and development, while focusing on the areas of women empowerment and private-public partnerships.

Outside business, Ahmed Al Masaood is passionate about sports. He strongly believes in the power of healthy competition and the value of sports in raising strong future generations. With this in mind, he launched the Juventus Football Academy in Abu Dhabi to give young and aspiring athletes access to professional sports education. He also played a large role in Al Masaood Group’s sponsorship of the 2019 Special Olympics World Games in Abu Dhabi, which was the biggest humanitarian sports event held for the first time in the Middle East and North Africa.

FEATURES / COUNTRY FOCUS

S AU D I A R A B I A : RIDING INTO TOMORROW WITH A YOUNG LEADERSHIP AT THE HELM, SAUDI ARABIA HAS EMBARKED ON A JOURNEY OF GROWTH, DIVERSIFICATION AND ALLIANCES ZAINAB MANSOOR

PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES/MATTHEW STARLING

S

audi Arabia is charting a new growth course.

Powered in large part by an intent to embolden its non-oil-based economy, the kingdom has marked sustainability, tourism and diversification as key priorities, subsequently unveiling reforms, projects and alliances to set itself on a formidable trajectory of progress.

The year 2019 ended on a high note for Saudi Arabia in the wake of the historic IPO of the world’s biggest oil producer Saudi Aramco that helped raise $29.4bn.

Last year, factors such as oil vaulting into negative territory for the first time in history, and the global health crisis caused by the Covid-19 pandemic which resulted in social and economic restrictions did challenge the country’s growth, but the kingdom continued with its mitigating efforts and also embarked on an investment spree.

“The Saudi economy entered the

gulfbusiness.com

Covid-19 pandemic with strong policy buffers and reform momentum. The authorities responded quickly and decisively to the crisis with a range of fiscal, financial, and employment support programmes that helped cushion the impact of the pandemic on the private sector.

As the lockdown eased and the economy recovered in the second half of 2020, the government withdrew or increasingly targeted the temporary fiscal and employment support,” the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said in a statement, after its 2021 Article IV consultation with Saudi Arabia.

“The economy is recovering well. The non-oil recovery that started in the second half of 2020 is expected to continue with non-oil growth projected at 4.3 per cent this year [2021]. While central government fiscal consolidation will be a drag on growth, it is expected to be offset by higher Public Investment Fund investment and strong private demand. Real oil GDP growth is projected at -0.4 per cent in

2021 as production is assumed to remain in line with the OPEC+ agreement and overall real GDP is expected to grow by 2.4 per cent. Over the medium-term, growth is expected to accelerate as the economic reform agenda begins to pay dividends.”

It added: “Inflation is expected at 3.2 per cent in 2021 (annual average). Credit to the private sector has been very strong, boosted by programmes to encourage mortgage and SME lending. Banks remain liquid, well capitalised, and well-regulated and supervised.”

Saudi began the year hosting the 41st GCC Summit at its ancient city of AlUla, where the kingdom – along with the UAE, Bahrain, and Egypt – signed an agreement to reset ties with Qatar, ending a three-year regional row. The kingdom’s sovereign wealth fund Public Investment Fund (PIF) also launched its five-year strategy in January, including its Vision Realisation Programme (VRP) 2021-2025. The fund said that it would spend a minimum of $40bn annually in domestic projects September 2021

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FEATURES / COUNTRY FOCUS

PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES/BET_NOIRE

and investments, contribute $320bn to non-oil GDP cumulatively through its portfolio companies, as well as increase assets under management to over $1.07 trillion. It also plans to generate 1.8 million direct and indirect jobs by the end of 2025.

Oil also recorded a strong recovery this year with Brent futures nearing $78 in early July, despite a downward spiral in 2020. Global oil demand is now seen rising by 5.3 million barrels per day (bpd) on average this year to reach 96.2 million bpd, and by a further 3.2 million bpd in 2022, the International Energy Agency said in its August 2021 oil market report.

“Global oil supply is ramping up fast. In July, producers boosted output by 1.7 million bpd, as Saudi Arabia ended voluntary curbs and the North Sea bounced back from maintenance. Supply is expected to rise further after the producer bloc agreed a deal on July 18 that aims to raise production by 400,000 bpd a month from August until the remaining cuts are phased out.”

Saudi Arabia has launched a series of directives running the gamut of the economic ecosystem to enhance competitiveness and local capabilities. In an attempt to better regulate the local labour market, Saudi introduced revised directives governing foreign labour. The new initiative is aimed at regulating the exit and re-entry visa issuance process, granting foreign workers added flexibility. The kingdom also trebled its value-added tax (VAT), initially introduced in 2018, from 5 to 15 per cent, effective July 1, 2020, to shore up revenues.

Ravi Bhatia, director, Sovereign Ratings, S&P Global Ratings notes that the VAT increase supported fiscal receipts during a difficult time when oil prices were low.

“They are also continuing to support the structural shift toward increasing non-oil revenues and reduced reliance on oil. The VAT increase did impact inflation slightly, but the effects should be temporary.”

Sachin Kerur, head of Middle East at Reed Smith, builds on this: “Saudi Arabia’s decision to raise value-added tax to 15 per cent was a bold decision. As it works towards Vision 2030, the kingdom has made no secret of its desire to diversify away from oil and increase non-oil 34

September 2021

PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES/VIKTORIIA HNATIUK

KEY DECISIONS

15%

The kingdom’s current VAT rate, which trebled last year from 5 per cent in 2018

1.8 million

The number of direct and indirect jobs that sovereign wealth fund PIF aims to create by the end of 2025

income. Raising the VAT was just one of the means to achieve this.

“The move to increase VAT will of course result in increased consumer prices and therefore may present short term challenges for some individuals and businesses. We have seen from Q1 data that the government has lowered the fiscal deficit, both by raising VAT and lowering expenditure. This is a positive indicator and reinforces the kingdom’s long-term strategy in maintaining fiscal responsibility in a post-Covid world and reaffirming a commitment to its Vision 2030.”

The Saudi government also announced its intent to cease contracting with gulfbusiness.com

FEATURES / COUNTRY FOCUS

PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES/ADRIANA VAN DE WAL/EYEEM

companies and commercial institutions which have regional headquarters outside the kingdom to further localise commercial operations. The move, which will come into effect from January 1, 2024, aims to create more jobs, limit economic leakage and increase spending efficiency.

Kerur at Reed Smith opines that on the basis that this will not come into effect until 2024, there is a lot that may change between now and then. “What should be clear is that companies which are committed to the region will have the insights and will forward plan to ensure they can properly cover the whole region, whatever the eventual corporate structuring that is required.”

SETTING SIGHTS ON SUSTAINABILITY Amid economic initiatives, the GCC’s largest economy is also seeking to build a sustainable future as it looks to address environmental concerns. Aiming to become the world’s ‘largest supplier of hydrogen’ as well as being cognisant of the importance of renewables, Saudi is exploring opportunities and earmarking considerable investment to pursue sustainable forms of energy. It aims to develop the world’s largest green hydrogen project after an agreement was signed between Air Products, ACWA Power and NEOM last year. The $5bn green hydrogen-based ammonia production facility will be located in NEOM and will produce green ammonia for export to global markets. The world’s first blue ammonia shipment was also dispatched from Saudi Arabia to Japan in 2020.

Additionally, the Dumat Al Jandal wind farm recently produced its first carbonfree megawatt-hours of energy. Located in the Al-Jouf region, the wind power project is connected to the country’s electricity transmission grid and the farm will – upon completion – supply energy to power up to 70,000 Saudi homes, saving 988,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions per year. ACWA Power also announced the financial close for the 1,500MW Sudair Solar plant last month, which, with an investment value of SAR3.4bn, is set to become one of the world’s largest single-contracted solar PV plants.

“The kingdom is committed to building a more efficient and lower-carbon energy future, having announced goals gulfbusiness.com

to generate 50 per cent of its power from renewables by 2030, with the remainder fuelled by gas, displacing oil currently used for power generation in the country,” notes Hisham Al Bahkali, president of GE Saudi Arabia and Bahrain. “We can collaborate to further decarbonisation efforts by improving the efficiency of existing assets, bringing technologies with record-setting efficiency levels to the country, providing renewable power generation equipment, digital solutions, and more.”

In March, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman announced the Saudi and Middle East green initiatives with local targets including the planting of 10

billion trees across Saudi Arabia, reducing carbon emissions by more than 4 per cent of global contributions, raising protected areas to more than 30 per cent of the total land area and achieving 50 per cent renewables in the kingdom’s energy mix by 2030.

Meanwhile the Middle East Green Initiative will see the kingdom collaborate with other regional countries to plant an additional 40 billion trees. The project will restore an area equivalent to 200 million hectares of degraded land, representing 5 per cent of the global target of planting one trillion trees and reducing 2.5 per cent of global carbon levels.

“As a leading global oil producer, the kingdom fully recognises its share of responsibility in advancing the fight against the climate crisis.

Just as the kingdom underpinned energy markets during the oil and gas era, it is going to become a global leader in forging a greener world,” Prince Mohammed said at the time.

“What should be clear is that companies which are committed to the region will have the insights and will forward plan to ensure they can properly cover the whole region, whatever the eventual corporate structuring that is required”

September 2021

35

FEATURES / COUNTRY FOCUS

PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES/RAMEEEZ MANAMA/EYEEM

High among Saudi’s priorities to tip the scales firmly toward a diversified economy is the revamp of the country’s tourism landscape. The intent to attract broader foreign interest was materialised when Saudi rolled out its international tourism e-visa in September 2019 following a massive global marketing campaign.

The country issued more than 400,000 tourist visas by March 2020, when it closed its borders due to the pandemic.

The kingdom is also focusing on building its infrastructure to support its tourism ambitions. Among the high-profile development projects touted to change the tourism landscape are the Red Sea Project, the $500bn NEOM, the $8bn Qiddiya entertainment zone and Amaala.

“In Saudi Arabia, tourism represents a relatively small proportion of the overall economy. Given the desire to diversify the economy, tourism makes a lot of sense.

Today, we have something like 3-3.4 per cent contribution [of tourism] towards GDP, which is largely based on religious tourism,” John Pagano, CEO of The Red Sea Development Company and Amaala told Gulf Business earlier this year.

Other tourism projects include the Soudah Development near the country’s border with Yemen, as well as the AlUla project which is projected to contribute SAR120bn to the kingdom’s GDP. “Saudi Arabia has been a tourist destination for a long time with many flocking to the kingdom for Hajj and Umrah.

The kingdom has recently started to implement exciting plans to develop its tourism sector to attract a more diverse spread of foreign visitors with the development of a number of new cultural and heritage sites as well as major entertainment venues. And just recently, the Crown Prince has announced plans to create a new national airline and committed to invest over $147bn in transportation infrastructure over the next nine years,” says Kerur.

AN ENABLING ENVIRONMENT Similar to the other GCC states, Saudi Arabia has also seen a rise in its entrepreneurial ecosystem with the kingdom seeing a strong acceleration in startup funding. According to MAGNiTT’s H1 2021 Saudi Arabia Venture Capital Report, 36

September 2021

PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES/MOHAMED HUSSAIN YOUNIS/EYEEM

TALKING TOURISM

the country’s venture capital ecosystem grew by 65 per cent year-on-year to reach its highest half-yearly funding in H1 2021, while early-stage funding made up 82 per cent of the 54 transactions closed in the first half of the year.

Startups headquartered in the kingdom closed one in every five transactions registered in the MENA region, with fintech startups specifically raising 1,700 per cent more capital year-on-year, the report added.

Initiatives and developments across the business terrain also bore fruit – according to Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Investment, the kingdom issued 478 new foreign investor licences during Q1 2021, the biggest number in a single quarter since records began in 2005. The manufacturing sector secured 114 new licences, while retail and e-commerce, and construction garnered 78 licences respectively. According to UNCTAD’s World Investment Report 2021, FDI in Saudi increased by 20 per cent year-on-year to reach $5.5bn in 2020, with investments concentrated in financial services, retail, e-commerce, and ICT.

MOVING FORWARD With key goals in sight and efforts in place to boost local capabilities, bolster the entrepreneurial landscape and enhance competitiveness, Saudi Arabia is riding into the future at an encouraging pace.

As Bhatia notes: “The growth prospects are improving, as global oil prices (and Saudi production volumes) are stronger this year and increasing vaccination rates will also support the non-oil economy. We expect this momentum to continue.” gulfbusiness.com

BRAND VIEW

Taking stock: Tech focus A look at the 2021 first-half performance of some of the stocks recommended by entrepreneur and investor Shailesh Dash, who shares his perspective in this monthly column

G

iven the importance of investing for the long term in the current market environment, we had recommended 26 stocks since March 2020 to capitalise on strong fundamentals and robust growth. Last month, we had looked at

two sub-sectors within the technology space – healthtech and medtech, as well as fintech – to understand their performance during the first half of the year. Now we analyse three additional segments to see how they fared.

5G: The prices of 5G recommended stocks

witnessed downward pressure in Q1 2021 with an average decline of 6.7 per cent. However, the stocks recovered in Q2 with gains of 9.6 per cent to continue the positive performance in H1. Within the recommended stocks in the 5G sector, Lumentum was the only stock to record a drop of 13.8 per cent in the first half Performance of select 5G stocks in 2021 of the year, which can be attributed STOCK PRICE PERFORMANCE VALUATION MULTIPLES to a continued delay in 5G deployStock Market ment in China.

52-Week 52-Week EPS P/E P/S EV/ EV/ Company Name Price YTD Q2 21 Q1 21 2020 Cap High Low (USD) Ratio Ratio Sales EBITDA Gaming: The recommended (USD) (USD bn) gaming stocks were the best perTeradyne 119.9 0.0% 10.1% 1.5% 75.8% 147.9 74.1 19.9 4.3 28.1 6.2 6.1 18.5 forming index within the selected Cerence 108.2 7.7% 19.1% -10.8% 344.0% 139.0 36.3 4.1 0.9 127.3 11.2 11.9 53.4 universe with a gain of 10.2 per cent 19.5% 112.1 65.7 6.1 3.4 23.4 3.5 3.1 10.2 Lumentum 80.3 -15.3% -10.2% -3.6% in H1. Nvidia was the top performer Xilinx 128.6 -9.3% 16.7% -12.6% 45.0% 154.9 96.7 31.6 2.9 43.8 10.0 9.6 32.3 with gains of 52.1 per cent in H1. The Apple 146.4 10.3% 12.1% -7.9% 80.8% 150.0 89.1 2,443.0 4.4 33.0 7.6 7.8 25.5 outperformance was broadly driven Average Growth -1.3% 9.6% -6.7% 113.0% by an 84 per cent rise in revenues SOURCE: BLOOMBERG, YAHOO FINANCE; DATA AS OF JULY 16, 2021 year-on-year in Q1.

Performance of select gaming stocks in 2021 Cloud computing: The recSTOCK PRICE PERFORMANCE VALUATION MULTIPLES ommended stocks within cloud Stock Market computing were the worst perform52-Week 52-Week EPS P/E P/S EV/ EV/ Company Name Price YTD Q2 21 Q1 21 2020 Cap High Low (USD) Ratio Ratio Sales EBITDA ing with a drop of 10.3 per cent in the (USD) (USD bn) first six months of the year, with the Activision Blizzard 91.8 -1.1% 2.6% 0.2% 56.3% 104.5 71.2 71.3 3.1 29.8 8.3 7.6 20.5 underperformance attributed to Tencent 71.5 -0.6% -5.6% 11.0% 49.7% 99.4 64.1 685.8 2.9 25.1 8.8 1.6 4.5 realising part of the gains to move Nintendo 70.6 -12.4% 2.4% -12.1% 61.4% 82.6 54.7 74.3 4.6 15.5 4.2 -1.0 -2.6 into other cyclical stocks. However, NetEase 112.1 17.1% 11.6% 7.8% 56.2% 134.3 82.9 75.2 19.0 5.9 6.3 0.2 0.7 we believe that the fundamentals of Take-Two Interactive 170.5 -17.9% 0.2% -15.0% 69.7% 214.9 148.9 19.8 2.1 79.7 5.8 4.7 21.0 cloud-based companies continue Nvidia 726.4 39.1% 49.9% 2.2% 121.9% 835.0 391.1 452.6 9.7 74.7 23.3 24.3 67.1 to remain robust and the pullback Average Growth 4.0% 10.2% -1.0% 69.2% offers an opportunity for investors SOURCE: BLOOMBERG, YAHOO FINANCE; DATA AS OF JULY 16, 2021 to accumulate companies within Performance of select cloud computing stocks in 2021 this space to align with the changSTOCK PRICE PERFORMANCE VALUATION MULTIPLES ing economic landscape.

Stock Price (USD)

YTD

Q2 21

Q1 21

2020

52-Week High

52-Week Low

Market Cap (USD bn)

EPS (USD)

P/E Ratio

P/S Ratio

EV/ Sales

EV/ EBITDA

Alteryx Inc.

77.1

-36.7%

3.7%

-31.9%

21.7%

181.1

73.3

5.2

-0.8

-

10.1

10.2

12496.3 -29.8

Company Name

Splunk Inc.

134.4

-20.9%

6.7%

-20.3%

13.4%

225.9

110.3

22.0

-6.2

-

9.4

9.9

The Trade Desk Inc.

70.6

-11.8%

18.7%

-18.6%

208.3%

97.3

40.4

30.8

0.5

144.1

36.9

37.1

198.1

Coupa Software Inc.

217.5

-35.8%

3.0%

-24.9%

131.7%

377.0

215.0

16.0

-4.5

-

26.1

28.8

-147.9

Atlassian Corporation

260.6

11.4%

21.9%

-9.9%

94.3%

275.7

160.0

65.5

0.0

-

33.1

33.0

464.6

-18.8%

10.8%

-21.1%

93.9%

Average Growth

SOURCE: BLOOMBERG, YAHOO FINANCE; DATA AS OF JULY 16, 2021

gulfbusiness.com

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 some of the recommended stocks.

September 2020 37

Exclusive paintings, sculptures and photography from award-winning international artists.

Painting by Jassim Al Awadhi

The 50th Anniversary Arabian Falcon Navigator Clock

by David Galbraith Photograph by Anthony Lamb

Liddington Clock

by David Galbraith

BRAND VIEW

Uzbekistan beckons The country has embarked on an ambitious economic transformation strategy as it transitions to New Uzbekistan. Rustamov Jakhongir, deputy commissioner general of the Uzbekistan Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai, reveals more

A

s a country located at the heart of the Great Silk Road, Uzbekistan is currently in the process of transitioning from old paradigms to the ‘New Uzbekistan’.

In 2020, Uzbekistan’s leadership announced a new five-year national strategy and roadmap to enhance its commodity and financial markets to address structural problems inhibiting economic development.

As part of the plan, the country is transforming from a closed, state-controlled economic model to an open market economy. The government has undertaken several reforms to integrate comprehensive competition development, privatisation and state-owned enterprise (SOE) transformation strategies.

Led by President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, the country has implemented reforms such as the unification of exchange rates, liberalisation of foreign trade, removal of various administrative barriers hindering the cross-border flow of goods and people, commencing the transformation of the banking sector, radical tax reform and reduction in state intervention. The measures have led to healthy competition in industries such as F&B (soft drinks, juices, bread, bakery, meat and dairy, confectionery), as well as

39 September 2021

As part of the plan, the country is transforming from a closed, statecontrolled economic model to an open market economy furniture, carpet and carpet products, medical masks and textiles, among others. All of this has provided a great impetus to significantly improve competition in the economy.

These reforms also hold great importance in shaping the future of Uzbekistan and establishing global ties. Prior to the Covid19 pandemic, Uzbekistan recorded strong growth in foreign trade, which increased from $24bn in 2016 to almost $42bn in 2019. According to the World Bank, foreign direct investment also increased from 2 per

Uzbekistan President Shavkat Mirziyoyev

cent of GDP in 2016 to almost 4 per cent of GDP in 2019. The country also improved its ranking on the Doing Business Index, jumping from the 87th position in 2016 to rank 69th in 2020.

Meanwhile, some of the new goals that aim to further achieve the country’s vision include reducing the number of monopolies by at least 40 per cent, eliminating distortive legal norms by at least 30 per cent, growing the number of market players by 25 per cent, reducing the share of state intervention by 40 per cent of GDP, and reducing the share of state aid by 10 per cent of GDP. The strategy also calls for the creation of smart antitrust regulation, the development of effective tools to regulate digital markets, the implementation of new tools of market analysis, and decreasing state price regulation. The roadmap envisages diminishing the domination of SOEs in key sectors such as automobiles, steel manufacturing, telecoms, chemicals, banking and oil and gas.

In all, the key objective of the strategy is to foster economic development, innovation, increase the inflow of investment, create new jobs and ensure the welfare of consumers by ensuring a “level playing field” to all market players.

The country is also creating strong supportive measures to establish a healthy, dynamic and mobile private sector as the driving force and the backbone of the economy; further enhancement of the existing institutions and the introduction of new effective, supportive and reliable conditions to enable employment for women, young people and disadvantaged groups; the opening up the education system; and providing access to financing.

With so much to offer, ‘New Uzbekistan’ will open up a variety of investment and trade opportunities for people from the GCC region, even as the country continues to enact new policies set to serve as the driving force for sustainable progress in the future. gulfbusiness.com

BRAND VIEW

Heralding a new era Uzbekistan is hosting its first-ever independent pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai. As the country showcases its ambitious economic plans and its cultural attractions to the world, Uzbekistan’s ambassador to the UAE Bakhtiyor Ibragimov reveals why he is confident about stronger ties with the UAE and where the country is headed

H

ow has Uzbekistan’s bilateral relations with the UAE evolved in recent years?

This year, we will be celebrating 29 years of establishing diplomatic relations between the Republic of Uzbekistan and the UAE. But if you take a look back, the real start of our bilateral relations was two years ago in March 2019, when we had the first official visit of our President Shavkat Mirziyoyev to the UAE, where he met with the UAE’s leaders.

Prior to that visit, the amount of FDI between the two countries was negligible. However, between March 2019 and August 2021, the amount of FDI from the UAE to Uzbekistan has reached $4.5bn. And these are projects which are already in the implementation stage.

Late last month, we had the grand opening of the first ever solar plant in Uzbekistan with a capacity of 100MW, which was built by Abu Dhabi-based Masdar.

So, since that meeting, relations between the UAE and Uzbekistan are flourishing and there is constant dialogue between the leaders. We are mainly collaborating in the sectors of energy, agriculture as well as public governance.

Is tourism also a strong area of common interest?

Tourism is definitely another area of interest, as both the countries have something unique to offer. The UAE is one of the best tourist destinations globally. What they built has been achieved in 50 years, and they now have millions of tourists visiting the country every year.

In terms of Uzbekistan, it is also unique in terms of its touristic attractions. The Great Silk Road passed through Uzbekistan’s ancient and historic cities such as Samarkhand, Bukhara and Khiva, which boast buildings that highlight the achievements of our ancestors – this is what we can show to the world. In terms of attractions, we are also unique to the Muslim world because the most known person of

40 September 2021

Bakhtiyor Ibragimov, Uzbekistan’s ambassador to the UAE

Uzbekistan is renowned Hadith scholar Imam Al Bukhari, whose tomb is in Samarkhand. We are carrying out major renovations to increase the complex size [of the site] to accommodate 8,000- 10,000 people, since we expect more and more visitors. We are also receiving international flights to Samarkhand.

This year will be 30 years of our independence, but Uzbekistan only opened to

international tourists five years ago. Since then, we have been keenly developing the industry. First of all, we have implemented visa relaxations – so to date we created a visafree regime for up to 30 days for tourists from over 80 countries. When it comes to the UAE, we offer visa-free entry for citizens and residents for tourism and for those who want to do business in Uzbekistan. Secondly, we also improved our airport infrastructure as it offers the first impression of a country. So now we are providing services according to international standards.

Where we are looking to collaborate with the

We are looking to spread the message about who we are, what we do, and for foreign tourists to get more information about the past, present and future of Uzbekistan gulfbusiness.com

BRAND VIEW

UAE is to learn from them in terms of providing the hospitality infrastructure. For instance, in 2016, we only had one five-star hotel in the whole country, which was in Tashkent. Today, in Tashkent, we have five five-star hotels and other properties from internationally recognised brands across the country.

Uzbekistan has its own pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai within the Sustainability District. What is the message that you are looking to convey to visitors?

This is the first time in the history of Uzbekistan where we will be participating with our own pavilion at a World Expo. Our pavilion will be spread across 1,739sqm – which is not small – and we will be having three sections showcasing the past, present and future of the country.

We have a very rich history – from a religious as well as a cultural perspective. For example, one of the three copies of the Osman Quran is in Uzbekistan and we are now talking with Expo organisers to showcase this historic relic – we cannot confirm whether the original or a copy – to international visitors.

Also, we are a multinational country – just like the UAE, with more than 100 nationalities

gulfbusiness.com

residing in Uzbekistan. In all we have 14 regions, each with their own national dance, music, instruments and cuisine. We are now working closely with the Expo to bring performances from each region of Uzbekistan with their national costumes, music and dance to make foreigners acquainted with our culture.

Visitors can also sample authentic Uzbek cuisine within the pavilion (the country is known for growing one of the best cherries in the world).

We are looking to spread the message about who we are, what we do, and for foreign tourists to get more information about the past, present and future of Uzbekistan. We also want visitors to understand about the potential of the country and the opportunities it offers investors.

Looking ahead, how do you envision the New Uzbekistan of the future to look like?

If we talk about the middle-term strategy, and this is already outlined in our roadmap for economic development, we have to eliminate all shortages which we unfortunately inherited. And one of the greatest challenges is to create jobs for Uzbekistan’s young generation because we are the most populous country in Central Asia, with roughly 35 million people.

But we are rapidly growing the reach of education across the country from kindergarten to university level. So, for the next five to 10 years, we have to catch up on what we have missed and make our people happy by providing jobs and salaries.

Another challenge for us is the energy sector, because the current demand is still outpacing supply. At present, our generating capacity is around 12GW, and our current demand is around 18GW. But we expect that because we are now developing our economy, demand will reach 24GW by 2030. Our target is to bring our generating capacity to more than match that demand and increase it to 30GW by 2030. The major emphasis is on renewables, in line with global efforts to reduce emissions and develop the green economy.

So now we are talking about 3.5GW projects in solar and wind – out of which Masdar is working with us on almost 2.5GW. Along with the solar project, they are also working on the country’s first wind project.

We do have very ambitious plans, but as our leadership says, we don’t have any other choice. So we will have to charge ahead and satisfy our people’s expectations. The whole team is working hard to achieve this vision.

September 2021 41

GULF BUSINESS IS EXPANDING ITS TECHNOLOGY DIVISION WITH THE UPCOMING GB TECH AWARDS SET TO CELEBRATE THE SUCCESS AND ACHIEVEMENTS OF BUSINESSES AND INDIVIDUALS DRIVING THE REGIONAL TECH INDUSTRY FORWARD

BY DIVSHA BHAT

T

he UAE’s technology sector is understandably emerging as one of the fastest growing industries in the country, while also setting global benchmarks.

Whether it’s artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain, cloud computing, or machine learning, the country is taking giant strides in terms of innovation and progress.

The rollout of 5G internet networks is facilitating the proliferation of smart services, machine-to-machine communication and connected transport. Accordingly, significant investment is being made in IT infrastructure build-out initiatives, as well as in efficiency-enabling technologies.

In line with the increased focus on the technology sector, Gulf Business is gearing to launch new products and initiatives that can offer greater insight into the sector while also highlighting its achievements. While a new magazine is set to be rolled out shortly (further details will be disclosed soon), we are also launching the GB Tech Awards next month to acknowledge the various organisations and individuals who are driving the future of the regional

PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES/HIROSHI WATANABE

GB TECH: FUTURE FORWARD

FEATURES / TECHNOLOGY

CONSUMER TECH The Middle East and Africa (MEA) personal computing devices (PCD) market, comprising desktops, notebooks, workstations, and tablets, recorded yearon-year growth of 36.6 per cent in the first quarter of 2021 – the highest annual growth seen in the region since Q1 2006, according to a recent IDC report. The demand for new consumer tech products is also rapidly growing due to the availability of devices stimulating the automation of daily chores. With each new development, consumers expect more features in their devices, which has forced manufacturers to innovate constantly in terms of technology, design and engineering.

ENTERPRISE TECH Middle Eastern countries – especially those in the GCC – are early adopters of cutting-edge digital technologies, backed by governments that are aggressively diversifying their economies. Investments in digital transformation and innovation will account for 30 per cent of all IT spending in the MEA and Turkey by 2024, up from 18 per cent in 2018, an IDC report predicts. The public and private sectors have made significant gains in establishing a robust digital infrastructure that supports innovation and opens new economic possibilities. This has also attracted investment from various technology vendors.

DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION Despite the ongoing pandemic, businesses who have made steady progress on their gulfbusiness.com

PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES/METAMORWORKS

tech industry. Despite the fact that the past year has been extremely challenging, the biggest names in technology industry delivered some of the best and most innovative digital products and solutions. With the GB Tech Awards, we would like to take the opportunity to toast those significant achievements.

The GB Tech Awards will honour and celebrate the success of businesses and individuals in areas such as digital transformation, cloud, cybersecurity, blockchain, and artificial intelligence, among others.

The event will recognise technological and commercial innovation and entrepreneurial excellence. The awards and the categories are based on the current market trends, including: digital transformation journeys have shown increased operational resilience.

Although there was a move towards digital penetration even before Covid-19, the pandemic has accelerated the process, which looks set to gain more momentum in the future.

CLOUD According to IDC, spending on public cloud services will grow 26.7 per cent to top $3.7bn in the MEA and Turkey region this year. The increased demand for cloudbased solutions during Covid-19, business expansion by market leaders in the region, growing investments in cloud-based technologies for smart city projects, as well as governmental initiatives within the space are some of the key factors driving the growth of cloud computing solutions and services.

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE PwC estimates that AI could contribute up to $15.7 trillion to the global economy in 2030 and the Middle East is expected to accrue 2 per cent of the total global benefits of AI, equivalent to $320bn. Both the UAE and Saudi Arabia have placed AI at the heart of their economic strategies over the next decade, while countries like Egypt and Qatar have also established initiatives to strengthen the application of the emerging technology.

INTERNET OF THINGS (IOT) IoT adoption has already been an integral part of the digital transformation process in the Middle East region. Organisations across the region are using IoT to achieve a range of objectives – from better asset utilisation and managing risks, to creating entirely new business models.

Both the UAE and Saudi Arabia have placed AI at the heart of their economic strategies over the next decade, while countries like Egypt and Qatar have also established initiatives to strengthen the application of the emerging technology September 2021

43

FEATURES / TECHNOLOGY

AUGMENTED REALITY (AR) AND VIRTUAL REALITY (VR) According to a new report launched

by PwC Middle East, AR and VR will contribute $4.1bn to the UAE economy by 2030. The majority of the contribution to the UAE economy will come from AR ($2.8bn) with VR providing $1.3bn. The technologies will also have a significant impact on employment in the country, with PwC estimating that 0.6 per cent of jobs (upwards of 40,000 people) “will be enhanced” due to AR and VR by 2030.

Sectors expected to see the most impact are healthcare and retail.

BLOCKCHAIN AND FINTECH The fintech sector in MENA will reach $2.5bn by 2022 as a consequence of regional and multi-national financial institutions deploying digital platforms to change client experiences, save costs

Meet the judges

and comply with data rules, according to research published by law firm Clifford Chance.

The UAE – particularly Dubai – is at the forefront of blockchain technology adoption in the Middle East, with Bahrain and Saudi Arabia also frontrunners in the field. The Emirates Blockchain Strategy 2021 intends to use blockchain technology to convert 50 per cent of government transactions to a blockchain platform by the end of the year.

AGRITECH In the Middle East, agricultural technology (agritech) is seeing strong investment interest on the back of the rising importance of food security. According to Wamda, there were 33 agreements in agritech firms totaling $250m in disclosed investments between 2014 and 2020. Looking specifically at the UAE, the ‘Innovation Programme’ by

September 2021

CYBERSECURITY In line with all the trends mentioned above, it is no surprise that cybersecurity has become one of the major growth verticals within the broader technology spectrum as the region’s governments strive to create secure digital environments. Backed by advancements in big data storage, AI and blockchain, the cybersecurity industry, particularly in the UAE, is projected to see strong growth. The UAE’s National Cybersecurity Strategy, unveiled in 2019, aims to create a safe and strong cyber infrastructure in the country. Saudi Arabia was also ranked second in the world for cybersecurity commitment by the Global Cybersecurity Index 2020.

Dr Lt Hamad Khalifa Al Nuaimi, head of Telecommunications division, ICT centre, Abu Dhabi Police HQ

Al Nuaimi started with Abu Dhabi Police as a network technician in 2002. Simultaneously, he earned his higher diploma degree at CNET from the Higher College of Technology (HCT), Al Ain City, as well as a bachelor’s degree in Computer Networking. He later served as a Network Section manager at Abu Dhabi Police from 2005-2009 and between 2012 to 2016. In 2009, he moved to New York state where he completed his master’s degree in Telecommunications Network management. A prominent advocate of telecoms and technology, he is also the co-founder of Digital Barza, a community of over 100 CIO and CISO members that seeks to accelerate the process of sharing and exchanging knowledge.

Dr Jassim Haji, president, Artificial Intelligence Society, Bahrain

With management and executive experience in aviation, hospitality, technology and telecommunications for over 30 years, Dr Jassim Haji is an international expert, strategist and researcher in AI and digital transformation.

He started his career with Sprint Telecommunications in London before joining Gulf Air in 1985 as a network engineer and moved to American airline travel IT solutions company Sabre. In 2008, he moved to Gulf Air as the director of its IT division. He has served on the board of directors of a hospitality and tourism technology provider in the Middle East and on a SITA Council representing the Middle East and North Africa.

The judging panel for the GB Tech Awards will include two industry experts from esteemed GCC organisations

44

the Abu Dhabi Investment Office (ADIO) expanded its agtech incentive to Dhs2bn last year to boost the development of its agriculture ecosystem.

gulfbusiness.com

APPLAUDING THE LEADERS BUILDING THE REGION’S TECH FUTURE

Launching October 2021

VOTE PROCESSING PARTNER

PRESENTED BY

BRAND VIEW

Technology’s role in mitigating financial crimes While financial crimes may be complex and difficult to track, the Effiya Compliance suite ensures that risk assessment is conducted seamlessly, according to Effiya Technologies

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robust financial sector is a vital prelude to sustainable growth. Therefore, it is imperative that considerable effort is invested by private and public entities to ensure that the financial ecosystem is largely immune to malicious activity, thereby safeguarding economic integrity.

Amid regulatory support by authorities and strong checks and balances, financial institutions locally, in the region and around the world, have built tenacious anti-money laundering (AML) and compliance frameworks, but the ‘fight’ to mitigate financial crimes and money laundering (ML) isn’t the wheelhouse of banks alone – according to recent regulations, it must be a priority for other players as well, namely real estate brokers and agents, dealers of precious metals and stones, independent account auditors and company formation service providers.

“Owners of smaller companies are feeling very uneasy. They don’t have fancy budgets to buy an expensive compliance software.

Neither do they have a mature AML system, because before the recent update, they were not expected to track financial crimes at this level. They are also under pressure to upgrade quickly, to avoid heavy fines,” says Amal Sharma, sales director of tech development company Effiya Technologies.

The Effiya Compliance Suite, developed by consultants who have jointly delivered more than 200 engagements in the domain of anti-financial crimes, integrates with multiple client systems (KYC/CDD, Swift, core systems). It offers an investigation module with visual features within the solution, offering a window to see who customers are transacting with, data of whom is collected and analysed.

“We have explored ways for [smaller] companies to overcome each of their compliance challenges. With the Compliance Suite,

one doesn’t need to know programming.

Users can create and update everything via a simple drag-and-drop interface. Generally, relevant software is mainly designed for large organisations with expensive hardware required to run it. However, Effiya’s solution can scale from hundreds of clients to millions.

If the organisation is smaller, the solution will easily run on a simple computer.”

Effiya’s AML solution helps manage compliance regulations in an effective manner.

The solution hosts a decision engine where AML rules can be conveniently configured by the customer while its proprietary MLbased analytics engine is custom built to manage alerts.

Key checks

The detection of financial crimes has been automated for more than two decades, yet most predictive models fail to identify malicious activity, notes Abhishek Gupta, managing director, Effiya Technologies, attributing them to three key reasons.

“The primary reason is poor data quality

that leads to unsatisfactory predictive power in the end. On occasions, basic information isn’t available, while on others, data isn’t missing in the source system, but the problem lies in the way it is stored and processed.

However, data quality can be improved by manual checks or with the help of a data management software. Secondly, definitions aren’t right. If you mix two disparate definitions, the predictive power of the model drops. And third is the human factor – modeling is 80 per cent science and 20 per cent art. Education, experience and IQ are equally important. If you don’t hire the best talent, your team may not see how particular variables influence the outcome, and your model will prove to be weak.”

Operational resilience is critical to the future of financial services. Hence, strategic development in areas of business growth must be complemented with compliancedriven investment, which will benefit financial institutions and other companies by equipping them in their fight against increasingly sophisticated financial crime.

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FEATURES / TECHNOLOGY

Charging the

FUTURE

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he Middle East – and particularly the GCC – has seen a sharp rise in the number of data centres in recent years to cope with increased demand for cloud and big data. This in turn has led to greater interest in the ancillary market supporting data centres.

According to a recent report by Frost & Sullivan, lithium-ion batteries accounted for 15 per cent of the data centre battery market in 2020, but with the increasing use of lithium-ion batteries in data centres, this is expected to increase to 38.5 per cent by 2025.

In comparison to lead-acid batteries, lithium-ion batteries have a longer service life, a smaller footprint, lower load-bearing requirements, easy maintenance, environmental protection and consistent stability. As a result, lithium-ion batteries will become the preferred backup power source for data centres in the future, stated Frost & Sullivan.

Here are some of the reasons that the lithium-ion battery market is seeing a boom: FALLING COSTS The substantially higher starting prices of lithium-ion batteries are one of the major issues for data centre operators. Li-ion batteries generally cost 1.3 to 2 times as much

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as lead-acid batteries. However, the battery prices are expected to continue to fall, with prices anticipated to drop below $100 per kWh by 2028. This development is likely to overcome early cost concerns.

RELIABILITY AND COMPATIBILITY One of the barriers in the transition from lithium-ion batteries to large-scale energy storage systems is reliability. Combustion or even explosion is the most common lithium-ion battery dependability issues. The main causes leading to these problems are internal short circuits inside the batteries and internal thermal runaway caused by external factors such as overcharge, squeeze, puncture, and drop.

When it comes to replacing their old battery string with lithium-ion, data centre owners are concerned about whether their present UPS system is compatible with lithium-ion technology. They are worried about whether the established UPS system will work well with lithium-ion batteries because they have a different charging circuit and dissimilar controls than lead-acid batteries. They feel that significant hardware and embedded software upgrades may be required.

To improve the reliability of lithium-ion batteries, Frost & Sullivan proposed the following recommendations: Select stable cell materials. Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP) has a highly durable molecular structure. LFP decomposition

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With the increasing use of lithium-ion batteries in data centres, the market is expected to grow significantly by 2025

does not generate O2, which dramatically reduces an explosion risk. For example, a nail test is used to verify the reliability of LFP. After a short-circuit, thermal runaway occurs inside the cell, with no fire and no explosion.

Ensure system-level reliability. The BMS management system of lithium batteries is essential. Multi-level BMS management must be used to identify faults and maintain them in advance to control thermal runaway early to prevent fires.

For example: • The reliability of the cell is predicted by the internal short circuit algorithm.

• The BMS system has the current sharing control function.

Combine with prevention and firefighting.

The reliability of lithium batteries depends on prevention. Once a fire occurs, the impact must be minimised to prevent the fire from spreading in the cabinet. In addition, the cabinet must be equipped with fire extinguishing methods. When a fire occurs, the tools must be used to extinguish the fire quickly. In-cabinet fire extinguishing modes can be module-level or cabinet-level.

Huawei, which has been investing heavily in R&D to help customers accelerate digital transformation and meet new requirements of simplified architecture, is pursuing higher power density and advanced lithium-ion battery energy storage technologies in data centres.

September 2021

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BRAND VIEW

Modernising the digital workplace Xerox is looking at sustainability and security as it aims to support the shift to digital, says Raed Hmoud, head of digital services at Xerox Emirates Can you elaborate on Xerox’s digital transformation efforts?

For over a decade, Xerox has been evolving its technology, solutions and partnerships to ensure that they optimise and add value to all areas of a customer’s business. This includes innovation, customer experience, sustainability, digital workplace, automation, cloud and mobile services.

One of the biggest challenges our customers face is reducing paper-based transactions, managing unstructured content and data whilst eliminating inefficiencies.

Xerox Emirates helps customers overcome this by transforming manual processes into the digital space, eliminating paperwork, creating a central information repository and integrating with core business applications, leading to a seamless work environment and productivity.

At Xerox Emirates, we are always adopting the latest technology and solutions allowing us to transition towards a paperless end user experience, with one of the latest projects being digital delivery notes.

How is Xerox helping businesses adapt to the ‘new norm’? What are your technology innovations in this space?

With the shift to a remote workforce, Xerox offers various apps and tools enabling instant access to files and team collaboration. Xerox Mobile solutions have made it easy to communicate, connect and work securely at any time and from anywhere. Cloud-ready printers like Xerox

improve productivity through new technologies. With goals to reduce environmental impact across our value chain, we invest in innovative solutions that can conserve natural resources and lower the energy intensity of our operations.

How does Xerox help small to medium sized enterprises (SMEs)?

ConnectKey enable customers to download, share, print, scan, distribute and also translate documents on the go from anywhere, via laptop, tablet or smart phone.

We have also successfully enabled organisations with robust content and business process management solutions to access unstructured content, specialised services to map, re-engineer and automate the paper-based processes. Xerox Emirates also provides advanced analytical tools, cloud-enabled document capture workflow and enterprise content management platforms to help businesses.

How environment friendly are the solutions offered by Xerox?

Our products, services and processes advance our sustainability efforts by delivering social, financial and environmental benefits. We do this in our own operations, as well as in workplaces, communities and cities around the world. We are constantly thinking about how we can simplify work, deliver more personalised experiences, and

One of the biggest challenges our customers face is reducing paper-based transactions, managing unstructured content and data whilst eliminating inefficiencies gulfbusiness.com

To keep business flowing, companies spend time on manual processes like sharing, annotating, storing, securing documents and data. New software such as Xerox digital alternatives and Xerox DocuShare productivity solutions improve office efficiency by automating document processing. This is a great fit for SMEs, as it can help them digitise, automate and simplify paper-based processes, on-site or in the cloud. Another unique offering is Signiflow digital signature that helps SME customers move into the digital space with affordable solutions. SigniFlow is approved by the TRA for use in the UAE, and enables new productivity for all signatories, regardless of where they are working.

How does Xerox help protect an organisation’s data? How secure are your solutions?

We equip printers and multifunction printers (MFPs) with several secure features to protect an organisation’s sensitive data.

Our software and apps ensure data is safeguarded when shared via the cloud and mobile devices. Managed print services are just one of the many ways Xerox delivers document security expertise to our customers. Our partnership with McAfee helps Xerox meet its customers’ security needs.

Xerox has a complete automated approach to digital transformation, with customers across all verticals. It’s the breadth of the Xerox offering that differentiates it from the rest of the market.

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

MENA’S TECH LEADERS

SPECIAL REPORT

Harnessing the power of tech D I V S H A B H AT

A new era of technology is rising in the Arab world with a focus on disruptive models and innovative platforms. We showcase some of the industry leaders spearheading this transformation

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he ICT market in the Middle East is anticipated to witness exponential growth owing to governmental digital transformation objectives and the adoption of disruptive technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT) and artificial intelligence (AI). The widespread availability of 5G services, as well as their importance in a variety of business applications and industrial verticals, is also driving market growth.

According to a recent report by Frost & Sullivan, the Middle East’s ICT market is expected to reach $95.05bn by 2025 from $84.23bn in 2020. “Rising demand for technologies, including AI, machine learning, and IoT will drive market growth.

5G, classrooms of the future, e-governance, next-generation healthcare, smart cities, smart mobility, and smart tourism are key focus areas for governments and enterprises,” said Shibapriya Saha, programme manager at Frost & Sullivan.

As more Middle Eastern businesses migrate to the cloud, the region is also poised to become one of the most profitable markets for cloud and data centre providers, she added. The next wave of expansion in the Middle East will be led by Iraq, Oman and Egypt. Qatar, along with Egypt, will have the greatest growth, but Saudi Arabia will continue to be the largest market. Furthermore, the research stated that the restoration of diplomatic ties between the UAE and Israel, as well as the revival of relations between Qatar and other GCC nations will offer a substantial boost to the regional economy.

Jyoti Lalchandani, group vice president and regional managing director of International Data Corporation (IDC), also believes that spending on digital transformation is set to gather even more pace in the post-pandemic period. Spending on public cloud services and professional cloud services is estimated to top $3.7bn and $1.6bn respectively in 2021.

“In the first quarter of 2021 projects such as ‘remote work visas’, ‘Smart Dubai 2021’, and other economic policy regulations were launched. These are expected to boost technology investments in the region,” said John-David Lovelock, research vice president at Gartner.

With the launch of the UAE Strategy for the Fourth Industrial Revolution and the establishment of a Ministry of Artificial Intelligence, the country has solidified its position as one of the top players in global technological innovation. The UAE’s thriving technology organisations are a key driver supporting the nation’s vision, helping to unlock the potential of the economy, and providing growth and innovation. Organisations that recognised the MENA region’s potential early have now managed to build a significant footprint in the region and are continuing to invest as the market booms. In our special report this month, we profile 10 senior executives from prominent global technology firms with a substantial presence in the MENA region, who play an influential role in the regional tech industry.

We have also looked at leaders within industry verticals who are playing a major role in driving the future of the technology sector.

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SPECIAL REPORT

TOP 10 TECH EXECUTIVES IN THE MENA (Names arranged in no specific order)

Saad Toma

Corporate VP and president, Microsoft Middle East and Africa

General manager, IBM Middle East and Africa

In 2019, Microsoft achieved a key milestone in delivering Microsoft cloud to governments, organisations and entrepreneurs in the Middle East by establishing two cloud region data centres. It also opened 14 new data centres globally last year, nine of which were in Europe and MEA. But it’s not just technology that the company is focused on; by 2025, Microsoft wants all data centres to run on renewable energy and wants its direct operations to be water positive by 2030, according to Samer Abu-Ltaif, who oversees 40 offices in 79 countries across three continents. His job entails forming relationships with governments and businesses in order to boost productivity and implement digital transformation plans. Having joined Microsoft in 2004, Abu-Ltaif has held several senior roles and previously served as the general manager of Microsoft Gulf, where he led landmark initiatives to support governments, revolutionise education and stimulate SME growth and entrepreneurship. During his long stint in the region, Abu-Ltaif has emerged as one of the key executives driving its digital agenda.

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IBM joins a growing list of tech corporations aiming to expand their Middle East footprint. The company opened two new data centres in the UAE last year to provide managed cloud services to businesses in the Gulf nation. The local data centres in Dubai and Abu Dhabi will assist companies in shifting to a hybrid cloud model, allowing them to move selective sensitive data to a secure local cloud environment hosted in the UAE while maintaining mission critical data on premise. Leading this region’s vision is the recently appointed general manager for IBM Middle East and Africa, Saad Toma.

With over 30 years of experience at IBM working across numerous regions,

Toma has extensive industrial, services, and technology knowledge. He is now in charge of IBM’s entire business operations in the Middle East, Africa, and Turkey and is tasked with boosting revenues and increasing customer satisfaction. Toma previously led IBM’s Global Technology Services (GTS) business in MEA from 2011 until 2016. He also previously served as the global COO of GTS.

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Samer Abu-Ltaif

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SPECIAL REPORT

Leopoldo Boado Senior vice president, Business Applications - ECEMEA, Oracle

For over three decades, Oracle has had a strong presence in the UAE and this long-term commitment has resulted in significant investments to assist businesses of all kinds, both public and private. Oracle has built a firstof-its-kind innovation hub in Dubai to expedite the deployment of AI in the UAE and has also formed a partnership with the UAE’s Higher Colleges

of Technology to train 1,000 students in technologies such as AI, blockchain, IoT, and machine learning. Last year, the company also announced the opening of the first of two planned second-generation cloud regions in the UAE. Located in Dubai, the new cloud region will offer all Oracle cloud services, including Oracle autonomous database and Oracle cloud applications. Leading the charge in the region is Leopoldo Boado, who was promoted last year to his current role. A veteran at Oracle, Boado previously served as Europe SVP for applications prior to

which he was the company’s country manager for Spain and regional VP Eastern and Central Europe, Iberia and Benelux.

has exceeded many expectations. The region today is more connected than at any point in history,” said Charles Yang, president of Huawei Middle East. The Chinese company has been

expanding its operations regionally and last year launched its ‘LearnOn’ online learning platform, which has been used by more than 35,000 people to date. “Huawei will continue investing in programmes such as its ‘Seeds for the Future’ initiative and ICT Competition, as well as in Huawei ICT academies and laboratory funding to develop 70,000 ICT talents and build 100 joint innovation centres for the Middle East by 2025,” Yang said.

Having joined Huawei in 1999, Yang has held a number of senior positions in the company and plays a key role in encouraging and facilitating strategic change across the ICT ecosystem.

Charles Yang President, Huawei Middle East

At the Milipol Qatar Summit, Huawei Middle East reaffirmed its commitment to supporting digital transformation across the Middle East by building stronger ICT ecosystems supported by co-operative cybersecurity mitigation programmes. “The Middle East has been an exciting region for us given the enormous scale of developments that are underway that can be empowered by technology. This is epitomised by the rapid development of 5G that

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SPECIAL REPORT

Mohammed Amin Senior vice president, MEA, Turkey and Russia, Dell Technologies

Reem Asaad Vice president - Middle East and Africa, Cisco

As the official digital network partner of Expo 2020, Cisco has been tasked with the mammoth responsibility of managing, operating and maintaining expo’s entire IT network – representing one of the most advanced operations of its kind in the region. Cisco will drive the end-to-end network services delivery across Expo’s three thematic districts, pavilions, parks, and arrival plazas, as well as the Dubai Exhibition Centre, which is co-located at the

With end-to-end digital transformation offerings, Dell Technologies has a strong footprint when it comes to technology across the MERAT region. Driving this technological revolution forward is Mohammed Amin. With over two decades of experience in the IT industry across emerging markets in the Middle East, Africa and Eastern Europe, Amin has in-depth knowledge about the drivers of the digital economy as well as the opportunities and challenges within these markets. Amin’s key priority is to help organisations evolve their business through a holistic strategy of digital, IT,

security and workforce transformation.

Before the historic merger of Dell and EMC in September 2016, Amin spent a decade at EMC, driving its growth in the region. Prior to that, he held management positions with major hardware and networking vendors. Earlier this year, Amin was also selected as one of the members of the advisory council of the newly formed Dubai International Chamber. The chamber is tasked with developing plans to boost partnerships with global corporations and facilitate their operations as part of the efforts to establish Dubai as a global trade hub.

site. “The path to the digital future is paved through the power of intelligent networks. We’ve partnered with Expo 2020 to help ensure their infrastructure delivers on that promise,” the company says. At the helm of Cisco for the MEA region is Reem Asaad, who comes with over two decades of expertise in the industry. Leading a team of 2,500 Cisco employees and contractors, Asaad – who was previously the CEO of Cairo-based business process outsourcing service company Raya Data Centre, is now responsible for strengthening partnerships with governments, clients, and partners to assist them accelerate their

digitalisation agendas. She was also appointed to the board of directors for Egypt’s Information Technology Industry Development Agency earlier this year.

boosting the development of 5G and IoT in the sultanate. Ericsson has also been running a three-year fresh graduate

programme in Saudi Arabia since 2018 that has created an open ecosystem for research and implementation of innovative projects enabled by 5G in order to accelerate the kingdom’s digitalisation in line with Vision 2030. Fadi Pharaon, as Ericsson’s head of Middle East and Africa, is leading the company’s regional expansion. Pharaon has held numerous management positions with technical, sales, and marketing responsibilities in markets throughout Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and Latin America over his two decades at Ericsson.

Fadi Pharaon President – MEA, Ericsson

Ericsson has been one of the major players in the Middle East spearheading the move into 5G technology; a report by the company late last year forecast that there will be 130 million 5G subscriptions in the MENA region by 2026. To drive that, the company partnered with UAE telecoms operator Etisalat for 5G deployment and also teamed up with Oman’s Ministry of Finance last year to establish a centre of excellence aimed at

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SPECIAL REPORT

Lino Cattaruzzi

Arabia, Google Cloud also partnered last year with Saudi Aramco Development Company, a subsidiary of oil giant Aramco. Recently, Google once again collaborated with Dubai Chamber of Commerce to launch ‘Business Online

Presence’, a digital platform aimed at assisting UAE companies in expanding their online reach to attract new consumers. As Google MENA’s managing director, Lino Cattaruzzi is driving its regional development. Prior to joining Google MENA, Cattaruzzi was the managing director for Google in Mexico and Argentina. He formerly led the worldwide sales strategy team for online media solutions at Google’s headquarters in California. In his current role, he has managed the launch of new products and programmes tailored to the region, such as Google Assistant and YouTube Music in Arabic.

initiative provides business owners with access to the MENA SMB training centre, a platform with up to 40 free online webinars that companies can use to learn digital technologies, including digital marketing and e-commerce, as well as establish and grow their online presence. Facebook MENA MD Ramez Shehadi oversees Facebook’s commercial growth as well as that of its other businesses in the region, such as Instagram and WhatsApp. Shehadi comes with experience in building and expanding regional businesses as well as cross-industry portfolios; previously, he worked as a senior partner

and managing director of Booz Allen Hamilton’s MENA portfolio, lead partner of Booz & Company’s MENA digital business and technology practice, and global co-head of Booz Digital.

in 2020, allowing delivery from the UAE for customers in Bahrain, Oman and Kuwait. In June this year, Amazon commissioned its first MENA on-site renewable energy project in Dubai as part of its commitment globally to be

net-zero carbon by 2040. The solar photovoltaic rooftop is located at DXB3, its largest fulfilment centre in the UAE, with regional head Ronaldo Mouchawar calling on all MENA businesses to join the company as signatories to The Climate Pledge. Mouchawar, who founded Souq.com in 2005 – and oversaw its acquisition by Amazon in 2017 – is a key player in the region’s e-commerce and startup space. Mouchawar formerly worked at Maktoob, the first Arabic/English email service provider, which was acquired by Yahoo! in 2009 for $164m.

Managing director, Google MENA

Google announced an initiative in 2020 to accelerate the MENA region’s economic recovery through digital transformation. ‘Grow Stronger with Google’ offered tools, training and financial grants worth more than $13m to empower local businesses and jobseekers in partnership with Saudi Post and the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Meanwhile, to develop and manage cloud data centres in Saudi

Ramez Shehadi Managing director, Facebook MENA

The MENA region – not surprisingly – is a major focus market for Facebook with the social platform enjoying strong adoption among youth across the various regional markets. Beyond its consumer reach, Facebook has recently been focusing heavily on the SME sector in the region. In September last year, it launched the LoveLocal programme to assist local small and medium businesses (SMBs) in the MENA area. The

Ronaldo Mouchawar Vice president, Amazon MENA

Amazon MENA is rapidly growing across the Middle East, even as the Covid-19 pandemic has provided an impetus to the region’s e-commerce industry. The company announced a huge expansion in Saudi Arabia with plans to create at least 1,500 jobs across the kingdom by the end of this year.

Meanwhile Amazon.ae also launched an ‘international shopping experience’

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SPECIAL REPORT

Spearheading innovation FACES TO WATCH: DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION Digital transformation is accelerating across all industries in the region, with the pandemic having augmented its importance. While global service providers are lining up to assist regional businesses in cloud migration and digital transformation journeys, regional companies are also gaining a growing foothold of the market

Anas Jwaied

Sunil Paul

VP and GM for Emerging Markets, Micro Focus

Co-founder and managing director, Finesse Global

Micro Focus provides solutions that help businesses bridge the gap between existing and new technologies and accomplish ‘smart’ digital transformation. Spearheading the company’s interests in the region is Anas Jwaied.

Promoted to his current role last year after a four-year tenure as managing director for the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region at Micro Focus, Jwaied brings over 25 years of experience in leadership positions and has managed diverse teams across the EMEA region within the technology sector. Having previously held executive positions at HP and HPE, he transitioned to Micro Focus during the 2016 merger of HPE and Micro Focus.

Equipped with operational and technical knowledge of the leading industry verticals, Finesse’s digital transformation portfolio includes solutions and services for artificial intelligence chatbots, blockchain, cloud, robotic process automation, managed services and more. Heading the company is Sunil Paul, an industry veteran who has worked in the information technology and services sector for over 25 years. He has been instrumental in expanding Finesse into 10 global locations since its launch in 2010. Paul also spearheads the company’s not-for-profit CSR platform, Finesse Foundation, set up to support education and healthcare.

Mohamed Amer

Mark Ackerman

VP and regional GM - Middle East and Africa, Xerox

Area VP - Middle East and Africa, ServiceNow

With the accelerated use of digital technologies by businesses, Xerox, traditionally known for its print infrastructure, is now applying its decades of expertise to the digital technology world and is innovating in areas such as 3D printing and the industrial internet of things. Regionally, the company is also creating software solutions targeting SMEs. As the head of the MEA region, Mohamed Amer, a Xerox veteran, manages its operations, business growth and strategy development. He formerly served as the general manager at Xerox Distributor Group covering 34 countries in the Caribbean, Central America and South America. He began his career with Xerox Corporation in Alexandria, Egypt, in 1999.

In May this year, ServiceNow, which specialises in workflow management, set up a new office in Dubai Internet City. The launch of the new office is aimed at leveraging the digital transformation trend that is gaining ground in the region, according to Mark Ackerman, who sees 2021 as a ‘pivotal time for the region’. Having joined ServiceNow in 2015, Ackerman is responsible for the company’s expansion as well as the development of a strong regional customer base. Under his leadership, the company has supported the digital transformation goals for several regional government entities and enterprises, particularly in the banking, financial services, insurance, energy, utilities, healthcare and telecoms sectors.

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SPECIAL REPORT

FACES TO WATCH: CYBERSECURITY The accelerated adoption of digital transformation in the Middle East has increased the risk factor of cyberattacks. Here are some of the executives playing a key role in supporting the region’s burgeoning cybersecurity space

Emile Abou Saleh

Dave Woodcock

Regional leader, Middle East, Turkey and Africa, Proofpoint

Vice president – Europe, Middle East and Africa, Gigamon

According to Proofpoint research, CISOs in the UAE and Saudi Arabia have seen an increase in targeted attacks in the past year of 76 per cent and 69 per cent respectively. With cybercrime growing, the role played by companies such as Proofpoint becomes even more vital. US-based Proofpoint offers an integrated suite of cloud-based solutions to help companies stop targeted threats, safeguard their data, and make their users more resilient against cyberattacks. Leading its regional operations is Abou Saleh, who was appointed to his current role in 2019. Having previously worked with Forcepoint, McAfee and Midis, Abou Saleh is now focused on strengthening Proofpoint’s regional partner ecosystem as well as driving customer acquisition.

As businesses cope with the ‘new norm’, it is critical that they prioritise their cybersecurity strategy as hackers look to leverage the pandemic for their own gains, believes global cybersecurity firm Gigamon. The company has been rapidly growing its presence in the MEA region in recent years to help meet the increased need for cybersecurity and digital transformation. Dave Woodcock, who joined the company in 2020, is now tasked with further expanding Gigamon’s EMEA presence by improving customer and partner engagement. He has over two decades of expertise in channel and enterprise technology. Prior to Gigamon, Dave served as SVP, Worldwide Sales at cybersecurity firm Imperva. He also previously worked with PTC, Ascential Software and Crossbeam Systems.

Dr Moataz BinAli

Brandon Bekker

VP and MD – Middle East and North Africa, Trend Micro

Vice president – Europe, Middle East and Africa, Mimecast

Last year, Trend Micro blocked nearly 124 million cyber threats across the MENA region, 82 per cent of which were email borne. “Email is a preferred and an evolving mode of communication in the enterprise world, more so with remote working coming into existence,” said Dr Moataz BinAli. A thought leader and transformation professional with over 15 years of experience in the industry, BinAli is responsible for expanding Trend Micro’s current relationships in the region, as well as driving the company’s rapid development by creating new transformative partnerships with both the public and private sectors.

According to a Mimecast report, UAE businesses witnessed unprecedented cybersecurity risks in 2020 as a result of growing attack volumes, digital transformation and inadequate cyber readiness and training. In charge of the cybersecurity firm’s regional operations, Brandon Bekker plays a key role in driving Mimecast’s continuous expansion across EMEA. Since joining the company in 2007, Bekker has handled a number of leadership positions. In his previous role as Mimecast’s MEA head, he oversaw business growth of more than 75 per cent in the region and also expanded the organisation by opening a Dubai office.

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SPECIAL REPORT

FACES TO WATCH: TECH EDUCATION The pandemic proved the need for a digitally skilled workforce that can meet the technological needs of the future. In its recent report, the World Economic Forum estimated that by 2025, 97 million new roles may emerge that are more adapted to the division of labour between humans, machines and algorithms. Recognising the gap in the market, several educational institutions have taken a lead to create the workforce of the future

Dr Eric Xing

Stephen Gill

President, Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence

Academic head of the School of Mathematical and Computer Sciences, Heriot-Watt University Dubai

The Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence (MBZUAI) was launched in Abu Dhabi in 2019 as the world’s first graduate-level, research-based AI university. Leading the institution is professor Dr Eric Xing, who was appointed as its president in November last year. He previously served as the associate department head of Research at the Machine Learning Department at Carnegie Mellon University in the US. Dr Xing is also a fellow of the Association of Advancement of Artificial Intelligence and a board member of the International Machine Learning Society. He is also the founder, chairman and chief scientist of Petuum, a USbased startup company that builds standardised AI development platforms.

Heriot-Watt University Dubai, which opened its new campus in Dubai this year, provides Masters’ programmes in AI and Managing Innovation, with the goal of educating students on new technologies. Their new campus includes pod rooms that are meant to support group learning between instructors and peers via networked PCs. Stephen Gill, as the head of the School of Mathematical and Computer Sciences, has played an instrumental role in introducing futureoriented degree programmes such as Data Science, Artificial Intelligence and Network Security. His research interests lie in software engineering, data mining and software development methodologies. Graduates from his school are also now spearheading innovative projects – both regionally and globally.

Dr Omar El Dakkak

Dr May El Barachi

Associate professor of Mathematics, Paris Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi (PSUAD)

Associate dean and head of Industry Outreach and Executive Learning, UOWD

To promote digital transformation and the growth of a knowledge-based society, PSUAD launched a new bachelor’s degree in Mathematics with a specialisation in Data Science for Artificial Intelligence last year. The Sorbonne Centre for Artificial Intelligence (SCAI) inaugurated earlier this year is dedicated exclusively to teaching and innovation in AI. Recently, the university also inked an agreement with the UAE’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation to help the education sector in many African nations.

Leading the AI programme is El Dakkak, who also told Gulf Business in the past: “Artificial intelligence is completely revolutionising today’s societies to the point that many argue that it is fostering a so-called fourth industrial revolution.”

In August last year, University of Wollongong Dubai announced the launch of three new degree programmes in Computer Science including cybersecurity, big data, and game and mobile development. The new STEM programmes are industry specific and aim to help students pursue careers in technical fields such as cloud security engineering, data mining, software development and statistics, the university said. Leading UOWD’s focus on new tech is Dr May El Barachi, who conducts large scale multi-disciplinary projects in the areas of biotech, smart cities and inclusion and is a certified trainer in technologies such as AI and blockchain. In addition to academic collaboration, she is involved in industry collaborations with the telecom and health sectors.

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BRAND VIEW

Enhancing digital pedagogy New technologies offer academic institutions substantial opportunities to enhance students’ learning, says Mahmoud Alalawi, director of Procurement and Contracts at the UAE’s Higher Colleges of Technology (HCT) What kind of a role does technology play in educating students today?

Digital technologies not only support learning, but also transform both how we learn and how we interpret learning.

For example, e-learning is already wellestablished in the everyday teaching process at HCT in the form of the blended learning model, where work is completed under the guidance of faculty in a classroom environment alongside the absorption by learners via various online resources at their own leisure.

The collective space of a classroom is still, however, very much an arena for instruction, but the widespread introduction of technology enhances teaching through the availability of online resources and the blackboard. Learning Management System (LMS) is enabling a more dynamic learning environment, with the faculty facilitating activities rather than merely delivering content.

Technology-enhanced learning includes: 1. Blended learning 2. E-portfolios 3. Mobile learning 4. Learning Management System (Blackboard) What are the benefits of cloud computing in the education sector? How is Higher Colleges of Technology using cloud technologies?

In order to transform the traditional data centre into a smart virtualised tier3 data centre, HCT migrated our data centre to a state of-the-art software-defined network and private cloud platform, which delivers tangible business benefits of reduced footprint (from 25 racks to 13 racks) and associated operations costs.

It covers the deployment of nextgeneration compute power for significant improvement of application

How is artificial intelligence transforming the education sector? How does it fit into the future of education?

responsiveness resulting in enhanced user experience with a robust, fully redundant architecture at various ecosystem levels. This helps us to provide a digital teaching and learning experience and ensure 100 per cent accessibility of all IT services without any interruptions.

How are data and analytics powering the edtech industry?

The rate of data and analytics adoption is not uniform. Many universities are just starting on their journey, focusing on using reporting and BI. HCT now has a scalable big data platform in place and has already started realising value from it. The exchanges of data and information in most cases are done through the integrated systems of HCT with other entities.

The main advantage comes in the form of advanced analytics and machine learning use cases. So far, HCT has implemented three use cases in this regard – chatbot, social media sentiment analysis and the Intelligent Course Advisor (ICA).

In the coming months and years, HCT is well-positioned to leverage this data by building ML use cases that facilitate better decision making, automate timeconsuming processes and improve operational and academic efficiency across the organisation.

HCT’s big data platform contains data from multiple sources and serves as a powerful unified data layer, thereby allowing the university to analyse voluminous data in any format (structured, unstructured or semi-structured) via reporting, dashboarding and machine learning applications.

It is now clear that this platform has generated several immediate benefits for HCT. Artificial intelligence will eventually (as a critical layer) play a key role in providing ‘Uber-like’ on-demand skills and credentials to students regardless of their demographic.

Examples of AI application within HCT include: 1. Intelligent course advisor 2. Social media analytics 3. AI chatbot Over the past year, what has been the most significant digital achievement within your organisation?

For the procurement and contracts department, the major achievements include: E-Pc system: • Digitised the submissions to procurement committee • Digitised end user submission which resulted in removing all paperwork and streamlined the process • Digitised contract-drafting as a result of PC recommendation E-sourcing: • Enabled online tendering and submissions • Automated technical and commercial evaluation • Streamlined tendering experience for end-users and vendors

SPECIAL REPORT

FACES TO WATCH: EMERGING TECH The pandemic has fundamentally emphasised the relevance of new technologies. To be competitive in the face of the crisis and beyond, enterprises will need to refocus their efforts and investments on emerging technologies

Mohamed Mousa

Somaroy Gabbita

Vice president, Euronet Worldwide and MD, Euronet Middle East

General manager, Human Logic Technologies

Euronet Middle East provides debit card management and operational services as well as ATM and POS outsourcing services to financial institutions in the Middle East. Their REN payments platform processes the company’s transactions from its global data centres and is licenced to businesses as on-premise software or through Euronet-hosted cloud services. With over 25 years of experience in the IT and banking sectors, he is a veteran of Euronet and launched the company’s operations in Africa and the Middle East in 2001 and 2005 respectively. He was appointed as the global VP and managing director for the Middle East in 2012 and is now responsible for creating and executing Euronet’s strategy across the region.

Human Logic, in collaboration with Moodle, offers virtual learning environments that cater to the habits and needs of millennials. The company develops custom software solutions and IaaS and SaaS based implementations to address the business challenges for higher education, corporations and government agencies in the region. Somaroy Gabbita, who was part of the team that set up the Indian company’s Dubai operations, is now tasked with growing its regional presence. Prior to this, he was a member of the team that founded Rightgen Technologies in Hyderabad, India, where he served as the solution architect for the Schoolgen product.

Manish Kumar

Shamsh Hadi

CEO, StockHunt Technologies

CEO and co-founder, ZorroSign

StockHunt assists customers in making investment decisions and managing risk throughout their portfolio using an AI-driven automated trading and investing platform. The company employs sentimental analysis to monitor financial and business news as well as press releases in real time using voice-to-text and text analysis. It also uses more than 5,000 application programming interfaces (APIs) to automate fundamental and technical analysis. To serve clients in the EMEA region, the business recently opened a new headquarters in Dubai. Manish Kumar, who has vast experience in designing and developing different ML/AI technologies, is now tasked with expanding its operations.

ZorroSign was founded in 2015 to provide a single platform for unified Digital Transaction Management (DTM) solutions using electronic signature technology. It leverages blockchain technology to offer security and privacy for organisations.

With offices in UAE, Sri Lanka, India and the US, the company’s corporate social responsibility programme is focused on environmental protection. As the company’s CEO and co-founder, Hadi – who is based in Dubai – says: “I built this company to bring blockchain technology to the people.” He is leading the ZorroSign’s ambitious mission to expand its customer base and create more than 300 new jobs over the next three years.

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“AI IS ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT THINGS HUMANITY IS WORKING ON. IT IS MORE PROFOUND THAN, I DON’T KNOW, ELECTRICITY OR FIRE” G O O G L E C E O S U N DA R P I C H A I , S P E A K I N G D U R I N G A T V N E W S S H OW

SEP

Lifestyle

21

Food for thought

A Dubai-born cloud-kitchen based concept – Kitch-In – pioneered by celebrity chef Izu Ani and the Bulldozer group, is raising the bar for fine dining home delivery options p.74

“I needed to build a global infrastructure of identical airplanes on every continent to be a real competition to full aircraft ownership” Thomas Flohr, founder and chairman, Vista Global Holding

gulfbusiness.com

Baume Skate – Aurelien Giraud Special Edition Made with French skateboarder Aurélien Giraud, the watch has a case made from recycled skatedecks and an SW200 automatic movement September 2021

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Lifestyle / Aviation

Tailwinds Dubai-headquartered Vista Global Holding has successfully challenged the idea of corporate ownership of private jets.

Thomas Flohr, its founder and chairman, is now knocking on the door of commercial airlines and is forcing a rethink among the latter’s top-tier customers

BY VARUN GODINHO

W

hen we speak to Thomas Flohr, he hasn’t slept for 36 hours straight. The 61-year-old founder and chairman of Dubai-headquartered private aviation firm Vista Global Holding, has just finished competing at the 24 Hours of Le Mans – his team finished 11th, although they had a decent shot at the podium had it not been for a drive shaft that broke four hours before the end of the race. Still, for someone who has been on an octane-fuelled adrenaline rush for nearly two days, pushing the limits of a Ferrari without any sleep, he’s remarkably animated when talking about VistaJet. It is, after all, a company he started ground up back in 2004 and which has now grown into one of the world’s largest on-demand subscription and charter private jet aviation companies.

In the nineties and early noughties, Flohr had a career in assets financing with no background in the private aviation business.

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September 2021

He was accustomed to using private jets to be in multiple locations for several meetings a day, but in the process noticed two glaring inefficiencies: the underutilisation of corporate jets and the lack of a floating fleet infrastructure.

He asked his analyst to run the numbers, and what he saw was all the convincing he needed to start VistaJet. “The addressable market of corporate jets was 22,000. And the average utilisation of each is 250 hours per year. This is such an underutilisation… commercial airplanes are flying 4,000 hours per year.

“If we were to use these private jets for 1,000-1,500 hours per year, how would the price point look like for our clients compared to full aircraft ownership? If you utilise an asset four times as much as your competition – the competition being aircraft ownership by a corporation – you become so much more competitive,” says Flohr, who therefore positioned VistaJet as

the ultimate challenger to corporate ownership of private jets.

Rather than a corporation spending tens of millions on a jet, and then idling it for nearly the entire year – besides having to deal with added pain points of maintenance, permits and crew – VistaJet entered the market promising an on-demand subscription service that would allow these high-flying execs to tap a jet service from anywhere to anywhere in the world.

The idea also grew on the back of a second inefficiency that Flohr saw two decades ago: the need for a floating fleet with no fixed home base. “What I needed to do was build a global infrastructure of identical airplanes on every continent in order to be a real competition to full aircraft ownership. If you own your plane, you can take it anywhere. If you enter into a subscription contract with us, you can have access to our airplanes anywhere around the globe, identical to aircraft ownership, but at a much lower price point, because we’re using the assets more.”

V

ista has grown its own fleet size to around 180 planes – and expects to grow that number to 220-250 over the next 12-18 months – besides having a network alliance of 2,100 planes, which can be fully chartered or on which a customer can book a seat and share the journey with other passengers. Vista has made strategic acquisitions in the last few years which are now reaping rich rewards. It started with the acquisition of US-based on-demand private aviation company XOJet in 2018 on the back of a $200m funding that Vista received from Rhone Capital.

Flohr’s company followed that by acquiring JetSmarter the following year, which capitalised on JetSmarter’s technology platform to facilitate Uber-esque seat-sharing models. Vista also acquired Red Wing Aviation last year, just as the skies were beginning to reopen following the complete lockdown of international airspace routes for passenger flights during the height of the pandemic. “As we came out of the pandemic lockdowns in Q3 last year, we saw that there is a huge influx of new clients into the private jet market. What we saw is that the first step of someone coming from commercial is not taking a Global Express.

They’re starting with smaller airplanes, and we did not have a light jet infrastructure. gulfbusiness.com

Lifestyle / Aviation

manages the airplane, and with it, we can now offer clients whose aircraft we manage some charter revenue when they aren’t using their airplanes.”

Vista Global, which was set up in 2018 in Dubai’s DIFC, is the holding company that manages all of these sub-brands. Its decision to rapidly acquire expertise that would either be too costly or time-consuming to do it itself, has allowed Vista to accelerate its business performance over H1 2021.

It recently confirmed that in the first six months of 2021, there was a 67 per cent increase in global flight hours across all of

Thomas Flohr, founder and chairman Vista Global Holding

Red Wing was one of the leading light jet operators in the US. When we bought the company, it had 15 airplanes. We’re ending this year with 35,” explains Flohr on the reasoning behind the acquisition of Red Wing and also the rapid growth that its fleet has witnessed in a matter of months.

Apollo Jets was another big-ticket acquisition that Vista announced in March this year and it was positioned as Vista’s plan to tap into a global retail customer base. “With Apollo, it was a question of buy or build. And we felt that Apollo has about $250m revenue gulfbusiness.com

of retail business, and by buying the company we bought their salesforce and their customer base, and brought all their clients into our own business,” he says.

Furthermore, Vista also announced an aircraft management partnership with Talon Air, which was majority-owned by Apollo Jets, in a move designed to attract aircraft owners and offer them charter revenue while simultaneously managing their aircraft. “Some customers are deciding to own their own airplane and Talon is the business that operates airplanes. Talon

“When they sign a subscription contract with us, we have a serious conversation on their willingness to contribute to our sustainability programme.

Ultimately, 87 per cent of them have decided, so far, to contribute financially to our activities” its brands. VistaJet reportedly sold over 8,000 new annual subscription hours, up 67 per cent over 2020, and if you thought that that was a pandemic-anomaly figure, remember that it was also up 41 per cent over 2019 levels. XO Deposit Members increased 82 per cent, with three times as many sales in the corresponding period of 2020. The group’s On Demand services recorded a year-on-year growth of 67 per cent across all markets.

But of all the global markets, the Middle East proved to be a bright spark for the September 2021 69

Lifestyle / Aviation

region, witnessing an increase of 153 per cent in flight hours in H1 2021, significantly ahead of the 76 per cent growth in North America and 41 per cent in Europe.

Dubai was Vista’s number one location for flights globally during H1 2021. Flohr attributes it to several reasons including the UAE’s decision to push forward with a business normalcy and continuity plan while reopening rapidly. The Middle East reportedly saw a 100 per cent year-on-year increase in the number of new VistaJet Program members between January and June 2021. The region saw some of the highest growth in terms of the number of all VistaJet flights, with Bahrain, UAE and Qatar showing triple-digit year-on-year growth of 283 per cent, 236 per cent and 231 per cent respectively.

Flohr, who has pursued several large acquisitions to diversify the reach of Vista, is also equally clear on the areas where he is not immediately looking to engage – specifically the construction of FBOs. “The infrastructure on the ground, the FBOs [in the Middle East] are second to none in the world. If you look at Al Bateen or Al Maktoum as ground stations, it is a client experience second to none in the world – and I think the western world has to catch up [in this area],” says Flohr. “However, when we speak to our clients, they tell us that the time they want to spend in the terminal is minimal. They would like ideally to go from their car straight to the airplane.

So, the actual time spent in the FBOs is, in our opinion, limited and that’s why FBOs are not our strategic focus.”

W

hat is certainly a strategic focus area though for Vista, and a core one at that according to Flohr, is the issue of sustainability – a subject for which private aviation has come under a lot of heat. Vista, he says, is committed to becoming carbon neutral by 2025, 25 years ahead of the entire industry. And they’re taking the customer along for the journey.

“When they sign a subscription contract with us, we have a serious conversation on their willingness to contribute to our sustainability programme. Ultimately, 87 per cent of them have decided, so far, to contribute financially to our activities. The sustainable fuel programme we have is probably the most promising real contribution. We are using the funds to pay more

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for that sustainable fuel. Unfortunately, not enough airports have sustainable fuel available today,” notes Flohr.

While it was corporate ownership of jets that Flohr eventually challenged with his business model a decade-and-a-half ago, he now has the high-spending segment of commercial airlines within his cross sights.

VistaJet took delivery of two ultra-longhaul Global 7500 aircraft in April this year, with a total of 12 committed by the company, besides confirming an order for 10 Challenger 350 jets. “We waited 10 years for the Global 7500. The Middle East, with our 7500, is now connected non-stop to any point in the world, and that’s a big driver of growth for the region. Earlier, the advantage of flying commercial on an A380 was that you could fly straight to San Francisco or Australia – and prior to the 7500 you had to stop somewhere [with a private jet].”

Apart from connectivity, it is the customer base itself that is pushing the growth of private aviation in the midst of a pandemic. The number of touchpoints while flying private are believed to be 20, as opposed to 700 when flying commercial. “According to a McKinsey study done pre-pandemic, only 10 per cent of the corporations and individuals that could afford to fly private, flew private – the remaining 90 per cent of them flew commercial,” Flohr says outlining the potential of seizing this customer base.

“Also, on some routes, we think it’s more environmentally friendly to fly on an airplane with eight seats with a very small

carbon footprint, compared to [commercial] airlines which have to fly to a remote location with only a 20 per cent load factor on that airplane.”

There is also the sheer economics of the seat-sharing facility which operators like Vista are now providing on private jets.

With its JetSmarter acquisition, for example, Vista allows customers to crowdsource a flight through its app which has over two million downloads, thereby offering seats at reduced price points and with vetted members as companions on that journey.

Flohr’s research and insights has also thrown up another curveball which is expected to help private aviation further chip away at the business of commercial airlines. “Our intelligence tells us that a huge amount of the first-class capacity will be taken out of commercial airplanes.

There will be a significant reduction [of first-class seats] on many routes, and even on the routes where they remain, there are going to be much fewer of them available,” says Flohr. As the experience of flying first on commercial goes down, the likelihood that these customers move to private jets, which are now offered at lower price points, increases significantly.

To make sure that its jets become a more inviting space for these spillover customers who are accustomed to the bells-and-whistles in first- and businessclass cabins on commercial, Flohr says that Vista is now upgrading the cabin experience across its entire fleet. Commercial aviation, buckle up. gulfbusiness.com

BRAND VIEW

Feeding the future Ferrero closed the financial year with a consolidated global turnover of EUR12.3bn, and has ensured that sustainability is an integral part of its business model. Didier Laffineur, regional managing director of Ferrero Gulf, explains how

H

ow have some of the key markets in the GCC performed recently?

Despite the uncertainties caused

by Covid-19, we closed the financial year with a consolidated global turnover of EUR12.3bn.

In terms of GCC markets, while our sales numbers are not made public, we’re proud to share with you that in the past year our regional sales have demonstrated steady growth and our market share continues to increase across the markets and categories in which we are active.

Our strong growth path for the region is also driven by the creation of JVs with our distributors – first with Al Seer Group in the UAE in 2018 and more recently with Al Bustan Al Khaleej in Kuwait. Thanks to these JVs we can now work together to directly distribute Ferrero products across key markets. This will inevitably lead to new avenues of growth, which include opportunities for local business expansion and the development of new products or strategies.

Looking ahead, our aim is to continue the momentum of the last few years by sustaining our winning formula: focusing on the quality, freshness, food safety, competitiveness and environmental impact of our products.

What were some of the most noteworthy findings from Ferrero’s recent sustainability report?

Our recently released 12th sustainability report shows that we continued our work towards our 2020 group sustainability goals aligned to our four key pillars: protect the environment, source ingredients sustainably, promote responsible consumption and empower people. One of our new ambitious targets is to continue to significantly reduce the group’s carbon footprint by 2030.

In terms of additional specific goals accomplished, Ferrero has achieved the goal of sourcing 100 per cent sustainable cocoa beans through independently managed schemes and 100 per cent certified cane sugar.

Since renewable energy is critical to

Ferrero’s efforts to achieving its carbon reduction goals, we purchased 100 per cent green electricity for our manufacturing plants in Europe in fiscal year 2019-2020.

In fact, 71.5 per cent of the electricity purchased globally was from renewable sources.

From a packaging front, in 2019, we announced a commitment to make 100 per cent of our packaging to be reusable, recyclable or compostable by 2025. As of 2020, we have achieved 82.9 per cent and we continue with our strong commitment to fulfilling this journey.

Lastly, the report shows that Ferrero has continued to build on its efforts over the past decade to enhance its human rights approach. This has been delivered through collaboration with leading experts to identify human rights risks and build our due diligence approach, as well as by entering partnerships to scale positive impact such as with Save the Children.

Ferrero announced new global partnerships with Consumer Goods Forum and HolyGrail 2.0. What has this meant for the group?

Both these partnerships aim to further solidify Ferrero’s dedication to making 100 per cent of [our] packaging reusable, recyclable or compostable by 2025. Signing Consumer Goods Forum’s (CGF) Plastic Waste Coalition’s new Golden Design rules serves as another commitment to assess and redesign the critical elements of packaging, highlighting the need for alignment and scale to drive positive change globally.

We have also joined HolyGrail 2.0, facilitated by AIM – the European Brands Association – as associate partner to further demonstrate our commitment to innovation in plastic packaging sorting and investing in pilot projects to improve current sorting technology gaps. The project sets out to prove the viability of digital watermarking technologies for accurate waste sorting, resulting in more efficient and higher-quality recycling.

More specifically, with this pilot, we recognise the opportunity to put in place sorting for a dedicated stream of food packaging

plastics that will, in turn, generate recycled materials to be reused in line with circular economy best practices.

What are the latest updates from Ferrero’s Palm Oil Charter?

In this new Palm Oil Charter, Ferrero is outlining our ambition to achieve a palm oil industry that is good for both people and nature. Originally announced in 2013, our first Palm Oil Charter acted as a driver for the group’s development of its responsible palm oil supply chain. Today we go a step further by strengthening our commitments and progress through an updated charter, developed with Earthworm Foundation.

As a baseline, Ferrero sources sustainable palm oil that is 100 per cent Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) certified, segregated and traceable back to plantations: a goal initially reached in 2015. Our approach towards responsible sourcing of palm oil goes beyond this high certification standard through active membership in Palm Oil Innovation Group (POIG) and High Carbon Stock Approach (HCSA), two of the highest value endorsement initiatives currently available for the industry.

As part of this approach, the new charter outlines further actions, tackling three key strategic areas identified as critical in an intricate industry where environmental and social issues are oftentimes deeply rooted, complex, and interconnected: human rights and social practices; environmental protection and sustainability; and supplier transparency.

Lifestyle / Horology

I

t’s difficult to win over a dyed-inthe-wool industry veteran about the merits of a watch company after he has spent the better part of three decades immersed in the business and craftsmanship of timepieces. Antonio Calce has, at various points in his career, worked in product development at Panerai, headed up Corum and Eterna and was also the CEO of Girard-Perregaux. You’d assume there wasn’t much more left to impress him – at least until he became an insider at La Chaux-de-Fonds-headquartered independent Swiss watchmaker Greubel Forsey.

Calce started as an advisor to Robert Greubel, one half of Greubel Forsey, in August last year. What he saw from the inside was a revelation.

Counterintuitively, the genesis of Greubel Forsey wasn’t an entity to make watches for commercial production – it was more of an experimental division that was purely focused on R&D and technical innovation in watchmaking. Robert Greubel and Stephen Forsey first met at Renaud et Papi over two decades ago. They left their paid positions in 1999 to together start CompiTime two years later which focused exclusively on innovation in complicated movements, and quite specifically on tourbillons. They started the Greubel Forsey brand together in 2004. That year, they debuted the Double Tourbillon 30° at Baselworld 2004 to a rapturous reception.

R&D and mechanical innovations were noble pursuits for the duo who wanted to take watchmaking back to its roots, but to pay the bills they had to eventually start making watches to sell. “Our focus has been to understand the mechanics of time measurement. Our interest as watchmakers is to research and innovate. Of course, at some time we have to build timepieces and get collectors to be our patrons to support our work to feed the machine,” cofounder Stephen Forsey told me during a previous visit to Dubai.

The brand has been resolutely smallscale, prioritising research and mechanical innovation above all else. The flip side of this singular focus was that a clear internal organisational structure, retail strategy, communication plans and a vision for growth were somewhat stifled. Enter Calce.

In December 2020, Greubel announced that Calce was appointed to the role of the company’s CEO. “My priority is first to understand the uniqueness of

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September 2021

Heading north Antonio Calce was appointed as CEO of Greubel Forsey only a few months ago – and he’s already rolled out a comprehensive strategy to future-proof the La Chaux-deFonds experimental watchmaker

BY VARUN GODINHO

Antonio Calce, CEO of Greubel Forsey

Greubel Forsey, and also to define, with Robert, the next strategical and organisational steps to secure lasting growth,” says Calce.

“We are organising Greubel Forsey with the aim of significantly increasing its production by developing a new price segment pillar,” he says. The brand makes roughly only 100 pieces a year, and since its inception, has manufactured less than 2,000 pieces. While Calce intends to put into action a plan to increase production, it won’t come at the expense of the brand losing its exclusivity. “We will still remain a niche brand, with a focus on our quality

of execution. At the same time, we have started to significantly reduce the number of our point of sales,” he says.

Calce has had to hit the ground running, joining in the midst of a pandemic, and has hence developed a new strategy for the brand around three pillars: Birth, Growth and Longevity.

“The first one called Birth will be the holy grail of modern watchmaking, in which there will be ultra hi-end complicated timepieces with a predefined number of pieces created each year – for example the Grande Sonnerie, the Hand Made 1 and the QP à Équation,” explains Calce. These are the ultra-high complications that have defined the technical mastery of the brand over the last decade-and-a-half.

The Grande Sonnerie, for example, which broke cover in 2017, features not only a grande sonnerie complication (only a handful of brands including the likes of Patek Philippe, Audemars Piguet and Jaeger-LeCoultre can manufacture a grande sonnerie) but also a petite sonnerie and a 24-second Tourbillon Contemporain for good measure. The Hand Made 1 meanwhile, which was first showcased in 2019, has 95 per cent of the entire watch completely handmade, including the hairsprings. It takes around three years to make a single piece, and it’s that level of devotion to the craft of watchmaking that earned it the overall Men’s Complication watch prize at the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Geneve in 2020. The QP à Équation from 2015 is one of Greubel Forsey’s most complicated timepieces ever created. It records and displays solstices, seasons, equation of equinoxes, day, date, year – in perpetuity – and yes, tells the time too. A red gold version with a chocolate brown dial of this timepiece was unveiled earlier this year and priced at CHF670,000. gulfbusiness.com

Lifestyle / Horology

While pieces north of half a million, and even a million dollars (we’re thinking of the Double Tourbillon 30° in sapphire) are a regular part of the mix at Greubel Forsey, the second pillar of Clace’s strategy is to focus on its price points to make it – relatively – more accessible. “The second pillar called Growth will be about timepieces with a strong identity and visual impact with unique Greubel Forsey design. This pillar will propose timepieces in a new price segment between CHF250,000-300,000,” says Calce, while cautioning, “We will keep the same quality and finishing on each of our products, this will never be impacted.”

It’s within the third pillar where Calce will be taking deliberate steps to futureproof the brand. “We have the third pillar, Longevity, in which actions will be taken to curate the collection of exceptional timepieces, but also to reinterpret and renew collections.” An example of this could be the GMT Sport which has a titanium globe on the dial that rotates once every 24 hours and a 24-second inclined tourbillon, which was this year released with the first integrated metal strap from the watchmaker in Titanium. It shows the determination of the brand to step out of its comfort zone.

Growing the capability of the manufacture will also be on Calce’s agenda. “Each of our timepieces is made at our manufacture, without any exceptions – they are all made in-house. Processes such as design and product development, large-scale R&D within our Experimental Watch Technology Laboratory and case and movement assembly, are all executed in-house. We work with outside suppliers and local artisans, for example on enamel dials, if they are able to offer exceptional quality. If there’s something we can do to a higher standard than external suppliers, we do it ourselves.”

gulfbusiness.com

This page: (clockwise) The Grande Sonnerie, Hand Made 1, and the Quantième Perpétuel à Équation; the manufacture; GMT Sport; GMT Quadruple Tourbillon

“We will still remain a niche brand, with a focus on our quality of execution.

At the same time, we have started to significantly reduce the number of our point of sales” With the new strategy in place, the Middle East looks set to remain a core focus region.

“For Greubel Forsey, Dubai will become a very important flagship that will indeed reinforce our relation with Ahmed Seddiqi & Sons. It is more than a partnership that we have with the Seddiqi family, and when you have such a relationship, you go a long way,” says Calce. “We are working on a very important project for Dubai Watch Week,”

he adds, without offering any more details of the watch which is expected to be showcased at the watch week in November.

Calce also offers a glimpse into the timepieces that are to come from the manufacture. “We are working on the second semester with one launch during the Geneva Watch Days. 2022 will be a pivotal year during which we will launch new creations.” You can hold him to his word.

September 2021

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Lifestyle / Culinary

A bigger share of the pie Kitch-In, an upscale food home delivery platform born in Dubai earlier this year, co-created by celebrity chef Izu Ani and the Bulldozer Group, is all set to go international

BY VARUN GODINHO

E

vgeny Kuzin, chairman and cofounder at Bulldozer Group which started out a decade ago and has since then brought to Dubai’s culinary map many star dining concepts including Cipriani, Scalini, Shanghai ME and Gaia, has seen first-hand the crushing effect that the pandemic has had on the restaurant industry. Equally, he’s also witnessed the comeback that it has staged since then, especially in Dubai. “Before the pandemic, there were up to four restaurants opening per day in Dubai. Although the circumstances of the past year affected us all, the industry witnessed a huge surge towards the end of last year, based on pentup demand, staycations, residents and an influx of tourists,” says Kuzin.

While there has been a return to physical attendance at restaurants, it hasn’t been back to pre-pandemic levels overall. The

for street food, and we have included popular dishes that you can pick up on the go in Japan. Seoul Sister serves Korean

launched Su’Chill Sushi. We noticed a gap in the delivery market for high-grade, restaurant-quality sushi and came up with this concept,” explains Ani. Instead of having separate spaces to cook the delivery menu, they partnered with AccorHotels to use the hotel’s kitchens as the physical infrastructure. “Since its launch in April 2021, Kitch-In has expanded to four kitchens in Accor properties in Dubai. We will launch a new delivery location in Dubai very soon, as well as two kitchens set to open in Abu Dhabi to serve residents there. Our strategic international roll-out will begin in Saudi Arabia next month, followed by the opening of 70 kitchens across the GCC, UK and France in 2022.

We aim to serve cuisine from over 1,000 digital brands worldwide in just one year,” says Yigit Sezgin, chief commercial officer at AccorHotels Middle East and Africa.

Not only has Kitch-In partnered with Deliveroo to arrange the deliveries to the general public in Dubai, residents at Accor properties too can order room service by tapping into the offerings on the app.

But the technology backing Kitch-In has been built to do more than just fulfil orders.

“Kitch-In uses automated and smart machines to help us prepare food with predictive learning tools. The end-to-end full-stack platform provides the advantage of building integrated solutions. Predictive analytics algorithms help us drive kitchen decisions automatically,” says Kuzin.

Kuzin remains bullish about the concept, given that Bulldozer previously focused mainly only on physical dining and enter-

“We have an aggressive plan for expansion with a pipeline of 30 new properties planned for Dubai and 34 in Saudi Arabia” pandemic has pushed Kuzin, along with celebrity chef Izu Ani, to roll out a concept that they’ve been working on for the past few years – a delivery service modelled around the cloud kitchen concept called Kitch-In. In April this year, Kitch-In launched with four digital restaurant brands including Jimoto, Seoul Sister, Gigi and Ap’ola. It has grown to include several other brands since then. “Jimoto is the Japanese word 74

September 2021

dishes. Ap’ola translates to ‘everything’ in Greek. Gigi serves Italian cuisine inspired

by Sicily, with conscious cooking methods and 72-hour fermented dough. Wok’ed serves incredible stir-fried Asian cuisine, and Poke-Mon serves fresh Poke bowls.

We serve freshly baked bread, pastries and desserts from Bella’s Bakery, our very own boulangerie, as well as Arabic sweets from Ayana, and creative breakfast options at Toasty and On Crepe. Most recently, we

tainment spaces. “Restaurant delivery has grown by almost 20 per cent in the last five years and online food delivery sales are estimated to grow to as much as $220bn by 2023 – that’s an estimated 40 per cent of total restaurant sales. These statistics could not be ignored. Our research showed that the global market size of cloud kitchens is expected to grow to $71bn by 2027,” says Kuzin.

However, as Ani adds, a digital platform gulfbusiness.com

Lifestyle / Culinary

such as Kitch-In, rather than eroding the appeal of brick-and-mortar restaurants, might be a clever way for the latter to up its culinary game. “The beauty of digital platforms is that they give us the statistics, facts and behaviour of our consumers, so we can see what is working and what isn’t.

This kind of insight is really useful when planning new brick-and-mortar restaurants,” observes Ani. The app started with incorporating dedicated digital-only brands, but has now grown to include delivery services from a few fine-dining concepts from Ani and Bulldozer. “We have launched Shanghai Me [on Kitch-In], and are set to launch our legacy brands Gaia and Scalini in the next few weeks to provide a luxurious experience at home,” says Ani. The risk of launching legacy brands onto the platform is that customers who order at home already have a benchmark to compare the taste and presentation that they would experience when dining within that same restaurant – and that’s where quality control kicks in. It’s a process that Ani, Kuzin and Sezgin address collectively. “We agree on the procurement methods for ingredients, which are the foundations of the dishes. We have quality control procedures in place to make sure that food not only leaves the kitchen correctly, but also arrives at its destination as intended. We are working with nutritionists and food scientists to ensure we are delivering at the best quality, and that the dish is the same when it leaves the kitchen to when it arrives,” says Ani. gulfbusiness.com

Opposite page: Chef Izu Ani Below: Evgeny Kuzin, chairman and cofounder at Bulldozer Group

Kitch-In has seen impressive growth over the last few months. With four virtual brands at launch, today it has nearly quadrupled that number to 14. While Sezgin has confirmed that the Kitch-In service will soon be available to Abu Dhabi via Accor’s properties there, further international expansion of the food delivery service is also very much on the cards. “We have an aggressive plan for expansion with

a pipeline of 30 new properties planned for Dubai and 34 in Saudi Arabia,” says Sezgin about Accor’s expansion of its properties.

“This year, we are continuing the roll-out of our kitchens across Accor properties in the UAE, as well as entering the Saudi market.

We will be scaling the entire project to grow in key markets around the world, starting with Paris, New York and London.”

With Accor’s global physical footprint spread across 41 countries, Kuzin and Ani can rapidly expand their concept internationally – and it’s not an opportunity that Kuzin is going to let slide. “We plan to expand across the Middle East, Europe and America, before focusing on more niche markets, specifically through Accor hotels.

Kitch-In has the capacity and technology to effectively monitor quality control across the entire ecosystem. This gives us the ability to scale each vertical quickly and skillfully, from the development of illustrious digital restaurant brands endorsed by celebrity chefs to the efficient delivery. We are [also] working on international events, pop-ups and festivals,” adds Kuzin.

Ani insists that the expansion will not be at the expense of quality. “When we first came up with the concept, we set out to elevate the standards of home delivery and hotel room service, changing the perception of these services in the eyes of our consumers. Through Kitch-In, we can provide a conscious and sustainable approach to delivered cuisine. No matter the growth, success and expansion of Kitch-In, we must remain aligned with our vision for the brand,” stresses Ani. September 2021

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Lifestyle / Travel

Now boarding: Switzerland As Switzerland opens to quarantine-free travel for residents of the GCC, here are some of the most popular sights to take in and things to do in Interlaken, Lucerne and Geneva

BY VARUN GODINHO

O

n the eve of schools and colleges closing for the summer vacation earlier this year, there was reason to cheer among avid travellers. The Swiss government said that starting June 26, fully vaccinated travellers from the GCC – including UAE residents – could travel to the Alpine country on tourist visas without having to quarantine on arrival, or requiring a pre-travel PCR test.

That move opened the doors to a wave of visitors from the GCC, which historically contributes to around one million overnight stays annually and an average spend of CHF420 per day per person.

With the travel routes between the UAE and Switzerland now remaining open – and Switzerland additionally being added to Abu Dhabi’s green list of countries – the flow of tourists doesn’t look likely to slowdown anytime soon.

Specifically, the Swiss Travel Pass has

been a boon to visiting tourists. It allows unlimited travel by public transport across the country including buses, trains and boats. Additionally, it also offers free admission to several tourist attractions including over 500 museums, a few mountain excursions such as Rigi, Stanserhorn and Stoos and a 30 per cent discount on SBB RailAway offers.

While you plan your next holiday, here are three famous regions in Switzerland to help you get the best out of your cross-continental trip from the GCC.

INTERLAKEN There’s plenty to do in the central Swiss region. Opt for the boat tours on Lakes Thun and Brienz – the Swiss Travel Pass should come in handy here. Alternatively, there are several private hikes and excursions that can be enjoyed in this region which received its first visitors as far back as the 17th century.

Visit the Harder Kulm from where you can enjoy commanding views of Interlaken and both its lakes. Move beyond the bridge over the Aare River, next to the Harder Alpine Wildlife Park, and the Harder-Kulm funicular climbs at a 64-degree gradient to an altitude of 1,322 metres where you’ll find an Art Nouveau-style Panorama restaurant.

But for those who want to experience a fuller sense of the scale and size of the towering Swiss Alps around them, head to The Top of Europe – Jungfraujoch where you can view glaciers and peaks higher than 4,000 metres. The Jungfraujoch itself is 3,454 metres above sea level.

While in Jungfraujoch, don’t forget to stop by the Lindt Swiss Chocolate Heaven at a height of about 3,500 metres where you can witness first-hand the Swiss art of making some of the world’s finest chocolates, while also choosing to interact with a virtual Lindt Maître chocolatier to learn how a chocolate bar is made.

If in Interlaken, remember to drop by the Schilthorn - Piz Gloria restaurant that offers you spectacular views of the Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau. Look closely, and you can even see Mont Blanc in France and Germany’s Black Forest on the horizon.

The revolving restaurant with table service offers a unique menu – including a special 007-themed burger.

With just weeks to go for the next Bond flick, No Time To Die, it might be well worth a visit to the Bond World 007 exhibition as well in Schilthorn which is based on the 1969 movie On Her Majesty’s Secret Service.

LUCERNE

PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES/LAPHON PINTA

Located in the German-speaking quarters of Switzerland, Lucerne is a cultural stronghold steeped in history. When here, visit the Swiss Museum of Transport – the most visited museum in Switzerland – and examine a few of the over 3,000 objects and interactive pieces that charts the development of road, rail and water, air and space travel. For more history, visit the Bourbaki Panorama museum which depicts the episode when tens of thousands of soldiers of the French Army of the East under General Bourbaki, fled the Prussian forces in the winter of 1871 and were interned after crossing into Switzerland.

As for day trips, there’s plenty of them to be had in Lucerne. You can choose one to Mount Rigi, where at one of the villages en route, Vitznau, you can board the historic 76

September 2021

gulfbusiness.com

PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES/SHAN.SHINAN

Lifestyle / Travel

Rigi Railway, Europe’s first-ever cog railway. It climbs to Rigi Kulm at an altitude of 1,797 metres.

Another day trip can be made to Engelberg and Mount Titlis. Titlis Rotair, the aerial cableway, features the world’s first rotating cable car and will transport you to your Swiss glacier experience.

GENEVA

PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES/JACZHOU 2015

Geneva ranks as one of the most visited cities in Switzerland, and understandably so. The image of the city is synonymous with that of the Jet d’Eau fountain – which rises 140 metres over the picture-perfect

gulfbusiness.com

Lake Geneva. The city is also one of the epicentres of the multi-billion-dollar Swiss watchmaking industry. There are plenty of watchmaking manufactures in the city including the likes of Patek Philippe and Roger Dubuis, as well as several other highend watch stores located in the upscale Rue du Rhône.

In the heart of the city, and only a few minutes walk from the Rue du Rhône, is the Reformation Wall with giant statues of those who led the reformation movement including Jean Calvin, Guillaume Farel, Théodore de Bèze and John Knox. Walk a little further and you’ll find yourself in the

heart of the city’s Old Town, dominated by St. Peter’s Cathedral. Climb the 157 steps to the top of the tower for a panoramic view of the city.

As with Lucerne, Geneva too is a cultural hub with plenty of museums. There’s the International Museum of the Reformation, the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Museum and the Patek Philippe Museum.

A 10-minute drive from the Old Town, and you’ll find yourself in the Carouge district with charming architecture and quaint cafés.

Geneva is also a major city for technology, science and politics. Visit CERN, where Tim-Berner Lee invented the World Wide Web in 1989 while working at the European Organization for Nuclear Research. For your fix of geopolitics, visit the Palais des Nations - International Geneva – the European headquarters of the United Nations where several high-powered international agreements and deals are struck each year.

You can wander the halls of this institution, thanks to daily guided tours offered by the facility.

Cross the Rhone river en route to Champel and stop by the Bains district which is the artsy corner of Geneva. The Quartier des Bains Geneve art association is a collection of 18 cultural venues including galleries and exhibition centres such as MAMCO and the Centre d’Art Contemporain. The district has become one of the leading areas to showcase European modern art. The Vernissages Communs exhibition is held thrice annually, so it might be well worth planning your trip around the next exhibition.

You’re never quite far from Lake Geneva wherever you go in the city, and if it’s around noon, it’s best to pack in a boat cruise lunch. Try the Café Léman afternoon dining cruise aboard a Belle Epoque ship.

For those who are still onshore and need a quick sugar rush at any time of the day, opt for the Geneva ‘chocolate tour’ in a 100 per cent electric tuktuk. Discover artisanal chocolate stores and learn from them the inter-generational skill of chocolate making, as well as insider tips of the trade.

Finally, for a bird’s eye view of Geneva city, and almost all the major sights you’ve taken in, head to Salève, where a cable car will whisk you to the top. From here, you can enjoy adventure sports such as hiking, paragliding, mountain biking and even cross-country skiing in winter.

September 2021

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SEP

The SME Story

21

A dedicated hub for the regional startup and SME ecosystem

INTERVIEW

An appetite for growth A B2B marketplace that connects local food suppliers with foodservice businesses, a secondhand online marketplace for preowned luxury goods and an e-commerce auto and spare parts platform are on our radar this month Igor Nikolenko Co-founder and CEO, SupplyMe What were you doing prior to starting SupplyMe?

Prior to starting SupplyMe, I was running a digital agency that helps other startups and enterprises to launch their online ventures. My co-founder and COO of SupplyMe, Husam Al Bardawil, has significant experience owning and managing restaurants.

The shift in consumption and purchasing patterns witnessed in 2020 led to the B2B food industry embarking on its journey to embrace innovation and be more efficient. Understanding the opportunities of this market eventually ignited our passion to launch SupplyMe, an online B2B marketplace that connects local food suppliers with cafes, restaurants, hotels, supermarkets, and other foodservice businesses of all sizes.

What is the market size that you are competing in regionally ?

How does SupplyMe work and what is its USP?

The registered users of the application can choose from a selection of food and beverage products required by Horeca businesses from a network of dedicated regional suppliers.

The main USP of this marketplace for buyers includes stress-free ordering with a wide variety 78

September 2021

and availability of products listed on a single platform.

This will enable them to simplify their buying process, and be assured of competitive pricing and on-time delivery to manage their business needs.

With the power of machine learning and datadriven technology available on the platform, businesses can keep track of their procurement needs and restock their supplies – streamlining the tedious process, manage finances, improve decisionmaking, and help mitigate risks.

For suppliers, the application aims to take the sales and marketing efforts under its umbrella.

The tech solution installed on the app will support with transparent reporting metrics for simplified sales management. It can assist with confirming orders and details, offer promotions, improve customer experience, and most importantly, build a new customer base.

Some of our biggest clients include suppliers of brands such as Coca-Cola, Barilla, Pomi, Taylors, Alpro, Elle & Vire, and Ile De France.

Igor Nikolenko, Co-founder and CEO, SupplyMe

According to Statista, the size of the F&B industry in the GCC is currently at $34.1bn and another report by Forrester suggests B2B e-commerce will hit $1.8 trillion by 2023. The number of online marketplaces in the region is extremely low and the number becomes even more segmented when it comes to the B2B food and beverage industry. gulfbusiness.com

The SME Story

We are still in the nascent stages of our operation and soon we will be looking for investors. We are only operational in Dubai at the moment. We plan to operate across the entire UAE by the end of this year.

What are some of the biggest challenges you are facing with SupplyMe at the moment?

Covid-19 has created new dynamics for the evolving F&B industry. Sixty-seven per cent of the buyer’s journey is now completed digitally. B2B suppliers are aware of this fact, but are still a little skeptical to let go of the traditional methods of doing business and jump on the digital bandwagon. This is one of the biggest challenges we are facing when it comes to suppliers.

Customers, on the other hand, are looking for an immersive experience and expect the B2C convenience to transfer over in B2B e-commerce as well.

What are your plans for growth?

In the next 12 months, we aim to extend our presence to other GCC countries, with our first priority being Saudi Arabia. Depending on the market requirements, we might be looking at expanding our product offerings too.

the secondhand luxury goods market in the GCC. For example, the pre-owned watch market alone globally is estimated to be worth $30bn, capturing just a small percentage of the total pre-owned luxury market.

What are some of the inherent problems that you have to contend with in the pre-owned luxury space?

Operating in the pre-owned luxury market presents three key challenges. These are authentication, international shipment logistics and payments.

For example, we ensure reliable authentication by establishing credible third party partnerships. We have partnered with Franck Muller’s atelier in Dubai where all luxury watches are tested for authenticity prior to being listed on the platform. When it comes to inventory, we don’t have any – every watch or bag sold on our platform is against a bid by a global buyer.

Sandeep Shetty Co-founder, NorthLadder What is the central idea around NorthLadder?

NorthLadder is a UAE-based secondhand online marketplace for pre-owned luxury assets and electronics such as smartphones, tablets, watches, bags, cars and jewellery. Our aim was to create a transparent platform that delivers the best possible value to our customers. With NorthLadder, people can sell or finance their secondhand goods through our global auction platform.

The auction-driven element allows buyers from all over the world to bid for goods, delivering competitive prices for our customers. Our process includes the authentication of all goods we receive in addition to handling the logistics and payment to create a simplified user experience for both the seller and the buyer. In the last year, we have completed over 20,000 transactions. We have a growing team of over 50 employees.

You received $5m funding earlier this year. To what end has that been used?

So far, we have invested in our talent to build a cohesive team of experts. We have also invested in the technology behind our platform. We have additionally focused our investments into building consumer awareness of the product and service across the region. We still have part of this investment, which we plan to allocate towards our continued growth. We look forward to our next round of funding early next year primarily to support our global expansion plans.

What percentage of the pre-owned luxury market within the UAE are you aiming to capture?

Currently, we are experiencing high supply and demand for luxury secondhand goods in the UAE. Consumers in the Middle East have the highest spend per capita on luxury goods in the world. This strong consumption has opened up opportunities in gulfbusiness.com

What are your expansion plans?

Sandeep Shetty, Co-founder, NorthLadder

We are currently focusing on setting up operations in Saudi Arabia and aim to be fully operational there by Q4 of this year.

After expanding our reach in the region, we plan to go international with expansion plans into the US next year.

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The SME Story INTERVIEW

$2 trillion and it is one of the top 10 industries in the world. It is a $61bn industry in the Middle East and Africa alone, which is a brilliant opportunity for Odiggo. We aim to be the first $100bn company coming out of the region.

Can you provide us with details about your latest round of funding?

Y-Combinator, 500 Startups and PlugAndPlay have invested $2.3m in Odiggo’s latest seed round. Following this round of highly successful investments, Odiggo’s top priority will now be consistent growth.

That’s the main thing, so mainly it’s focusing on

TWO OF THE BIGGEST MISTAKES I HAVE MADE AS AN ENTREPRENEUR WERE NOT HIRING LEADERSHIP FROM THE BEGINNING, AND NOT LISTENING TO CUSTOMERS FROM DAY ONE technology and expanding our team in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Egypt.

Currently, Odiggo services over 45,000 users across three markets and works directly with over 300 merchants. [We have seen] a 40 per cent month-on-month consistent growth and 200 per cent user base increase at the start of the pandemic.

What are some of the biggest pain points you are experiencing currently?

Ahmed Omar CEO and co-founder, Odiggo

Initially, when researching suppliers, we would find both parts of excellent quality and also low-quality items that will not work for our customers. This is because there are many options to choose from. We needed to make sure we have the right pieces and [the right] suppliers.

Why did you decide to create Odiggo?

We answered the market need of the “do-it-for-me” generation by connecting the best fitting suppliers and car service providers to car owners. Odiggo receives the supply from the vendors, so our prices are in fact cheaper than the market price.

We noticed that car owners, especially in the UAE, have always found it very difficult and time consuming when it comes to taking care of their cars and meeting their auto needs. People spend hours looking for a car part or finding a good quality and trusted service provider to fix their cars. As car enthusiasts, we noticed a massive gap in the market for this and now our core business is filling that need for our customers and car owners.

What is the market size of the e-commerce auto spare parts business?

The global market for the auto parts and accessories manufacturing industry is currently valued at 80

September 2021

What’s the biggest mistake you’ve made as an entrepreneur?

Two of the biggest mistakes I have made as an entrepreneur were not hiring leadership from the beginning, and not listening to customers from day one.

The statement – “The customer is always right” – has never been truer.

What are your expansion plans and will you branch out into further product offerings/services?

Above: Ahmed Omar, CEO and co-founder, Odiggo

We are looking not only to scale in the region, but also be the number one global player in the autotech space. We have exceptional team members that will definitely secure that and we are looking to bring convenience and development to the aftersales industry. gulfbusiness.com

The SME Story COMMENT

Lorenzo Jooris CEO of Creative Zone

A brief history of entrepreneurship From ancient merchants to the modern startup, here are the lessons to be learnt for a present-day entrepreneur

E

ntrepreneurs have been around forever.

So, when you’ve landed on a great idea and you’re getting ready to set up your company, you’re in a long line of innovators stretching back thousands of years.

But what can we learn from the entrepreneurs of the past, and what kind of opportunities exist for entrepreneurs of the present? Here’s a whistle stop tour through entrepreneur history – from the hunter/gatherers through the four industrial revolutions – to see what key lessons a modern-day entrepreneur can imbibe.

Earliest entrepreneurs

Even 20,000 years ago, tribes were exchanging goods. Evidence exists of basic trading of volcanic rock which could be used to create hunting weapons being exchanged for other goods. In its simplest form, this is about finding something which someone else wants. Not so different to today’s entrepreneur who is trying to find and solve a customer problem that has not yet been addressed. In the centuries that followed these earliest entrepreneurs, we start to see trade routes open up around the world and the invention of money allowing the entrepreneur to increase their potential market – no longer relying on a bartering system. If you have something that people need, you can exchange it – in the modern case, for money.

Takeaway: It all starts with a great idea and then finding those customers who want what you’re selling.

forget George Stephenson who was behind the idea of the steam engine which would help usher in the new era of railway transport.

Takeaway: The examples could go on forever. But in all cases, the inventions made something quicker, faster, more efficient. Ask yourself: Does your idea do that?

The second and third industrial revolutions – mass production and computing

Now we’re moving into mass production as the second industrial revolution takes hold. The second industrial revolution kicked off in the middle of the 19th century, and here we see the start of mass production not just in manufacturing but also consumer goods. It’s during this period that Ford built 15 million of their legendary Model T cars. The age of the automobile was among us.

The third revolution introduced a level of computing and automation into the process. Skip forward a few decades, to the Fifties, and we land at the beginning of mainframe computing. It’s in this decade that both Bill Gates and Steve Jobs were

The first industrial revolution – basic factories

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ILLUSTRATION: GETTY IMAGES/TREETY

What can we learn from the first industrial revolution which began in the mid-18th century, when societies moved from basic agriculture to the early factories?

It’s all about invention. What can you come up with that makes an existing process more efficient? How can you make things work better? Can you invent a new process entirely?

Without this kind of thinking the first industrial revolution would have been impossible. Look at Edmund Cartwright who was behind the power loom – a piece of equipment which made a huge difference in the efficiency of textile production. Then there is Sir Humphrey Davy who created a lamp that was used by miners which greatly increased safety by helping to detect dangerous gasses. And we can’t September 2021

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The SME Story COMMENT

born, and as they reached their teenage years in the Seventies, their impact on the world was gaining momentum. Part of this third industrial revolution was moving from mainframe to personal computing, and clearly these two entrepreneurs had a huge part to play in that change, putting computers in both homes and schools.

Takeaway: While both Gates and Jobs were essentially trying to do the same thing – create products that enabled affordable home computing – they went about it in very different ways. As their careers moved forward, Jobs in particular showed an incredible ability to pivot and create products quite far from his initial area of expertise.

The entrepreneur of today may sometimes feel a market is already taken. Many probably felt that Bill Gates and the mammoth Microsoft had things covered. But it was Jobs who came at the same problem from a new angle, who emphasised a different set of customer values in his attempt to solve the same problems, and carved out not just a niche, but a revolution of his own.

Today: The fourth industrial revolution – IoT and cyberphysical systems

The fourth industrial revolution is where we find humans in working environments with robots, and where factories and warehouses form entire networks. It’s a place where the Internet of Things (IoT) takes mass production to new levels, allowing machines to predict when they will need maintenance and diagnose their own problems. It’s this big data approach which produces insights that humans can then use to produce greater optimisation.

Takeaway: The opportunities here for an entrepreneur are almost endless. From artificial intelligence and virtual and augmented reality, to cloud services and 3D printing – these may be tools you use in your own company, or they may become part of your offerings. But more than that, it’s an era that is wide open. And it’s highly likely that some of the most exciting ideas (and perhaps entire sectors) have yet to be invented.

Startup focus: Growing reach across the MENA Startups headquartered in Saudi Arabia closed one in every five transactions registered across the MENA region Top countries by number of deals in MENA in H1 2021 2%

8%

Oman

Others

4%

Qatar

4%

Tunisia

254

26%

TOTAL DEALS IN H1 2021

11%

UAE

Jordan

21% KSA

24%

Egypt

COUNTRY DEAL COMPARISON H1 2021 VS H1 2020 Rank

Rank Change

Country

Absolute YoY Change

% Deal Share change

1

0

UAE

-17%

+1%

2

0

Egypt

+3%

+6%

3

0

KSA

-7%

+2%

4

0

Jordan

-15%

0%

5

4

Tunisia

+83%

+2%

6

0

Qatar

-44%

-2%

7

-1

Oman

-80%

+2%

Top countries by funding in MENA in H1 2021 1%

3%

1%

Bahrain

Kuwait

Morocco

4%

2%

Jordan

Others

13%

Egypt

$1.2BN TOTAL FUNDING IN H1 2021

62%

UAE

14% KSA

Your entrepreneurial journey starts now

Whatever areas that today’s entrepreneurs venture into, their goal won’t be so different to those early tribes bartering with volcanic rock, to Henry Ford making his first cars, or Bill Gates creating an operating system that would revolutionise personal computing.

It’s about solving a customer problem, or like Steve Jobs, offering them something they didn’t even know they wanted. The fourth industrial revolution has yet to be fully written, it’s over to you to fill in the pages with your ideas.

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September 2021

COUNTRY FUNDING COMPARISON H1 2021 VS H1 2020 Rank

Rank Change

Country

Absolute YoY Change

1

0

UAE

+72%

Funding Share change

2

1

KSA

+65%

0%

3

1

Egypt

+28%

-5%

4

0

Jordan

+205%

+2%

5

1

Kuwait

+248%

+2%

6

1

Bahrain

+45%

0%

7

2

Morocco

+70%

0%

+3%

SOURCE: MAGNiTT

gulfbusiness.com