Tuesday, March 19

MIDDLE EAST

Read the latest news on startup companies in the Middle East, UAE, entrepreneurs, funding, investments, tech news and successful businessman stories on Pixr8.

Motherson’s Wiring Open its Plant in UAE
MIDDLE EAST

Motherson’s Wiring Open its Plant in UAE

His Highness Sheikh Saud bin Saqr Al Qasimi, UAE Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Ras Al Khaimah, formally inaugurated Motherson’s Wiring facility in the Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah (UAE). The facility is located in Ras Al Khaimah Economic Zone (RAKEZ). Also present at the ceremony were Mr. Vivek Chaand Sehgal, Chairman, Motherson, and Sheikh Mohammed bin Humaid Al Qasimi, RAKEZ Managing Director, along with officials from other local government entities. H.H. Sheikh Saud bin Saqr Al Qasimi said, “In Ras Al Khaimah, we have an integrated strategy to diversify the economy and achieve balanced growth across all sectors in a manner that ensures the sustainable development of our Emirate and adherence to our national objectives. This strategy lends great flexibility to the&n...
Arab’s first NFTs platform in MENA Launched
MIDDLE EAST, Tech

Arab’s first NFTs platform in MENA Launched

UAE, 29th june 2022: Arab's first NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens) platform UPYO has been launched on the first of June 2022. The American registered company is considered to be the largest NFTs marketplace in the MENA region. The (CEO) and CO-Founder is Ahmed Alsenan. UPYO has announced the raise of a $1 million seed round led by angel investors from 2020 to start it’s journey to provide first Arab platform and the unique of its kind to trade NFTs (Non Fungible Tokens) in the Middle East. UPYO’s vision is to create a safe, simple, and high-quality platform for trading NFTs in the Middle East in order to inspire the Arab artists to think, create and engage the NFTs marketplace and to feel free to share their magnificent work on top of that to be our user's gateway to interact in the digit...
MENA $659 million investment boost for startups during COVID-19
MIDDLE EAST

MENA $659 million investment boost for startups during COVID-19

The Middle East startup ecosystem is set to uncover another startup unicorn, according to experts amid a $659 million investment boom during the COVID-19 crisis. The record-breaking regional funding surge comes despite global startup funding in the first quarter of this year seeing the biggest downturn since the 2008 financial crisis, according to research from Crunchbase. Across the Middle East there are ongoing efforts to build VC Communities and startup ecosystems from scratch, as part of region-wide economic diversification efforts. One woman at the forefront of driving this movement is Areije Al Shakar, Fund Director of Al Waha Fund of Funds, the Bahraini government fund established to kickstart a VC community across MENA. Now, experts like Al Shakar are predicting that conditi...
UAE successfully launches its first spacecraft towards Mars
MIDDLE EAST

UAE successfully launches its first spacecraft towards Mars

Dubai, Jul 20, 2020: UAE made history on Monday by successfully launching its spacecraft "Al Amal" towards Mars from a Japanese launch center, marking the Arab world's first interplanetary mission, according to media reports. Al Amal, or Hope Probe, weighing 1.3 tonnes was launched from the H-2A rocket from Japan''s remote Tanegashima spaceport at 1.58 am local time. The probe's telecom system was set up and it transmitted its first signal after it successfully separated from the launch vehicle and its solar panels were deployed with clockwork precision an hour after the launch, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Launch Services, which is the launch operator, confirmed. The signals were received by the Mission Control team in Dubai''s Al Khawaneej. The solar panels will charge the ba...
Uber Launches Its First Bus Service in Egypt
MIDDLE EAST

Uber Launches Its First Bus Service in Egypt

Cairo, Egypt, July 20, 2020 - Uber launched its latest intercity Bus service in Egypt, aiming to connect cities together using the Uber app. Built locally, the company chooses Egypt once again to be the first country globally to roll out a new service. The launch comes as part of Uber’s continuous efforts to adapt its technology to build a wide range of products that meet the needs of local markets. Following the Covid-19 lockdown period, Uber is excited to continue expanding its presence in Egypt with a safe and affordable ride.  “We are honored to witness another global product launch from Egypt, especially following the last few tense months across the country and the world. Egypt is an innovation hub and a fantastic environment for testing new products. By leveraging Uber’s tec...
Middle East loses $270 bn oil income amid virus, recession
MIDDLE EAST

Middle East loses $270 bn oil income amid virus, recession

Dubai, Jul 13, 2020 (AP): The Middle East's energy producers are expected to earn $270 billion less in oil revenue compared to last year as the region's economic heavyweight, Saudi Arabia, sinks deeper into recession amid the coronavirus pandemic, according to the International Monetary Fund's outlook released on Monday. The international lender expects an overall economic contraction of 7.3% in Mideast oil-exporting countries this year due to hits from the coronavirus outbreak and oil market turmoil. The contraction is 2% greater than the IMF's initial projections in mid-April. “We are in a year like no other and therefore developments are very fast and coping with them is challenging for everyone,” Jihad Azour, director of the IMF's Middle East and Central Asia department, told Th...
Kuwait Assembly approves Expatriate quota bill, Will force Large number of Indians and Egyptian to leave the country
MIDDLE EAST

Kuwait Assembly approves Expatriate quota bill, Will force Large number of Indians and Egyptian to leave the country

Kuwait, 6th July 2020: Kuwait’s National Assembly committee has decided that a draft law proposing a quota for expatriates is constitutional. The bill will now be referred to the concerned committee for consideration. The bill states that the Indian and Egyptian expatriate community one of the largest in the country should not exceed 15 percent of the national population. Which means that out of 1.45 million Indians around 800,000 of them might be required to leave Kuwait. The speaker said that Kuwait has a real problem in its population structure, in which 70 percent are expats, adding that what is more serious is that 1.3 million of the 3.35 million expats “are either illiterate or can merely read and write”, who is not the people Kuwait really needs. He said 100,000 of the...
Saudi Arabia triples taxes, Cuts $26B in costs amid pandemic
MIDDLE EAST

Saudi Arabia triples taxes, Cuts $26B in costs amid pandemic

Saudi Arabia announced today that it was tripling taxes on basic goods, raising them to 15%, and cutting spending on major projects by around $26 billion as it grapples with blows from the coronavirus pandemic and low oil prices on its economy. Saudi citizens will also lose a bonus cost-of-living allowance that had been in place since 2018, according to the country's finance minister. Despite efforts to diversify the economy, the kingdom continues to rely heavily on oil for revenue. Brent crude now hovers around $30 a barrel, far below the range Saudi Arabia needs to balance its budget. The kingdom has also lost revenue from the suspension of Muslim pilgrimages to the holy cities of Mecca and Medina, which were closed to visitors due to the virus. The new measures are the most dr...
Pampered Kuwaitis quibble in five-star Quarantine
MIDDLE EAST

Pampered Kuwaitis quibble in five-star Quarantine

The meat is too fatty and the staff is slow to clean up coffee stains, some Kuwaitis quarantined in five-star hotels due to the coronavirus outbreak have a litany of complaints. Authorities in the oil-rich country have forced citizens returning from abroad to isolate for 14 days in luxury properties before they are permitted to re-enter society. Kuwait has adopted the strictest measures in the Gulf to combat the spread of coronavirus. It has recorded more than 700 cases, and one death. Plush hotels have turned into quarantine shelters, preparing to host around 60,000 Kuwaitis returning from countries including Italy, Germany, Iran, Egypt and Lebanon. The first batch arrived two weeks ago, and for some accustomed to the best in life, their accommodation has proven less than sat...
Dubai based Indian Businessman donates Property to Quarantine Coronavirus affected Patients
MIDDLE EAST, News

Dubai based Indian Businessman donates Property to Quarantine Coronavirus affected Patients

A Dubai-based Indian businessman has donated a fully-equipped building owned by him to the country's health authorities for the purpose of quarantining coronavirus affected patients, according to media reports. Ajay Sobhraj, Founder and Chairman of Dubai-based Finja Jewellery, has donated the building in Jumeirah Lake Towers in Dubai, that can accommodate up to 400 people, to be used as a quarantine centre, the Gulf News reported on Sunday. In a letter addressed to the Dubai Health Authority titled 'To Support and Give Back to the City That Cares', the Indian businessman who has called Dubai his home for 25 years, has donated a fully-equipped building in Jumeirah Lake Towers to be used in the country's fully integrated strategy against the COVID-19 crisis, the report said. "I bel...
Dubai Suspending All Economic Lifeline Amid Coronavirus Threat
MIDDLE EAST

Dubai Suspending All Economic Lifeline Amid Coronavirus Threat

Dubai is closing its famous malls and halting all passenger flights, capping a series of shutdowns on once-thriving sectors that serve as its economic lifeline but which have been sacrificed to curb coronavirus. A few days after barring foreigners, including those with residency permits, from entering the country, the emirate said it would close its airports to commercial flights, shut shopping centres and restrict restaurants to home deliveries. Within hours of the announcement, which will be enforced by Wednesday, the city's vast malls were already largely deserted, with corridors and concourses empty and shops devoid of customers. Boasting the most diversified economy in the Gulf, Dubai derives 94 percent of its public revenues from non-oil sources which also make up the major...
Wamda Launches ‘State of Pre-Seed Startups in Mena’ Report
MIDDLE EAST

Wamda Launches ‘State of Pre-Seed Startups in Mena’ Report

Dubai, 10th March 2020: Wamda, the Middle East region's leading startup ecosystem enabler has launched 'The state of the pre-seed startups in Mena' report in collaboration with STEP Conference, the leading technology festival for emerging markets. The report features findings based on data from 627 startup founders who applied to the Wamda X fellowship programme and includes research supplemented by STEP. The UAE remains the regional hub for entrepreneurship with 35.5% of the startups surveyed based in the country, followed by Egypt with 26.5% in sectors ranging from e-commerce, fintech, healthcare, and marketplaces among others. Only 32% of startups are currently registered of which 60% are registered in either Egypt or the UAE. Ray Dargham, CEO of STEP said, “We are delighted to b...