Divsha Bhat

4 days ago | restofworld.org | Divsha Bhat |Indranil Ghosh

The UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar pledged $2 trillion of deals during U.S. President Donald Trump’s Middle East tour last month, sparking debate over whether massive spending can buy tech superpower status. Saudi Arabia committed $600 billion over four years, while Qatar earmarked $1.2 trillion and the UAE said it would add $200 billion to an existing $1.4 trillion plan to develop artificial intelligence.

3 weeks ago | restofworld.org | Divsha Bhat |Munira Mutaher

The race for super-apps is intensifying in the Middle East. Unlike Western markets, where Google, Apple, and Meta maintain separate app ecosystems with strict integration limits, in countries like the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, tech giants are following in the footsteps of China’s WeChat. Dubai-based Careem, which started as a ride-hailing company, has evolved into a comprehensive app handling transportation, food delivery, grocery shopping, payments, and home cleaning.

Jul 4, 2024 | agbi.com | Divsha Bhat

Maroc Telecom must pay $626m to InwiAnti-competitive practicesFine exceeds its 2023 profitsUAE telco e& (formerly Etisalat) has lost its appeal against an anti-competitive practices compensation payment in a Moroccan court. Maroc Telecom, which is 53 percent owned by e&, is now required to pay AED2.3 billion ($626 million) to Casablanca’s Wana Corporate (Inwi). It was first ordered to pay the compensation by the Commercial Court of Rabat in January 2024.

Jul 3, 2024 | agbi.com | Divsha Bhat

BNPL use doubled since 2022Linked to strong e-commerceRegulation challenges remain A tech-savvy society, an expanding e-commerce market and the appeal of flexible financing options is fuelling the UAE and Saudi Arabia’s buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) sector, according to industry experts. BNPL – when people can make immediate online purchases and spread payments over interest-free instalments – has grown in popularity in the Gulf since the Covid-19 pandemic.

Jul 2, 2024 | agbi.com | Divsha Bhat

Demand growing enormouslyFear of chip shortagesBut lack of engineering talentPlans by the UAE and Saudi Arabia to become centres of computer chip manufacturing are threatened by everything from shortages of engineering talent to a lack of water, experts have warned. The ambitions of the two countries will fail unless they invest in training and form partnerships, they say.