Sheikha Bodour Al Qasimi, chairperson of the Sharjah Investment and Development Authority said the ‘Fourth Industrial Revolution’ is one of the region’s “greatest challenges” Wam
Sheikha Bodour Al Qasimi, chairperson of the Sharjah Investment and Development Authority said the ‘Fourth Industrial Revolution’ is one of the region’s “greatest challenges” Wam

Arab start-ups key to building localised digital economy



Start-ups and small busi­nesses play a key role in helping the Arab world shift towards becoming a digitally-based economy, yet they face significant barriers to their growth, attendees at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in the UAE heard.

The Fourth Industrial Revolution – the next major industrial era, characterised by rapid evolution of disruptive technologies – is one of the region’s “greatest challenges”, Sheikha Bodour Al Qasimi, chair­woman of the Sharjah Investment and Development Authority (Shurooq), told a WEF event in Sharjah on Friday.

It will require companies, governments and entrepreneurs to help digitise existing economies and prevent the region falling behind the rest of the world. 

“I think we all agree this is the region’s greatest challenge: how to build future economies in the Arab world. More precisely, how can we build economies that are being shaped by Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies?/” Sheikha Al Qasimi said.

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Such advancements include robotics, AI (artificial intelligence), nanotechnology, 3D printing, Internet of Things (IoT) and autonomous vehicles – "truly transformative technologies that are the key to job creation", she said, as she announced a panel ­session moderated by The ­National's editor-in-chief Mina Al-Oraibi.

Panel speakers warned that while start-ups and small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs) can play a big role in developing a knowledge-based economy, many Arab countries have failed to put in place the ecosystems to nurture their growth.

“It’s because I love the country that I want it to be better. There are a lot of things that need to be changed, it’s very frustrating” said Joy Ajlouny, co-founder of UAE logistics start-up Fetchr.

“The bureaucracy [in the UAE] is painful and the costs of setting up a business are astronomical.

“In the US, you only pay taxes on profits; here, you pay fees [for healthcare, licensing, visas], whether you make money or not.”

Education and lack of skilled talent is another barrier, according to panel speakers, which included well-known figures from Middle East businesses and institutions.

Political instability in the region can cause a “brain drain”, where talented people seek opportunities elsewhere, noted Imad Elhajj a professor at the American University of Beirut.

“I don’t think there is a lack of education here, but if there’s no stability [in Lebanon, especially], start-ups will start up elsewhere, taking away technologies that could help grow our economies,” he said. 

Another challenge is that consumption of technology is higher in the Arab world than production of technology – despite high internet penetration rates.

"The community of people entering production is quite small," warned Sarah Al Amiri, UAE Minister of State for Advanced Sciences. She said a government priority was to create a "talent pool of people" whose knowledge is transferable across industries. The UAE last month launched an initiative to train 1 million ­Arabs in computer coding.

Last week, a report by Orient Planet Research and SME Advisor Middle East claimed the UAE is primed for a new wave of SMEs, with 91 per cent of millennials surveyed saying they had either started their own business or were looking to start one in the near future.

At the other end of the spectrum, however, large corporates have a role to play in making the digital economy a reality. “It’s how we utilise the talent we have,” said Khaled Biyari, chief executive of Saudi Telecom Company (STC).

“You need an ecosystem,” he added. “You need a friendly regulatory environment that can not only create boundaries but open up investment. Then, you need a digital infrastructure that enables everyone to participate and compete, for example, by giving SMEs access to cloud data and IoT platforms so they can do stuff in a completely new and different way.”

Alain Bejjani, chief executive of UAE conglomerate Majid Al Futtaim Holding, added: “We have to be better, in order to compete globally. Competition in bricks and mortar is now global, let alone in digital. Whoever can’t get there has no future.”

Company%20Profile
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Company%20profile
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Jigra
Director: Vasan Bala
Starring: Alia Bhatt, Vedang Raina, Manoj Pahwa, Harsh Singh
Rated: 3.5/5
Common OCD symptoms and how they manifest

Checking: the obsession or thoughts focus on some harm coming from things not being as they should, which usually centre around the theme of safety. For example, the obsession is “the building will burn down”, therefore the compulsion is checking that the oven is switched off.

Contamination: the obsession is focused on the presence of germs, dirt or harmful bacteria and how this will impact the person and/or their loved ones. For example, the obsession is “the floor is dirty; me and my family will get sick and die”, the compulsion is repetitive cleaning.

Orderliness: the obsession is a fear of sitting with uncomfortable feelings, or to prevent harm coming to oneself or others. Objectively there appears to be no logical link between the obsession and compulsion. For example,” I won’t feel right if the jars aren’t lined up” or “harm will come to my family if I don’t line up all the jars”, so the compulsion is therefore lining up the jars.

Intrusive thoughts: the intrusive thought is usually highly distressing and repetitive. Common examples may include thoughts of perpetrating violence towards others, harming others, or questions over one’s character or deeds, usually in conflict with the person’s true values. An example would be: “I think I might hurt my family”, which in turn leads to the compulsion of avoiding social gatherings.

Hoarding: the intrusive thought is the overvaluing of objects or possessions, while the compulsion is stashing or hoarding these items and refusing to let them go. For example, “this newspaper may come in useful one day”, therefore, the compulsion is hoarding newspapers instead of discarding them the next day.

Source: Dr Robert Chandler, clinical psychologist at Lighthouse Arabia

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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
Moon Music

Artist: Coldplay

Label: Parlophone/Atlantic

Number of tracks: 10

Rating: 3/5

'Gehraiyaan'
Director:Shakun Batra

Stars:Deepika Padukone, Siddhant Chaturvedi, Ananya Panday, Dhairya Karwa

Rating: 4/5

COMPANY PROFILE

Company: Bidzi

● Started: 2024

● Founders: Akshay Dosaj and Asif Rashid

● Based: Dubai, UAE

● Industry: M&A

● Funding size: Bootstrapped

● No of employees: Nine

Sarfira

Director: Sudha Kongara Prasad

Starring: Akshay Kumar, Radhika Madan, Paresh Rawal 

Rating: 2/5

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The five pillars of Islam
The specs

Engine: 1.5-litre turbo

Power: 181hp

Torque: 230Nm

Transmission: 6-speed automatic

Starting price: Dh79,000

On sale: Now

The five pillars of Islam

1. Fasting

2. Prayer

3. Hajj

4. Shahada

5. Zakat 

Three ways to limit your social media use

Clinical psychologist, Dr Saliha Afridi at The Lighthouse Arabia suggests three easy things you can do every day to cut back on the time you spend online.

1. Put the social media app in a folder on the second or third screen of your phone so it has to remain a conscious decision to open, rather than something your fingers gravitate towards without consideration.

2. Schedule a time to use social media instead of consistently throughout the day. I recommend setting aside certain times of the day or week when you upload pictures or share information. 

3. Take a mental snapshot rather than a photo on your phone. Instead of sharing it with your social world, try to absorb the moment, connect with your feeling, experience the moment with all five of your senses. You will have a memory of that moment more vividly and for far longer than if you take a picture of it.

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Mobile phone packages comparison
Profile of Tamatem

Date started: March 2013

Founder: Hussam Hammo

Based: Amman, Jordan

Employees: 55

Funding: $6m

Funders: Wamda Capital, Modern Electronics (part of Al Falaisah Group) and North Base Media

SPECS

Engine: Two-litre four-cylinder turbo
Power: 235hp
Torque: 350Nm
Transmission: Nine-speed automatic
Price: From Dh167,500 ($45,000)
On sale: Now

COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
 
Started: 2020
 
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
 
Based: Dubai, UAE
 
Sector: Entertainment 
 
Number of staff: 210 
 
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
Company%20profile
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The biog

Hobbies: Salsa dancing “It's in my blood” and listening to music in different languages

Favourite place to travel to: “Thailand, as it's gorgeous, food is delicious, their massages are to die for!”  

Favourite food: “I'm a vegetarian, so I can't get enough of salad.”

Favourite film:  “I love watching documentaries, and am fascinated by nature, animals, human anatomy. I love watching to learn!”

Best spot in the UAE: “I fell in love with Fujairah and anywhere outside the big cities, where I can get some peace and get a break from the busy lifestyle”

Profile of MoneyFellows

Founder: Ahmed Wadi

Launched: 2016

Employees: 76

Financing stage: Series A ($4 million)

Investors: Partech, Sawari Ventures, 500 Startups, Dubai Angel Investors, Phoenician Fund


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