The vital role that technology plays in connecting communities and powering almost all aspects of our daily lives has been drawn into sharp focus during the pandemic.

Digital transformation has gathered pace, with the global population now working, learning and socialising remotely on a scale never seen before.

We have seen huge wireless network enhancements in recent months as a result of shifting traffic patterns, increasing connectivity requirements and changes in consumer behaviour.

Many creative and dynamic startup companies and small businesses have been helping to drive this movement through the remote delivery of a range of product and service offerings to businesses and consumers across the world.

To step-change the future of innovation and facilitate the next generation of pioneering startups, we will need to see a corresponding evolution in terms of wireless network capabilities.

A new generation of tech

5G represents a new generation of network technology that will power tomorrow’s most innovative companies.

The new network is much faster and more reliable than existing networks like 4G, meaning digital content and services of all types can be delivered quicker and at higher quality levels. 5G also has significantly reduced latency – the delay in transmitting data – enabling futuristic real-time applications such as autonomous cars, AR, VR and remote robotics. It is also far more efficient in terms of utilising network spectrum and available capacity, meaning that more people can do more things at the same time.

The new network’s significant improvements in speed, latency, capacity, reliability and overall wireless performance mean great things for how the startups and small businesses of the future will operate. 5G will result in positive and productive changes in terms of customer experience and the delivery of enhanced products and services that not only weren’t possible before, but likely weren’t even conceivable.

Levelling up the capabilities of 4G

So many of the activities, technologies and applications that we now rely on in our daily lives were only made possible because of the development and deployment of 4G. Everything from the rise of smartphones and tablets, to mobile video calling and streaming, to secure online transactions and more would have been both unachievable and unthinkable with older generations of mobile networks.

The same is true of the businesses providing those products and services. Where 5G promises to integrate itself into people’s lives in an even more profound way, it also promises to level-up the capabilities of startups and small businesses in ways that haven’t even been considered today.

Today, the mobile industry is already preparing for innovative concepts that could well be rolled out on 5G networks in the near future – from autonomous vehicle technology, to smart connected cities and infrastructure, to widescale industrial IoT applications, and more. But 5G is also a blank canvas for the innovators of tomorrow.

The range of applications, equipment, products and services that exist today are built and designed around the speed, latency, capacity, reliability and coverage capabilities of today’s network.

5G promises to revolutionise what is possible for businesses of all sizes. What might be possible for the innovative companies of the future? We won’t quite know for sure until we get there.

source: techround

Connected machines and digital twins will help drive 6G networks, Samsung says.

Samsung has started to publicize its direction for 6G, the next generation of wireless networks likely to supercede 5G sometime in the next decade.

The company  joins Nokia and a few other organizations that are exploring the upgrade.

Connected machines and artificial intelligence will feature prominently in future use-cases, as will digital twins, hi-fi mobile holograms and immersive extended reality (XR), the company says in a white paper.

6G features will include better spectral and energy efficiency and a requirement for trustworthiness that, “addresses the security and privacy issues arising from the widespread use of user data and AI technologies,” Samsung says in an associated news release.

Faster data rates

From a technology standpoint, Samsung says it will be aiming for peak data rates of 1Tbps and latency less than 100 microsec, "fifty times the peak data rate and one-tenth the latency of 5G." 6G will use terahertz frequencies, which are well above microwave and millimeter wave, along with optimized antennas.

Spectrum sharing enhancements and more sophisticated duplexing will be used to better utilize wireless frequencies, Samsung says.

Reliability also is mentioned as a focus. But it’s the projected megatrends that Samsung says will propel 6G that are most interesting.

6G will connect machines

While legacy products like voice may still be a feature, it will be vehicles, robots, construction machinery and factory equipment that will become prime “connected machine” users. “Smart sensors installed in various infrastructures” will be a part of that, Samsung says.

In terms of new use-cases, Samsung thinks that a combination of virtual reality, artificial reality and mixed reality called XR will be set in motion by 6G.

Roadblocks to XR include hardware limitations, in particular processing power, and battery performance, but also wireless capacity. Samsung thinks 6G will solve these issues. An example: AR alone needs 55.3 Mbit/sec to support 8K displays, Samsung says, and XR needs even more.

With enough bandwidth, holograms could display gestures and facial expressions in real time, but with a peak data rate of 20Gbps, 5G is too slow, Samsung says. Holograms of 19.1 gigapixels, for example, require 1Tbps throughput, which would be Samsung 6G's top speed.

Digital twins, too, could enter mainstream usage with 6G, Samsung says. Industrial uses could include detecting problems in sensors remotely. “A user could physically move within a remote site by controlling a robot in that space entirely via real-time interactions with a digital-twin representation of that remote site,” Samsung says.

“Increasingly, machines will need to be connected by means of wireless communications,” Samsung says.

source: networkworld

Entrepreneurs can still make money in this environment. The opportunities may be in different industries than you usually work with, but many businesses still need your skills.

In times like these, full of unknowns, it can be scary for entrepreneurs and freelancers who’ve lost business opportunities, as well as workers who’ve lost their jobs or had their hours cut. However, there are still ways to make money during a crisis, even one like this with both significant health and economic concerns.

Personally, I’ve had around a dozen public speaking opportunities get canceled or postponed, which has been hard, but having gone through the Great Recession, I’ve learned some lessons and know I’ll make it through to the other side. You can too, and in some cases, you may find that this crisis creates an opportunity to take your career or business in a new direction that benefits you more in the long run.

Some ideas to earn money safely from home include:

1. Charging for content or content support

During this period, with so many of us staying at home, with more time on our hands, you’ll likely see a lot more content creation, such as with launches of new podcasts, YouTube series, courses, etc.

Some creators may be able to monetize this content by finding advertising — if, for example, you have a sizable social media following or can get enough podcast listeners. Or you could put your content behind a paywall and charge for access.

Others, however, need to be realistic about how much, if anything, they can earn from content creation. That said, you may still have the skills to support content creators, such as helping with writing, editing, graphic design, etc. Make sure you charge for your time. You can look at project and hourly rates on sites like Upwork to get a sense of what your fee should be based on your experience and the type of work you can do.

2. Monetize your knowledge

Related to creating content is jumping into the growing online education space for all ages. You may have the skills and experience to teach on sites geared toward young students, or you might have business knowledge that you can teach to other professionals, especially those at companies that have budget that would have gone toward attending conferences.

You can monetize your knowledge by creating a course on sites like Kajabi and marketing to professionals, or you can try to get paid directly by working part-time for an online learning platform. If you have an idea for your own course, see if it exists already on a platform like LinkedIn Learning. If it doesn’t, you could have a good opportunity to create something unique that others might be willing to pay for.

3. Find freelance work

Whether you’re a creative, a coder, an administrative assistant, or many other occupations that can be done online, there’s a good chance you can still find freelance opportunities through platforms like Upwork and LinkedIn.

Many businesses are still operating at full speed, such as in the technology sector and some food brands that are seeing strong sales due to demand at grocery stores.

Taking on freelance opportunities can be a great way to get your side hustle off the ground, whether that’s because you’re getting paid directly for your side hustle work (e.g, doing graphic design to eventually fund your own agency,) or because you’re using freelancing income to eventually fund another type of business venture.

4. Get active on social media

Social media will experience a renaissance in 2020 as people get back to being truly social and more connected online out of necessity.

While being more active on social media won’t necessarily lead directly to income opportunities, you can start making quality connections and planting seeds that can grow into ways to make money.

For example, you can crowdsource ideas for your business through social media, find new clients, find partners that help you grow your business, etc.

This is also an opportunity for a new wave of thought leaders to emerge, and while only a few will make it, now could be the time to build your personal brand so that you can gain a following.

Having an audience can then lead to monetization opportunities such as through affiliate links on your website, video views on YouTube, podcasting sponsorships through Anchor and article views on Medium.

Although this crisis has affected so many of us, it’s important to try to stay positive and look for opportunities where possible.

You may have to work harder and get creative, but with perseverance and quality work, you can find ways to make money in a crisis.

source: entrepreneur

Middle Eastern fund managers plan to increase investments in Saudi Arabia in the current quarter, according to a Reuters poll, betting on the kingdom's ability to bounce back from the coronavirus and low oil price shocks.

The region, which has imposed strict lockdown measures as it deals with the outbreak, is home to many oil producers, who have seen the price of their main resource tumble as they spend to help support their economies.

Half of the eight fund managers polled by Reuters said they would increase their allocations in Saudi Arabia, the Gulf's largest economy.

While Saudi Arabia's main stock index <.TASI> is down 11% this year, it is up 3.25% this quarter. In a separate Reuters poll this month, the oil producer's GDP was seen shrinking 5.2% this year, before rebounding next year.

"We are looking for opportunities ... across sectors less impacted by both the oil price slump and the pandemic," said Jai Lawrence, asset management analyst at Almal Capital.

While some large companies in Saudi Arabia have taken a hit, the country is "a more diversified market with stock-specific opportunities available, which could be drivers of portfolio returns," said Emirates NBD's Dipanjan Ray, citing the potential merger of the kingdom's banks NCB and Samba.

Overall, fund managers said they were keeping their allocations in the UAE unchanged, because while the pandemic has hurt sectors such as real estate and tourism, the diversified nature of its economy could boost recovery.

"At this stage we believe the Dubai market has already discounted a lot of the negative consequences of the current crisis and there is medium to long-term upside," said Mohamed Jamal of Waha Capital.

Three of the managers polled increased allocations for Kuwait, drawing on its inclusion in the MSCI emerging markets index in November.

They said the timeline of the recovery was uncertain but Emirates NBD's Ray said he expected economic activity to normalise across all sectors over the next 12 months.

He said his firm had invested defensively going into the pandemic crisis, but "we have rotated into high-quality recovery-oriented names."

source: money.usnews

Saudi Arabia moved up nine notches in the United Nations E-Government Development Index (EGDI) in 2020.

The Kingdom has improved its digital infrastructure index ranking, jumping 40 notches to the 27th globally.

The Kingdom’s remarkable achievement was attributed to the unlimited support of the leadership to the communications and information technology sector, the Saudi Press Agency reported quoting Minister of Communications and Information Technology Eng. Abdullah Al-Sawaha as saying.

Al-Sawaha said the Kingdom’s digital infrastructure witnessed qualitative leap by jumping to 8th position among the G-20 countries.

On the human capital index, the Kingdom jumped 15 notches to 35th globally and 10th among the G20 countries, while Riyadh ranked 10th in the world in terms of sub-technology index and the 31st globally in intercity competitiveness.

Al-Sawaha said this achievement is a result of the outcome of the National Transformation Program (NTP) and reflects the progress achieved by the Kingdom in its transformational journey in building a coherent present for an innovative future.

“The leaps achieved by the Kingdom in the index came as a result of the concerted efforts of many government agencies and adoption of modern digital methods by launching many initiatives and products.

All these have accelerated government’s digital transformation, in a way realizing the goals of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030,” he added.

The EGDI presents the state of E-Government Development of the UN member states. Along with an assessment of the website development patterns in a country, the EGDI incorporates the access characteristics such as the infrastructure and educational levels to reflect how a country is using information technologies to promote access and inclusion of its people.

The EGDI is a composite measure of three important dimensions of e-government, namely: provision of online services, telecommunication connectivity and human capacity.

source: zawya

Fetchr secured at least $15 million in fresh funding to expand in Saudi Arabia as part of a turnaround plan that saved the Dubai-based courier app from collapse.

The latest financing round, which still needs shareholders’ approval, could see pledges increase to as much as $25 million, according to documents seen by Bloomberg. The commitments are being made by venture capital firm BECO Capital, Saudi Arabia’s Tamer Group and French shipping company CMA CGM SA, the documents show.

Fetchr’s interim Chief Executive Officer Mazen Mamlouk confirmed the details of the financing round.

The company, which offers delivery and logistics services to e-commerce firms, late last year had to consider selling the business or filing for bankruptcy due to a “rapidly diminishing” financial performance. It was able to raise $10 million in bridge finance, which diluted existing shareholders to almost zero, according to a letter to investors seen by Bloomberg in December.

One of Middle East’s Largest Startups Narrowly Averts Collapse

Since then, the company has brought in new management, reduced the rate at which it burns cash and closed operations in Jordan, Bahrain and Oman, according to the latest documents. It also cut about 1,230 jobs.

Mamlouk will soon pass the reins to Hussein Wehbe -- the former managing director of United Parcel Service Inc.’s Middle East business - but will remain as an adviser with Fetchr, he said by phone.

Representatives for BECO, CMA CGM and Tamer Group didn’t immediately respond to emails seeking comment.

Fetchr, once one of the rising stars of the Middle East’s nascent startup scene, was valued at almost $300 million in a 2017 fund-raising round. Silicon Valley investors such as New Enterprise Associates, Nokia Oyj’s venture capital arm and Winklevoss Capital were among its backers.

Fetchr’s turnaround is overseen by prominent businessmen such as Iyad Malas, the former chief executive officer of Majid Al Futtaim, Gate Capital founder Munther Hilal and Hussein Hachem, who led logistics firm Aramex for five years.

source: bloomberg

A Dubai Chamber survey showed that giving importance to employee health, safety, and wellbeing helped the business community in responding maturely to the crisis and ensuring business continuity.

Businesses in Dubai that prioritized corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives have been able to better respond to the COVID-19 crisis, as per a recent study carried out by Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s Centre for Responsible Business.

The survey, conducted in May and June 2020, showed that giving importance and adhering to institutional guidelines on employee health, safety and wellbeing, has helped the business community in responding maturely to the crisis and ensuring business continuity.

This study is a follow up to an in-depth report recently published by Dubai Chamber, entitled Corporate Social Responsibility in Dubai: Current Practices, Challenges and Future Opportunities, which revealed that more businesses now consistently engage in CSR initiatives that suit and align with their business strategies. 

Referring to recent CSR activities, respondents to the survey said they considered such efforts as an obligation or “the right thing to do” as opposed to viewing them as activities that help gain better reputation for the firm.

The study also showed that other factors such as digital preparedness, advanced IT infrastructure, and technically aware employees have helped Dubai businesses in ensuring a smooth transition to remote working structures.

However, with restrictions on face-to-face meetings and events, many surveyed organizations have stated that they quickly shifted employee volunteering activities to digital platforms, to explore new ways of creating social impact and giving back to the community.

Over 70% of surveyed organizations reported that the board of directors are involved with CSR initiatives, while 68% of respondents reported advanced CSR practices with employee volunteering.

Overall, 76% of responding Dubai companies were found to be engaged in CSR initiatives.

Findings in the comprehensive report show that “improving the community” was the top motivating factor behind CSR initiatives for 80% of companies, while “improve revenue” was the least motivational factor.

source: entrepreneur