We have evolved from the era of standalone devices, drugs and surgery. Bio-absorbent stents, connected pumps, capsule endoscope, digital stethoscopes amongst others are innovations of the last decade.

The buzz words in the industry today are artificial intelligence (AI), augmented reality (AR), virtual care (VC), electronic intensive care unit (eICU), robotics, blockchain, data monetization, digital transformation etc. It is no longer just quality of care, but efficiency of “care and costs” that is key to disruption.

In the Middle East, we have seen adoption of various technologies in the last decade.

Robotic Surgery was launched in 2003, closely followed by adoption of various digital platforms and artificial intelligence tools in the latter half of the last decade. So far, we have only witnessed introduction of technology in the region.

The required penetration that is needed to transform care is yet to be seen. The region has focused more on investing in building infrastructure and setting up equipment in hospitals in the last decade.

The optimum utilization of this equipment, necessary training requirements for clinicians and affordability for patients etc., were not focus areas.

This led to lower utilization and lower return on investment. However, during the latter part of the last decade, there was increased focus on training clinicians, adopting products that address efficiency requirements for disease and patient management.

Hence, we anticipate that countries would leverage the benefits of digital transformation in healthcare with increased savings, reduced expenditure and better quality of life for patients.

The 2020s would be the decade for transformation. With 44+ surgical robots installed so far, it would be appropriate to say that robotic surgery has just dawned.

The region witnessed 3-fold increase in volumes of robotic surgery from 2010 to 2019. The launch of Saudi Vision 2030 and the goals of UAE Centennial 2071, have enabled adoption and utilisation of these new age solutions.

The launch of haptic gloves, micro-robot cameras, new products beyond the da Vinci Surgical System has further strengthened transformation.

Until 2017, 90 per cent of the robotic-assisted surgeries were only being conducted for urology; today, surgeons are open to utilizing these robots to conduct procedures on patients with issues of obesity, oncology, orthopaedics, etc.

Robotic surgery assures highest quality of care as it reduces complication risks to 1-4% and increases speed of recovery (ALOS - average length of stay - reduced to less than 3 days on average). This is resulting in patients and surgeons wanting to benefit more from these technologies.

Frost & Sullivan estimates that by 2025, the region will witness 12 per cent growth rate in sales of surgical robots and higher double-digit growth rate in volume of robotic surgical procedures conducted across specialties with more focus on bariatric and orthopaedic procedures.

AI in healthcare in the Middle East has been driven by customised platforms, solutions for varied care settings across countries. The AI adoption in the region has been driven by government initiatives. The focus has been more on diagnosis, prevention and monitoring than treatment.

The Dubai Health Authority’s (DHA) partnership with Agfa Healthcare care in 2018 to utilise the chest x-ray screening programme AI algorithm was a great success, as it ensured 95 percent accuracy in identification of tuberculosis and resulted in 28 percent reduction in screening time, thereby improving both clinical and operational efficiency.

The launch of AI Lab by Abu Dhabi Department of Health in 2019 is the first-of–its-kind initiative in the region to develop and leverage AI, blockchain, predictive analytics and the Internet of Medical Things (IoMT) amongst others to transform healthcare. AI is likely to be an integral part of the daily activities of at least 3 million GCC patients by 2023.

Digital Transformation is not always clinically driven. The “Smart Pharmacy” solution in the Middle East is one such solution that reduces errors, increases efficiency and improves patient happiness. The newly launched automation robot solution can support storage for 35,000 drugs, prepare 12 prescriptions in less than a minute and dispense around 8,000 medicines in an hour.

DHA states that the pharmacies have helped reduce average processing time from 22.5 minutes in 2016 to 7.9 minutes in 2018 and increased outpatient satisfaction rate from 69 percent in 2016 to 94 percent in 2018 during the same period.

It is interesting to see new start-ups in the region focusing on developing these digital tools. This enables better adoption as solutions are customised to both cultural and business requirements in the region.

Surveys conducted in the region by various organisations like you.gov have revealed that more than 65 percent of clinicians and patients believed that digital and new age solutions would transform care and their lives and were willing to adopt these solutions.

However, only 37 percent of them believed that business (including infrastructure and processes) is ready for adoption, an aspect being mitigated by government initiatives to enable digital transformation.

Frost & Sullivan estimates the adoption and utilisation of digital and robotic tools in healthcare would account for USD 20 billion in the Middle East by 2023.

It is estimated 60 percent of the countries in the region have some form of framework for digital transformation in healthcare. KSA and UAE would lead the way for this transformation with increased utilisation.

source: investinabudhabi

Schools and universities were among the first institutions that shuttered their doors around the world in the face of the Coronavirus pandemic. According to UNESCO, more than 150 countries have implemented nationwide closures, forcing over 80 per cent of world’s student population, estimated at more than 1.4 billion learners, to stay at home.

These closures have placed unprecedented challenges on governments to ensure learning continuity, likewise on teachers, students and parents. The only viable solution has been e-learning, paving the way for a boom in education technology (edtech) startups.

Across the Middle East and North Africa (Mena), edtech was rarely at the forefront of investment deals prior to the pandemic.

Back in 2017, just $2 million was invested in edtech startups in the region, but as schools looked to upgrade their system and incorporate more technology into their curricula, the level of investment rose to $21 million by the end of 2019.

The number of edtech startups has also increased, on Magnitt’s database there were just 270 listed on the platform in 2017, but this has now exceeded 800 edtech startups as investors seek opportunities that are proving to be “pandemic-resistant”.

Most recently, the Sharjah Entrepreneurship Centre (Sheraa) awarded Jordan-based Little Thinking Minds a $100,000 equity-free grant to boost its development in the emirate.

Three other edtech startups, BoBu, Narrativa and almentor.net were each awarded $20,000 grants.

An Inescapable Need

Various facilities available on digital platforms, which were until now considered as a secondary learning option, are becoming a necessity according to Holon IQ’s Global Education Outlook amidst Covid-19, which states that “the time for online learning has come”.

“There is no running away from education technology,” says Mounira Jamjoom, co-founder and chief executive officer (CEO) at Aanaab, an online platform specialised in the professional development of Arab educators through open learning. “The education sector is being transformed like there is no tomorrow.

I see online learning becoming the norm, not the second option.”

The company recently raised $1.5 million in its seed round with participation from Wamda.

Similarly focusing on teacher enablement, UK-based online teaching platform Teacherly, which has presence in Europe and Mena, provides teachers with an opportunity to work collaboratively, fostering a community of peer-to-peer coaching.

“By 2040, 70 per cent of the population will be urbanised and this will have an impact on education,” says Atif Mahmood, founder and CEO at Teacherly.

“We did not know this [outbreak] was going to happen, but we already had the vision to promote remote lessons and enable teachers to connect across schools and work remotely.

This put us in a really good position now to take a massive leap and grab the opportunity.”

Teacherly has an increase of 30 per cent in the number of leads it is receiving every day.

The team aimed to shorten the sales cycle by approaching the middle leadership, who are more receptive and quicker to take decisions. Currently, a big chunk of their inquiries come from principals and CEOs.

Teacherly was already present in more than 2,000 schools around the world, and in the first week of home learning, the company onboarded 80 new schools while more than 6,000 teachers and 2,000 students have signed up during the coronavirus period.

“There will be a huge demand post-coronavirus for home schooling, which has been rising significantly year-on-year.

This is a lesson to learn during this experimentational process, it has shed more light on home-learning,” adds Mahmood.

Startup Response

Edtech companies are navigating through the situation in multiple ways, from fast response to strategic shifts, product development, scaling and pushing for high conversion rates. UK-based Century Tech, an artificial intelligence (AI) company whose autonomous machine identifies areas that students find challenging and supports them with content to lead them through initially changed its business model and then its product in response to the virus.

“Century is an autonomous machine that essentially learns how the student is learning, so you do not need to sit next to the child.

It constantly adapts based on every mouse movement the child makes,” says Priya Lakhani founder and CEO at Century Tech. “This is very fast. We looked at the crisis in January and we changed our model. We then looked at consumer demand and we changed our product.”

Century implemented several infrastructure changes in order to scale up and be able to meet the rise in demand.  

“[The outbreak] also affected the business model itself. At Century, we suddenly got an influx of parental interest. While the schools are using a standard LMS [learning management system], the parents are working and cannot sit next to young children all day to go through a scanned textbook, print it, take pictures of their child’s learning progress and send it back to teachers,” says Lakhani.  “A lot of parents started reaching out to us asking to have access for their kids, so at least for one or two hours a day they are supported by AI.”

This is a welcome respite for many parents juggling their own work with their children’s education.

“Parents are much more involved now with their children’s day to day education.

We operate mostly in schools, but as a result of this distance learning we saw much more engagement from parents on our platform,” says Rama Kayyali, founder and CEO of Little Thinking Minds.

“A lot of parents now are thinking why are we paying crazy amounts of money for schools? This is a great opportunity to up our game.”

Little Thinking Minds creates advanced digital solutions and platforms aimed at improving learning outcomes. It is also geared to help teachers manage their classrooms remotely.

Regional Inequality

“We had some schools who we were not able to reach before, now coming to us after realising the importance of edtech solutions,” says Kayyali. “At the same time, some schools are worried and freezing purchasing decisions until things are clearer. We have heard of plans for schools mergers and closures.”

The online learning readiness of schools and universities varies across the region.

Governments in the GCC embraced the technological progress of public schools early on and private schools that charge hefty fees were already well-prepared with edtech solutions.

“Not a lot of schools could afford having the online component, but today schools and governments have no choice,” says Dina Shawr, CEO at Adam Tech Ventures, which recently invested in Jordan-based online learning platform Abwaab. “Investors in general do not like edtech because it is a volumes game and the multiples on it are low, the more students you have, the more traction you can achieve and the higher valuation you can get. However, the engagement numbers today are unbelievable, no one had expected this in such a short period of time.”

But investors and governments needs to be aware that online learning goes beyond providing students with a laptop and tablet and offering online tuition or education videos.

The efficacy comes down to the technological infrastructure of the country and access to the internet. With the uptake of digital learning as an alternative solution for providing education to students at home higher than before, internet and servers capabilities need to be boosted in order to keep up with the surge in users.

“Going forward, the majority of the education sector would have understood how to use these technology effectively.

The big challenge for ministries of educations around the world will be how to ensure that every child has access. There is always going to be this small percent of the population that do not have strong enough bandwidth, nor access to devices,” says Lakhani.  

The education sector has witnessed a paradigm shift in both learning and teaching that calls for public-private partnerships more than ever. Governments can avoid reinventing the wheel by working with edtech companies that already came a long way.

Moreover, many startups are looking to form partnerships with others working in the same field. With the demand rising for a holistic solution, there are a lot of edtech companies who seek to join hands as a conglomerate.

“Edtech companies that are rising to the challenge have to think about their cost-base.

They should consider benefiting from government schemes and be as smart as they can to get through this time by mitigating the risks as much as possible,” says Lakhani.

“Companies are thinking about how they can [grow] not just to thrive, but to survive. If people are not radically thinking of how to change their business right now, they are on the route to failure.”

source: wamda

$277M was invested in 108 startup investment deals in MENA, an increase of 2% in total funding from Q1 2019 to Q1 2020

Despite the COVID-19 crisis, MENA's startups saw an increase in funding in Q1 2020, according to a special Q1 2020 MENA Venture Investment Report launched by MAGNiTT.

This 67-page report includes Insights into 28 industries, with a deep-dive into top industries by deals and total funding including rankings and trends of 17 countries, with a deep-dive into top countries by deals and total funding.

The report also highlights funding trends of MENA-based startups, including the top 10 deals, pre-money valuation by stage with average pre-money valuation at Seed & Series A.

Moreover, while the funding in Q1 2020 has slightly increased compared to Q1 2019, it can be seen that the majority of the top 5 funding rounds were announced before the crisis forced many countries into lockdown.

While investors highlighted to MAGNiTT that they are still actively looking to invest, the true ramifications of the crisis are not expected to be seen until several months after the start of the crisis.

The fundraising exercise often takes several months for founders and investors, delaying the impact of the current situation.

March saw a significant slowdown in number of deals, which is expected to continue over the next few months as the ramifications of COVID-19 come into play.

"Historical data highlights that investment rounds across MENA tend to take, on average, 6 months to come to fruition,” explains Philip Bahoshy, MAGNiTT’s founder & CEO.

“We will most likely not see the full impact of COVID-19 on the venture funding space yet for a few months. However, early indications have already shown a slowdown in funding announcements, as startups and investors re-evaluate their positions in this new environment.”

source: sme10x

بعد مرور أكثر من ثلاثة أشهر لظهور فايروس كورونا في العالم لم يعد الحديث عن ارتفاع الطلب على منتجات الاقتصاد الرقمي أمراً تنبئياً، بل أصبح واقعاً، فأسهم الشركات الصينية العاملة في مجال الألعاب على الانترنت، وخدمات الصحة الرقمية، والعمل عن بعد والتعلم عن بعد حلقت في بورصة "هونغ كونك" في النصف الأول من شهر فبراير/ شباط الماضي، ومازالت حتى تاريخ كتابة هذه السطور تحقق مكاسب ضخمة.

ليست الشركات الصينية النشطة في الاقتصاد الرقمي وحدها من حققت مكاسب بل سرعان ما ارتفعت أسهم الشركات الرقمية في جميع أنحاء العالم، كل ذلك يمر بهدوء على نشرات الأخبار العالمية في ظل الأخبار الأكثر سوداوية والتي تجلب معها حالة "هلع" غير مبررة والتي تحد من قدرة أصحاب الشركات الناشئة والأعمال الصغيرة على التفكير بإمكانية التكيف واستغلال الفرص لإيجاد حلول وبدائل توائم الظرف الراهن، والمؤقت.

أدت حالة الحجر الصحي المنزلي إلى ضرورة البحث عن بدائل للحصول على سلة من الخدمات التي لا يمكن توفيرها إلا عبر تطبيقات الهواتف الذكية ومنصات الانترنت، هكذا فسرا خبراء اقتصاديون الأسباب التي أدت إلى نمو مكاسب الشركات الرقمية وهي تبدو أسباب بسيطة وواضحة، لكن، وبما أن وباء كورونا ليس نهاية العالم، فإن الحالة الاضطرارية سوف تنتفي بمجرد رفع حالة الطوارئ الصحية، وهو ما بدأ يحدث بشكل تدريجي في الصين، فالحياة في اقليم خوبي الصيني (الذي كان مركزاً لانتشار وباء كورونا) بدأت تعود الى طبيعتها، فهل يعني هذا أن الأسواق سوف تصحح نفسها بعد أشهر، وفي أبعد تقدير سنة؟ إذ كان الحديث عن شركات التجهيزات والألبسة الطبية، فالفرضية الأكثر ترجيحاً هي أن ينخفض الطلب على منتجاتها، مع انحسار انتشار الفيروس، أما بشأن الشركات الرقمية فمن المرجح أن تشهد استمراراً في نموها، يمكن اعتماد هذه الفرضية انطلاقاً من ثلاثة عوامل رئيسية:

أولاً: نمو الخدمات عبر الانترنت غير تقليدية

ظهرت خلال الفترة الماضية مجموعة من الخدمات عبر الانترنت لم تكن موجودة من قبل وأخرى لم تكن شائعة في الأسواق الأقل استهلاكاً للخدمات الرقمية ومن تلك الخدمات ما تقدمه شركة بيلوتون لدراجات التدريب المنزلية والتي تملك ميزة التواصل مع متدربين آخرين عبر شبكة الانترنت حيث ارتفع الطلب على هذه الخدمة بأكثر من 50% خلال فترة قياسية، كذلك الخدمة التي اطلقتها شركة Netflix كبديل عن المشاهدة الجماعية في صالات السينما التي أغلقت أبوابها، يمكن أن نلاحظ أيضاً نمواً هائلاً في الخدمات الطبية عن بعد وفي هذا الشأن ترى سارة ويلسون المديرة التنفيذية في NHS Digital (مركز معلومات الرعاية الصحية والاجتماعية) "بأن فايروس كورونا سوف يدفع الناس نحو الرقمنة بوتيرة سريعة، الأمر الذي سيؤدي إلى التحول في بيئة القطاع الصحي ليصبح أكثر رقمنة". قد تكون الرعاية الصحية عن بعد في عدد من الدول، لاسيما الغربية، ليست بجديدة فالولايات المتحدة مثلاً متقدمة بالفعل في عملية التحول الرقمي في مجال الرعاية الصحية، لكن المتغير الحالي هو سرعة وشمولية هذا التحول، ودخول مفهوم الرعاية الصحية الرقمية إلى أسواق جديدة، كالأسواق العربية التي مازالت فيها الرعاية الصحية عن بعد خدمة غير تقليدية.

ثانياً: الاستثمار في التحول الرقمي

بالرغم من إجراءات التحول الرقمي التي قامت بها الكثير من الشركات حول العالم إلا أن الغالبية العظمى من الشركات مازالت تعتمد على بيئة العمل التقليدي، والتي تفتقر إلى المرونة الكافية للاستمرار في العمل في ظل الظروف الراهنة، الأمر الذي يجبرها على تسريع عملية التحول الرقمي كنقل أعمال موظفيها إلى المنازل واعتماد تكنولوجيا الحوسبة السحابية، وتقنيات الاجتماعات عن بعد واعتماد المتاجر الإلكترونية والتسويق الرقمي لبيع منتجاتها، وغيرها الكثير من إجراءات التحول الرقمي التي اضطرت الشركات لتنفيذها في سبيل استمرار أعمالها، وبطبيعة الأحوال تلك العمليات ليس مجانية، فهي تتطلب من الشركات نفقات باهظة، تقدم لنا الجامعات في استراليا مثالاً عن ذلك : فلقد أجبرت العديد من الجامعات التي تستقبل الطلاب الدوليين القادمين من الصين على تجهيز منشآتها وكوادرها لإطلاق برامج التعليم عن بعد للطلاب الدوليين الذي اضطرتهم الظروف للعودة إلى بلادهم، وبفعل هذا الاستثمار السريع في التحول الرقمي لا يمكن للشركات بعد انحسار وباء كورونا أن تتخلى عن تلك الاستثمارات التي أنفقتها عليها، بل سوف تظل متمسكة بها، وهو ما يرجح أيضاً من فرضية استمرار نمو منتجات الشركات الرقمية في المستقبل.

ثالثاً: تجربة تغيير بيئة العمل والاستهلاك

يرتبط عامل التجربة بالعاملين السابقين، فاكتشاف الشركات لمزايا بيئة الأعمال الرقمية، سوف يدفعها للاستمرار في تطوير نموذج العمل الرقمي والتخلي عن العديد من أدوات العمل التقليدية، أما على صعيد الاستهلاك، وهو الأهم، فتتجلى من خلال تغيير سلوك المستهلكين فالملايين من المستهلكين لم يكن لديهم أي تجربة أو تعامل سابق مع منتجات الشركات الرقمية، كالتعلم والطب عن بعد، وخدمات التوصيل والمنتجات الإلكترونية وغيرها، إن خوض مستهلكين جدد تجربة الاستهلاك عبر الانترنت سوف يمكن الشركات الرقمية من تعزيز قاعدة عملائها، "فاقتصاد الحجر الصحي" كما بات يطلق عليه في الصين سوف ينمي عادات استهلاكية جديدة فالأشخاص الذين يضطرون اليوم لهذه التجربة قد يتحولون إلى عملاء دائمين في المستقبل.

على الرغم من الأخبار المتشائمة حول تباطؤ النمو العالمي تظهر التجربة الصينية حتى الآن إشارات مختلفة، فبعد انحسار وباء كورونا في الصين، تشهد المحال التجارية في الصين ارتفاعاً في حجم مبيعاتها والتي تجاوزت المستويات المسجلة في نفس الفترة من العام الماضي، وهو مؤشر جيد حول إمكانية تصحيح الأسواق لنفسها في الفترة التي ستلي انتهاء حالة الطوارئ الصحية، كما تفيد التجربة الصينية بأن الشركات التي تجيد التأقلم في الوقت الحالي عبر التحول الرقمي سوف تحقق مكاسب مستقبلية من خلال استغلال حالة "الطلب المكبوت" على المنتجات التي سببها الحجر الصحي.

By: Ven Iyer

5G stands for the 5th generation of mobile networking and communication technologies.

We use 4G today but 5G is touted to be up to 100 times faster than 4G.

This new technology is important because it can revolutionize the way we work, play, and live. It can revolutionize our homes (Internet of Things), schools (remote learning), offices (automation), shops (personalized retail), factory floors (robotics and automation), and hospitals (remote real-time diagnosis and treatment). 

It can also revolutionize the way we communicate, travel (through autonomous vehicles), and consume entertainment (allowing us to download movies to our cellphones in seconds and enjoying augmented reality and virtual reality).

5G is able to enable hyper-connectivity between gadgets, machines, and people in countless permutations and combinations, and it can transform societies, cities, countries, and the world.

All of this is done through a combination of greater wireless capacity, ultra-fast connection, and data transmission speeds, with minimal time lag or latency. 

The roll-out of 5G could be a decade-long process, and it will have a huge and wide-ranging impact. Consulting firm McKinsey reports that every second 127 devices are connected to the internet.

The number of Internet of Things (IoT) devices is projected to increase from 7 billion in 2018 to 22 billion by 2025.

Leading research firm Gartner predicts that by the end of 2020, there will be 26 times as many connected things as there are humans.

And MIT Technology Review believes that between 2020 and 2035, the contribution of 5G to the global gross domestic product (GDP) will be close to the size of India's economy today, a total of $2.7 trillion. 

How can you potentially profit from the 5G boom? Here are five smart ways. 

1. Cell tower landlords

This refers to companies like American Tower (NYSE:AMT), Crown Castle, and SBA Communications, all of which are real estate investment trusts (REITs).

They rent out space on cell towers to cellphone carriers to mount their antennas, small cells, and other wireless equipment.

Leasing out space on cell towers is attractive because of modest construction costs, low maintenance costs, the non-cancellable nature of the leases, and decent leasing income.

The increasing adoption of 5G will result in increased data transmission and consumption, translating into sustained profit growth for the cell tower landlords.

Among the cell tower landlords, American Tower Corporation stands out for several compelling reasons, including its size, global presence, long-term growth opportunities, consistent incremental growth in revenue and cash flows, high operating margins, and low maintenance capital expenditures. 

Between 2014 and 2019, American Tower's operating revenues grew by approximately 80% to $7.4 billion, its net income grew by 57% to $1.2 billion, and its dividend per common share grew from $1.40 to $3.15. That's the kind of across-the-board growth that investors like to see. 

2. Cell phone carriers

Cell phone carriers are expected to enjoy sustained enhanced profits from the introduction of 5G because customers will have to pay more for services. Choosing among the four better-known carriers in America, namely AT&T (NYSE:T), Verizon (NYSE:VZ), T-Mobile, and Sprint, for 5G investing isn't easy. However, AT&T and Verizon are the biggest among the carriers, and they appear to be competitively positioned. 

I like AT&T over Verizon for one main reason. Last September, activist investor Paul Singer's Elliott Management purchased $3.2 billion of AT&T stock. Elliott Management then sent an open letter to AT&T's board that noted among other things that its large investment reflected a deep conviction in AT&T's "extraordinary value opportunity" and that the firm believed that "AT&T can achieve $60+ per share of value by the end of 2021."

My view is that Elliott Management is likely to succeed in holding AT&T's feet to the fire, producing enhanced performance and solid profit growth.

3. Core technology companies

Core technology companies include companies manufacturing or enhancing core wireless networking technologies for 5G, such as semiconductor manufacturers, cellular networking and satellites, hardware and software (including testing and bandwidth optimization), enhanced mobile broadband modems, and new radio technology. These companies include Skyworks Solutions, Qorvo, and Qualcomm.

Because there are so many core technology companies that will likely compete in the 5G market, I think investors could be better off buying an exchange-traded fund (ETF) that's focused on 5G rather than buying individual stocks. ETFs to consider include The Defiance 5G Next Gen Connectivity ETF and First Trust Indxx NextG ETF. The former looks more attractive because of its lower expense cost of 0.30% vs. 0.70% for the First Trust ETF.

4. Smartphones, wearables, and home technology companies

There are several companies that sell smartphones, wearables, and home technology, but none of them matches up to Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL). Apple is an American innovation juggernaut that has revolutionized consumer technology.

Riding the coattails of Apple to profit from 5G is a smart idea because you are investing in one of the best management teams, corporate employers, and technology innovators in the world, with eye-popping profitability and a fortress-like balance sheet. Most importantly, your investment will benefit not only from Apple's forthcoming 5G iPhones but also from its forays into other promising areas including healthcare, autonomous driving, and satellites.

5. Jack of all trades and master of them all

NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA) is arguably one of the most respected technology companies in the world today, pioneering technologies necessary to transform science fiction into reality. In October 2019, NVIDIA unveiled Aerial, a software development kit (SDK) for telecom operators building 5G wireless Radio Access Networks (RANs). Aerial helps telecommunications companies offering 5G Networks to optimize wireless networks and AI models "running at the edge."

These telecom companies can use the same computing infrastructure required for 5G networking to provide AI services for smart cities, smart factories, smart healthcare, augmented reality/virtual reality (AR/VR), and cloud gaming. With Aerial, NVIDIA has made a strategic foray into the 5G wireless market. NVIDIA's partnership with industry leaders like Ericsson, Red Hat and Microsoft will help it deliver an end-to-end solution to telecom companies. 

I think that the speed, capacity, reliability, versatility, and multi-functionality of NVIDIA's platforms promise to enhance the deployment of 5G, making it truly transformative. This stock is truly a jack of all trades, but instead of being a master of none it's a master of them all.

source: fool

Qatar made a comprehensive leap in the industrial sector over the past three years, where the volume of investments has reached over QR262bn.

The rise in investments contributed to the state’s ability to face challenges, maintain the stability of the local market and boost exports, said the Assistant Undersecretary for Industry Affairs at the Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MoCI) Mohammed Hassan Al Malki. 

Al Malki said in an interview with Qatar News Agency (QNA) that the past three years have posed a real challenge to both extractive and manufacturing aspects of the industrial sector, which has succeeded greatly in consolidating its pillars and establishing its bases to play its central role in the economic growth of the state. 

He said that the state has dealt intelligently with the unjust blockade imposed on it since mid-2017, and managed to turn this crisis into an opportunity to accelerate its plans in the development of the industrial sector and maintaining economic growth. 

The state has dealt intelligently with this situation, addressed weaknesses in the industrial sector and turned them into strengths, which has led to the success of this sector in covering many of the market needs of industrial products, especially food and pharmaceutical products, which have become competitive with those in the region and the world, he added. 

Al Malki pointed out that the volume of investments in the industrial sector has now reached QR262bn, up from QR255bn in 2017, registering a growth of nearly 3 percent over the past three years.

“Investment growth in the industrial sector continues, and we have a clear strategy for the coming years covering a number of vital sectors, reinforced by important regulatory and legislative reforms in the business environment,” he added. 

He said that the number increased to 893 factories in the current year from 765 factories in 2017, an increase of approximately 17 percent, he said adding, focus over the past three years has been on the food industries, which has made a major leap and contributed to securing the market needs from the necessary goods. 

On the industrial sectors, the Assistant Undersecretary explained that the construction and transport industries sector tops list due to its association with 2022 World Cup projects, with 249 factories (27.9 percent of the total factories in the country), followed by the chemical and petrochemical industries, with 231 industrial establishments assisted by the abundance of raw materials (25.9 percent of the total number of factories). 

He said that the cement and building materials sector, and due to the urbanization witnessed by the state, ranks third with 178 factories, accounting for nearly 20 percent of the total number of factories, then the food and beverage industry sectors , which has 80 factories, accounting for 9 percent of the total number of factories in manufacturing industries.

Al Malki attributed the growth in the industrial sector during the past years to improving many investment laws and increasing the facilities provided to investors, in addition to enhancing private sector’s infrastructure, and addressing many of the challenges facing the local and foreign investor, besides other factors that strengthened the Industrial investment. 

He pointed out that Ministry of Commerce and Industry offers a variety of facilities, including those related to providing industrial lands, customs exemptions on raw materials, equipment and machinery, a preference for electricity pricing, and providing integrated services and advanced infrastructure of electricity, water, sanitation and others.

“There is a great direct support for the industrial investor, and last year we exempted factories from the rental fees for a full year and more than 400 factories benefited from them, whether in the industrial zone that belongs to the ministry or Manateq company’s Mesaieed industrial area,” he added. 

He added: “The manufacturing industries strategy aims to form a map for the next ten years until 2030, Technology part is an important part of this strategy, as the industry today depends mainly on it.” 

He stressed that great attention is given to the technological industries sector, which enhances the successes and achieving the goals set in the industrial strategy.

“We hope to reach our goals by 2030, especially with attention given by the government to this sector,” he said. 

source: thepeninsulaqatar

The foundation stones for two new projects worth more than OMR14 million were laid on Sunday in the Governorate of Muscat.

This was done for the construction of the sixth building in the Knowledge Oasis Muscat (KOM) and the facility building in Al Rusayl Industrial City.

These two projects are aimed to provide advanced services and facilities that will encourage local, regional and international investments in its various industrial cities.

The laying of the foundation stones was done under the auspices of Hilal bin Hamad Al Hasani, Chief Executive Officer of the Public Establishment for Industrial Estates – Madayn.

“These projects play a key role in contributing to the advancement of the industrial sector in the Sultanate, and eventually reflect positively on the national economy and the business environment,” Al Hasani said.

He added that: “In light of the rapid industrial growth in the country and to contribute in achieving Oman 2040 vision, Madayn alongside its investment arm – Shumookh Investment and Services Company, aim at developing the infrastructure in the various industrial cities across Oman.

These efforts play a major role in realising ‘live-work-play’ environments and developing advanced infrastructure that is able to compete globally and attract new investments and partnerships.”


Al Hasani calls upon Omani Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) registered with the Public Authority for Small and Medium Enterprises Development (Riyada) and the local companies to submit their proposals related to supply and construction services to the main contractor of the two projects in KOM and Al Rusayl.

Talking on the sidelines of the event, Eng. Musallam Al Hudaifi, Chief Executive Officer of Shumookh Investment and Services – the investment arm of Madayn, stated that KOM 6 project in the KOM and the facility building in Al Rusayl Industrial City come in line with the key projects implemented by Shumookh.

“The total cost of developing KOM 6 building at the Knowledge Oasis Muscat is estimated at OMR10.3 million.

With a total building area of 51,000 sqm and 500 parking spaces on the two-floor basement, the project will consist of eight floors (two-floor basement + ground floor + six floors).

Besides, the building will comprise 21,000 sqm of the rental area that will provide a variety of services and facilities to the visitors and employees based at the Knowledge Oasis Muscat and its adjacent areas,” Al Hudaifi said.

Moreover, the total value of developing the facility building at Al Rusayl Industrial City is pegged at OMR4.2 million.

“With a total building area of 19,000 sqm and 230 parking spaces at the basement level, the facility building will consist of 10 floors (one-level basement + ground floor + eight floors).

Featuring a rental area of 8,500 sqm, the building will provide various facilities to the visitors and employees based at Al Rusayl Industrial City and the neighbouring areas,” the officials informed.

They added that the facilities will include banking services, travel agency, cafes, restaurants and groceries, in addition to office spaces for government and private bodies.

In addition to the KOM 6 building project and the facility building project in Al Rusayl, more projects will be announced soon in KOM, Al Mazunah Free Zone and the other industrial cities of Madayn.

source: timesofoman

The central banks of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia, the two largest Arab economies, on Saturday announced stimulus plans worth a combined $40 billion to ease the impact of the coronavirus outbreak in their respective countries.

The UAE regulator plans to support banks and businesses in the country, where the outbreak is affecting major economic sectors such as tourism and transport, with a 100 billion dirham ($27 billion) economic plan, it said on Saturday.

In a separate statement, the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority said it had prepared a 50 billion riyal ($13.32 billion) package to help small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) cope with the economic impacts of coronavirus.

The disease has so far infected 85 people in the UAE and 105 in Saudi Arabia.

The Saudi funding aims to grant SMEs six-month deferrals on bank payments, concessional financing and exemptions from the costs of a loan guarantee program, SAMA said.

Concerts, sporting events and industry conferences have been canceled or postponed in the past few weeks in the UAE to contain the spreading of the new coronavirus.

In Dubai, the Middle East’s trade, finance, tourism and transportation hub, some businesses have started to feel the pain from the global travel slowdown caused by the outbreak.

Saudi Arabia, which has already suspended the Umrah pilgrimage and locked down its eastern Qatif region where many infections are located, plans to halt all international flights for two weeks from Sunday.

The UAE central bank said it will provide 50 billion dirhams through collateralized loans at zero cost to all banks operating in the UAE while an additional 50 billion dirhams will be freed up from lenders’ capital buffers.

“The CBUAE is allowing banks to free-up their regulatory capital buffers to boost lending capacity and support the UAE economy,” it said in a statement.

It said the scheme offers banks relief for up to six months from the payments of principal and interest on outstanding loans for affected private sector companies and retail customers.

Committed to peg

Adding to a likely economic slowdown caused by the virus, Saudi Arabia and the UAE are also expected to face wider fiscal deficits this year because of lower oil prices, due to an oil price war between Riyadh and Moscow.

The Gulf states’ currencies, which are pegged to the U.S. dollar, weakened in the forwards market last week.

The UAE regulator said on Saturday it maintained its commitment to the peg for the dirham, and said foreign currency reserves amounting to 405 billion dirhams as of March 10 were “adequate” to safeguard the stability of the currency.

Other measures introduced by the UAE central bank on Saturday include reducing by 15-25% the amount of capital banks have to hold for loans to SMEs, and better terms for first-time home buyers.

Importantly for the local real estate sector - which has been struggling in Dubai for the past decade - banks will be allowed to increase their exposure to real estate loans.

“When the exposure reaches 20% of the banks’ loan portfolio (measured by risk-weighted assets), banks will be allowed to increase it to 30%, but will be required to hold more capital,” it said.

The central bank also introduced regulations which reduce banking fees for small companies.

The Dubai and Abu Dhabi stock exchange indices dropped last week amid coronavirus concerns and because of tumbling oil prices.

To contain volatility in the markets, the central bank said it plans to issue guidelines on margin calls, asking banks to request additional collateral before liquidating stocks in the event of a market downfall.

source: cnbc