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Health, transport and social media: Top 15 innovative startups in the Middle East

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Updated 26 April 2022
Arab News
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Health, transport and social media: Top 15 innovative startups in the Middle East

Updated 26 April 2022
Arab News

These are exciting times for startups in the Middle East as venture capital firms and tech investors are increasingly seeking out novel ideas that can be turned into reality. To coincide with World Creativity and Innovation Day on April 21, Arab News has compiled a definitive list of the top 15 startups in the region.

From the UAE to Egypt to Saudi Arabia, a new business landscape is emerging in the Middle East’s startup ecosystem that is changing in the face of entrepreneurship in the region. There are many interesting startup developments that provide home-grown tech solutions as entrepreneurs mix successful startup ideas from other parts of the world with the unique religious and cultural values of the region.

Given that there are tens of new startups launching every day and grabbing the attention and resources of investors, it was no easy task to filter out the top 15 startups. However, we zeroed in on startups that have not only managed to successfully turn things around for their business but have also made a difference in the lives of consumers, thanks to their innovative solutions.

Arab News’s list of 15 most innovative startups includes a new wave of startups that have raised millions of dollars of funding and covers a wide range of sectors including finance, delivery, health, transport and the media. By all accounts, 2021 was a record-breaking year for startups in the region and it seems very likely that things will only accelerate in 2022, powered by many of the startups that have been listed below.

Playbook

(Social media platform for professional women)

Founder: Wafa Al-Obaidat

Funding: $700,000

Investors: Sanabil Investments, 500 Global, Faith Capital, WomenSpark and Strategic Angel Investors

The online social media platform, Playbook, designed specifically for female professionals and entrepreneurs, currently has 12,000 members. It is an edutainment platform that helps women with their career progression and mentorship from female leaders across different industries and walks of life.

The platform leverages shared experiences to prepare women to grow through masterclasses in both English and Arabic. It allows users to create customized profiles, highlighting their skills and professional goals. They can take multiple classes based on their interests, network with other members, find solutions to problems via crowdsourcing and track their progress through games.

Nitros 

(Online shipping and logistics management)

Founder: Awsim Asmi

Funding: $300,000

Investors: 500 Global and OQM Investments

Nitros is a shipping and logistics solution provider for online sellers that offers technical integration from e-store to customer delivery, allowing retailers to compare shipping rates, create labels, generate international customs documents, track shipments and transfer money.

It is the Gulf equivalent of online shipping business Shippo in the US, SendCloud in Europe and ShipRocket in India, which allow small merchants to automate their shipping operations.

ekar

(Personal mobility systems)

Founder: Vilhelm Hedberg

Funding: $34 million

Investors: Polymath Ventures and others

ekar claims to be the Middle East's first and largest self-drive mobility platform, providing users on-demand access to a network of thousands of carshare and subscription leasing vehicles within its 'Self-Drive Super App', in addition to contactless peer-to-peer car share which just launched in Saudi Arabia. 

The startup operates across seven cities, with a fleet of 2,300 vehicles and 250,000 users in Saudi Arabia and the UAE. It ventured into Thailand in January 2022 and plans to expand into Malaysia, Turkey and Egypt later this year.

Sarwa

(Fintech platform)

Founders: Mark Chahwan, Nadine Mezher, Jad Sayegh

Funding: $25 million

Investors: Mubadala Investment Co., 500 Startups, Kuwait Projects Co., Shorooq Partners, ADQ, Middle East Venture Partners

Sarwa is a fintech startup with over 50,000 registered users. The trading platform offers a hybrid model of AI-backed smart trading and on-demand customer support. They recently launched Sarwa Trade, a zero-commission platform that lets customers trade more than 4,000 publicly traded stocks and ETFs on leading US exchanges.

AlTibbi

(AI-backed healthcare company)

Founder: Jalil Allabadi

Funding: $50 million

Investors: Foundation Holdings, Hikma Ventures, Global Ventures and DASH Ventures.

Altibbi is a digital health platform in the Middle East and North Africa. The platform aims to present reliable, up-to-date and simplified medical information to users in the region. What started as an Arabic version of WebMD has grown into a subscription-based telehealth company with 2.4 million consultations per year, nearly ten times the in-person visits to the hospital visits. They are expanding heavily in Saudi.

Tamara

(Fintech)

Founders: Abdulmajeed Alsukhan, Turki Bin Zarah, Abdulmohsen Albabtain

Funding: $116 million

Investor: Checkout.com

Saudi startup Tamara raised $116 million in seven months of operation. The ‘buy now, pay later’ company offers online and in-store customers the ability to pay in installments or split payments in Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Kuwait. Collaborating with over 2,000 merchants, Tamara has more than two million shoppers on its platform, with transactions totaling nearly $266 million last year alone.

CAFU

(Oil & gas) 

Founder: Rashid Al Ghurair

CAFU is one of the leading fuel delivery and vehicle services platforms. It offers fuel at the same price as charged by petrol stations. They specialize in on-time delivery and offer the service overnight. The platform uses fuel that is certified by Emirates Authority for Standardization and Metrology. In other words, it’s of the same quality as the one that you use to fill up your vehicle from ENOC, Eppco, Emarat and other petrol stations across the stations in the UAE.

NOMADD

(Desert solar technology)

Founders: Cliff Barrett and Georg Eitelhuber

Funding: $7.8 million

Investors: KAUST and CEPCO

The NOMADD is a fully autonomous waterless robotic cleaning solution designed, developed and tested in Saudi Arabia’s severe desert conditions. It has raised a total of $7.8 million in funding over 4 rounds.

SWVL 

(Transportation)

Founder: Mostafa Kandil

Funding: $175 million

SWVL is an Egypt-based transportation service that operates on a global scale. It is currently a unicorn and listed on US Nasdaq. This bus-hailing service enables users to make intra-state journeys by booking seats on buses running a fixed route.

Pylon

(Sustainability)

Founders: Ahmed Ashour and Omar Radi

Funding: $19 million

Investors: Y-Combinator and others

Pylon is a water and electricity management infrastructure startup that is backed by leading VC firm Y-Combinator. The company caters to all the utility’s needs in the region by providing a comprehensive platform that addresses all aspects of the utility distribution process

Rology 

(Health tech)

Founders: Amr Abodraia, Moaz Hossam, Bassam Khallaf, Mahmoud elDefrawy

Funding: $1 million

The platform was launched to plug the lack of radiologists and high latency in medical reports by enhancing scan image quality and matching cases from hospitals and radiology centers according to sub-specialization and expertise. It delivers reports for cold cases within 12 hours and emergency cases in just 60 minutes. The platform is fully equipped to supply hospitals with unique solutions across a diverse spectrum of subspecialties including breast imaging, cardiovascular radiology, chest radiology, gastrointestinal radiology, musculoskeletal radiology and more.

Dawarha 

(Sustainability) 

Founder: Mohamed Kabil

Funding: $1.9 million

Dawarha develops and manufactures reverse vending machines that use artificial intelligence to reward consumers for depositing empty single-use plastic bottles or cans. The startup also offers an app that directs users to the nearest RVM.

Red Sea Farms 

Founders: Ryan Lefers and Mark Tester

Funding: $16 million

Investors: Wa’ed, AppHarvest and Bonaventure Capital, KAUST Innovation Fund, and Research Products Development Company (RPDC).

A pro in saltwater farming, Red Sea Farms invented a technology that grows crops without using freshwater in humidity-controlled greenhouses. 

The firm uses saltwater to cool greenhouses and irrigate crops, such as tomatoes, that it, or its partner farms, sell into the market. It also provides technical advice to other firms on how to grow crops in arid climates.

BitOasis

Founders: Ola Doudin and Daniel Robenek

Funding: $30 million

Investors: Jump Capital and Wamda

BitOasis is a cryptocurrency trading platform offering a digital asset wallet and exchange to buy, sell and trade in 36 tokens. The platform has also been working with UAE government bodies such as the Dubai Police to educate investors and traders about crypto fraud, especially at a time when then the government is promoting blockchain technology and rolling out initiatives to make it easier for crypto players to transact. 

Foodics

Founder: Ahmad Al-Zaini and Mosab Al-Othmani

Funding: $170 million

Investors: Prosus, Sanabil Investments, Sequoia Capital India and others

Foodics is a leading cloud-based restaurant management and fintech ecosystem that empowers food and beverage owners to run their operations efficiently. Formally licensed as a fintech company by the Saudi Central Bank, it caters to every segment of the F&B sector from traditional dine-in restaurants, cafes, quick service restaurants, bakeries and food trucks to the cloud kitchens.

Topics: startups WICD2022

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Wizz Air aims to expand connections, attract more tourists into Saudi Arabia, says senior executive

Updated 46 min 10 sec ago
Nadin Hassan
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Wizz Air aims to expand connections, attract more tourists into Saudi Arabia, says senior executive

Updated 46 min 10 sec ago
Nadin Hassan

RIYADH: Low-cost carrier Wizz Air plans to invest over half a billion dollars in flight operations in Saudi Arabia to enhance connectivity and attract more tourists, according to the airline’s president.

In an interview with Arab News on the sidelines of the Future Aviation Forum, Robert Carey emphasized the impact on tourism, noting that inbound visitors typically stay for three to seven days and spend money on various services like hotels, car rentals, and food.

“We’ve invested over half $1 billion into our flying in the Kingdom so far. we’re going to keep growing that. I think we’ve got a lot to do. Just keep connecting the destinations we’ve already got, connect more of those points together,” Carey said.

Wizz Air is the third-largest low-cost carrier in Europe and the fifth-largest airline e-commerce site globally. It aims to bring more tourists to Saudi Arabia and enhance its accessibility, with plans to continue connecting existing destinations and expand further. 

“We’re operating to seven different destinations from Saudi Arabia. We have four points here. You know, we’re seeing really great consumer response to this. Roughly two to one external like people coming into the Kingdom versus people leaving the Kingdom, on trips,” Carey said.

He added: “But that’s giving a great benefit. We’ve got tourists coming in. We’re giving access to Saudi customers who have travel.”

He also expresses the airline’s positive passenger experience, praising the airline’s clean, new planes, welcoming flight crew, and on-time scheduling.

Additionally, Carey stated that Wizz is working with the minister of tourism, the minister of transport, the General Authority of Civil Aviation, and the Saudi Tourism Authority on their connectivity program.

“If you look at the airline planning season, we’re just coming up on the period where everybody starts announcing what they’re going to do for this winter, so all I’ll say for right now is stay tuned. There’s more to come,” he said.

Carey noted that Wizz Air celebrated its 20th birthday this week, and to mark this milestone, the airline will launch a special promotion on May 21.

He hints that the promotion will be closely related to the anniversary, suggesting significant discounts on every flight. They encourage people to visit the website to take advantage of the upcoming offers.

Topics: FAF2024 Wizz Air Tourism & Transport

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AI to help optimize Saudi aviation supply chain management: official

Updated 20 May 2024
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AI to help optimize Saudi aviation supply chain management: official

Updated 20 May 2024
Reem Walid

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s aviation industry’s supply chain management is set to receive a boost thanks to the use of artificial intelligence in logistics, a top official said.

Speaking on the first day of the Future Aviation Forum in Riyadh on Monday, Suliman Almazroua, CEO of the National Industrial Development and Logistics Program, said that AI implementation will also enhance productivity and customer experience.

“AI in logistics, for example, is shaping and optimizing the supply chain management, improving productivity, productivity maintenance, and enhancing customer experience,” he said.

The official said the rapid technological advancements are reshaping the future of industries.

The CEO highlighted the Saudi aviation sector’s achievements in terms of increased number of passengers, cargo handling, fleet expansion, rise in infrastructure investment, and global connectivity.

Addressing the forum, Luis Felipe de Oliveira, director general and CEO of Airports Council International shed light on how the aviation industry suffered from different crises.

“I remember from 9/11 to (the 2008) financial crisis to SARS to COVID-19, we always faced an issue, but we are a very resilient industry and we always come back,” Oliveira noted.

He said: “That’s why when you talk about macroeconomic stuff, we see that geopolitical risks are something that can affect us. That we have the inflation going up, of course, affects our business as well. We have the interest rates that affect our GDP.”

“But it is incredible that even considering all these headwinds, the unemployment rate is going down and people are eager to travel,” Oliveira justified.

He also talked about how jet fuel prices, which are the main cost for the industry, are very high nowadays.

“Of course, this affects our ability to fly and also affects the cost of the tickets,” Oliveira said.

Stefan Schulte, CEO of Fraport AG in Germany, clarified that the focus on innovation, sustainability, and connecting people and culture resembled the beginning of a new era.

“The expectations of our customers are constantly increasing. They want consistent, digitalized, resilient, and seamless processes, but they also want us to go green,” Schulte said.

Organized by the General Authority of Civil Aviation, the three-day event will see discussions on issues related to the global flight sector, air transport, and environmental sustainability in civil aviation, as well as talks on enabling advanced air transport and enhancing global connectivity. 

The event also aligns with the Kingdom’s ambition to become a leader in the sector within a decade, including securing $100 billion worth of investments by 2030.

Topics: FAF2024

Electric passenger drones set for a year-end launch in Saudi Arabia, says Front End CEO

Updated 20 May 2024
Reina Takla
Nirmal Narayanan  
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Electric passenger drones set for a year-end launch in Saudi Arabia, says Front End CEO

Updated 20 May 2024
Reina Takla Nirmal Narayanan  

RIYADH: Electric passenger drones are set to be launched in Saudi Arabia by the end of this year with Alkhobar-based firm Front End set to introduce the service to the Kingdom, revealed its CEO. 

Speaking to Arab News on the sidelines of the Future Aviation Forum, Majed Al-Ghaslan, who is also the chairman of the company, stated that Front End’s collaboration with the Chinese electric vertical take-off and landing vehicle developer EHang is facilitating the deployment of such electric flights in the Kingdom. 

Al-Ghaslan said: “We’re pushing the boundary of air traffic, also urban traffic management systems. So we’re discussing this with the Civil Aviation Authority (General Authority of Civil Aviation) here in the Kingdom. We’re very closely aligned with the Ministry of Transport.” 

He added: “We have electric buses and cars now; you’re going to have electric flights for passengers. And this is already running in many cities around the world. We want Riyadh and the major cities around the Kingdom to be the first as well. The idea is to launch the pilots this year and hopefully start launching this service as well this year.” 

The official also added that the deployment of these electric drones, capable of carrying passengers, in the Kingdom is very feasible, as such services are running effectively in countries like China, Indonesia, and Japan. 

During the talk, he revealed that these proposed electric flights, which take off vertically, can be used for both carrying passengers and for logistics purposes. 

According to Al-Ghaslan, these flights are capable of traveling up to 30 minutes with two passengers, and with more advanced batteries, the distance can be extended further. 

He explained, “You can do a 30-minute flight, but still, 30 minutes is a long flight. For example, in Riyadh, you can cover end to end because you are going direct path to anywhere, with two passengers. So you can take up to 250 kilograms. And then with more advanced batteries, the distance can be even higher.” 

The official added that the drones capable of carrying passengers, which will be introduced in Saudi Arabia, will be autonomous and will operate using advanced technologies like artificial intelligence. 

Discussing Front End’s eagerness to enter the air mobility sector, Al-Ghaslan noted that the Kingdom’s transformative Vision 2030 program has facilitated the firm’s entry into the industry. 

“Typically, what we do is partner with and localize companies, bringing them into the Kingdom. I never thought I’d be in aviation, but because of the new frontiers that include electric vehicles that vertically take off and land, and advancements in passenger-level drones, that is our interest. We run drone services for our clients, but we are now getting into the air mobility sector,” said Al-Ghaslan. 

He added, “The Vision 2030 program actually enabled this transformation to take place, and there are now national-level strategies. We are at the forefront of making it happen from the private sector at least.” 

The official also noted that Front End is planning to introduce a ride-hailing service in Saudi Arabia using a fleet of electric vehicles, under a partnership with an Indian company named Blue Smart. 

“We’re also launching a ride-hailing service. So, this is something we’re also going to be announcing at the right time, again, electric. So, our theme is around sustainability as well. It’s a company from India called Blue Smart. And this is also going to be announced this year,” he concluded. 

Topics: FAF2024 Front End electric drones Tourism & Transport

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Riyadh Air to unveil its crew uniform at Paris Fashion Week, says CEO

Updated 20 May 2024
Reina Takla
Miguel Hadchity
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Riyadh Air to unveil its crew uniform at Paris Fashion Week, says CEO

  • New attire will ‘become instantly recognizable as the Riyadh color’
Updated 20 May 2024
Reina Takla Miguel Hadchity

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s new airline, Riyadh Air, is set to unveil its cabin crew special uniform at the upcoming Paris Fashion Week, according to its CEO.

On the sidelines of this year’s Future Aviation Forum in Riyadh, Tony Douglas, CEO of Riyadh Air, shared in an interview with Arab News a series of strategic developments that are set to propel the new airline into the global spotlight. 

With Riyadh Air scheduled to launch in the summer of next year, Douglas highlighted the airline’s upcoming milestone at Paris Fashion Week, which will take place from June 18-23.

“Our next milestone will be (in) June in Paris,” he said. “This is going to be about Paris Fashion Week. Now, what would we possibly do in Paris Fashion Week? For the first time ever as an airline, we will reveal our haute couture fashion collection. So our cabin crew won’t wear cabin crew uniforms. It’ll be cabin crew fashion,” he added. 

Drawing inspiration from the fashion depicted in the film “Catch Me If You Can,” Douglas emphasized the airline’s commitment to style and sophistication. 

“If you can ever remember the movie ‘Catch Me If You Can,’ where DiCaprio goes through the terminal building, and everybody stops to photograph them because they look glamorous. They look fashionable. They look refined. And we want to bring that back with a modernist twist. And that’s what we’ll be revealing at Paris Fashion Week at the end of June,” he explained.

The new uniforms will feature a unique color that Douglas believed would become “instantly recognizable as the Riyadh color.”

He added: “We want to get that kind of glamor into aviation to make sure that this brand, because of course, the brand is Riyadh wherever it’s identified around the world, that immediately speaks to quality, grace, refinement, and fashion.”

In addition to fashion, Riyadh Air is rapidly building its operational capabilities, according to the top official.

“We now have our first group of pilots who’ve joined us. So we’ve got over 30 instructor pilots, they’re the highest qualified pilots you can get from lots of different international airlines. They’re, of course, engaged with us at this stage to assist with our certification flying. And we’ll start our certification flying in September of this year. So literally months away now,” Douglas revealed.

He added: “Yesterday, our third batch of cabin crew started with us, so this feels like a real airline now.”

The interest in joining Riyadh Air has been extraordinary, according to Douglas. 

He noted the overwhelming response to their careers page, saying: “The statistic that I still almost struggle to comprehend in a very positive way is if you go onto RiyadhAir.com, our website, there’s a careers page, and it allows you to put in your personal details. In just over a year, we’ve had 1.1 million people send the details, their qualifications and their contacts to be considered to become part of the Riyadh Air family, 146 different nationalities, and we think that that’s just completely staggering.”

He added: “We ask ourselves why I would never have imagined so much interest and my only explanation is it’s because it’s under the leadership and the decree of His Royal Highness, the Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.”

Looking ahead, Douglas confirmed that Riyadh Air’s headquarters will soon be visible near Riyadh International Airport. 

“Our brand new headquarters building will be available for us to start occupying in the summer of this year. And just out by Riyadh International Airport, people will see their biggest brand logo lit up in the skyline, probably in the next two months. And that’s when you will know where the home of the Riyadh Air family is,” Douglas announced.

The CEO acknowledged the challenges and opportunities ahead by reflecting on the industry’s current dynamics: “What a difference two or three years makes pre-pandemic. It was actually difficult to make any money in aviation. Ticket prices for a decade were almost at an all-time low.” 

Douglas added: “Here we are today, where demand is significantly ahead of supply in many markets and, in particular, our market. But also we all know ticket prices are actually expensive at the moment. I don’t think that will last because it is a cyclical industry and it’s one again where classic Keynesian economics supply and demand at the moment.” 

The Riyadh Air head confidently predicted ongoing market growth and outlined the carrier’s mission, saying: “Is the market going to continually grow? The answer is very simply, yes it is. Back to the proposition of Riyadh Air. We’ll bring a full-service carrier, the sort of carrier that the Kingdom needs and quite frankly, demands such that we’ll have global connectivity.” 

Douglas invited guests to witness Riyadh Air’s debut at Paris Fashion Week and teased future technological innovations. 

“Come and see us in Paris. Come and see the incredible fashion, which will stand out, but also later on in the year will start to reveal what our digital proposition is, and that will be another standout case for our industry,” he concluded.

Topics: FAF2024 Tourism & Transport business

Closing Bell: Saudi Tadawul closes in red across all indexes   

Updated 20 May 2024
ARAB NEWS  
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Closing Bell: Saudi Tadawul closes in red across all indexes   

Updated 20 May 2024
ARAB NEWS  

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul All Share Index slipped on Monday, losing 73.02 points, or 0.60 percent, to close at 12,125.36.     

The total trading turnover of the benchmark index was SR6 billion ($1.6 billion) as 68 of the listed stocks advanced, while 155 retreated.   

On the other hand, the Kingdom’s parallel market Nomu also slipped 25.51 points, or 0.09 percent, to close at 27,036.50. This came as 24 of the listed stocks advanced, while as many as 40 retreated.  

Similarly, the MSCI Tadawul Index also dropped 13.53 points, or 0.89 percent, to close at 1,515.07.  

The best-performing stock of the day was Al-Baha Investment and Development Co. which saw its share price surge 7.69 percent to SR0.14.  

Other top performers include Almasane Alkobra Mining Co. as well as the Mediterranean and Gulf Insurance and Reinsurance Co., whose share prices soared by 7.05 percent and 6.72 percent, respectively, to stand at SR63.80 and SR25.40.     

In addition to this, other top performers included Almunajem Foods Co. and Methanol Chemicals Co.  

The worst performer was Fawaz Abdulaziz Alhokair Co., whose share price dropped by 8.04 percent to SR10.06.   

Al-Babtain Power and Telecommunication Co. as well as Ash-Sharqiyah Development Co., also saw their share prices dropping by 7.39 percent and 4.45 percent respectively, to stand at SR41.35 and SR20.20.

Moreover, other worst performers also include Arabian Contracting Services Co. and East Pipes Integrated Co. for Industry.  

On Nomu, Future Care Trading Co. was the top gainer with its share price rising by 11.05 percent to SR15.28.   

Other best performers on Nomu were Professional Medical Expertise Co. as well as Osool and Bakheet Investment Co., whose share prices soared by 8.42 percent and 4.53 percent to stand at SR103 and SR 41.50, respectively.  

Other top gainers also include Sure Global Tech Co. and Ghida Alsultan for Fast Food Co.  

Leen Alkhair Trading Co. experienced a significant drop in its share price on Nomu, with the company’s shares falling by 7.72 percent to SR26.90.    

The share prices of Almuneef Co. for Trade, Industry, Agriculture and Contracting as well as Riyadh Steel Co. also fell by 7.68 percent and 6.25 percent to stand at SR51.70 and SR30, respectively.  

Other major losers include Molan Steel Co. and Mayar Holding Co.  

Topics: Closing Bell Tadawul All Share Index (TASI) Saudi Stock Exchnage

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