Metaverse mansion concept - union Square House

Union Square House to launch metaverse mansions in the MENA region

Real estate sales in the metaverse reached $500m in 2021 and it’s projected to grow at a CAGR of 31 per cent from 2022 to 2028

damac metaverse

UAE’s Damac Group to invest $100m in metaverse project

Damac has established a new division called D-Labs which is led by Ali Sajwani and dedicated to the metaverse initiative

Elon Musk

Twitter eyes deal with Musk as soon as Monday

Elon Musk is lining up partners for the acquisition and continues to speak to potential co-investors

Oman to split sovereign wealth fund into two portfolios

The country posted a budget surplus of $545m in the first two months of this year

UAE reports 215 Covid-19 cases, 358 recoveries

The nationwide case count has risen to 897,351

Jubail Island ADIB financing

ADIB signs off Dhs500m Sharia’a-compliant deal to develop Jubail Island

The funding will cover the construction of up to 453 villas and 133 townhouses as part of the Phase 1 development of Jubail Island

DSCD Sharjah economy rises by 4.8 per cent in 2021

Sharjah’s GDP rises by 4.8% in 2021, shows DSCD survey

Data from DSCD shows that Sharjah’s trading sector was the most significant contributor to the emirate’s economy at 23.8 per cent

Rawabi Holding launches real estate vertical

Saudi’s Rawabi Holding expands into real estate

Rawabi Holdings has established Magnom Properties, the real estate vertical of the company, to oversee the construction of projects in the MENA region

Getty Images - Sophos acquisition

Sophos acquires UK-based Soc.Os to advance MTR, XDR capabilities

The deal expands Sophos’ adaptive cybersecurity ecosystem to include telemetry from third-party security and IT solutions

Kerzner takes over management of Dubai’s Bab Al Shams resort

Kerzner has assumed management of luxury desert resort Bab Al Shams under Rare Finds, a new vertical that will manage a collection of diverse and unique resorts

Zenda

MENA’s fintech school fee app, zenda, raises $9.4m in seed round

Zenda, is the first fintech app that lets parents to pay school fees with pay-now and pay-later options, and unlock rewards for paying on time

Stripe

Stripe teams up with Twitter in renewed crypto payments push

The company processed $640bn in payments in 2021

Here are the six long-term benefits of using original cartridges over clones

Clones are non-branded cartridges from alternative producers 

Kraken joins ADGM

Cryptocurrency exchange Kraken joins ADGM’s virtual assets community

Kraken has received a Financial Services Permission license to operate a regulated virtual asset exchange platform in ADGM

DIFC Courts

Sheikh Maktoum approves three-year Dubai International Financial Centre Courts Strategic Work Plan

It includes 28 projects with a specific push on digital transformation measures of services and procedures

Reno7 5G

Hands-on review: Reno7 5G

The Reno7 5G is now available across GCC for Dhs1799

Adnoc

Adnoc, Borealis seek $2bn from IPO of plastics JV

The state-owned energy company and Austrian chemicals producer plan to sell a 10 per cent stake in their Borouge plastics unit by the end of the quarter

by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai

Sheikh Mohammed approves Dhs6.3bn housing package for Emiratis in Dubai

The development of a new housing complex in Al Khawaneej area 2, which will include 1,100 residential villas, was also approved

Suez Canal Economic Zone

UAE’s Masdar signs agreements to develop green hydrogen plants in Egypt

Egypt hosts abundant solar and wind resources that enable renewable power generation at competitive costs

esports

Here’s how Lenovo’s esports programme will be beneficial to educational institutions

Mohammed Hilili, general manager at Lenovo Gulf explains how esports gaming will help students develop discipline and teach new skills

Data is oil, says Antonello supino

Bayut & dubizzle’s Antonello Supino on harnessing the power of data

Bayut & dubizzle’s director of Data says proptech is reshaping the ways real estate is bought, sold, leased, managed and marketed

Giancarlo Pure Storage

Exclusive: Interview with Charles Giancarlo, CEO at Pure Storage

When it comes to sustainability, Giancarlo explains why it is an essential element for tech companies and why they need to consider ESG now than ever

Covid-19

UAE reports 259 Covid-19 cases, 396 recoveries

The nationwide case count has risen to 896,631

MenaTech magazine

MenaTech launches Arabic tech and business magazine

MenaTech Magazine aims to be a dependable Arabic source for the latest trends in technology, and a hub of innovation for the region’s tech community

Etihad

Abu Dhabi’s Etihad reduces carbon footprint by 56% between 2018-2021

Etihad aims to reach net zero emissions by 2050

Morgan Stanley raises oil forecasts by $10 citing market deficit

The bank raised its third quarter estimate to $130 a barrel

DP World sees gross volume growth of 1.9% in Q1 2022

Gross container volumes increased by 1.7 per cent y-o-y on a reported basis, with Asia Pacific, Middle East, Europe and Americas driving volume growth

Digital wallet

Careem Pay launches peer-to-peer transfer facility and digital wallet in the UAE

It will soon issue Careem cards that can be used at ATMs and merchants, and will also introduce international remittance solutions

Ghada - tech

Women in tech: Ghada Elkeissi, head of Professional Services, Public Sector – MEA at Amazon Web Services

While the tech industry is male-dominated, we have seen progress over the last years and increased awareness of the importance of diversity in the industry

Emirates NBD

Dubai’s Emirates NBD reports 18% rise in net profit for Q1 2022

Total income increased 3 per cent year-on-year to Dhs6.4bn