Uber

Uber appoints new general manager to lead business across the UAE and Levant

Pia El Hachem will be leading Uber’s strategy, operations, policy and business development, while overseeing the company’s end-to-end business

Twitter head of France quits, says ‘it’s over’ in staff exodus

Damien Viel had led the region for about seven years

Saudi’s KHC, Prince Alwaleed’s private office are Twitter’s second largest investor after Elon Musk

Elon Musk has also said that Twitter’s verification process is ‘being revamped right now’

Twitter

Twitter tells staff there aren’t plans for companywide layoffs

Twitter General Counsel Sean Edgett warned workers to expect “tons of public rumours and speculation” as the closing of the deal nears

Microsoft Teams

New partnership brings Microsoft Teams to Cisco meeting room devices

Customers now have the option to run Microsoft Teams by default on Cisco Room and Desk devices

Gitex Global 2022 concludes on Oct 14

Gitex Global, the UAE’s annual tech event, began on October 10 and ended on October 14

Latin America’s biggest startup Kavak expands footprint into Middle East

The Mexico City-based company is branching into the UAE and Oman

Abu Dhabi Data Program

New ‘Abu Dhabi Data Program’ to help emirate’s government entities leverage data to drive growth

Abu Dhabi Data Program aims to harness data powered by a future-ready cross-government technology backbone built on UAE’s national sovereign cloud

Facebook asks users for more help improving its algorithms

Users will soon see “show more” and “show less” buttons on posts that appear in their feed

agility

Kuwait’s Agility Ventures invests in India’s e-commerce platform Shiprocket

The investment was part of Agility’s strategy to expand across digital logistics and e-commerce in high-growth markets

Gaming strategy

Saudi Crown Prince unveils National Gaming and Esports Strategy

The strategy will be implemented through 86 initiatives covering the entire value chain, launched and managed by over 20 government and private entities

Anghami

Streaming platform Anghami expands global footprint via telecom partnerships

Anghami joins hands with Danish telco Hallo and Virgin Mobile Kuwait to provide unlimited access and downloads of songs, podcasts and other audio content

vertical farm

In pics: Sheikh Mohammed tours world’s largest vertical farm in Dubai

The hydroponic facility is capable of producing over 1,000,000kg of leafy greens annually

Tabby Egypt

UAE’s buy-now-pay later platform Tabby expands to Egypt

Tabby works with multiple brands including Lacoste, L’azurde, Faces, In Your Shoe, Kai Collections, Ariika, Marcqa, Dresscode and Floward

Twitter launches an edit button for paying subscribers

Edit Tweet, as the feature will be called, will let users make changes to their tweet for up to 30 minutes after it’s originally published

Twitter's new feature

Twitter’s new feature is out: What is it and how does it work?

Starting August 31, this feature will be available on iOS, Android and Twitter.com globally

Careem Express

UAE-based Chatfood announces partnership with Careem Express

The collaboration will help restaurant merchants access a delivery fleet at the click of a button

NMDC and Oracle sign agreement

National Marine Dredging Group selects Oracle cloud applications for business efficiency

By utilising a wide range of applications for finance, supply chain, HR and customer service, NMDC will be able to simplify and integrate critical business processes

Payermax

How PayerMax empowers global merchants to achieve borderless growth

In an exclusive interview, Sianna Wu, SVP and managing director of MEA at PayerMax sheds light on how the company is helping global digital enterprises grow and scale outside of their geographical presence

Facebook TikTok

Facebook changes users’ feeds to look more like TikTok

The main feed on Facebook will now be called ‘Home,’ and will be a place for people to discover new content

Motor

Motor launches electric car-sharing platform in the UAE

The platform aims to accelerate the transition to sustainable mobility in the UAE through flexible and convenient electric car-sharing

Facebook Profiles

Facebook users will be able to have up to five profiles

Additional profiles are required to adhere to Facebook’s content policies and will tie back to user’s core account

Careem Denarii

Careem acquires money transfer technology platform Denarii

Denarii helps businesses build secure profit centres by automating accounts payable and B2B payments

developer portal

Abu Dhabi’s ADIB launches API developer portal to drive open banking

The new portal will enable fintech developers to use the lender’s APIs for the purpose of developing their own applications

Abu dhabi judicial

Abu Dhabi Judicial Department launches auction app to bid directly

The app also has the ability to bid directly from a distance and complete all procedures in easy steps, in accordance with established legal procedures

Giving up meat? A vegetarian-only food app launches in Dubai

Yalla Veggie offers a selection of green restaurants, supermarkets, organic stores, bakeries and ethical startups

Zoom

Zoom records revenue of $1.07bn in Q1 2023

The number of customers contributing more than $100,000 in trailing 12 months revenue increased 46 per cent year-over-year

Etihad iFly

Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Airways launches iFly corporate booking platform

Premium partners will be able to unlock exclusive discounts including extra baggage, bonus miles and priority check-in for all bookings

Saudi’s Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority launches app to improve taxpayer experience

The ‘Zatca’ app is designed to be more effective in providing fast, reliable and high-quality services

Getty Images - Car rental

UAE’s car rental platform Selfdrive launches in Qatar and Bahrain

The company aims to acquire 50-65 per cent of the digital rental market share in these markets