Business Extra

Zada Haj on future of Middle East food security

A number of countries across the Gulf and Middle East and North Africa, including the UAE, are stepping up investments in companies and initiatives that develop local food supply chains.

Dana, which supports desert-tech and agri-tech startups with at least one woman founder, has agreed a deal with Masdar City to set up an R&D beta facility in Abu Dhabi.

Chief Executive of Dana, Zada Haj, talks to co-hosts Kelsey Warner and Mustafa Alrawi about the importance of building up the sector amid growing concerns about food security in the Mena region amid climate change, conflict in Ukraine and Covid-disrupted supply chains.

In this episode:

Dana's role in food security and women-led startups (0m 16s)
The birth of Dana and its mission in the region (7m 37s)
Adapting for the different markets of the Mena region (16m 19s)
Making investors look at the bigger picture (22m 12s)

 

Read more on our website:

• Masdar City and investment platform Dana sign pact to advance food security in UAE
• Can the UAE’s agritech plans help meet the global food challenge?
• UAE to invest $2 billion in Indian 'food parks' and explore clean energy projects

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Dubai’s metaverse strategy

The promise of the Metaverse and Web 3.0 technologies has been quantified in the UAE through the Dubai government's strategy to create 40,000 jobs and add $4 billion to the emirate's economy in the next five years from the digital transformation.

Abdulaziz AlJaziri, Deputy CEO and Chief Operations Officer at Dubai Future Foundation, talks to host Mustafa Alrawi about the opportunities and the road ahead as the country embraces the new immersive era of the internet.

In this episode:

Dubai's ambitions in the metaverse (0m 11s)

Getting the basics right and setting up regulations (3m 48s)
Looking at the bigger picture (8m 52s)
Dubai Future Foundation's role in shaping the future (11m 38s)

 

Read more on our website:

• Will the metaverse live up to the hype?
• Dubai to host its first metaverse industry event in September
• Metaverse market to reach $5tn by 2030, McKinsey finds

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Careem CEO on a decade of growth and ’decacorn’ ambitions

Careem became the Middle East's first unicorn, a start-up with a valuation of at least $1 billion, in 2016 and three years later was bought by Uber for $3.1bn.

The deal allowed the company to continue to operate independently, and today, its co-founder and chief executive Mudassir Sheikha says it was only the beginning: he plans to stay with Careem as it reaches for 'decacorn' status — a company valued at $10bn.

As Careem celebrates its 10-year anniversary this week, Mr Sheikha is seeking new funding, hires and acquisitions as he leads the expansion of a super app, going into services beyond ride-hailing to include food and grocery delivery, financial services and new partner services including car rental and home cleaning.

He joins co-hosts Mustafa Alrawi and Kelsey Warner this week to reflect on the past decade and talk about what is still to come.

In this episode:

Careem after a decade (0m 13s)
Growth with Careem's super app(3m 44s)
User growth v profitability (9m 15s)
The lessons learnt (14m 42s)
Emerging markets, entrepreneurial trends and what's next for Careem (19m 45s)

 

Read more on our website:

• Dubai's Careem acquires money transfer platform Denarii in FinTech push
• Careem acquires UAE food delivery platform Munch:On
• Careem rental bike fleet to double in size as Dubai embraces cycling
• Uber agrees to buy Careem for $3.1 billion in biggest ever tech deal for region

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How Emirates and Etihad averted the worst of ’airmageddon’

Delays, cancellations, lost luggage and labour shortages. These are but some of the issues facing airlines in Europe and the US as the summer travel season picks up pace.

 

Aviation correspondent Deena Kamel joins co-hosts Mustafa Alrawi and Kelsey Warner this week. They discuss how Gulf carriers like Etihad and Emirates managed to avert the travel chaos burdening the industry, what effect surging demand is having on airfares and balance sheets, and the outlook for aviation through to the end of the year.

 

Read more:

Abu Dhabi airport well-staffed to meet summer travel rush despite global labour crunch

BA to 'cancel 800 flights for more than 100,000 holidaymakers'

Paris airport staff call off strikes but travellers face more cancelled flights chaos

Emirates proceeding with summer schedule despite travel disruption in some markets

 

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Islamic insurance company Dar Al Takaful’s CEO on merger

Sharia-compliant insurers Dar Al Takaful and Watania, on Tuesday, completed their merger to create the UAE's largest insurance provider after securing the approval of regulatory authorities and shareholders of the two companies.

 

Gautam Datta, chief executive of Dar Al Takaful talks to hosts Mustafa Alrawi and Kelsey Warner about the merger and how it happened. He also discusses the challenges and opportunities for the sector after the Covid-19 pandemic and amid inflationary pressures.

 

In this episode: 

The difference between Islamic insurance and conventional insurance (54s)

The merger (2m 56s)

Focus on the future (6m 46s)

How the pandemic affected insurance claims (8m 58s)

Global instability and the new normal (12m 27s)

Plans on expansion (15m 26s)

 

Read more:

• Oman Insurance acquires Generali’s UAE life insurance portfolio

• UAE Central Bank imposes sanctions on insurer for not meeting regulatory requirements

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Oil prices amid recession fears

Oil prices inched higher this week as big producers hinted at capacity limits and an effort to cap Russian oil prices by western governments began. Meanwhile, the global economy is “teetering on the brink of recession”, according to the International Institute of Finance, as the war in Ukraine, the continuing Covid-19 lockdowns in China and a hawkish US Federal Reserve weigh on activity.

 

In an action-packed week in which the G7 summit is concluding while Opec+ prepares to meet and US President Joe Biden makes his way to Saudi Arabia, what impact will these events have on the outlook for 2022?

 

Joining hosts Mustafa Alrawi and Kelsey Warner, Ole Hansen, head of commodity strategy at Saxo Bank, explains how long he expects high oil prices to last and the forces most likely to affect energy markets this year. He also discusses the impact on the green transition and commodities prices amid a current food crisis.

 

In this episode:

 

The market right now (1m 2s)

Durability against recession (3m 40s)

Could there be a drop in demand? (7m 19s)

Would G7 cap prices? (9m 56s)

Biden's visit to Saudi Arabia (11m 44s)

The gas market (14m 28s)

Outlook for the rest of 2022 (17m 8s)

 

Read more on our website:

• Oil prices surge on tight supply but recession fears loom

• Uber and Lyft drivers opt for Teslas amid rising petrol prices

• Energy minister: UAE producing close to maximum oil capacity based on Opec+ baseline

• Energy demand and carbon emissions bounce back to pre-pandemic levels, BP report finds

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How electric car industry can keep up with demand

Electric car sales have surged this year after breaking a record last year, according to a report by the International Energy Agency.

The transport sector's electrification is a fast-growing trend amid the global push to net zero carbon emissions.

However, for EVs, rising prices of critical minerals required for battery manufacturing and supply chain disruptions, present obstacles to meeting these ambitions.

Orral Nadjari, chief executive and founder of Glencore-backed battery maker Britishvolt, discussed the risks and opportunities the industry is currently facing, with hosts Mustafa Alrawi and Kelsey Warner.

In this episode:

The reality of supply and demand of EVs (0m 13s)
Challenges of producing an EV (4m 49s)
Environmental concerns around battery production (7m 57s)
Local production and the impact of accelerated demand (13m 45s)

 

Read more on our website:

• Half of all UAE residents consider switching to electric vehicles, survey finds
• Electric car maker Lucid raises prices of most models by up to 13%
• US to spend more than $3bn on electric vehicle battery manufacturing, White House says

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Why GCC economies are growing so fast

Recent data shows strong business activity growth in both the UAE and Saudi Arabia. This is expected amid pandemic recovery and higher oil prices, according to Khatija Haque, chief economist and head of research at Emirates NBD. But global market forces are also at play.

She joins co-hosts Mustafa Alrawi and Kelsey Warner this week, sharing her outlook on how GCC economies will fair against rising inflation and global recession fears — and why growth is still possible even in this environment.

In this episode:

The economic outlook (0m 14s)
Is it a seperate story in the Gulf? (2m 37s)
Inflation in the GCC (4m 39s)
The outlook in growth of the non-oil sector (10m 45s)

 

Read more on our website:

• Solid growth on the cards for the UAE despite accelerating inflation
• Opec maintains 2022 demand outlook but says Ukraine conflict and pandemic pose a risk
• Mohamed El Erian: US inflation could reach 9% and lead to a recession

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Saxo Bank CEO on 30 years in FinTech

Investment banks have faced unprecedented times before, but market dynamics and the volume of data in play in 2022 makes this a time like no other.

That's according to Kim Fournais, who founded Denmark firm Saxo Bank in 1992. The CEO joins co-hosts Mustafa Alrawi and Kelsey Warner to discuss how using technology and pushing East to new markets is helping the 30 year-old firm ride out the latest wave of geopolitics, inflation and new unregulated assets like cryptocurrencies.

In this episode:

The history and growth of Saxo Bank (0m 14s)
Saxo Bank and its place in FinTech (4m 41s)
The culture at Saxo Bank (10m 54s)
Establishing trust and trading cryptocurrency (19m 57s)

 

Read more on our website:

• Facebook exodus and 15% inflation lead Saxo Bank’s outrageous predictions for 2022
• Global stock markets fall after US jobs report as investors keep eye on Fed
• World Bank warns of stagflation and slashes growth forecast for global economy

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NMC CEO Michael Davis on growth post-scandal

It has been more than two years since NMC Health almost collapsed, after a more than $4 billion debt pile was uncovered and the company's founder and former joint chairman, BR Shetty, fled the UAE in one of the biggest corporate scandals in the country's history. That history is receding as the new NMC Healthcare charts a different path, while maintaining its position as the biggest private healthcare provider in the UAE.

In March, a restructuring process was completed, a move that allowed 34 NMC companies to exit administration, a signal that jobs and cash flow have been saved. Before that, NMC's business rebounded in the first half of 2021 as revenue beat expectations despite pandemic headwinds.

Joining co-hosts Mustafa Alrawi and Kelsey Warner this week is Michael Davis, chief executive of NMC Healthcare, who has been at the helm since the saga began. They discuss priorities of the brand new board of directors, retaining 12,000 employees amid corporate scandal, growth opportunities coming out of the pandemic and if NMC would IPO again.

Read more on our website:

• EY faces $2.5bn lawsuit for 'audit negligence' over NMC collapse
• NMC companies exit administration and become part of new group
• BR Shetty: Barclays wins right to claw back $131m from NMC founder
• Davos 2022 'most timely and consequential' forum in history, says SchwabNMC third-quarter revenue beats target as healthcare provider prepares for new ownership

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