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As one of the world’s most influential business hubs, the Middle East requires expert attention. Business Extra provides those experts, as well as news and insights from The National’s esteemed team of business editors and reporters, who are on top of the markets, technology, the energy sector and more.
Episodes
Wednesday Sep 21, 2022
Wednesday Sep 21, 2022
A growing arts scene in the Middle East and North Africa over the past decade has both supported economic diversification and also been a sign of its success. Following the Covid-19 pandemic and amid concerns about the outlook for the region, can arts and culture maintain its momentum?
Dr Ridha Moumni, Christie’s Middle East deputy chairman, talks to host Mustafa Alrawi about the auction house's role in growing the sector in the region and beyond.
In this episode:
- NFTs and how Sotheby's is courting a new generation: Business Extra
- Christie's Dubai opens its Contemporary Middle Eastern Art show with masterpieces on view
- Biggest auction sales of 2021: from Beeple's NFT record to the Macklowe Collection
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Wednesday Sep 14, 2022
Wednesday Sep 14, 2022
Thursday Sep 01, 2022
Thursday Sep 01, 2022
The National's London Bureau Chief Damien McElroy explains why the crisis has come about and discusses which direction the country might head next under such pressure, with host Mustafa Alrawi, including the possibility of a radical shake up of the social contract.
In this episode:
- Britain's energy crisis explained as cost of living woes await new PM
- Liz Truss 'favours targeted support' to ease UK's cost of living crisis
- A quarter of UK parents with school-age children do not plan to use heating this winter
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Wednesday Aug 24, 2022
Wednesday Aug 24, 2022
More than 3,000 workers at 70 companies in the UK began a six-month trial of a four-day working week in June.
Researchers will work with each organisation to measure the effects on productivity and the well-being of its workers, and on the environment and gender equality. The trend toward new patterns of work has accelerated following the Covid-19 pandemic.
Charlotte Lockhart and Andrew Barnes, from non-profit 4 Day Week Global, talk to hosts Mustafa Alrawi and Kelsey Warner about how they are building a community to research four day work week practices and identify the future of work.
In this episode:
- Companies could save $206bn by adopting remote working and ease inflation pressures
- Will the world follow the UAE's modernised working week?
- Belgian workers can ask for four-day week in first for Europe
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Wednesday Aug 17, 2022
Wednesday Aug 17, 2022
Automation and robotics are becoming mainstream and have emerged from beyond heavy industry in recent years. They can be found across sectors such as health care, tourism, retail, F&B and mobility.
Investment and research into the field has also picked up including here in the UAE where Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence, or MBZUAI, is supporting local ambitions. Robots were also on hand to help visitors at Expo 2020 Dubai.
Prof Takeo Kanade of Carnegie Mellon University talks to hosts Mustafa Alrawi and Kelsey Warner about how advances in robotics are changing the way we live and work.
In this episode:
The hurdles of applying autonomous transport in the real world (3m 31s)
The opportunities for business leaders in robotics and AI (12m 16s)
The future of robotics and large scale adoption (14m 59s)
- Will staff shortages bring about the rise of the robots?: Business Extra
- Abu Dhabi to open AI research centre to drive high-tech innovation
- Can robots care? A conversation with the World Economic Forum's head of AI: Business Extra
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Wednesday Aug 10, 2022
Wednesday Aug 10, 2022
The Global Gender Gap Report 2022 — released by the World Economic Forum last month — said countries will take another 132 years, compared to 136 in 2021, to close the gap between men and women in the workforce. In Mena, this figure stands at 115 years.
Overall, the gap has widened compared to before the pandemic and the lack of equity for women, particularly in management roles, has become a crisis. With the challenges facing business such as climate change, inflation and technological shifts, diversity of leadership as well as staff, will build resilience to cope with such an unprecedented era of change. And the Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated a long-term global trend of more women founding their own businesses, according to the professional social networking site LinkedIn.
Sue Duke, vice president of global public policy and economic graph at LinkedIn, which provides insights and data to research including the Forum's report, talks to host Mustafa Alrawi about the risks and opportunities involved in closing the gender gap.
In this episode:
The best practice for closing the gender gap (4m 49s)
Reimagining work to achieve equity (11m 36s)
The benefits from closing the gap (15m 13s)
- Bucking Covid-19 trend, Saudi women take job market by storm: Business Extra
- Gender equality should be a truly universal aspiration
- Gender equality is critical to UAE’s global competitiveness, economy minister says
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Wednesday Aug 03, 2022
Wednesday Aug 03, 2022
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:
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)
- 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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Wednesday Jul 27, 2022
Wednesday Jul 27, 2022
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:
Looking at the bigger picture (8m 52s)
Dubai Future Foundation's role in shaping the future (11m 38s)
- 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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Wednesday Jul 20, 2022
Wednesday Jul 20, 2022
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:
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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Wednesday Jul 13, 2022
Wednesday Jul 13, 2022
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