Business Extra

Climate Edition - What you need to know about Cop28

Expectations are high for climate solutions as the UAE hosts the Cop conference for the first time.

What is Cop? What should we expect at Cop28, and what does it all mean for humanity?

On the first episode of the special climate edition series, Cody Combs, future editor for The National and the new host of the Business Extra podcast, brings you all the updates and key information that you need to know ahead of the climate summit that will kick off on November 30.

What start-ups need to know about coming to the UAE

In 2019, Hub71 invited start-ups to move to Abu Dhabi, promising founders free housing, office space and health insurance for the first year, access to investors and one of the most dynamic and connected regions in the world.

Four years later, Abu Dhabi’s start-up ecosystem is among the fastest-growing in the world, according to a new ranking from Startup Genome.

Amer Aidi, head of marketing and operations at Hub71, joins host Kelsey Warner this week to talk about what founders can expect if they move to the UAE and how the community – and the start-up scene in general – has changed in just four years.

In this episode:

Hosting Sam Altman and creating a community (0m 33s)
Putting Abu Dhabi on the startup map (4m 26s)
Measuring success at Hub71 and the fight for talent (9m 03s)
Navigating the current marketplace and being sector agnostic (13m 56s)

 

Read more on our website:

• Silicon Valley remains top place for start-ups but Mena cities on the rise
• Funding for start-ups at Abu Dhabi's Hub71 hit $1.22bn at the end of 2022
• Abu Dhabi’s Hub71 unveils new ecosystem to support Web3 start-ups

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LinkedIn on AI and future of jobs

In this episode:

LinkedIn's reach in the region and its evolution over the last 20 years (0m 23s)
The impact of the Microsoft takeover (3m 32s)
The jobs and opportunities during the AI age (7m 51s)
The current job market and the future of work (11m 16s)
LinkedIn's move into government and politics (15m 44s)

What can we learn from previous financial crashes amid recession fears?

The global economy has weathered the most tumultuous century in modern history and most of the previous financial crises have shared similarities from which we can learn.

So writes Dr Linda Yueh, CBE, in her new book, The Great Crashes: Lessons from Global Meltdowns and How to Prevent Them.

She joins Business Extra host Kelsey Warner this week to share her analysis of major market crashes, from currency crunches and Japan's housing crisis to the dot-com bust and the Covid-19 pandemic, she shares the underlying factors that led to these meltdowns and what we can learn to help avoid or recover from future crises.

Read more on our website:

• Biden declares 'crisis averted' in debt ceiling bill passage
• How would a US debt default affect the Middle East?
• A global recession in second half of 2023 expected to significantly hit IT spending

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How does Snapchat keep the GCC so engaged?

Snapchat long stood out among other social media platforms for introducing interactive user experiences such as filters and augmented reality features.

But today, with TikTok on the scene and Meta, Instagram and YouTube introducing products for creating content, the social media scene has evolved, technology has changed and audiences are different.

In this episode:

Snapchat in 2023 (0m 27s)
Engaging the MENA region and building loyalty (6m 29s)
The digital ads model and Snapchat revenue (9m 57s)
The future of Snap (16m 17s)

 

Read more on our website:

• Snapchat for Web is coming — here's what it means for UAE users
• Snap boosts hiring in Saudi Arabia as it taps into AR growth in Mena
• Snapchat Spotlight Middle East launch: everything you need to know about the platform

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Cyber risks in the AI age

New research from cybersecurity firm Palo Alto Networks has found that a little more than half of chief executives in the UAE estimate potential losses from cybersecurity attacks have increased in the past year.

Haider Pasha, senior director and chief security officer at Palo Alto Networks in Europe, the Middle East and Africa and Latin America, joins Business Extra host Kelsey Warner this week to explain the scope of cybersecurity risks in 2023.

Mr Pasha explained that they help organisations consolidate different tools within their networks, support AI and machine learning and help companies prepare and detect cyberattacks.

In this episode:

What Palo Alto Networks does (0m 21s)

The types of cybersecurity attacks (3m 35s)

The rise of automated attacks (9m 22s)

Dealing with ransomware (13m 54s)

Making a more secure world (17m 18s)

How top companies think about change

Questions loom about the future of work and there is no one-size-fits-all approach.

Companies in the UAE have been turning to Cosmic Centaurs to navigate these fast-changing times. The Dubai-based consultancy helps employers design and put in place new ways of working to increase returns while boosting employee happiness.

Founder and chief executive Marilyn Zakhour joins host Kelsey Warner this week to talk about how high-performing companies navigate change.

In this episode:

Why companies hire outside help to make change (0m 24s)

Employer vs employee interests (5m 34s)

The leap from corporate life to start-up founder (10m 52s)

Preparing employers for the AI age (18 30s)

Supporting women in the workplace (20m 40s)

 

Read more on our website:

• Home-working blamed for record long-term sickness among UK unemployed
• Future of work: what will be the most in-demand job skills in 2032?
• Future Beat: the latest tech and innovation news

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Pfizer executive on pharma’s post-pandemic future

Last week, the World Health Organization announced that Covid-19 no longer qualifies as a global emergency, marking an end - albeit a symbolic one - to the pandemic.

Pfizer, maker of one of the most-used Covid-19 jabs and an antiviral pill, hit a record-breaking $100 billion in revenues in 2022, spurred by earnings from those treatments.

As the pandemic wanes and demand for treatments drops off, the New York-headquartered pharmaceuticals company is in a "transition year", chief executive Albert Bourla said on a first-quarter earnings call.

Patrick van der Loo, a regional president who oversees the Middle East, Russia and Africa, talks to host Kelsey Warner this week about what a transition means for the world's biggest pharmaceutical company by revenue, how the pandemic changed drug development cycles and what the Gulf's potential is for taking a piece of the booming life sciences industry.

In this episode:

Pfizer's transition post-pandemic and its role now (0m 20s)
The velocity of drug discovery and the impact of the pandemic (6m 52s)
The UAE's role in the pharmaceutical industry (9m 14s)
Public health challenges and the ambitions in the region (17m 37s)

 

Read more on our website:

• Pfizer drops sales guidance after posting 47% jump in Q4 profits
• Stem cell therapies promise breakthrough in Dubai life sciences
• Abu Dhabi's Mubadala and G42 launch tech-focused healthcare company M42

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e& group CEO on Careem Super App deal

Fifth Wall eyes Gulf as it tackles real estate’s climate problem

Brendan Wallace, co-founder and managing partner of Fifth Wall, the world’s largest venture capital firm at the intersection of real estate and tech, joins host Kelsey Warner this week.

Fifth Wall had a massive 2022, closing its $866 million Fund III in December, the biggest property start-up investment fund ever, on the heels of a $500 million climate fund it closed last July.

The LA-based VC fund brings together some of the largest owners and operators of real estate globally, including here in the UAE, with Aldar and Damac as limited partners.
Brendan and Kelsey discuss how Fifth Wall is evaluating start-ups amid the market correction, where he sees untapped opportunity in the Middle East and why real estate is critical to the climate conversation.

In this episode:

Defining PropTech and the future of real estate (1m 01s)

What opportunities does Fifth Wall see in the Middle East region? (5m 15s)

Evaluating tech ecosystems (6m 54s)

AI and start-ups (9m 39s)