ArabNet The Quarterly Issue 9 | Summer 2016 by ArabNet The Quarterly

TECHNOLOGY TRANSFORMING GOVERNMENT Issue no 9. Summer 2016

ALL ABOUT NATIVE ADVERTISING Best Practices for Success

The Emergence of the Smart Economy

DIGITAL BANKING THE IMPACT ADOPTION IN MENA OF SOCIAL Original Research from ENTREPRENEURSHIP ArabNet and OMD

How Young Innovators are Resolving Problems

MENA BUSINESS

REPORTS

OF THE HIGHEST CALIBER Thanks to a unique and exclusive access to the MENA market, ArabNet has developed studies and reports that bridge the knowledge gap within regional industries. The ArabNet Business Intelligence initiative produces reports that feature original data, fresh insights, consumer habits, digital trends and industry best practices. We produce tailor-made reports, with exclusive partners just like you!

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LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

HELLO! Let me introduce myself: I am The Quarterly’s new Managing Editor. I’m told that my first letter to the readers should include some personal information about me, but as the majority of my friends know, that’s something that makes me very uncomfortable. So, enough about me, let me tell you about Issue no. 9 of The Quarterly.

Rita Makhoul Managing Editor

@rampurple

As smart technology proliferates around the globe, the ‘smart city’ concept has emerged over the last decade to represent technology-driven urban benefits and the products and services that deliver them. Technologies such as smart phones, augmented reality, cloud computing and data analytics, are being used to make cities run more smoothly, efficiently, and enhance citizen engagement. In this issue’s feature story, we explored how technology has been transforming governments and delved into how these innovations has given rise to Dubai’s ambitious Smart Dubai strategic plan. Also, because many users perceive conventional digital ad formats as intrusive and ad blocking is on the rise, native advertising, which emerged as a trend a couple of years ago, seems to be here to stay. As a natural element it is integrated into the content and creates a reading flow that’s simply natural. But what is going native really all about, how is the success rate measured, and how can brands do it successfully? Find out more about native advertising and learn how to be successfully native in this issue. It is such a pleasure to have had the opportunity to work on Issue no. 9 – my first issue. My wish is that The Quarterly will become an essential part of your professional life, a resource that you depend on to keep up with the rapidly evolving world of digital technology. I hope you enjoy this issue and do let me know if there are any topics you would like to see covered in the future. Until next time!

CONTENT ISSUE 9 USEFUL APPS FOR TRANSPORTATION A Round-Up of Taxi-Booking Apps for Residents in MENA INDUSTRY STORIES

Industry News

BUSINESS

Saudi Telecom CEO’s Vision for the Future

TECHNOLOGY

Technology Transforming Government

How Travel Agencies Can Survive in the Digital Age

Kurban Travel’s Evolution into Lebanon’s First Full-Fledged OTA

Dubai, the City of the Future

Digital Banking Adoption in MENA 2016 New ArabNet Business Intelligence Report

THE QUARTERLY Summer 2016

ENTREPRENEURSHIP

DIGITAL MEDIA

play Ads ‫ﺣﺬاء‬ Ad

Infographic: This Is A Native Ad

The State of the Budding Games Industry

In-Ad (IAB Standard) Contextually relevant content with sold placement

48 Five Tips for Scoring a Successful Native Campaign

Awakening to Native Advertising

Meet the Winning Entrepreneurs from UberPITCH

The Impact of Social Entrepreneurship

New Middle East Startups that Should Be on Your Radar

Summer 2016 THE QUARTERLY

INDUSTRY STORIES

USEFUL APPS FOR TRANSPORTATION

INDUSTRY NEWS

A Round-Up of Taxi-Booking Apps for Residents in MENA

9 Startups Shine at the MITEF Arab Startup Competition

The ninth Arab Startup Competition, organized by MIT Economic Forum (MITEF) Pan Arab, was the biggest edition of the event to date. The competition was supported by Community Jameel and Zain, and received around 6,000 applications from 21 Arab countries (up from 4,275 in 2015). 30 finalists were divided in to 3 categories before pitching their ideas to a panel of investors and industry leaders at the King Abdullah Economic City on April 14, 2016. The winning teams hailed from Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, and Tunisia, and were rewarded with cash prizes worth a total of $150,000. The winner of the Startups Track ($50,000) was the Kuwaiti startup Ghinwa which developed an app that directly enables karaoke performances with licensed songs. Second and third place went to Egypt’s Zamen newsfeed filtering app and Saudi Arabia’s B8ak marketplace for home maintenance services, respectively. The winner of the Social Entrepreneurship Track was a Tunisian startup that invented a hydropneumatic flushing system ($15,000). Lebanon’s Pathfinder, an app and tech-fitted belt that enables visually challenged people to navigate indoors and outdoors, earned second place, while the Jordanian inventors of an affordable prosthetic leg that offers great mobility came in third place . In the third and last category, the Idea Track, first place went to Egypt’s Tutorama platform for private tutoring services ($15,000). Second and third place went to 2 Moroccan startups: Deep OR, a data analytics and operations research software, and Ostor Lab, the developers of a mobile application vulnerability scanner. MIT Technology Review Arab Edition also announced this year’s Top 5 Entrepreneurs under 35: Ahmad Alfadel and Osman Baker from the King Abdullah University for Science & Technology (Saudi Arabia); Eve Tamraz from white Lab and Jean Nehme from touch Surgery (Lebanon); and Yaman Abou Jeib from Glean (Syria).

liwwa P2P Lending Platform Secures $2.3M Investment liwwa Inc, the world’s first and only sharia-compliant peer-to-peer lending platform, closed a second round of equity financing worth $2.3 million led by Silicon Badia. DASH Ventures and investor Samih Toukan also participated in the equity financing. The Amman-based marketplace lender aims to facilitate access to capital for small businesses. In the Middle East alone, that gap is estimated at $250 billion. “We’ve had over $500 million in demand though the website, and we’ve only been able to service $1.6 million,” explained Ahmed Moor, liwwa’s CEO. These funds were lent to 75 small businesses. liwwa leverages statistical methods to produce a lightweight credit assessment process designed to supplant cash flow underwriting. So far, liwwa’s Shadow Underwriting regression model is 97% predictive of cash flow underwriting outcomes. Lenders, include over 1,300 individuals and entities, including 3 regional banks: Bank al Etihad, Arab Bank, and Capital Bank. Previously, the platform had raised $500,000 from DASH Ventures, which brings its total investment after this round to $2.8 million. liwwa will use the funds to grow its underwriting capacity in Jordan and the MENA, as well as open its New York software development and data center.

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SocialEyez Acquires Egyptian Social Media Ad Agency BSocial SocialEyez, the Dubai-based social media agency, has acquired Cairo’s BSocial for an approximate value of 10 million Egyptian pounds (around $1.12 million) to boost its service offering in Egypt. BSocial is a digital services and social media management agency with a brand portfolio that includes General Electric, Mercedes Benz, Warner Bros, and 20th Century Fox, among others. It will be incorporated in SocialEyez’s local operations as SocialEyez Egypt. BSocial founder and CEO, Ehab Fares, will be the Managing Director of the new entity. The new entity will employ a team of over 120 digital media professionals catering to almost 30 million social media users on behalf of regional clients. SocialEyez had acquired a minority stake in BSocial around two years ago. It will bring to the table competitive advantages through its partnerships with global leaders like Hootsuite and LinkedIn. SocialEyez is currently rebranding as a full-fledged digital engagement agency and reinforcing its position in new markets particularly Egypt. According to Fares, social media penetration in Egypt is at an all-time high. A report compiled by the Arab Social Media Influencers Summit in 2015 showed that the country had the third highest rate of daily access to Facebook and Whatsapp among MENA countries (94% of social media users in each case), behind Syria and Lebanon. These stats, combined with the size and relative stability of the country, naturally make Egypt the best choice for SocialEyez’s expansion.

Nabd Goes International, Launches as Nabiz in Turkey Nabd, the Kuwaitbased aggregator of personalized news for MENA mobile users, has made its entrance in Turkey as “Nabiz” and localized in Turkish for the local market. In the first weekend after its launch, the new app achieved top ranking on the iOS and Android stores. Nabiz aggregates news from over 300 Turkish sources, with more to come soon. Developed by Waveline Media, Nabd is often referred to as the FlipBoard of the MENA. The app caters to users’ interests by collecting the news and information that matter to them from over 1,500 Arabic news sources, including TV channels, websites, sports clubs, technology hubs, blogs, and more. In 3 years since its launch, it has totaled over 10 million downloads. It also features a native advertising platform that integrates ad content into its feed and also targets users based on the relevance of their interests.

Allo Taxi and eCab Take On Uber in the Car Booking Game

Allo Taxi, part of Kurban Group, Lebanon’s leading travel agency, has signed a partnership with the international car booking app eCab to launch a taxi service with competitive prices and improved service. Allo Taxi will continue to operate in the Lebanese market, including via its proprietary app, but will also introduce the eCab service in the country. In the car booking arena, all eyes are on “Uberization” and the disruption of the sector by lean, mean online booking platforms. Traditional players find it hard to compete against the likes of Uber and Careem who own the technological advantage. The two giants have already made a string of investments and acquisitions to increase their market share in the MENA. Allo Taxi had launched its car booking app before Uber began operations in Lebanon. According to Raja Kurban, Managing Director of the Avis Budget Group at Kurban Travel, Uber’s contracted drivers in Europe have high standards of quality, which largely contributed to the app’s success there. In Lebanon, however, quality cab services are in shorter supply. For this reason, Allo Taxi preferred to partner with a new entrant on the local market. Through the Lebanese company, eCab users will get access to three service levels, ranging from the most affordable rides in town to the largest taxi fleet and an exclusive VIP service with chauffeurs. eCab also accepts payments either via its app, or in cash to the driver, something Uber doesn’t offer yet in Lebanon.

Summer 2016 THE QUARTERLY

INDUSTRY STORIES

USEFUL APPS FOR TRANSPORTATION Payfort Adds SADAD to Target More Saudi Consumers

A Round-Up of Taxi-Booking Apps for Residents in MENA

The Fort, Payfort’s next generation payment gateway, has integrated Saudi Arabia’s SADAD Payment System. SADAD was established in 2004 by the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA) to be the national Electronic Bill Presentment and Payment (EBPP) service provider. The system facilitates and streamlines Saudi consumers’ bill payment transactions via their banks. It also features an easy-to-use dashboard that allows merchants to build their own payment stack. Now, merchants that use the Fort will be able to offer their clients the option to have purchases deducted directly from their SADAD account. “Using the SADAD account with the Fort, Saudi enterprises will be able to offer online payment options to a dramatically expanded consumer base,” explained Omar Soudodi, Payfort Managing Director. According to him, SADAD could snatch a share of up to 30% from credit cards and cash transactions by end-2016, further helping out e-commerce and online payments. Payfort’s State of Payments report for 2015 showed that e-commerce is the fastest growing sector among entertainment and events, marketplace services, travel and tourism, and airlines. By 2020, it is expected to grow to $13.4 billion (up from $7 billion in 2014) and will be close to toppling airlines for the top spot.

Bahrain’s Restaurant Booking App, eat, Comes to Dubai The Bahrain-based online fine dining reservation app, eat, has confidently entered the UAE market, and is planning regional expansion. eat’s co-founder, Nezar Kadhem, believes the app’s advanced features and usability will give it an edge in the highly competitive UAE market. In Bahrain, eat offers customers the ability to book a table in real time at 92% of the fine-dining restaurants, giving it an edge over restaurant discovery heavyweights like TripAdvisor, TimeOut, and DineOut Bahrain. It has also partnered with Uber to offer complimentary rides to diners. In addition, its products are Arabic-enabled. The main differentiation factor for eat, however, is its cloudbased table reservation management tool for restaurant owners. eat charges restaurants $99 per month for this tool (a competitive price, according to the owners), in addition to a small commission from each successful reservation. eat was launched in 2015 in its home market of Bahrain, with equity-based funding from a group of private Bahraini investors, as well as Bahrain’s Business Angels Company Tenmou and 500 Startups’ Middle Eastern partners. It also closed 2 rounds of seed funding worth $300,000 and $400,000 to increase its user and restaurant acquisition. eat is now finalizing a Series A round, which aims to raise $2-$2.5 million for its next stage of growth. This involves launching a web platform for desktops, adding a “review” section, and expanding in Abu Dhabi and Doha.

MENA Startups Can Accept Payments Worldwide with Atlas The international payment technology platform, Stripe, launched its global arm, Atlas, enabling entrepreneurs and developers anywhere in the world to start a US-based company from their home country. This means they can set up a US bank account and start accepting payments to their apps and other platforms from anywhere in the world. The service is currently in an invite-only beta phase, so Stripe has partnered with 70 incubators, accelerators, and investors worldwide who will refer startups that have growth potential to the service. In Lebanon, Stripe chose the Speed@BDD accelerator as its local partner. Atlas addresses revenue-generating startups that have existing products and services, and are willing to expand into international markets and regions. They can establish a company in the city of Delaware, USA, for only $500, which includes the cost of registering the company, opening a Silicon Valley bank account, and paying for legal and tax consultancy. Upon signing up with Atlas, startups benefit from a Stripe account that they can immediately use to accept payments from customers in 100+ currencies. Moreover, every startup receives $15,000 in free credit from Amazon Web Services. Co-founded by Irish brothers, John and Patrick Collison, Stripe is valued at $5 billion. The platform facilitates payments for many big companies in 24 countries around the globe, including Kickstarter, and has sealed partnerships with Facebook, Apple, Twitter, and Pinterest. Its backers include Sequoia Capital, PayPal cofounders Peter Thiel and Max Levchin, and Visa.

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Syrian Startups Graduate from the Jusoor Entrepreneurship Competition

New Investments in Collectionair Will Make MENA Art Global

The second Jusoor Entrepreneurship Competition featured 18 Syrian startups. A panel of leading entrepreneurs, investors, and consultants – including ArabNet’s CEO, Omar Christidis – met the finalists and discussed their ideas before selecting the winners. Remaz and BitCode, platforms that teach programming to Arabic-speaking youth, shared the first prize of $15,000 in the Startups Track. The second prize ($5,000) was awarded to i-Can, a multilingual mobile platform where displaced Syrian professionals can offer their services. In the Social Track, first prize ($15,000) was awarded to Share, an offline platform where youth can exchange skills and services using “hour credits” instead of money. The second prize ($5,000) went to Tamkeen, a platform linking educators to students and youth who have no access to academic resources and/ or institutions. The People’s Choice awards went to Sanad Spaces, a multipurpose co-working space for startups in Damascus; and Nobelchemist, who developed a biodegradable tablet that makes water safe to drink. Jusoor is working with MIT Enterprise Forum and TechWadi continue supporting the startups.

Abu Dhabi’s media arm, twofour54, has recently bought a stake in Collectionair, a UAEbased online platform that enables art lovers to buy, rent, and swap works of art from the comfort of their home. Within the platform, users can also tour virtual exhibitions, learn about artists’ journeys and cultural insights, and read professional opinions on the pieces available. The amount and details of the deal have not been disclosed. Collectionair was among the first batch of startups launched in the first cycle of Flat6labs’ accelerator program in 2015. DASH Ventures, a leading early stage venture capital firm in Jordan, has also invested in Collectionair to support the startup in developing its platform for customers. Collectionair is building a strong network of partners to ensure the quality of the art they source is always maintained. This includes established art curators, artist residencies, art schools, and galleries from around the world, including London, New York, and Dubai.

INDUSTRY STORIES

USEFUL APPS FOR TRANSPORTATION BIG by Orange Accelerates Its First 5 Startups in Jordan

Foodora Delivers Luxury

A Round-Up of Taxi-Booking Apps for Residents in MENA Meals in Dubai

Jordan has a new accelerator: BIG (Business Innovation Growth), an initiative by Orange Jordan, part of the Orange multinational telecom group. BIG is operated by StartupJo, a company that gives startups the tools to promote their brand and product, BIG primarily targets startups in the mobile sector, as well as in other web-based and technological startups in their growth stage. Located at at the King Hussein Business Park (KHBP), the space offers startups a fully equipped basic infrastructure to run their business and expand their geographic reach and user base by taking advantage of Orange’s international network. The acceleration program consists of 3 seasons (cycles) per year for 5-8 startups per season. Each season extends over a period of 120 days, and focuses on mentorship and critical development in areas like investment needs, product improvement, customer development and business support, in partnership with Oasis 500. Furthermore, Orange Jordan will leverage its various resources to help the program’s beneficiaries manage and fund their projects through global acceleration programs, world-class mentorship programs, exhibition events, and international exposure. BIG does not offer any direct investment in the startups, and does not take any equity share. Alternatively, it may sign distribution deals with them. The first batch of startups included: DIGAT, a middleware developer specialized in Data Distribution Service (DDS) in real time; Masmoo3 , the Arab world’s first producer and publisher of Arabic audiobooks; Play 3arabi, a publisher of mobile free-to-play social or multiplayer games focused on the MENA region; Trevx, a free online platform where users get immediate access to songs and audio content from their favorite music artists; and Yaqut, a personal library app containing thousands of free-to-download m-books in Arabic, optimized for mobile browsing, reading, and note taking.

Tamatem Release a Promising New Drifting Game Building on the success of their first drifting game for mobile, Shake the Metal, Tamatem has released an exciting new sequel: Shake the Metal Rush. According to the studio, the game has been downloaded around 500,000 times on both Google Play and the App Store in the week following its release (almost 25,000 daily downloads). Tamatem’s first game, Shake the Metal, was launched in 2015 and has been downloaded over 1 million times by Android users alone. “Shake the Metal became successful because it reflects the culture of the Gulf, we designed and developed this game by the users and for the users,” said Tamatem CEO, Hussam Hammo. Shake the Metal Rush addresses GCC youths who are passionate about drifting. In addition to cityscapes, the game features endless desert landscapes, reflecting the earlier days of drift driving in the Gulf. The new game’s music was chosen by users of the previous version. It includes brand new popular titles from the Gulf, making the experience closer to real life. Shake the Metal Rush is available in both Arabic and English (unlike the previous instalment), and features improved graphics, more car models, and a driving camera option.

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Foodora, the international online luxury food delivery service based in Germany, has launched its first MENA operations in Dubai. Unlike regular food ordering services, Foodora’s online platform or app allows patrons to order meals from high-end venues that traditionally do not deliver food, such as hotel or boutique restaurants. Foodora introduces an element of democratization into this context, targeting a wider base of customers that were traditionally beyond the reach of these restaurants. In Dubai, Foodora’s 160 partner restaurants are spread across 3 main areas: Downtown, Marina, and Jumeirah. The company operates a special fleet of motorcycles and around 20 well-trained delivery personnel, positioned in dispatch centers close to the restaurant areas, to ensure an efficient pick-up process and guarantee that all deliveries are completed within 30 minutes. The service doesn’t involve any upfront costs or investments for restaurants. According to Alexander Kappes, co-founder and Vice President at Foodora Middle East, restaurants can turn a profit from their very first order. The platform retains a revenue share from every order and charges customers a small delivery fee of 10 AED. Foodora was developed and launched in late 2014, after which it joined Delivery Hero - the largest food ordering network in the world, with more than 200,000 participating restaurants. The company is present in 9 countries across Europe, as well as in Canada and Australia.

BECO Capital Invests in the First MENA Cybersecurity Startup At Arabnet Beirut 2016, BECO Capital announced it has made a seed investment in MYKI, a Beirut-based cybersecurity startup that has developed the first advanced password and online identity manager in the region. MYKI’s solution provides smartphone users with secured access to online services without the need to manually type in their credentials every time they log in to a different account online, as well as secure password management. This marks BECO Capital’s first investment in a cybersecurity technology firm. Lebanon-based B&Y Venture Partners also took part in this seed investment round. Antoine Vincent Jebara, co-founder of MYKI, said the startup will use its seed capital to accelerate product development and go-to-market time. Over the last five years, $7.3 billion were invested in cybersecurity startups, according to CB Insights. Cyber-attacks are becoming increasingly sophisticated and are affecting nearly 90% of individuals and large organizations worldwide, costing consumers and companies more than $445 billion annually, according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). Enterprises and governments are investing heavily in private cybersecurity companies. The global cybersecurity market is expected to grow at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9.8% from 2015 to 2020, and reach a total value of $170 billion by 2020. The Middle East and Africa’s share of this market is expected to reach $13.43 billion by 2019, according to Cybersecurity Ventures. The market that MYKI is tackling is the multi factor authentication market, which is forecasted to be worth $5.5 billion by 2017.

TECHNOLOGY

TECHNOLOGY USEFUL APPS FOR TRANSPORTATION A Round-Up of Taxi-Booking Apps for Residents in MENA TRANSFORMING GOVERNMENT The Emergence of the Smart Economy By Rita Makhoul | @rampurple

itizens have increasingly raised expectations for convenient interactions when it comes to dealing with government entities. As a result, government entities around the globe are becoming increasingly adept at deploying digital technology to help improve the way they serve and engage with citizens. In most cities, the inconvenient chore to head to the local governmental office to apply for a passport, renew vehicle registrations, and so forth, have been replaced by simply going to the government websites.

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Digital advances continue to ricochet around the world and governments have been trying to keep up. Leveraging technology improves collaboration between different entities and advances the levels of service delivered to citizens, whether it’s evolving how users apply for licenses, creating more efficient processes, fostering increased transparency, opening up government-controlled data for developers and startups to interact with. There are several ways to push governments into the digital age.

Governments with proactive attitudes embracing technology are catching up with the digital age, resulting in a developing ecosystem of governments and entrepreneurs working together. Around the globe, trends like mobility, cloud and data analytics, are advancing under entrepreneurial thinking, agile processes, and open data. The amply named “GovTech” and “CivicTech” startups are hallmarks of innovation, helping governments step into the 21st century. Here is a list of such startups from around the world:

inspections, code enforcement, citizen requests, asset management, work order, management and more. An open budget tool, OpenGov, based out of Silicon-Valley, has taken the complexities of government finance and simplified them into easy-toread charts, setting a new standard for how governments analyze, share, and compare financial data. With OpenGov’s cloud-based platform, state and local governments of all sizes collaborate more effectively, make smarter data-driven decisions, and achieve greater transparency. Increased access connects citizens with senior staff and elected leaders improving trust and dialogue between cities and citizens. And better tools save time and improve decisionmaking by putting critical data at the fingertips of key decision-makers.

CitizenLab is a civic engagement platform in Belgium on which citizens co-create their city. The platform facilitates a two-way communication between the city and its citizens. Citizens post ideas, discuss them with each other and upvote the best ideas in an easy accessible way. On the other hand, the city uses CitizenLab to consult the opinion of its citizens via polling or to ask their creative solutions to an existing problem. The platform’s SaaS solution helps cities to tap into the collective intelligence of the citizens and become more responsive to their citizens’ needs.

The request process is different at different levels of government, and request forms often must be deposited in person to specific government locations between specific hours. NextRequest wants to solve this problem by putting the whole information request process online, saving citizens time and governments money. Also based in San Francisco, NextRequest is a platform that uses the cloud to handle the constant flow of public records requests and an intuitive dashboard to manage them all.

In Austria, Urban Sync allows citizens to co-create their city. Users can participate in surveys of urban projects and discuss their local area with neighbors anywhere at any time. Urban Sync provides the initiators and planners of urban projects with the ability to develop the city according to the wishes of those who live there; a vision is based on citizens’ ideas, ratings, comments, and wishes.

Out of Georgia (US), GovSense is designed to allow local government to build smarter communities. The company’s cloud ERP is designed specifically for local government, to empower jurisdictions to design flexible, easy-to-use solutions that meet their needs in land use planning, project review, regulatory management, permitting &

SeeClickFix helps hundreds of cities throughout the United States to manage millions of citizen service requests, enabling citizens to report and monitor non-emergency issues in their local communities. It was founded in New Haven, Connecticut, on the belief that citizens who take the time to report even minor issues and see them fixed are likely

to become more engaged in their local communities.

Grillo is developing a new way of detecting earthquakes and delivering notifications to vulnerable people around the world. Grillo has developed its own infrastructure of seismic sensors in Mexico and plans to reach other countries soon. The sensors, developed by Grillo, are deployed in “sensor stations” which send data using Internet of Things technologies (IoT), and are processed in Google Cloud servers using the company’s proprietary algorithms. This allows Grillo to send accurate and geo-located alerts to all the population.

Based in San Francisco, Appallicious is an open data visualization company that creates products to help government better serve its citizens. It’s best known for its mobility services in disaster response. Municipalities can easily map their emergency resources and dangers in real time using the Disaster and Assessment Dashboard. Citizens can request assistance, first responders can update first aid locations, and local businesses can advertise recovery services. Appallicious is a leader in creating licensable data visualization products that are easily replicated for government and citizens, often in collaboration with the White House, FEMA, states, counties, and city agencies.

Summer 2016 THE QUARTERLY

TECHNOLOGY

USEFUL APPS FOR TRANSPORTATION

DUBAI

A Round-Up of Taxi-Booking Apps for Residents in MENA

THE CITY OF TOMORROW By Rita Makhoul | @rampurple

s smart technology propagates around the globe, the movement within modern cities to apply these innovations to the most pressing problems has given rise to the concept of a smart city. Dubai, primarily known for architectural marvels and luxury living, is an inspiring alchemy of profound traditions has ambitiously adopted a distinctive approach to evolve into a smart city and set the standard for smart cities worldwide. The Smart Dubai initiative was introduced in 2014 to establish Dubai as the smartest city in the world by 2017, and has chosen happiness as the measure of success of its smart city endeavors. Dubai was already ranked seventh on the Happiness Index in 2014, and the impact

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the city can create with the goal of driving happiness is immense. Aligned with His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum’s vision, technology plays a vital role as an enabler to achieve this goal. The initiative aims to encourage collaboration between the public and private sectors to achieve targets in six strategic pillars: smart life, smart transportation, smart society, smart economy, smart governance, and smart environment, each of which will leverage the strong ICT infrastructure the city is currently developing. Supporting the smart city initiative is the commitment to open data and a governance system that will enable cross-functional collaboration

in the pursuit of seamless urban services. Within these six dimensions, the strategy includes the implementation of over 100 initiatives in areas such as transport, communications, infrastructure, electricity, economic services and urban planning, and a plan of 1,000 services to transform the government and the private sector to get “smart.” Smart Dubai is collaborating with 11 strategic partners to achieve the vision: The Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA), The Executive Council, The Dubai Health Authority (DHA), The Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), The Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM), Dubai Police

been rolled out to over 30 government entities and in use at service counters, websites, and kiosks wherever customers interact with these entities. Over 2 million votes have been received so far, and every vote is captured in the Happiness Meter Index, a powerful dashboard that can show participating entities the happiness score at every single touchpoint. The Happiness Meter is currently also offered completely free of charge to the private sector as well to provide a greater insight into happiness levels across the city and various industries.

Force, Dubai Municipality, Dubai Smart Government (DSG), The Department of Economic Development (DED), The Dubai Silicon Oasis Authority (DSOA), and Dubai Design District (d3). Strategic Advisor to the Smart Dubai Office, Xische & Co. introduced us to some of the very ambitious initiatives:

Smart Dubai Initiatives:

Happiness Meter The Happiness Meter was one of the very first initiatives that Smart Dubai announced in October 2014. The Happiness Meter documents the users’ experience at the end of using a particular service. Since this initiative was introduced, the Happiness Meter has

Dubai Data Initiative Dubai has recognized the need to share data and has developed a legislative framework to support its smart-city strategy. The Dubai Data initiative is led by the Dubai Data Establishment and decreed by the Dubai Data Law of 2015. The initiative does not aim to collect the most extensive amount of data, but to drive the greatest value from data, empowering all data stakeholders. This particular initiative is where all kinds of data is accumulated and create value from it, be it Open Data which provides unrestricted data to everyone, Shared Data which provides only restricted data to restricted organizations or individuals, Big Data which are extremely large data sets that are analyzed to reveal patterns, trends, etc., or Rich Data that combines data from different systems to analyze. Dubai Data will stimulate a new data economy for the city, unlocking opportunities and ultimately enriching quality of life for all Dubai stakeholders, including government departments, private organizations, investors, residents and visitors. By sharing all data, residents and visitors of Dubai can make smarter decisions, be it when deciding something small as which road will have the least traffic to go to Dubai Mall, or which business sector has potential and that is where one should invest in. Open Data also allows developers to create apps that also provide solutions. Smart Dubai Platform Recently, the Smart Dubai platform was announced, which will be developed in partnership with du. The platform will be the engine of Dubai’s smart

city transformation. It will unite infrastructure, data, city services and applications for the first time. Electronic data sensors will be installed in everything from Dubai streets and parking lots to building entrances and public parks to create a digital mosaic of human activity from which trends can be identified to help plan for the future. The platform will facilitate the exchange of open and shared data between the public sector, private sector and individuals, creating new opportunities for engagement, contributing to the smart city future of Dubai. Meaning that whoever you are, you can benefit hugely from the data, insights and services that the platform is providing and enabling. Smart Dubai is the first city to have designed its own platform from the ground up, rather just take a solution ‘off the shelf ’ from a provider.

Partner Initiatives:

Dubai Health Authority - Salama and NABIDHA Salama, will establish a unified electronic medical record system for patients across all public hospitals, primary care facilities and other medical facilities. Its sister initiative, NABIDHA, will extend this medical record across all private hospitals, creating the first fully integrated patient record system. Shared patient data between public and private hospitals, primary care facilities and emergency services will lead to dramatic improvements in patient care as doctors and first responders benefit from instant access to patient records, meaning correct diagnosis and treatment plans will be delivered in record time informed by patient’s medical histories. Dubai Electricity & Water Authority Shams Dubai Shams Dubai allows households to install solar photovoltaic panels and generate electricity for their own consumption. DEWA will connect the system to its network. The electricity will be used onsite and the surplus is exported to DEWA’s gridBy installing solar panels, residents can contribute to diversifying Dubai’s energy sources and supporting a green economy and the sustainable development of Dubai.

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TECHNOLOGY

USEFUL APPS FOR TRANSPORTATION Dubai Silicon Oasis Authority Smart Streetlights Dubai Silicon Oasis (DSO) is the first location within the UAE illuminating itself through smart streetlights. The smart streetlights are based on sensors which were provided and programmed for their functionality through DSO’s telecom partner du. When it gets dark outside, the smart LEDs will run at 25% of their full illumination power until an object approaches. Once a sensor detects the object, the streetlight will react by increasing local illumination. In using a network of smart streetlights DSO will become a pioneer within the UAE in smart lighting infrastructure and energy efficiency. Further benefits of these smart lights lie within the collection of data on energy use, and other parameters of the streetlights and their direct surroundings. By having a centralized command center to supervise the lights and other infrastructure pieces through the Internet of Things sensors, DSO is able to tune, control and manage the overall consumption within the district, resulting in improved costefficiency compared to any other street illumination in Dubai.

A Round-Up of Taxi-Booking Apps for Residents in MENA

Roads & Transport Authority Virtual Grocery RTA in partnership with Etisalat is introducing a virtual supermarket service at the key metro stations. The first of which is currently live at the Mall of Emirates Metro Station which is also in partnership with trolley.ae, an online grocery shopping service. Buyers can choose products from their chosen store through interactive screens placed at the stations, and complete transaction using a secure payment method. The user can select the optimal delivery time for them and location. The items will then be delivered to their homes via a service provider and RTA partner. This will not only save travelers a lot of time but will also reduce traffic on the roads, and also is great when users don’t want to carry heavy groceries on the metro.

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Her Excellency Dr. Aisha Bin Bishr Director General of the Smart dubai office What is Smart Dubai’s role?

The Smart Dubai initiative, formally undertaken in March 2014, aims to establish Dubai as the happiest city by 2017. The initiative is driven by four key strategic pillars and six dimensions that will classify all smart initiatives citywide. The vision to becoming the happiest city in the world is close to becoming a reality, with technology taking the helm as the enabler to transform Dubai into one of the smartest and most connected cities in the world. To fulfill our mission to create happiness, we are embracing technology innovation—making Dubai the most efficient, seamless, safe and impactful experience for residents and visitors. We recently launched the Smart Dubai Platform in partnership with Du, which is the digital backbone for our smart city, uniting city infrastructure, open and shared data, enabling services and city-wide smart applications, the platform will become the central operating system of Dubai. It will be unlike any other smart city platform operating in the world today. To achieve our ambitious mandate, Smart Dubai has pioneered the most comprehensive blueprint globally, encompassing the whole city, not just one sector or district.

We are unifying operations to enable impact across the city, from infrastructure connected to the Internet of Things, to open data and shared data, deriving insights and innovation.

How does Smart Dubai engage citizens, residents, and visitors for feedback on the implementation of all the initiatives? How is the impact of every service measured?

The Happiness Meter is one of Dubai’s first strategic ‘smart city’ initiatives. As the world’s first, city-wide, live sentiment capture engine, the meter represents a measurement gauge for the happiness goal. However, the Happiness Meter is more than just another silo tool to collect experience feedback: through the centralized data dashboard a map of happiness across the city can be created, which allows government entity hosts of Happiness Meter touch points to relate and rank customer experiences within industry sectors and geographic areas, as well as differentiate between direct and web based interactions. The Happiness Meter, currently in its first phase, will be soon rolling out into the private sector and in the future we do intend to use

What is DHA’s role as a partner in achieving Smart Dubai’s vision?

related technology to tap into deeper Sentimental Analysis to get an even more accurate feedback on people’s experiences.

Vast quantities of data are being collected, what actions have been taken to improve data security and data protection? The Smart Dubai initiative is powered by a unified platform for many functions, including generating huge quantities of data, much of them in real-time that benefits the centralized platform. Security is a priority for the whole platform and is embedded into each layer. The smarter the city, the more computer systems, the more integration between the systems, and the more open the access to the data collected by all those systems are. Robust security policies are in place to ensure the privacy of our residents, as well as to protect from attacks that could lead to data theft or breakdowns.

What is unique about Smart Dubai compared to other smart cities? Dubai’s approach to smart cities is unique as it is the first to create a citywide blueprint for smart initiatives aiming to develop a single unified smart city, rather than implementing smart initiatives only covering certain industries and sectors. Part of the unified approach will be able to take data from a wide range of sources and make it available to interested parties. Moreover, Dubai choosing happiness as the measure of success is also a very unique and exceptional approach.

How do you perceive Dubai as the ideal city of the future?

Dubai is a fast growing city in which the population grew from 0.6 million to 2.46 million in the past 2 decades, not to mention the annual 12 million tourists. The Smart Dubai initiative was implemented to prepare Dubai’s next phase of growth into a mega city. Through the collaboration between the public and private sectors across the six strategic dimensions, Dubai of the future will be filled with happy and empowered people who live in a smart city that is seamless, efficient, safe and impactful.

Amani Mahmood AlJassmi IT Director, IT Department Dubai Health Authority

Dubai Health Authority (DHA) is in alignment with the UAE Vision 2021, in which Dubai is aiming to be a World Class Healthcare center. DHA’s mission is to “Develop an integrated and sustainable healthcare system that ensures delivery of comprehensive and excellent services to achieve the highest international standards in health of individuals and community”. DHA’s core technology initiatives are geared towards ensuring that the SMART Dubai’s vision is delivered. and these include Salama, Nabidh, Telehealth (Dubai RoboDoc), Citizen Apps, Smart Medical Fitness system, Smart Licensing, Inspection and Permits system, Blood donation system, Smart Patient & Customer Flow Management System, and Communicable & Infectious Disease Management system.

What is the current status on implementing the Salama initiative?

Salama is DHA’s effort in improving health care services in UAE, enabling the local and federal governments in preparation for a national unified medical record database as per His Highness’s direction to have one record per patient across the UAE. Overall Salama’s completion status currently is at 36%.

What are the next initiatives from DHA utilizing the central database to create more seamless and efficient solutions in the health sector?

One of the core initiatives of DHA is the Communicable and Infectious Disease Management system which is being developed for Dubai with the solution architecture that is scalable to expand and cater to rest of the UAE; making it a central database for disease management and this program is also planned in phases. The system can be integrated seamlessly with the Salama (EMR program of DHA) and other Health Information Systems of government and private entities. The most important factor of this initiative is the regulation to share the data within the Emirates which shall require more coordination and support.

How are the smart apps, smart operations, and smart centers integrated? How do they enhance the patient’s journey?

The smart apps (citizen apps- diabetes apps, pregnancy apps with wearable devices) are integrated with DHA’s CRM (Customer Relationship Management) software and also to its existing call center. DHA is also working on having a unified call center solution for catering to all DHA facilities (hospitals, specialty centers, primary health care centers, medical fitness centers, health regulation dept., shared support services) which shall be integrated to the existing health information system, Salama program, CRM, website, chat, patient and customer flow management system. DHA is already implementing patient and customer flow management system which tracks the entire patient and customer journey (end-to-end) and the operational KPIs shall help in reducing the overall waiting time, increasing patient and customer happiness index meter.

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TECHNOLOGY

USEFUL APPS FOR TRANSPORTATION

transactions processed in the branch

without the need to visit the branch, A Round-Up of Taxi-Booking Apps for Residents in MENA helping customers save time and reduce congestion, thus improving productivity while conserving the environment.

• SamTech Smart Waste

Management system which uses wireless sensors to measure the fill level of containers as well as GPS locaters to enable job scheduling and route optimisation for more efficient waste collection. The solution allows facility managers at d3 to schedule collections and track KPI’s to ensure the agreed service level agreements with contractors are met.

Mohammad Saeed Al Shehhi COO of Dubai Design District (d3) d3 has incorporated the smart city platform from its earliest planning stages, what are the smart initiatives we should expect to see at d3 once the current project is complete?

d3’s aim is to implement Smart solutions that will bring significant benefits to business partners, visitors and district operations – and, importantly, to Dubai as a Smart City. d3 will implement numerous smart initiatives that are built around Smart Dubai’s four pillars – efficient, seamless, safe and impactful – and that address six Smart City dimensions covering Smart Economy, Smart Living, Smart Environment, Smart Governance, Smart People and Smart Mobility. Through these technologicallyenhanced initiatives, d3’s business partners will benefit by saving on resource consumption, they will receive an enriched customer experience, improved safety standards, and they will be able to tap into effective, realtime data analytics that help drive their business forward. The smart initiatives that d3 demonstrated at the IoT forum last December include:

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• Visualization of city data on a 9x3

meter interactive display, showcasing the upcoming Command and Control Centre’s (CCC) digital platform which aggregates live data from various sensors, enterprise data sources and third party applications, conducts advanced data analytics, and supports a wide spectrum of urban services. The CCC is a multifunctional tool with its key points including: Next Generation Data Visualization, Data Integration, Energy Monitoring, Common Area Fire Monitoring, Environmental monitoring, Smart Parking and Waste Management.

• “Smart d3” Mobile Application which offers three original features: 1) a parking function which enables the most effective and economic parking; 2) notifications that allows d3 to effectively communicate and provide alerts about important events and developments; 3) “report a missing object” service which allows d3’s tenants to report and retrieve lost and misplaced items.

• Interactive Teller Machine, in

collaboration with NCR, that acts as a “mini-branch in a box”, where a customer can achieve 95% of the

Could you give us an idea what a day in a d3 resident life would be like? [considering they also work in the district) d3 is a dynamic community for the design industry in its broadest sense, encompassing segments such as fashion, interiors, architecture, arts and luxury design. We are creating a place for the region’s designers and design enthusiasts to live, work and play, offering a mix of residential, commercial, retail and hospitality real estate. As a Smart City we aim to foster a rich experience that connects the community and allows district residents to interact with each other and with the district at large. In the future, d3 business partners will have a seamless commute to work, whether by private vehicle or public transport. In d3, parking systems will recognize cars and open the gate automatically, then guide drivers to their designated parking area. Kiosks and bus stations will be equipped with interactive screens allowing users to check timings by destination and get live updates on incoming buses, or request a nearby taxi and track its progress. All services can also be accessed through a single d3 app. Walking into their office building, business partners gain access thanks to the 3D face recognition system deployed

TECHNOLOGY

USEFUL APPS FOR TRANSPORTATION What has Dubai Police implemented and achieved so far?

in the lobbies at d3. Should they wish to schedule a meeting, they can book a common meeting room online or through the d3 app, along with all necessary equipment; they can also preregister external meeting attendees and other visitors they expect. This means visitors can have pre-booked parking to which they are automatically guided, they can breeze through security at the building entrance, and they receive a personal welcome upon arrival as their host is notified of their entrance into the building. Should d3 business partners need to rapidly prototype a design concept, they can make use of shared 3D printers, bookable online or through the d3 app. Immediate photo shoot required? No problem, business partners can access professional lighting and photography equipment in a perfect environment. At the end of a productive day, d3 residents can unplug their electric car and head back home knowing they have had a time-efficient, cost-effective, and nature-friendly work day; as soon as they leave their office, d3’s Smart office will put their printer in sleep mode, dim the lights, scale back the cooling and position the building’s elevators at optimal positions to conserve energy.

Today, all of Dubai Police services are accessible via mobile. The Dubai Police mobility strategy ensued a unique and innovative mobile app that has over 1 million downloads from both Apple Store & Google Play. In addition, our infrastructure is ready to accommodate Dubai’s Open Data strategy with a seamless integration platform the will be available for other government/ private entities.

How is big data being leveraged to ensure public safety, security, and disaster management?

Dubai Police - Colonel Khalid Nasser Abdulrazaq Al Razooqi

Having a big data infrastructure is very important to unlock and extract value from a large data set. We are continuously improving our analytics model to better help ensure public safety and security.

Dubai Police has introduced several great initiatives using wearable technology. What has the success rate been towards them? Will Dubai Police be introducing more wearable technology initiatives?

Wearable technology has not matured enough to have a high success rate for implementation. We were early adopters of Google Glass explorer program with great ideas and implementation. However, the technology lacked key functionality for us to consider it successful. However, it is our strategy to always adopt and innovate the latest technology regardless of its implantation risk. On the other hand, the Dubai Police smart watch App has achieved an acceptable success rate and adoption.

What seamless, efficient, and impactful services is Dubai Police planning to introduce?

We would like to introduce an effective model to engage the community with Dubai Police services. We have many ideas for services that we believe is efficient and useful, however, community engagement is the key for becoming effective.

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USEFUL APPS FOR TRANSPORTATION A Round-Up of Taxi-Booking Apps for Residents in MENA

SAUDI TELECOM CEO’S VISION FOR THE FUTURE By Mohamad Salhab | @Mamiko_Sohayl

ith half of the population under the age of 25, Saudi Arabia’s economic transformation from an oil based economy to knowledge based, could double its GDP, create 6 million jobs, and raise Saudi household income by 60 percent, according to a new report by the McKinsey Global Institute. Digitization will boost the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s potential $4 trillion non-oil economic investment needed through 2030 and technology will be a key to transforming all of Saudi Arabia’s verticals. During ArabNet Riyadh, Dr. Khalid Al Biyari, C.E.O. of Saudi Telecom

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Company (STC), elucidated how STC is one of the Kingdom’s major players in driving this very robust expansion, and also exemplified the opportunities that have been created for the telecom sector as a result of the digital revolution highlighting.

Infrastructure: Exponential Adoption Across The Board

Saudi Arabia has the world’s highest Twitter and YouTube use per capita. People are already connected, and into social media. The growth rate of data consumption in Saudi Arabia is

one of the highest in the world, whether in mobile or fixed networks and this demand requires pumping massive investments. Also, since a great number of industries are digitizing, the impact on telecom companies requires increasing their range of provided services, which means adapting to new specialties such as mobile business applications and unified communications (UC) - the integration of real-time, enterprise, and communication services. This growth in demand for data will be accelerated by machine to machine connectivity. All connected

“The digital revolution will increasingly impact all sectors, changing the way users deal with their services in their daily lives.” successfully reached speeds of 4G, and 4.5G, the countdown is currently on for 5G, that will be available around 2020-2021. 2- Fixed infrastructure: In a country the size of Saudi Arabia, investments in fixed fiber optic networks are on the rise connecting cities with one another as well as connecting businesses and residents within every city. And given the need to be connected with the world, there are large investments in existing international gateways and submarine cables that connects Saudi Arabia to the East and West. STC is one of the biggest investors in the region, if not the biggest, in terms of submarine cables, for gaining from the international movement. As recent as April 2016, the company inaugurated a 20,000 km long cable tethered from Singapore to France, making 20 pit stops in 19 countries.

devices such as cars, wearables, tablets, and phones will be supported by data and real-time analytics. “STC will continue encouraging the government and enterprises to step into the digital circle of connectivity, because for the next five years, we will move from connecting billions of devices to connecting hundreds of billions of devices,” added Biyari. Any digital economy needs the proper infrastructure to grow, and STC has focused to invest in three main areas: 1- Mobile infrastructure: STC continues to invest in mobile networks to increase connectivity. After it

3- Data centers: In addition to large investments in data centers all around Saudi Arabia, STC, being the incumbent landline operator of Saudi Arabia, now has a plan to transform the switchers it operates in every Saudi city into data centers. “This will serve our networks, and can be used by our customers. In 2015, SAR 8 billion in new capital investments were added to SAR 7-8 billion in the field of operational maintenance and support for the existing network,” said Biyari.

The New Telco Opportunity

The digital revolution will increasingly impact all sectors, changing the way users deal with their services in their daily lives. Biyari presented a glimpse of the level of progress underway in Saudi vital sectors.

In finance, for instance, there will be changes to various services from mobile payments to digital wallets. Telecom service providers can offer speciallydesigned products for the ‘unbanked’ (voluntary and involuntary non-users of financial services) to benefit from financial services. Logistics and transport is another widely-impacted sector, with abundant examples: Web-based GPS fleet tracking and management software, cloud-based dispatching software for taxi, private hire and fleet; as well as other wireless solutions for freight transportation and logistics. The winds of digital change are reaching the shores of the energy sector, with little resistance left in the tank. Utility companies will be most heavily impacted through efficient, energymeasuring smart grids and data-gathering smart metering. With regards to the media sector, one notable example is the shrinking number of people watching television sets. “There is an obvious, massive conversion between media and telecom. The conversion operations between the two sectors are clearer now with the availability of digital media. This exerts pressure on telecom networks because of the large bandwidth that videos require, while noting that this can be positively exploited,” said Biyari. In education, there is a flood of ideas and projects by startups, schools, and maker spaces, all revolving around coming up with ways to convert content into digital form, in coordination with educational ministries. They will need telecom to provide large distribution networks that can deliver, as Biyari puts it, “state-of-the-art services.” He says that in healthcare, the discussion is ongoing among industry and government organizations regarding the future within

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USEFUL APPS FOR TRANSPORTATION this digital environment, and how the industry can adapt its services for citizens.

Cloud computing services are

and STC steered 3-4 years ago in that

technology enablers allow consumers in MENA direction. It’s contributed with the $50 A Round-Up of Taxi-Booking Apps forthatResidents

ICT: Threat or Opportunity?

This digital economy can constitute a threat to telecom companies – traditional services, such as voice and SMS, are being replaced by VoIP and instant messaging digital applications. Biyari remains positive with the change in landscape and sees opportunities in the integration of telecom with the “sizable and welcoming” Information and Communications Technology (ICT) sector. He sees “an exponential adoption” of managed and cloud services across sectors, driven by cutting costs. This is exemplified in reducing skill-set investments such as IT teams and reducing the cost of ownership from 30% to 50%. This, in turn, would increase flexibility, adaptability and scalability in business operations.

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and enterprises, across sectors, to start building applications over the network. STC has adopted such enablers, designing its own open-technology cloud marketplace in 2014, further diversifying technology partners and platforms, and allowing more room for innovation. Also for application enablement purpose, it is building advanced IoT and machine-tomachine platforms for all sectors. “IoT and machine-to-machine are large and profitable sectors. Despite the gigantic investment, I think it’s the right path for country and company. The uptake in the market is massive and STC is supplying the demand,” stressed Biyari.

Investing in the Future

Fostering an ecosystem of innovation requires benefiting from brain power,

million STC Ventures, to find areas for investments. Biyari presents Careem – whose growth persists in the private car booking services industry – as a success story after STC provided an initial funding of $1.7 million. It also launched InspireU, an accelerator providing companies with solid grounds to grow. For Biyari, it is necessary to have a regulatory environment that does not just focus on competitiveness, but also encourages investment, from initial infrastructure phase to the implementation stage. “Our priority is to be enablers to the state’s adopted strategy with regards to digitizing the nation. And moving forward, every step we take is along that path. In our adopted strategy, the country’s vision is our vision,” said Biyari.n

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WE HOPE YOU WILL FLY WITH US AGAIN A Round-Up of Taxi-Booking Apps for Residents in MENA

How Travel Agencies Can Survive in the Digital Age By Alexis Baghdadi | @GuerrillaWriter

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he travel sector was among the first to be massively disrupted by digital. Travelers today have gone from being at the end of the value chain to finding themselves smack in the middle of it, which questions the role of travel agencies. Instead of settling for ready-made solutions, consumers now enjoy access to more options and control over their trips and accommodation thanks to a host of online travel agencies (OTAs) and aggregators (flight and price comparison sites), not to mention online and mobile booking sites of airlines, hotels, resorts, car rental agencies, etc. As Lebanon’s leading travel agency, with over 60 years under its belt, Kurban Group has witnessed the evolution of the industry from the beginning of mass commercial air travel to the current digital transformation. At the recent ArabNet Beirut 2016, Selim Boutros, Director of Kurban Group and Kurban Travel, and Raja Kurban, Managing Director of the Avis Budget Group at Kurban Travel, discussed this evolution and the necessary strategies for traditional agencies to survive. A growing number of agencies are crowding each other,

and already a few global players like Expedia and Bookings. com dominating this space. But the market is not immune to disruption yet. The watchwords for both traditional travel agencies and emerging OTAs are now “adaptation and differentiation.” Any agency that still operates only as a booker runs the risk of becoming obsolete, said Kurban.

Navigating in a Crowded Air Space

It goes without saying that traditional brick and mortar agencies cannot survive without an online presence. To start with, the numbers aren’t in their favor. According to a 2014 study by Google, “The 2014 Traveler’s Road to Decision,” one third of leisure travelers and half of business travelers select an OTA based on its site tools and options, mainly quick and accurate flight and fare comparisons. In fact, the study found that over 75% of surveyed leisure travelers selected an OTA because they found it offered the best deals. By comparison, only 9% put loyalty rewards as the main reason behind their choice (traditional agencies’ customary incentive scheme). In 2015 total ticket sales through offline travel agencies in Lebanon reached $560 million. Of that total, online ticket sales were estimated at around $80 million to $100 million, according to Kurban Travel. This figure is more significant if one considers that GoKurban is the only full-fledged OTA in the local market, and it was only launched in mid-2015. According to Boutros, the online service has been witnessing double digit growth month-on-month since its inception. This shows great potential for online travel booking in the country. But an online presence isn’t a guarantee of success. Looking at the new travel market, customer expectations have increased dramatically when it comes to service efficiency and cost. On the other hand, competition in this sector is really tough. “The new breed of OTAs can go live and online in only a fortnight,” said Kurban. These agencies began by mushrooming across the world and growing organically, before they launched on a series of aggressive acquisitions for market dominance. Today, venturing in e-travel would mean going up against titans like Expedia, Priceline, Hotels.com, Uber, etc. – not to mention airlines’ own booking websites that attract customers with additional reduced costs and extra incentives. “Leisure e-traveling is not a complicated process; you browse, you compare, and you book. This is why sites like Expedia and Bookings.com can accommodate large numbers of customers,” said Boutros.

Becoming Indispensable Again

With a relatively small number of players dominating the mass market, OTAs need to introduce added value to their offering in order to survive and prosper. On the other hand, opportunity in the sector has shifted to localization and specialization. It’s time to capitalize on years of offline experience to deliver differentiated services both online and offline. “It’s all about specialization,” said Boutros, as opposed to adopting a booking-only or a one-size-fitsall approach. Here is an overview of the strategies being adopted: 1. Becoming a one-stop-shop: On the home front, Kurban Travel has worked on developing specialized teams in different verticals to establish itself as a travel consultancy. GoKurban proposes special holiday and seasonal

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USEFUL APPS FOR TRANSPORTATION packages, in addition to cruises, honeymoon trips, etc. Travelers can book their hotel accommodation, rent a car, and search for events and attractions at their selected destination. A live chat box is also available to provide assistance to users.

A Round-Up of Taxi-Booking Apps for Residents in MENA

2. Catering to niche markets: Some agencies propose only niche services catering to specific lifestyles. Corporate travel, for example, is a largely untapped market in Lebanon. The process is still very much an offline affair because it involves different parties and decision makers. An online tool like Kurban Corporate is a novelty in the local market, even though this automates invoicing and payments, and facilitates approvals by phone or email to streamline the process and provide live reporting. Kurban Corporate also offers visa services, events and meeting management, VIP solutions, and more. Boutros said they have already secured 5 major clients, and Lebanon is sure to follow the regional trend of shifting towards online corporate travel booking models. According to him, corporate clients can save up to 20% on their travel budget through the new online tool. International examples include: WhereFor, a site that allows travelers to search for destinations based on their total flight and hotel budgets; and Rove, a travel advisor for the best destinations based on seasonal events. Globus or HalalBooking.com propose religious destinations or pilgrimage packages. However, Kurban pointed out that catering exclusively to a niche customer base is risky: “If a niche is too small, a new company cannot generate enough traction. If the niche is too big and is exploited successfully, it will attract competition by larger players who have better access to resources and capital.” The OTA then risks being acquired or losing ground to those heavyweights. Halal travel, for instance, has seen a profusion of sites vying for a place in the sun (HalalTrip, LuxuryHalalTravel, MuslimBreak, MuslimTravelGirl, etc.) so that opportunities in this sector have fallen to “moderate” according to Thomson Reuters’ Digital Islamic Economy report.

To Uberize or Not to Uberize?

Car rentals and chauffeur services are an integral part of travel services, and constitute an important differentiation factor – something Kurban Group understood a while back when it launched Allo Taxi in 1999. Technology, specifically smartphones, has disrupted this sector too. In 2014, the company’s call center accounted for 80% of all taxi bookings, compared to the app (15%), but in 2015, the call center’s share fell to 50%, while app bookings rose to 40%. In this sector too, competition is fierce: on one hand, existing online car rental services like Avis or Hertz capitalize on their strong brand reputation, on the other hand, airlines, hotel booking sites, and other players in the travel industry also have partnerships with car rental companies or propose their own services. Most dramatically perhaps, for a while the speculation was around how the rise of apps like Uber and Careem would flood out “non-millennial” competitors. Then the Uberization hype quietly began fading. Kurban explained that Allo Taxi does not see Uber and Careem as competitors. Like many taxi agencies in Lebanon, Uber does not operate its own fleet or exercise control over its drivers who work on a commission basis. “They are brokers, and they depend

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on a product, and today, there aren’t many quality taxi services in Lebanon,” he said. With their own fleet, drivers, advanced software, and wide range of booking options (including advance bookings and call center support), Kurban has more control over the quality of their service. He added that as the owners of their product, they could eventually consider using a broker like Uber as a sales channel – provided it is successful in the local market. According to him, the success of Uber in Europe has not been replicated in Lebanon yet, since the quality of local taxi companies doesn’t yet compare to that of their European counterparts. As if to illustrate this synergy, less than 3 weeks after ArabNet Beirut 2016, Allo Taxi announced it was partnering with an international car-sharing app, eCab (based in France): it will continue to operate its own brand, while introducing eCab in Lebanon. “For customers, eCab is a single international app, providing access to the best taxi and limo operators in the world; In Lebanon, they will get access to three service levels, ranging from the most affordable rides in town to the largest taxi fleet and an exclusive VIP service with chauffeurs,” explained Ghinwa Dandache, Marketing Supervisor at Allo Taxi. Additionally, eCab accepts payments either via its app, or in cash to the driver, something Uber doesn’t offer yet in the local market.

Digital Is Your Ally, Not Your Competitor

Online agencies enjoyed a strong early start in attracting millennial users and setting new expectations when it comes to the ease and rapidity of booking flights, cars, or hotels. But they can also be limited by their online-only presence in terms of customer service. While it is safe to say that brick-and-mortar agencies will never survive without digitization – much less take the upper hand again – they are still in the game. The travel industry has so many parameters that joining forces is necessary. In the case of Allo Taxi and eCab, for example, the local taxi rental company brought to the table a quality product, whereas the app service brought its digital channel, knowhow, and millennial fan base. At the end of the day, travel has always been about an experience, not just a cost or a vehicle, and the focus on delivering the best quality to users will continue both online and offline.n

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DIGITAL BANKING ADOPTION IN MENA 2016

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n its Mobile Banking 2015 report, KPMG estimated global mobile banking users at 0.8 billion in 2015, and predicted they will reach 1.8 billion by 2019. When it comes to transaction volume, mobile is already the largest channel for the majority of banks. According to the GSMA Mobile Economy 2016 Report, mobile money services are now available to 1.9 billion people globally. Mobile payments have particularly flourished in emerging markets, including Africa, South Asia, and South America. Mobile payment services penetration is still limited in the MENA region. However, Gemalto estimates that mobile banking users in the Middle East and Africa will exceed 80 million by 2017. ArabNet Business Intelligence, in collaboration with OnDevice Research, examined the behaviors of Arab consumers of digital banking and cashless payment methods. The study focused on consumer attitudes by looking at 2,500 respondents divided equally among 5 MENA countries (Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE) and investigated the factors influencing digital banking adoption in each market. The resulting report provides data necessary for the development of a cutting-edge banking sector in the region.

FIGURE 1. MOBILE PAYMENT SERVICES IN EMERGING MARKETS

ONE MOBILE MONEY SERVICE

TWO MOBILE MONEY SERVICES

THREE OR MORE MOBILE MONEY SERVICES

INTEROPERABLE MARKETS

Source: GSMA -The Mobile Economy 2016 Report

MENA: A Nascent Market with Promising Opportunities

Findings across the 5 surveyed countries clearly show high adoption rates of digital banking. The largest portion of respondents used both online and mobile banking, with Saudi Arabia showing the highest number of customers that use both online and mobile banking (60%), followed by the UAE (52%),

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USEFUL APPS FOR TRANSPORTATION and Egypt (46%). By comparison, users in Lebanon and Jordan displayed stark differences in attitude. 31% of respondents in Lebanon said they never used any digital service, and this ratio spiked to 40% in Jordan.

A Round-Up of Taxi-Booking Apps for Residents in MENA FIGURE DIGITAL BANKING ADOPTION DIGITAL2. BANKING ADOPTION RATES (REGIONAL) RATES IN THE MENA

Use online banking only

Use both online & mobile

46%

Use both online and mobile banking 11%

Use mobile banking only 5%

KSA

60%

UAE

52%

EGY

46%

Have used digital banking but not currently 7% Don’t use digital banking

Non users of digital banking

24%

Don't know digital banking / Bank does not offer digital banking 7%

LEB

31%

JOR

40%

(Base: 2500)

In terms of adoption rates (customers who use online banking or mobile banking only, or both) the numbers are even more encouraging. Saudi Arabia leads with 75%, followed closely by the UAE (74%) and Egypt (64%). The fact that most adopters are likely to use multiple channels should tip banks off to the necessity of delivering a seamless experience across all their digital touch points (ATM, web, mobile, smartphone) rather than limit themselves to a single digital channel for specific banking transactions. On another note, it is worth mentioning that 7% of overall respondents said they weren’t even aware of whether their bank offered digital banking services or not. These customers represent an attractive untapped demographic that may be easily converted to digital channels through effective communication campaigns, with the provision that proposed digital banking services be of high quality. As if banks needed additional reasons for investing in quality, the study showed that high-income segments had the highest adoption rates in each market; in other words, banks’ most valuable customers are also those most likely to use digital banking channels, and of course, this segment is highly discerning when it comes to quality of service. For instance, whereas the most basic services tend to be used relatively equally across income categories, higher-income respondents use a broader range of services and use them more often than lower income respondents. FIGURE 3. ADOPTERS AND NON-ADOPTERS RATES PER COUNTRY Adopters of Digital Banking

Non-Adopters of Digital Banking 38%

62% 46%

Overall

11%

24% 25%

75% 60%

KSA

10%

14%

74% 15%

16%

64% 12%

21%

54% LEB

10%

42% JOR

32%

46%

38%

31%

Use both online and mobile banking Use online banking only

36%

46%

EGY

26%

52%

UAE

Use mobile banking only Have used digital banking but not currently Don’t use digital banking Don't know digital banking / Bank does not offer digital banking

58% 7% 3%

THE QUARTERLY Summer 2016

40%

10%

(Base: 2500)

Digital Banking Saves Time and Effort

On the user end, the main value proposition of digital banking across all respondents could be summarized as an economy of time and effort. 24/7 access to transactions was naturally the top rated benefit, with 38% of respondents citing it as an adoption motivator (44% and 42% of respondents in the UAE and Lebanon respectively). This was followed by ease of access to transactions and ease of follow-up on these transactions (29% of all respondents in each case). By contrast, cost savings (such as low bank fees and cheaper bill payment) had the lowest rating among respondents (17%) as benefits of digital banking. FIGURE 4. PERCEIVED BENEFITS OF DIGITAL BANKING 24/7 access Real-time

Real time transactions

22%

Reduced banking time Time saving

Ease

24/7 access

38%

UAE

44%

LEB

42%

29%

Reduced transaction time

Reduced banking time

23%

LEB

Easier access to transactions

29%

Easier follow-up on transactions

29%

Hassle-free transactions

22%

Relevancy of features

22%

Low or no extra bank charges

17%

Pays bills cheaper

17%

38%

Easier follow-up on transactions LEB

38%

Cost saving

Management Security

Money manager Peace of mind due to safety

21% 23%

(Base: 1415)

Looking at usage, adopters mainly use digital banking platforms to perform 3 activities: paying their bills, making credit card related transactions, and checking their account balance (33% of surveyed adopters in each case). The next 2 most popular activities are transferring money and managing accounts (29% of adopters in each case). These key services indicate that most adopters use digital banking channels for basic banking activities. In terms of usage frequency, checking bank statements and managing bank accounts are the 2 most used service - at least once a week. Transactional banking services are used more on a monthly basis â&#x20AC;&#x201C; which is consistent with the fact that most users are paid once a month and hence transfer money once a month. Meanwhile, the least used digital banking service is filing complaints / fraud claims (44%) occurring once every six months or less.

Summer 2016 THE QUARTERLY

BUSINESS

USEFUL APPS FOR TRANSPORTATION FIGURE 5. DIGITAL BANKING SERVICES USAGE (REGIONAL)

BANKING SERVICES USAGE (REGIONAL) Apps for Residents in MENA ADIGITAL Round-Up of Taxi-Booking Informational

Check bank statement

33%

Credit card management

33%

Manage bank accounts Administrative

Loan

LEB

12%

Bill payments

33% 29%

Remittance transfer

KSA

36%

UAE

37%

23%

Purchase foreign currency

12%

Investments

11%

File complaint/Fraud claim

35%

14%

Money transfer

Security

40%

Credit card management

16%

Bill payments

Transactional

LEB

29%

Order cheques, cards, etc. Insurance

Check bank statement

10%

(Base: 1545)

6 MTHS OR LESS

AT LEAST ONCE / MONTH

AT LEAST ONCE / WEEK

FIGURE 6. USAGE FREQUENCY OF DIGITAL BANKING SERVICES

Check bank statement Informational

Administrative

Check bank statement

62% 61%

Manage bank accounts

Administrative Security

45%

Remittance transfer

46%

File complaint / Fraud claim

JOR

69%

Manage accounts

65%

Money transfer

Order cheques, cards, etc.

70%

LEB

69%

KSA

66%

46%

Credit card Bill payments

Transactional

EGY

41%

Bill payments UAE

73%

Order cheques, cards, etc. UAE

60%

44% (Base: 1545)

THE QUARTERLY Summer 2016

The leading barriers to adoption are related to trust. 40% of non-adopters said they preferred to deal with their bank directly, and 27% raised concerns around the security of digital banking. These sentiments were highest among uses in Lebanon, Jordan, and Egypt. These findings indicate that non-adopters may be readily converted into adopters by easily buffing up security to address their concerns. FIGURE 7. CUSTOMER BEHAVIORS WHEN VISITING THEIR BRANCH Informational

Check bank statement

21%

Credit card management Manage bank accounts Administrative

18%

Order cheques, cards, etc. Insurance

38%

Cash withdrawal

17%

Money transfer

19%

Remittance transfer

LEB

38%

JOR

53%

13%

Purchase foreign currency

File complaint or fraud claim

27%

14%

Bill payments

Security

25%

16%

Cash withdrawal

Investments

LEB JOR

10%

Loan

Transactional

Check bank statement

20%

11% 10% 8%

(Base: 2093)

The perceived benefits of digital banking for adopters are consistent with the key factors encouraging the conversion of non-adopters, i.e. quick and efficient 24/7 access to real-time transactions. Both adopters and non-adopters share four out of five digital adoption factors, and the top two are exactly the same for both groups. The leading barriers to adoption are related to trust. 40% of non-adopters said they preferred to deal with their bank directly, and 27% raised concerns around the security of digital banking. These sentiments were highest among uses in Lebanon, Jordan, and Egypt. These findings indicate that non-adopters may be readily converted into adopters by easily buffing up security to address their concerns. FIGURE 7. CUSTOMER BEHAVIORS WHEN VISITING THEIR BRANCH

Adopters of digital banking

Non-adopters of digital banking

24/7 access

Reduced banking time

Easier access to transactions

Easier follow-up on transactions

Reduced transaction time

Peace of mind due to safety

Easier access to transactions

To download the full report and other industry reports, visit intelligence.arabnet.me

USEFUL APPS FOR TRANSPORTATION A Round-Up of Taxi-Booking Apps for Residents in MENA

THIS IS A NATIVE AD Ads that match the form and function of the platforms they appear on

Types of Native Ads Native Display Ads ‫ﺣﺬاء‬

‫ﺣﺬاء‬

Shoes

Generally found above organic search results

Social Media Ads

Search Ads

In-Ad (IAB Standard) Contextually relevant content with sold placement

Promoted Listings Promoted products, similar to existing content

Sponsored Content Ads

Social Media Ads

$11.9

2013 $4.7 Billion Global Revenue

$10.7 $9.2 $5.6

$3.4

$7.5 $2.7

$2.9 $0.8 $1.0

$1.0 $1.3

$1.3 $1.9

2013

2014

2015

$2.0 $2.7

2016

$3.9

2017

* Source: BI Intelligence, Interactive Business Bureau

$5.7

2018

2018 $21 Billion Global Revenue

DIGITAL MEDIA

USEFUL APPS FIVE FOR TRANSPORTATION TIPS A Round-Up of Taxi-Booking FOR SCORING Apps forAResidents SUCCESSFUL in MENA

NATIVE CAMPAIGN By Carol Matta

1. LISTEN TO YOUR AUDIENCE Uncovering insights about your audience and understanding what resonates with them is a crucial starting point. Identifying these insights and creating captivating content which they would be eager to read is next. Interesting content is the key to connecting with your audience and building strong relationships with them. 2. REACH THEM WHERE THEY LIVE People spend different amounts of time on different types of content. Always ensure that you are reaching your audience at various touchpoints (Social, video platforms, music platforms, apps, mobile, desktop, etc.). It is essential to understand what your audience does with their time and to be then present where they are with relevant content. 3. AMPLIFY EXPOSURE In order to further distribution, it is essential to distribute content through social platforms from premium publishers which your audience trust. When people trust the source, content gets distributed organically. This pushes the scale further and increases impact. 4. OFFER TRUST & TRANSPARENCY All native advertising campaigns need to carry some form of disclosure which highlights to users that the content is sponsored. It is important for readers to know who is talking to them. To establish a solid relationship with users, publishers and brands need to be honest and transparent. 5. MEASURE THE RIGHT METRICS There is no one single standard rule on how native advertising should be measured. You need to gauge firstly your brandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s objective and based on that, put together the right metrics for it. Looking only at CTR is not the right way to go about it. Brands could also look into the time spent on a piece of content, page views, engagement, and social shares, amongst so many others. With over 10 years experience in the communication & media industry, Carol currently heads the Native Advertising product offering at DMS and her role focuses on making sure a state of the art solution is offered to the market. She has spent the last 5 years developing and leading the regional communication department of one of the foremost professional international beauty brands, where she succeeded in bringing the brandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s media share of voice to rank #1 in the region.

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DIGITAL MEDIA

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AWAKENING TO NATIVE ADVERTISING

A Round-Up of Taxi-Booking Apps for Residents in MENA

MENA Advertisers and Publishers Plan the Next Wave of Native Ads By Alexis Baghdadi | @GuerrillaWriter

Even if you are not familiar with “native advertising,” you have definitely been exposed to it by now without knowing it. According to the Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB), less than half of visitors on a website could distinguish native advertising from actual editorial content. The advertising industry is transforming to adapt to online and mobile platforms. Native advertising seems like the ideal – or only – way to deliver creative and impactful marketing content that actually makes users want to consume it. Ads that don’t look like ads and that actually make users want to see them? Yes, please.

THE QUARTERLY Summer 2016

However, some brands and advertisers are still unclear about what native advertising is exactly, or how it works. Although the term has only recently been coined, native advertising has been around for the better part of a century. Previously, it used to come in the form of press releases and advertorials. But with digital and mobile platforms taking center stage, the rules of the game have changed. The idea is basically to offer interesting, useful, and relevant content tailored to users’ normal consumption of digital media, whether they are looking for news stories, lifestyle articles, how-to videos, etc. Except that this content is

branded. The success of native advertising can be measured in time spent by users on this type of content, and how close it matches their time spent on editorial content. Currently, there are 6 types of native ads, divided into 3 categories based on the choice of platform and channel: a. Native display: This includes 1) search ads (shown above organic search results); 2) promoted product listings (highlighted alongside listings of similar existing products); and 3) in-ads (contextually relevant content with sold placement)

b. Social media: This consists of 4) in-feed ad units, similar in form to other items on users’ social feed. c. Sponsored content: This includes 5) recommendation widgets (offsite links to existing content) and 6) custom “can’t be removed ads” designed to mimic the host website’s content. In its past 2 events in Riyadh and Beirut, ArabNet gathered local and international speakers to analyze the status of this vertical and its effectiveness in the MENA and abroad. More players

in the region are beginning to realize the potential of native advertising and adopting it en masse. “3 years ago, the MENA was behind the US by 5 to 7 years when it came to native advertising. Today, this gap has been reduced to 2-3 years,” said Mohammed Megahed, Commercial Director at Connect Ads.

Ad-Blind in a Sea of Content

Online platforms – particularly mobile ones – make it challenging for media and advertising agencies to create impactful messages. The personal nature and feel of smartphones have changed the rules of the game for advertisers as well as

content publishers. Gone are the days of print and online when ads would stare readers in the face for as long as they stayed on a page. Also gone are the mandatory commercial breaks of TV and radio, and so are the intrusive marketing emails. Smartphones have empowered users in the way they consume media, and this means lower or zero tolerance for advertising content. “User experience is very important, and display ads take away from that experience. We’ve made the decision to do nothing but native ads on our platform,” said Nawaf Felemban, Founder and CEO of Kasra, a publisher of content in Arabic, similar to Buzzfeed and the Huffington Post. Even the more recent online video ads are beginning to take a blow from ad blocking apps. Compared to the US and Europe, ad blocking is still low in the MENA for now (less than 5% of users), but that is bound to change as more users become aware of this. “Mobile is forcing us to get filtered into a platform with space and device limitations,” said Siddarth Puri, CEO of Tyroo Technologies, a native advertising platform and part of SVG Media, with offices in Dubai, India, and Singapore. A study by Google’s DoubleClick showed that traditional online ads are so ineffective that users only intentionally click on them 0.17% of the time! Enter native ads that match the form and function of the platforms they appear on. These ads aim to be so nonintrusive that they do not disrupt users’ online experience. Alex Brunori, Head of Creative Agencies in MENA at Google, cited this most basic example: “If you enter a search, the first sponsored results you get are relevant to your query, but are paid ads.”

Benefits for Advertisers and Publishers

“There are good reasons for going after native advertising, mostly linked to mobile devices’ high penetration and the possibility of seamlessly integrating ads on these platforms, contrary to display ads,” said Megahed. Numbers support this too. According to a report conducted by Business Insider Intelligence, global native advertising revenues reached $4.7 billion in 2013,

Summer 2016 THE QUARTERLY

DIGITAL MEDIA

USEFUL APPS FOR TRANSPORTATION and this figure is expected to quadruple by 2018. Publishers also stand to benefit from this. “Native is a monetization solution, it is evolving as a definition – looking at reach, customer segments, etc.,” said Puri. Digital Media Services (DMS), part of Choueiry Group, represent over 42 publishing platforms in Lebanon and the MENA, covering news, lifestyle, sports, entertainment, and more. According to Carol Matta, Product Director – Native Advertising at DMS, 70% of the group’s advertising portfolio across all platforms is currently native-enabled, and the target is to raise this to 100%. Some international publishers have based their entire business model on native advertising. For example, 100% of

as they move into mobile platforms, and

of male readers who would otherwise be

of wearables peaks around the 2024 horizon. And we haven’t even begun to explore the possibilities of AI and VR, which could lead to native product placement, for example.

and the platform decided to change that. “Brands are becoming publishers of content, lines are blurred between what brands, media agencies, advertisers, and publishers bring to the table,” said Waseem Afzal, Head of Digital at OMD.

perhaps later when consumer adoption in MENA interested in cooking or lifestyle content, A Round-Up of Taxi-Booking Apps for Residents

the revenue for Buzzfeed – essentially a content publisher – comes from branded content. “Many of our partners are marketers, and we already have 76 of the top 100 brands on board,” said Jonah Peretti, CEO of Buzzfeed, in an interview on Bloomberg WEST. This is clearly reflected in the website’s content: taking a closer look at many of the published articles reveals they are in fact native ads. This looks promising for advertisers

THE QUARTERLY Summer 2016

Treat Native Advertising like Content…

If we take a reductionist view, then native ads are content. After all, the whole point is that they should be integrated seamlessly onto existing publishing platforms by mimicking existing content. “Today, we can push native advertising programmatically with the right tools to the right audience and platform,” said Michel Malkoun, CEO of DMS. Just as

regular advertising is tracked with data and analytics, so is native advertising. This helps cater the content and dish it out more effectively. For example, Felemban cited the case of the “gender” of content (something that is linguistically and grammatically relevant in the way publishers address readers in Arabic – but not in most European languages). Kasra found that using the feminine conjugation of verbs in titles and articles alienated a lot

… but Call It Native Advertising

By now, you’ve probably figured out there is a grey area when it comes to native advertising versus regular content. Actually, the controversy over the “ethical” nature of native advertising is ongoing globally. Critics argue that if native ads are “camouflaged” to look like innocuous content, then consumers are being

subjected to it unknowingly, and could be influenced to favor a certain brand. For example, in order to promote the Sunwhite rice brand in Saudi Arabia, DMS created 3 legitimate articles that were not press releases or advertorials. Instead, they tackled the health and beauty benefits of this cereal, or gave tips for cooking it perfectly. These could have as well appeared as general content on any health, cooking, or lifestyle platform. The only thing that

gave them away, was the mention that they were sponsored content. Recently, the New York Times published a story on women in prison, backed by serious research and case studies. However legitimate the piece, it was in fact a paid post promoting season 2 of the series Orange is the New Black. This, however, raises the issue that if publishers are promoting paid/branded content, they risk losing credibility as a source of information. Arguably, the line is very thin: IAB standards state that native ads need to be accompanied by a clear disclaimer showing they are sponsored content, but that may not be enough. Puri explained that the first wave of content advertising was very native with the ecosystem, which has created confusion

host platforms; b) they should conform semantically; and c) they should clearly state that they are ads. “The sweet spot is the fine line between what the brand stands for and what the user is interested in,” he said. But that is easier said than done. He went on to say that if what users are interested in overcomes what the brand stands for, then it is no longer a good native ad – it is patronizing users by slapping a brand and message to content. Likewise, if the brand message overcomes the users’ interest, then it can no longer be called “native.”

Speaking on behalf of google, Brunori clearly stated that the company’s founders

than publishers themselves? “Brands needs come at a secondary level; first we need to figure out the native experience from a content point of view (using data). The native experience is more relevant than the brand message: you cannot force feed the message and supersede what consumers are coming to a platform for,” said Afzal. From a pragmatic standpoint, it makes a whole lot of sense for native advertising to be properly branded. Only by being tracked and analyzed as advertising can it deliver on the real metrics that brands are interested in – as opposed to readership stats that publishers go after to measure their content’s impact. One thing is certain, that there still is a lot to be

between advertising and content. All serious advertisers and publishers agree on the principle that native advertising should not mislead anybody. “It’s not about fooling the audience or pleasing advertisers from a performance point of view, but rather helping bring an article that has added value and pushing it,” said Malkoun. Brunori broke it down into 3 guiding principles: a) native ads should conform aesthetically to the

had a clear vision from the beginning, which could be summarized as “Users first” – and idea echoed by all advertisers. At the end of the day, advertisers depend on publishers’ audiences to get their message across (whether native or regular advertising), and it is important not to alienate this audience. So maintaining the user-publisher relationship is pivotal to successful advertising, explained Malkoun. After all, who knows their audience better

done to educate the market on native advertising. Publishers will take center stage on that front: they stand to gain financially from native advertising, but also risk losing their audience and these potential revenues if they fail to adopt this correctly. One way to look at this marriage is: publishers sharing their storytelling tools with marketers to produce relevant, honest content to engage users.n

Going Forward: Put Users First

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ENTREPRENEURSHIP

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THE STATE OF THE BUDDING GAMES INDUSTRY

A Round-Up of Taxi-Booking Apps for Residents in MENA

By Dina Abou Karam | @petitemistress

t’s no secret that the games industry has been globally outperforming the movies industry for quite some time now. In 2012 alone, games made twice as much as movies did on an international scale. Games have been growing exponentially, especially since smartphones started the mobile gaming revolution, and last year’s Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 made about $550 million in the first three days of its release alone. For comparison’s sake, James Cameron’s record breaking movie Avatar made little over $100 million over its opening weekend.

THE QUARTERLY Summer 2016

By now you’d think everyone worldwide has gotten the memo about how profitable gaming is, as demonstrated by China’s big push into mobile and PC games, but the MENA region seems to have been reluctant to jump in until the last couple of years. The talent is there, but what infrastructures are in place to help the regional gaming market flourish like it has elsewhere? There has been a palpable growth in the sector, vastly spearheaded by a scene of enthusiastic Arab indie developers —bigger studios i.e. Game

Cooks and smaller but prolific studios i.e. Groovy Antoid—, reflected in the popularity of regional game jams like Game Zanga, the Arabic Game Jam and regional chapters of the Global Game Jam. And why wouldn’t there be? The regional demographic skews young and computer literacy is widespread particularly through smartphones finding their way into many hands. Add to it the fact that the Arabic speaking demographic —a good 280 million people—is currently quasi-untapped and you have a customer base ready for

“Now that big international players have taken note of our region as a lucrative base to market to, the slow expansion of the local games industry should be booming.”

games to go regional in a big way.

Market

Ahmed Alsafar of Play 3arabi tells us that GCC countries lead the region in terms of active players, with Saudi Arabia alone accounting for about 50% of Arabic speaking mobile players. That’s a good 30 million people. Saudi also boasts the largest number of “whales”, the unfortunate name given to users who spend the most on games and in-game purchases and are mobile developers’ bread and butter. Qatar, the

UAE and Kuwait are also big spenders and have a higher percentage of active players than Saudi relatively, but Saudi’s massive population ultimately means they dwarf the competition in sheer number of users alone. Interestingly enough, Ahmed notes that about 20% of the Arabic mobile games sales he registers on digital marketplaces like the Apple App Store come from US based accounts. This is probably partially caused by the large amount of Arabs expats, but Ahmed also speculates that a lot of these US accounts belong to local players that think the US App Store has better, less restricted content. This is a belief that’s been hard to shake and it makes it more difficult for local games to get much in the way of visibility, as a good chunk of their target audience is already looking at a global mobile market flooded with thousands upon thousands of competing games. It’s important to note that the global games industry has also recently taken an interest in the MENA market, as demonstrated by big titles like FIFA’s Arabic push and the more recent localization of the latest entry in the Tomb Raider series into Arabic — complete with an Arabic speaking Lara Croft! The latest Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare trailer showcases what some are speculating is an Arab Lebanese woman as a main character- she even sports the Lebanese flag on her military uniform. Companies like Ubisoft and Gameloft both now boast offices in the U.A.E., located in Abu Dhabi and Dubai respectively. Now that big international players have taken note of our region as a lucrative base to market to, the slow expansion of the local games industry

should be booming. What would it take for such a boom to occur? More than a few crucial factors, it turns out, and we’re seeing real, concrete steps from regional groups attempting to grow the MENA games industry.

Government Support

Government support of local efforts, for one, is instrumental in the aforementioned growth. In August 2014 the Banque du Liban announced Circular 331, an initiative “injecting the potential of 400 million dollars into the Lebanese enterprise market. This has resulted in the establishing of Beirut Digital District, in their own words a “community focused urbanized hub for […] creative companies and talents.” While not gaming specific, BDD has nonetheless had a considerable effect on the Lebanese tech scene and games scene by extension. Another such government backed effort is the tax-free media zone twofour54 in AbuDhabi. Though not games focused either, the hub is home to edutainment company Lamsa, and twofour54’s Creative Lab has brought forth its first Emirati themed mobile game “Shaheen”. According to Ahmed Alsafar, the biggest and most organized such MENA governmental push for a games industry is allegedly happening in Tunisia —and their efforts have been paying off, as demonstrated by their powerful presence at this year’s MENA games conference, where the Tunisian “Dream Team” won first prize at the Arabic Game Jam the conference hosted. Other Arab countries such as Jordan indirectly fund local game developing initiatives through more broadly reaching means like the King Abdullah II Fund for Development’s Gaming Lab.

Investment

Ultimately, this is a good start but unless private funding and venture capital get involved, it’s unlikely to be enough to sustain a young industry still in the midst of its growing pains. The interest is there, as demonstrated by companies like IFP group launching MENA’s first gaming conference last year, MEGA. The conference held its second iteration this past April in Beirut, boasting a lineup of international

Summer 2016 THE QUARTERLY

ENTREPRENEURSHIP

USEFUL APPS FOR TRANSPORTATION speakers and a number of regional and global exhibitors. The role of local industry events like #MEGCON (the Dubai based Middle East Games Convention) and MEGA (the Beirut based MENA Games Conference), local chapters of international organizations like the IGDA (international game developers association) and GGJ (Global Game Jam), and smaller scale collectives like the uniquely impressive Riyadh-based women’s games conference GCON, and more recent Lebanese indie developer community effort ArabArcade cannot be understated. An inclusive, healthy gaming community is instrumental in creating hype for regional titles as well as generating and retaining local talent — and enticing it to remain local. A healthy community and a healthy industry feed off each other, and can even encourage Arab experts currently working abroad to repatriate and help build the MENA games industry instead.

Arab developers have already found

your own Arab desert tribe then defend it

in mobile gaming where team sizes and budgets tend to be considerably smaller than your average triple A console or PC title. Paul Salameh’s virtual pet game “Pou” for Android, iOS and Blackberry has seen considerable global success. It’s available in a number of languages, the first two listed on its page being English and Arabic. Another success story that broke into the global market is the mobile platformer “Babylonian Twins”, the brain child of three Iraqi developers available for Android and iOS: its website boasts over 2 million downloads and launched to considerable critical praise. “Babylonian Twins” is the first in a trend of regional games finding inspiration in their own cultural lore for games, paving the way for more technically sophisticated titles like “Tribal Rivals” (or Faz3a in arabic), a free to play game for mobile that lets you build

style reminiscent of the hugely popular Clash of Clans. You can surmise by now that when it comes to this budding MENA games industry, the will and talent are already there. What’s missing, according to Ahmed Alsafar, is the kind of bold financial backing and organization that developing and launching a game competitively requires, and as we’ve mentioned it hasn’t and won’t come until we make some big changes. Gaming is a high risk, high reward business and to make a splash in this highly competitive market you need a budget of consequence. As more diverse success stories come out of the region and we march towards stability, we’re bound to see more investors back local ventures into the fascinating — and lucrative!— world of games. That time can’t come soon enough. n

successApps both regionally and globally, mostly in MENA from other players’ desert tribes in a play A Round-Up of Taxi-Booking for Residents

Dina is a game designer, artist and narrative designer from Lebanon. She has worked in the games industry for almost a decade, from its modest beginnings in the Arab world to the companies of legendary designers in Japan. Wholly dedicated to the craft of interactive storytelling, she commands her own host of tales and is currently working on her first VR empathy game about the modern Arab identity. She is also preparing a talk on Arab representation in games post 9/11 for a western game developer audience.

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ENTREPRENEURSHIP

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OPPORTUNITIES ON DEMAND

A Round-Up of Taxi-Booking Apps for Residents in MENA

Have a startup? Imagine trying to pitch it in 7 minutes. In an Uber.

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or the second consecutive year, Uber and ArabNet teamed up to provide entrepreneurs with opportunities ondemand, in eleven cities across the Middle East from Casablanca to Manama. Aspiring entrepreneurs across the region got the chance to pitch their startups to investors while on the go. Uber, the on-demand cab company, is currently one of the most valuable startups with a valuation of $51 Billion, but is also one of the world’s most innovative company. Uber is now helping startups and investors to meet each other through UberPitch, an innovative and simple model.

people in the vicinity who share the same passion or interest.

How UberPitch Works ArabNet worked closely with Uber to roll out UberPitch across eleven MENA cities: Abu Dhabi, Alexandria, Amman, Beirut, Cairo, Casablanca, Dammam, Dubai, Doha, Jeddah, and Riyadh. Over 300 applicants were short-listed, the majority of which came from Cairo, Dubai, and Riyadh - proof of the vibrant entrepreneurship scene in these cities. Participants requested an UberPitch ride during the assigned times on April 26th. Those connected were picked up by one of the 25 Uber cars driving around with judges around the streets of 11 cities. They had 7 minutes to pitch and 7 minutes to receive feedback. The judges listened to a cumulative of 176 pitches from a variety of startups across the region, and after reviewing the scores, the judges in each city selected their nomination for each city’s finalist. All the finalists will be sponsored by Uber in the Digital Showcase at the ArabNet Digital Summit in Dubai on May 30-31. UberPitch started as a trial in the US a few years ago, but due to its huge success, Uber launched this program in all major cities around the world. The startup explosion has been witnessed globally, hence making the program successful, and the MENA region is no exception.

MONEYFELLOWS | CAIRO

Meet the UberPitchME Finalists:

BUZZME | DUBAI

BuzzMe combines the latest technology with good old fashioned networking. BuzzMe enables the use of Geotechnology with indication of personal interests and profession to find

WAKILNI | BEIRUT

Wakilni is a helping hand that you delegate your errands to. Use it to take care of your deliveries, pick-ups and to support you in just about any transaction you need to take care of. Use it to save yourself time and hassle. Wakilni is a smart, reliable service that promises to free up your mental brain power – it is the closest you’ll ever get to buying time, use it wisely!

MoneyFellows is a web and mobile based platform that enables people to access interest free credit and reach better saving achievements powered by a user’s personal network. This is done through digitizing the traditional offline rotating saving and credit association model (ROSCA) – a form of peer-to-peer banking, known as Gam3eya in the Arab world.

RESCUE.ME | ALEXANDRIA

Rescue.ME uses wearable technology to monitor patients with serious health problems who are considered to be at high risk. The devices record and send patient’s bio-metrics which are processed in real-time on the Rescue.ME cloud that has a set of pre-defined panic patterns. Whenever a patient’s data falls within one of those patterns, the server will try to contact his doctor, and a short list of friends or relatives.

MAPNUMBERS | RIYADH

MapNumbers is an app that converts any address in a 12-digit number. Instead of endlessly trying to give directions to friends or delivery services, users can simply give out a number. The number is entered into the app, and users can simply follow directions on their smartphone.

CURLY METHODS | AMMAN

Curly Methods is an app development platform to drastically speed up iOS and Android app development. The tool supports the team to develop apps a lot

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USEFUL APPS FOR TRANSPORTATION faster than other companies or freelancers giving them a competitive edge in the market.

once. SmartAble helps focus their academic

WAKECAP | DOHA

BEUOOT | DAMMAM

and a trained driver fills the tank.

endeavors and goals match their A Round-Up of Taxi-Booking Apps forto best Residents in MENA

WakeCap serves as a solution for contractors to lower the risk of accidents caused by fatigue and drowsiness. The hard hat model monitors the userâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s alert state by processing brain signals and keeps a log of it to be viewed by the management in real-time. It can also alert the user and the manager in case of drowsiness.

career interests and job prospects.

BEUOOT is a real estate search engine created to ease the process of house hunting. The platform offers users an accessible experience to the properties by providing detailed images of the villas and apartments for sale in Saudi Arabia and the Middle East, along with geographical information of the best local services nearby the desired property.

SMARTABLE | JEDDAH

SmartAble resolves the stigmas surrounding educational counseling and guidance within Saudi Arabia and the region by gamifying the High School and College education and guidance approach. Current statistics suggest 50-75% of the Saudi student population change academic or career path at least

THE QUARTERLY Summer 2016

FULLSIR | DUBAI

FullSir is an app that provides gasoline delivery service. Instead of going around town, trying to find the nearest gas station, drivers can pinpoint their location on a map and order gas delivery within a certain window of time. A truck arrives

FISHTRANSPORTER | MANAMA Seafood lovers can order seafood by ordering online, via a mobile app, or through a hotline. Users can order raw fish, cleaned and cut, or cooked in traditional Bahraini style. Fish Transporter also offers a money-back guarantee as well as a complimentary order for any unsatisfied customers.

THE WALLGAMES | CASABLANCA TheWallGames is a video game development studio based in Casablanca, Morocco. They aim to create creative and quality games for mobile that target the MENA region. The team is composed of professional game developers in console and mobile gaming who have worked on award-winning projects such as Rayman Legends, Just Dance 2014, and CSI: Hidden Crimes.

THE IMPACT OF SOCIAL

ENTREPRENEURSHIP By Rita Makhoul | @rampurple

here has been a rise in civic engagement in the MENA region during the past decade, where the high youth population have been expressing dissatisfaction with the status quo. Faced with several societal, political, and economical challenges, the socially committed have turned towards social entrepreneurship as an opportunity to create solutions to some of the region’s most perplexing social issues. Social entrepreneurs develop innovative projects and organizations with a “double bottom line” of profitability and

social impact rather than simply having a business impact. Recognizing that charity is not a sustainable solution, social entrepreneurs turn to revenue-generating businesses for a sustainable long-term impact. Similar to for-profit companies, they have a steady income and akin to startups, social entrepreneurs look for investors and accelerators to expand and ensure that their initiative is sustainable.

Movement of Heroes

It would be impossible to list all of the region’s social enterprises in one list,

but we’ve compiled a list of some of our favorites:

Tackling a global challenge, ReAble is an e-wallet app designed to facilitate day-to-day financial transactions and other work management processes for people with cognitive difficulties. The app teaches users about money

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USEFUL APPS FOR TRANSPORTATION management and supports them during financial transactions putting them on track towards independence. Through ReAble, users input the banknotes they are carrying with them. While conducting a transaction they take a picture of the receipt, the app then informs the user of the total amount to pay and the optimal combination of bills to pay with. The app also informs them how much change they should expect and which notes. Their parents/guardians are also able to track the user’s expenditure and financial status. Moreover, the app also facilitates budget management. ReAble emerged out of a bootcamp held by AltCity in August 2015, won first prize at BDL Accelerate 2015, were among the finalists of the Startup Demo at ArabNet Beirut, and have recently been selected as one of 10 startups to join the renowned startup incubator, Techstars, in their recently launched accelerator in Cape Town. Country of origin: Lebanon Date of launch: 2015 in Beta Category: Health

Startup Competition organized in

also helps users keep track of their

Country of origin: Lebanon Date of launch: 2011 Category: Agriculture and IT

as per the government’s set pricing. It also features a blog with weekly posts around topics of saving energy, general knowledge on electricity consumption as well as government plans and prices for electricity. The online store is filled with energy efficient products as tangible solutions to energy conservation. Country of origin: Egypt Date of launch: 2014 Category: Energy

collaboration ArabNet. bills through calculating consumption A Round-Up of Taxi-Booking Appswithfor Residents in MENA

An agriculture company based in Lebanon, Lifelab is dedicated to designing and building intelligent selfoperating vertical hydroponic farms that multiply the yield of any given farm plot by 10 to 15 times. Those are indoor farms, completely automated and climate controlled. Unaffected by seasonal change, these farms are capable of producing crops all year long. What’s more interesting is that they are resistant to pests and disease infestations, and are highly efficient regarding their energy requirements using 95% less water than traditional farms. Lifelab also runs a 6,000 sqm model farm, which serves as a showcase for the technology and production techniques, and also as a profitable revenue source for the company. In November 2015, the company won first place at the Hyundai

THE QUARTERLY Summer 2016

HARASSmap was launched in 2010 with the aim to reduce the social acceptability of sexual harassment throughout Egypt by allowing women to report when and where they got harassed. Each incident report shows up as a red dot on the website’s map of Egypt pin pointing where the incident occurred. By clicking on the dot, users can read exactly what was written by the person reporting the assault. When a woman reports an attack, she receives immediate help, including information on how and where she can get support, such as counselling or legal assistance. Since its launch, HARASSmap has received the 2011 World Summit Youth Award and the 2012 Deutsche Welle Best of the Blogs Award for ‘Best Use of Technology for Social Good Country of origin: Egypt Date of launch: 2010 Category: Civil Society

In the midst of the power cuts that have been plaguing Egypt, El Noor Geh emerged as an informative online platform and e-store. Aiming to reduce energy consumption to aid the already deteriorating and failing power grid, El Noor Geh educates individuals on energy conservation and efficiency. The platform

Launched in 2011 by Zig Zag Labs, Ladybug aims to boost participation of Iranian women in the technology world through content building, education and mentorship, and through creating a community. Less than a year later, like-minded partners came together and invested in video-making, promotional photos and the overall design, leading Ladybug to successfully catch the attention of the public. In 2014 Ladybug won the United Nation’s Youth Award for advancing the Millennium Development Goal of “Power to Women.” The global contest brings together young developers and digital entrepreneurs — under 30 years of age — who use internet and mobile technology to put the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) into action and make a difference.” Country of origin: Iran Date of launch: 2011 Category: Civil Society

Syrian-British brothers Kinan and Louai Muhammed wanted to help give Syrian medical students the chance to continue learning through

the turbulent times. They set up Syria Scholar in 2015 as an online education platform using available, open-source software to build the website that includes a platform for video-conferencing, allowing them to run the two-way tutorials. Initially, they were the only two tutors, which later increased since more tutors from the UK registered to provide tutorials bring the academic communities in the UK and Syria closer together. Considering the unreliable internet connection in Syria, all tutorials are recorded so that students can download them at their convenience. Many students tend to huddle around a computer from an internet connection to follow the tutorials. In 2015, they received The OxTALENT prize for outreach and public engagement from the University of Oxford. Country of origin: Syria Date of launch: 2015 Category: Education

Sidekicks

As a discipline, social entrepreneurship has the ability to transform lives and to effect meaningful social change. It involves adopting a highly practical approach to social development, it entails investing in people who can identify the underlying issues that lead to social problems, and use innovation to implement systemic change in order to address those issues effectively â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and eventually eradicate them. While this means investing in local solutions to local problems, it also involves creating an enabling environment â&#x20AC;&#x201C; an ecosystem. Many of the regional heroes were given the courage to wear their capes. Their ability to transform lives and to create meaningful social change was supported by organizations/ventures who enabled them with the tools, or provided them with investments, or mentored them. Throughout the MENA region ventures, incubators, accelerators, and competitions have emerged focusing on social enterprises: In Egypt, Nahdet

El Mahrousa and Rise Egypt are two examples; in Morocco the Moroccan Center for Innovation and Social Entrepreneurship launched Dare, an incubator for social enterprises; in Tehran, Samsung organized a startup weekend with a social innovation theme; BDL Accelerate 2015 in Beirut held an idea stage startup workshop and competition themed Reimagining Lebanon; Chivas launched The Venture, a regional initiative calling for innovative business with an impact; The Hult Foundation has been hosting regional competitions and is currently setting up office for The Hult Lebanon looking to accelerate Lebanese social enterprises. The enterprising, and inspiring, young innovators are carving out new paths for the region to resolve todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s most pressing problems. It is imperative that social enterprises continue to thrive. Various players are supporting aspiring social enterprises, but there has been a lack in trying to create better and deeper linkages across the ecosystem, thereby advancing the success of social enterprises.n

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USEFUL APPS FOR TRANSPORTATION A Round-Up of Taxi-Booking Apps for Residents in MENA

By Wael Nabbout | @FulMtlColumnist

THE QUARTERLY Summer 2016

n every issue, we bring you a list of startups from the MENA region or founded by people from the region that you should keep an eye on. This Spring, we have selected a broad range of startups.

The Beirut-based RationalPixels are pioneering the next evolution of digital advertising in the MENA with a unique service: digital product placement in videos. Unlike display advertising, product placement in movies or videos is unblockable and unskippable, so advertised products reach more viewers. Digitizing the process makes it even more attractive since it can be done in the post-production phase, so there are no constraints of time, and no missed opportunities. RationalPixels aims to streamline and facilitate the process, delivering the same results in one sixth of the time. The ad-space inside the video blends and moves with the camera and lighting. This solution is accessible to a wide range of advertisers, and does not require them to have experience in digital advertising technology. In September 2015, Beirut’s Speed@ BDD accelerator injected $30,000 into RationalPixels – the only funding it has received so far. The startup came out as one of the top 2 teams in the first batch of acceleration, and was selected for the LebNet Ignite acceleration and mentorship program in Silicon Valley, powered by the Blackbox Connect accelerator. The founders have developed the main technology and are currently finalizing the write-up of a patent spanning the entire Patent Cooperation Treaty – PCT (148 countries). The endproduct is now being piloted with the video-on-demand platform, Cinemoz, in Beirut. RationalPixels are currently fundraising and are at advanced stages of negotiations with VCs.

Vinli is the world’s first open platform for connected car apps founded by Lebanese serial entrepreneur Mark Haidar - who had miraculously fled the 2006 war to complete his education in the United States. Reminiscent of Apple’s turn of the millenium mobile revolution, the company is looking to create the ecosystem for automobile apps. Vinli’s sells an internet connected device that plugs directly into the car’s on-board diagnostics port, which, in turn, empowers developers with a wealth of data that they could harvest to build apps. Apple and Google’s forays into the auto sector have so far been roughly limited to entertainment systems, which do not necessarily compete with Vinli; in fact, it’s easy to imagine Android Auto and Car Play integrated with Vinli. On the other hand, certain manufacturers already offer in car connectivity and smart systems - think Ford Smart Mobility. Unlike Vinli, Ford, or any other manufacturer for that matter, is unlikely to breach into other manufacturers’ domain. Vinli is already available in several countries around the globe, and has only recently launched in Bahrain and Lebanon.

“A Tinder for fitness,” the Gymonji app is but one of many products and services being cooked up by the Gymonji team. The US based startup currently offers fitness enthusiasts a social platform to meet, connect and plan fitness related activities together. Gymonji’s founder, Ryan Makarem, stresses that “the app is the virtual infrastructure, as it grows, we will build around it.”

For now though, in addition to being a niche social network, the app offers users the ability to explore events around them, those can be either user generated or company sponsored. Thirdly, the app lists nearby professional fitness trainers. In the works are a workout log and a scheduler.

Votek is an Arabic speech recognition company with offices in both Syria and Dubai. The company’s main line of business had been selling its proprietary technology. But more recently, Votek released Loujee, the first Arabic speaking toy. Loujee is a plush toy that comes to life using a mobile device - an iOS powered phone or tablet. The device can be inserted into the toy; the screen becomes its face. Loujee can understand both literary speech and colloquial dialects. It responds to physical stimuli and smartly converses with the user: a fact that is recited today for instance can be the subject of a quiz tomorrow.

Moroccan award winning startup ScreenDy concerns itself with a very particular imbalance in the development industry. Demand for mobile developers is increasing at a much faster rate than supply. This means that in the coming

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USEFUL APPS FOR TRANSPORTATION years prices will soar. Meanwhile, demand for web development is saturating. ScreenDy is an online tool that allows web developers to quickly transition to mobile development. A drag and drop editor allows them to assemble and style an app; while the system can then generate the code required for Google or Apple’s store.

brand, which collaborates with select

featuring popular masterpieces from

does employ a small in-house team that develops and maintains their design; a core strength of Mejuri is its powerful supply chain, which is able to bring a product into life within four to six weeks.

cartoon characters, Mati and Dad to guide the user through the tour. The app is a white label product and could be customized for existing institutions, museums, art galleries and so on. The app combines three activities children enjoy on their smartphones and tablets: watch cartoons, play games, and take pictures. It will also feature Image Recognition Technology to allow kids to interact with the outside world for real active learning.

renowned designers. company various periods. The app uses two A Round-Up of Taxi-Booking Apps forTheResidents in MENA

MyCars will be the first electriccar sharing service to hit the UAE. Founded in August of last year, MyCars is looking to launch its sharing service in June. In an interview with Wamda, CEO Ben Pullen said that the company is aiming to launch with a 50:50 of hybrid to normal cars, following requests from “two of the biggest towers in Dubai to locate electric and hybrid MyCars hubs” close to them. The goal he says is to offer a completely electric fleet by 2020. Though ZipCar still hasn’t made it to the UAE, MyCars’ more immediate competition would be indirect, primarily from Careem, Uber, as well as local taxis.

Noura Sakkijha, Jordanian born third generation jeweler, recently founded Mejuir, an online jewelry store. Mejuri was initially conceived as a crowdfunding platform for jewelers. The idea was to create a platform for designers to help them bring their designs to life. Over time the company was pivoted from a tech platform to a

THE QUARTERLY Summer 2016

Sakkini is a UAE based online real estate platform that caters to both potential home buyers and property investors. Trust is a key focus of Sakkini. The founders concocted the idea after they had personally mislead by false advertising in Dubai on a couple of local property listings websites. Consequently, Sakkini’s core value is empowering buyers and investors with accurate data: renders and floor plans of properties, information about the amenities and community around each one, historic data, in addition to price indicators that are generated by algorithms. Sakkini was part of Flat6Labs first cycle of startups in Abu Dhabi. The company was also a semifinalist in the MIT Enterprise Forum Arab Startup Competition in 2015. Sakkini has received seed investment from Flat6Labs and twofour54.

Another Flat6Labs company is Kikabò Labs, a digital studio that tailors educational content, cartoons and apps. The company is a spin-off of an Italian animation production Company called Achtoons. Achtoons has more than 15 years of experience. For now the company has developed a cartoonish virtual tour of an imaginary museum

An online marketplace dedicated to school supplies, StudentCart was founded by Hamad and Faisal Al Hammadi of Slice, a F&B company that caters to schools. The platform brings together parents, schools, and book vendors. Parents can purchase from a number of vendors suggested by the school. Parents can also rate vendors, which helps other parents and future buyers make their choice, as well as schools, who can in turn better assess which vendors to partner with. StudentCart also hopes to sell uniforms as well as offer transportation for students in the future.

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