MENA Opportunities

We learned some big news from Facebook's earnings report: Teens are officially leaving Facebook. We already knew that Facebook was no longer the most popular social network for teenagers, but we now have confirmation from the company itself. Facebook CFO David Ebersam said that although youth engagement on the social network is hard to measure, there was definitely a decrease in daily users among younger teens in Q3. "This is of questionable significance," Ebersam said, "But we wanted to share this with you now because we get a lot of questions about teens." Ebersam added that Facebook remains "close to fully penetrated" among teens in the U.S., meaning just about every teenager is already using Facebook there

In the recent book clubs, Bezos had those top executives read classics that helped him sketch out the future of his company. Jeff Bezos is one of the most successful entrepreneurs out there, able to build a company deeply integrated into people's lives, all but ignoring Wall Street, and constantly looking toward the future. But that doesn't mean he doesn't value other people's advice. In a post on LinkedIn, CNBC tech correspondent Jon Fortt said the Amazon CEO had three all-day book clubs for his senior managers over the summer. It's not a surprising management technique from a man who revers the written word. He typically starts meetings of his "S-team" of senior executives with 30 minutes of silence while they read through dense, six-page printed memos, so they're all starting with the same ideas and framework in mind.  "The Effective Executive" by Peter Drucker Drucker is one of the principal founders of modern management theory,...

The World Bank reported yesterday that better quality investments are needed in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region in order to boost shared growth. A long period of political instability has affected both the quality and quantity of investments, skewing them towards activities that create the least jobs, it added. The conclusion was made in the Bank’s latest Economic Developments and Prospects report entitled “MENA: Investing in Turbulent Times” which said that ongoing political turmoil in 2013 has weighed down economic activity in the region leading to an average growth for the region of 2.8 percent – half of the 2012 estimated 5.6 percent. For oil-exporting countries such as Libya, the pace of economic expansion is slowing considerably due to unfavorable developments. “Developing countries in the region can’t afford to continue neglecting long-standing economic impediments”, said Shanta Devarajan, World Bank Chief Economist for the MENA region. “The absence of significa...

1) Population and Penetration: Yes, we know that over 1 billion people are on the platform. But what's the penetration rate in a major market like the U.S.? 67% of Internet users in the U.S. are on Facebook. In European markets, penetration is even higher (82% in the U.K.).  2) Age: Facebook still skews young. In the U.S., 83% of 18 to 29-year-olds who use the Internet are on it, but the proportion is only 67% across all age brackets. However, the 45- to 54-year-old age bracket has seen 46% growth since year-end 2012.  3) Income : Among U.S. Internet users, 73% with incomes above $75,000 are on Facebook (compared to 17% who are on Twitter, and 13% who are on Pinterest).

Led by Rami El-Zein, Pratical Host (PH) is another MENA company starting to create a global buzz. With a background in IT and networking, Rami started a web hosting business in 1995 and soon realized that what really matters for every business is the continuity of business email. Lack of sufficient disk space, spam and reliability were always a problem in a traditional hosting account. PracticalHost, an Amaken division, was founded with the vision of being a different type of company: a technology service company that is easy to do business with. They call their unique customer service philosophy IRONCLAD SUPPORT™. Practical Host cloud infrastructure is located in Dallas and Chicago at a state-of-the-art facility, providing physical security, conditioned power with N+1 UPS redundancy backed by diesel generators, a precision N+1 HVAC system and 24/7 network technicians. IRONCLAD SUPPORT™ has made Practical Host into a service leader in cloud based secure business email, web hos...

The value of disclosed inbound mergers and acquisitions deals increased by 108 per cent in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region for the first six months of this year. The value of deals increased from $5.1 billion in H1 2012 to 10.6bn in H1 2013, according to Ernst &Young’s MENA M&A update. Outbound deal value dropped by 37 per cent from $10.5bn in H1 2012 to $6.6bn in H1 2013 and domestic deal value decreased by 13 per cent. Phil Gandier, MENA Head of Transaction Advisory Services, E&Y says, “Seeing the value of inbound deals double since H1 2012 is an interesting trend, as both inbound and outbound deal flows have seen a reversal compared to a year ago, where outbound deal value was nearly double the value of inbound deals. The UAE continues to play a key role in attracting investment to the region being the target country focus of 25% of inbound deal volume for H1 2013. This overall positive improvement of inbound investment could signify a continued level of...

Global spending on digital advertising is set to grow 13 per cent to $117.60 billion in 2013 as against 2012, while mobile spending will reach $15.82bn in 2013 representing a whopping 79.7% year-over-year increase, says a recent Global Media Intelligence Report by eMarketer – produced in collaboration with Starcom MediaVest Group. Overall ad spending will rise 2.8% to more than half a trillion dollars in 2013, driven by continued adoption of digital devices and internet connectivity, it said. However,the global economy is in recovery mode, and while total media ad spending will be up in 2013, the rate of increase will not be particularly strong. eMarketer estimates ad expenditures will rise 2.8% worldwide to $517.10 billion, compared to last year’s 4.4% spending increase. Much of the spending growth stems from broader digital adoption on the part of consumers. The full report, which covers six major regions—including Asia-Pacific, Western Europe, Central and Eastern Europe, the Middl...

The reduction of oil output in Iran has made the global energy market nervous, 
but rising Iraqi production and a boost to the GCC’s output has proved calming. The drama on the global energy stage never seems to end, but it rather continues to throw surprises and ends up influencing prices. The official European Union-
imposed embargo on Iranian oil, including a ban on insurance of Iranian oil 
supertankers, has played a major role in keeping crude price toward the north. While Iran is bad news, Iraq is an emerging giant. The comparative 
stability in Iraq has enabled the nation to become the second largest producer by pumping three million barrels per day in July – replacing Iran where oil production was below 3mbpd in July. Iraq has signed several contracts in the past few years and it is the country’s policy to sign more oil contracts with foreign oil firms such as Exxon Mobil, Royal Dutch Shell, British Petroleum, France’s Total, 
Russia’s Lukoil and China’s CNPC to 
develop oil ...

Identifying insider trading sometimes seems like a game of three-card monte: first you see it, then you don’t. A recent settlement by Citigroup with a Massachusetts regulator over leaking internal research to clients raises question about when such disclosure crosses the line into insider trading. Citigroup agreed to a consent order entered by the Massachusetts Securities Division requiring it to pay a $30 million penalty after it failed to have proper procedures in place to protect against the early release of research by the firm’s analysts. One of the analysts, Kevin Chang, gave information to a few institutional investors, most notably SAC Capital Advisors, about a decrease in orders for iPhones that would affect Apple and one of its main suppliers, the Hon Hai Precision Industry Company. The consent order shows how SAC and other institutional investment firms badgered Mr. Chang for his analysis when a competing investment bank issued a research report calling into question optim...

The financial landscape of the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region primarily comprises three major asset classes: equities, bonds and bank assets. International Monetary Fund (IMF) data indicates that MENA financial landscape suffers from two structural problems: it is lacking in scale and skewed towards bank assets. For successful efforts on economic diversification, the MENA region should broaden its base asset classes like equities and bonds, which are better suited to longer term financing, and reduce its reliance on bank funding which can only provide short to medium-term financing. First the scale issue… MENA GDP is estimated at $2.9 trillion (2011) and is expected to reach $4 trillion by 2018 implying an annual growth of 4.8%, far lower than 11.2 per cent achieved between 2004 and 2011. From a scale perspective, the value of Mena asset classes is roughly equivalent to 95 per cent of its total annual GDP compared to the global average which is nearly 3.7 times GDP, or 37...

Mediaquest, a leading media and publishing company in the Middle East and North Africa, has acquired rights as media representative of d1g.com. As media representative, Mediaquest will cater and reach out to entities interested in advertising with d1g.com. Mediaquest will exercise its reach in the GCC to provide services to advertising clients on behalf of d1g.com. The agreement, signed by Rosy Kachouh (General Manager – dotmena, Mediaquest) and Alaa Fada (President, d1g.com) propels both companies on their growth trajectory. “Mediaquest and d1g.com hope to mutually benefit from this alliance. As media representatives, we assume a new role that is in line with our future growth plans; while at the same time provide d1g.com with local and regional access”, Rosy Kachouh said. Mediaquest’s reputation in the industry made the company a prime candidate for the role of d1g.com’s media representative. Alaa Fada, President, d1g.com, added: “We are excited to work with the Mediaquest team on ...

Social and political challenges in the wider Levant and North Africa region are in stark contrast with the economic boom much of the GCC is enjoying. The Arabian Gulf economies are benefiting from years of robust hydrocarbon dynamics, although they also face longer-term challenges, says the latest report from Standard Chartered, titled ‘Adjusting to reality’ focusing on Middle East and North Africa. It says subsidies in the region are too high, especially in the energy sector. This creates a fiscal burden on oil importers, and productivity distortions for exporters. The MENA region’s energy subsides are equivalent to $236.7 billion annually, according to the International Monetary Fund – 50 per cent of the global total. Some countries are implementing reforms, either by cutting subsidies directly or by developing alternative sources of energy to meet high levels of domestic energy consumption. In other countries more needs to be done. The oil giant of the region, Saudi Arabia, is pou...

If you are a horologe connoisseur and cherish exclusivity, A. Lange & Söhne has launched a new timepiece that you would treasure for life. The German luxury watchmaker has launched Saxonia Automatic Outsize Date with the legendary Sax-0-Mat calibre in an exclusive pink-gold edition. Limited to 25 watches, the special model is available only at the 11 international A. Lange & Söhne Boutiques. Endowed with persuasive intrinsic values, the Saxonia Automatic Outsize Date pays tribute to the traditions of Saxon watchmaking artistry. The double-aperture outsize date, a widely recognized brand metaphor, graces its eye-catching dial. Down to the very last detail, this timepiece transports the values of Saxony’s watchmaking heritage to the present day. Its design reflects the elegant sleekness that characterizes all members of the Saxonia watch family. An extraordinary movement is accommodated in the pink-gold case of the Saxonia Automatic Outsize Date: Lange’s famous Sax-0-Mat manufa...

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The Crowdfunding Industry Collaboration on the web is an area of exponential growth. Crowdfunding, or collaborative funding via the web, is one of the standouts for growth in this evolving collaborative economy. The Crowdfunding Industry Report by Massolution put out data showing the overall crowdfunding industry has raised $2.7 billion in 2012, across more than 1 million individual campaigns globally. In 2013 the industry is projected to grow to $5.1 billion. Some of the most interesting developments in crowdfunding, which are expected to grow in the months and years ahead, include: investment crowdfunding (becoming a shareholder in a company), localization (funding focused on participants in specific cities and neighborhoods), mobile solutions, and group-based approaches. The JOBS Act that was passed in April of 2012 paved the way to investment crowdfunding, but the JOBS Act Rulings by the SEC have yet to be fully implemented to formally kick the market off. Expect big movement...

The FTTH market in the Middle East is growing at a rate that far surpasses even that in mature IT markets. A report from the FTTH Council MENA has shown that the UAE already leads the global rankings with an FTTH penetration of 64.8 per cent. Other countries in the region in particular Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, Morocco, Algeria, Egypt and Turkey are also investing in this technology and we are sure to see widespread penetration within a few years, said Jean-Pierre Labry, Executive Vice-President of R&M Middle East, Turkey and Africa. Reichle & De-Massari (R&M) Middle East, Turkey and Africa is the Swiss structured cabling specialist. Labry said: “These countries are venturing into FTTH territory for the first time. While this is an advantage considering they are not faced with costly upgrades of legacy networks, it does present unique challenges and risks. R&M has been an active player in the region and because of our well-established local presence, we are in touch ...

Expatriate recruitment remains a priority for finance executives in the Middle East finds new research from recruitment specialist Robert Half UAE. With finance directors expecting to increase permanent headcount in the second half of the year, they are targeting professionals from North America (32%) and the United Kingdom (27%) to fill critical roles. With more than eight in 10 (85%) executives challenged in finding the skilled talent they need, expatriate recruitment will remain a central strategy for the foreseeable future. When asked what makes candidates from this region the most suitable for their organisation, one quarter (24%) said the market/business environment was the chief reason they would look to this area. This was followed by the accounting standards (20%) and language skills (16%). Other criteria include the regulatory environment, education and cultural awareness. Gareth El Mettouri, Associate Director, Robert Half UAE said: “A favorable economic environment and in...

For the crude oil and gas sector, it’s all about sharing risks and jointly reaping rewards. The industry executives – including control room operators monitoring use data, chief information security officers analyzing the potential cyber security risks of a new IT system, and oil rig managers discussing drilling sites with geologists – are making business decisions in an interconnected landscape of risks and rewards.  Success demands balancing the dizzying array of new regulations, cutting edge technology, and emerging threats and opportunities that are ever present in the oil industry. “Partnering with our oil and gas clients, we examine the near and long-term trends for this industry, and it is striking to see how regulation, the cyber threat environment, and internal challenges are converging to shape the path forward,” said Emile Trombetti, senior vice president, Booz Allen.  “It is critical that industry leaders consider how these trends provide challenges and opportu...

Jumbo malls are being less favored by shoppers in the six Gulf Cooperation Council countries, while the popularity of neighborhood stores and discount centers is rising significantly. Research firm Roland Berger conducted a consumer opinion survey, which shows that differentiation of the “shopping experience” in malls is becoming an increasing challenge. Bigger malls are not necessarily more appealing, while concepts such as “discount malls” get higher agreement during the survey. Some of the highlights:

Spain's Amancio Ortega listed as the 3rd richest person in the world in 2013 according to Forbes. Who?! Amancio Ortega! He is the year's biggest gainer, up $19.5 billion. He moves into the top three among the world's richest for the first time. He stepped down as chairman of Inditex, best known for its Zara brand, in 2011, but still owns nearly 60% of its shares, which soared 50% year-over-year on record profits. Ortega also has a real estate portfolio, much of it acquired at bargain prices during the financial downturn, estimated to be worth more than $4 billion. Among his properties: the iconic Torre Picasso, a 43-story skyscraper in Madrid (Google is a tenant), which he purchased from billionaire Esther Koplowitz in 2011. He also owns buildings in Madrid, London, Chicago, San Francisco and New York. A railway worker's son, he started as a gofer in a shirt store. With then-wife Rosalia Mera, also a billionaire, he started making dressing gowns and lingerie in their...

The absolute monarch of the desert kingdom controls 20% of the world's known oil reserves and guards Islam's holiest cities. The Arab Spring couldn't shake al Saud's sovereignty, but out-of-control youth unemployment remains a threat. Aging Abdullah lost his second heir apparent in two years when his brother, Crown Prince Nayef, died in June; he's been replaced by another brother, 76-year-old Crown Prince Salman, the former governor of Riyadh. Abdullah ranks 7th on Forbes list of World's Most Powerful People 2013. He is 89 and resides in Riyadh, KSA.

While it’s impossible to accurately calculate the numbers and growth of single-family offices due to their penchant for privacy, there are a lot of indications that single-family offices are growing in number. Additionally, the amount of wealth being managed by individual single-family offices is likely increasing significantly. The boom in single-family offices is being fueled by the tremendous worldwide increase in private wealth. There are a number of reasons for the dramatic increase in personal fortunes from the creation of new tech fortunes to structural economic changes favoring knowledge entrepreneurs to the momentous transfer of wealth between generations. There are other pockets of extreme wealth that are adopting the single-family office model. A number of billionaire hedge fund managers, for instance, such as George Soros and Stanley Druckenmiller, have opted to shed outside monies and turn their hedge funds into single-family offices. At the same time, the single-family ...

For the super-rich establishing their own family offices, the challenge of delivering every service at the highest levels of expertise cost effectively has led toward strategic outsourcing. This can be seen in many ways, from the use of outside money managers to the heavy reliance on outside counsel for advanced planning services. More than ever, outsourcing is particularly appealing for the array of lifestyle services many family offices make available. Another variation of this move to outsourcing is the outpost family office, an emerging trend where a family office in one geographic region creates a joint venture with a family office in a different geographic region. According to Richard Flynn, principal, the Rothstein Kass family office group, “This arrangement is proving particularly attractive to globe-hopping family members who want the hands-on high-end services and expertise of a leading family office, without having their own family office establish operational facilities i...

Carlos Slim Helu is the world's richest man for the fourth year in a row ($76 billion). He clocks in at $4 billion more than a year ago, thanks to surging stock prices at his financial arm, Grupo Financiero Inbursa, and at his Grupo Carso industrial and retail giant. Pan-Latin American mobile telecom outfit America Movil remains his most valuable holding at $36.3 billion; the company spread its wings to Europe in the past year, buying pieces of Dutch telecom company KPN and Telekom Austria. Other listed companies focus on mining, real estate and infrastructure. Slim does not hold an executive position at any of the companies he controls, but remains engaged and advises on strategy. He put his sons, Carlos, Marco Antonio and Patrick, in charge of the industrial, finance and telecom companies he controls.In September America Movil bought stakes in two Mexican professional soccer teams; in November Slim bought a majority of struggling Spanish soccer team Real Oviedo. Early 2013 saw a ...

Before we explain our important message to you, let me briefly introduce ourselves. Twelve years ago we launched a magazine for investors. We called it MoneyWeek. MoneyWeek is now the UK’s best-selling financial magazine, and serves tens of thousands of subscribers in more than 60 countries. You may have heard of MoneyWeek because of the work we’ve done over the last several years – helping investors avoid some of the big disasters associated with the credit collapse. We warned investors to take their money out of Europe in 2009… to avoid buying the euro… to stay away from the big banks in 2008… and steer clear of property investments in 2007. We even helped our subscribers find opportunities to profit from the ensuing chaos, by stocking up on gold and a number of other assets unpopular at the time. To our knowledge, no other publication can match our record of correctly anticipating and predicting the financial crisis. But that's not why we wrote this letter. We cite our success...

After Lebanon ranking before Paris (!) in Condé Nast Traveler's 25 Best Cities in The World, Lebanon ranks once again high up on the quintessential list of Countries with The Most Beautiful Women in the World! So yeah, Lebanon may not have the most gigantic malls in the world, fake plastic islands, massive reserves of oil and gas (although it seems we may be in for a big surprise) or even a f* government for that matter (Lebanon rules itself according to a simple overriding principle: the bigger your car, the bigger your wasta) but is has the single most important asset any country in the world seeks: the most beautiful women!  Posted by Charles Corm: "Beautiful women are more important than oil and gas, mining, shipping, atomic energy, real estate, hotels, beach resorts, politics, mobile apps, banking, insurance, the stock market, education, mobile phones, management, cars, energy, transportation, retail, farming, pharmaceuticals, healthcare, finance and 183 other things I a...

Famed investor Marc Faber believes that Apple is a troubled company making an array of frivolous products—and for that reason could be on the road to bankruptcy.  "This is the kind of stock I'm really not interested in," Faber said about Apple on Tuesday's "Futures Now." "I'm not saying it will go bust," but "it could go bust eventually."  Faber added that it won't go under "tomorrow" or "the day after tomorrow." But the editor and publisher of the Gloom, Boom & Doom Report compares Apple to another technology company that's now infamous for moving slower than the times. "This is kind of like Polaroid of the 1970s," Faber said. After all, Polaroid, like Apple, was founded and driven by a famous innovator who eventually left the company. "Dr. [Edwin] Land, who was the founder of Polaroid, had more patents under his head than anyone else in the world," Faber noted. In 1982, Land (w...

Every day, we hear about new startups that are being established by entrepreneurs in the Arab world. As the number of Facebook users in the Middle East and North Africa continues to grow, exceeding 46 million at the end of 2012, more and more startups are using social media to promote themselves. These days, companies can't afford to not be on Facebook; its use is obvious for those looking to reach potential customers, sponsors, partners, suppliers or even the best employees. It's easy to find advice for creating a Facebook page, to fill out registration forms, upload pictures, and do everything you would need to to have a page with the same features as some of the world's biggest companies. However, the process of managing your page and driving traffic to it is less discussed; here are five tips for making your page successful. They may seem extremely simple, and yet, setting up the right structure from the beginning is critical for gathering that initial momentum. 1...

In the past year, the startup ecosystem in the Arab region took a leap forward, with several new launches, a few major acquisitions, and a few large funding rounds, especially from external investors; overall, investment in startups went from an estimated US $10 million in 2010 to US $72 million in 2012. Startappz Media has released a new study, produced in collaboration with DDArabia, that takes a quick look at the changes. Some of the major acquisitions include Thompson Reuters' buyout of Zawya; several VCs also upped their ticket rounds, with MEVP in Lebanon investing US $1 million in Cedar Books, and online travel club TravelerVIP raising US $1 million in a round led by BECO capital. STC also made major investments in ikoo, Acadox and Gengo. Namshi and Souq.com, both of which took on investment from firms based outside the Middle East, accounted for 80% of investments made this year. A few regional players also acquired local players, such as Ecommerce SEA acquiring Mallna; a...

Commodities remain the world's worst-performing asset class this year, with the benchmark Dow Jones-UBS Commodity Index falling 8.95% year-to-date. A number of factors have conspired against commodities like gold and copper this year, but a key reason is China's slowing growth. The Asian giant accounts for more than 40% of global demand for iron ore, lead, copper, aluminum, zinc and nickel, and its economic slowdown has hurt production and demand for a number of commodities. "Also note that China represents 40%-50% of global industrial metals demand, compared with just 12% of global oil demand, and year-to-date base metals prices are down 15% versus just 3% for oil," said PIMCO, a major investment financial institution. With the global economy forecast revised down to 2.9% in 2013 and 3.6% in 2014, the commodity markets are expected to remain soft over the medium term. "Emerging market and developing economy growth rates are now down some three percentage poin...

As part of its tasks to encourage owners of Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) to develop their businesses and support them in achieving their objectives, the National Business Center (NBC) incubates a project, being conducted under the name of Muscat Digital Advertising Company (MDAC). "The project aims at using advanced technology in digital advertising and intends to assist the SME's to intensify their business ideas and to support them to be great achievers", Khalid bin Ahmed al Abri, Chief Executive Officer and Founder of MDAC said. This project is also designed at reducing the cost of traditional method of commercial advertisements which are considered to be extremely expensive as compared to digital advertising, he added. He said the goal of the project was to take advantage of modern technology in promotion of business advertisements at affordable and reduced costs by utilising applications of the digital technology to advertise and to facilitate for promotion o...

Condé Nast Traveler announced the winners of its 26th annual Readers' Choice Awards yesterday. As they do every year, this year's results introduce new categories, new hotels and re-ordered lists of the world's best destinations. The magazine said this year's list was the most comprehensive ever, with 1.3 million votes cast for a whopping 16,000 properties around the world. The "Top 25 Cities in the World" list had refreshingly surprising additions and rankings -- Paris came in at a lowly 22 while Bruges and Cape Town tied for 11th place. Budapest and Florence tied for second, while the very top spot was seized by the colonial city of San Miguel de Allende in central Mexico, which took the crown from last year's favorite of Charleston, South Carolina (which was tied for fifth this year). Italy snapped up five of the top 25 cities, while Spain managed to take three. Despite its slide in the global rankings, Charleston was still voted the top city in the U...

SWFs added over $750bn to their total assets since 2012, the largest growth since 2007. Sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) globally have added over $750bn to their total assets under management over the last year, from $4.62tn in 2012 to $5.38tn in 2013, according to Preqin Sovereign Wealth Fund Review. This growth, which is the largest annual increase in total sovereign wealth fund assets since Preqin began tracking this information, can be accounted for by both the number of new sovereign wealth funds formed over the last few years, as well as capital injected into existing sovereign wealth funds. Interestingly, Asia-based sovereign wealth funds have shown some of the largest growth in assets under management, with the assets of these sovereign wealth funds growing, on average, by 19 per cent since 2012. This is in comparison to the average 6 per cent growth in assets under management exhibited by Middle Eastern sovereign wealth funds. In fact, Asia-based sovereign wealth funds account ...

Unlike other North African countries, Morocco has so far failed to produce vast quantities of primary energy and is a net importer of hydrocarbons.This could change, as the kingdom may hold greater gas reserves than previously thought - taking cue from the growing number of foreign energy companies flocking to Morocco to tap into this potential energy bonanza. Morocco's appetite for energy has nearly doubled in less than a decade:energy use per capita in the country has grown from 483 kilowatt-hour (kWh) in 2002 to 795 kWh in 2011, according to the Moroccan Ministry of Energy. Furthermore, the ministry estimates that, based on demographic trends and increases in the standard of living, the demand for primary energy will triple between 2010 and 2030, reaching 43 million ton of oil equivalent (toe) in 2030. Faced with this growing appetite, the country has to import up to 95.5% of its energy. Most of the gas Morocco imports flow in from neighboring Algeria through the Maghreb-Europ...

Local accelerators seek to lower barriers to entry through education, funding and mentorship. The startup culture in the UAE appears to be booming, with even more interest on the rise. A recent regional survey conducted by Bayt.com reported that 47 percent of respondents would rather be entrepreneurs than employees. Yet, the number of people who actually launch their own business is still relatively low. According to a survey conducted by the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor, in 2011 the UAE had an entrepreneurship rate of only 2.7 per cent. While this number may have increased over the past two years, it is safe to say that there are still barriers to entry preventing would-be business owners from getting started. "In the UAE, there are a lot of creative people with great ideas, but most ideas never launch because people don't have any experience running a business, don't know how to form a successful team, or don't have early funding," said Mr. Kamal Hassan, fo...

The following have all won a brand new Samsung Galaxy S4. Given MENA OPPORTUNITIES' privacy policy not to collect names (and sell that info to marketers like do 99% of websites in MENA), we only have the emails of the winners who were randomly drawn from MO's list of current subscribers. To ensure that you are indeed the owner of a winning email, please be sure to email MO at connect@menaopportunities.info from the winning email account below and insert "SAMSUNG S4" in the title. Well done and enjoy! Just the beginning of many sweepstakes and free gifts to be given out by MO... a.soucra@gmail.com abdulkader.sirius@gmail.com accaciasnoel@hotmail.com agadirparis@hotmail.com aljoutraregis@hotmail.com atomicfalafel@yahoo.co.uk bobeenajjar@gmail.com bobharrisonline@hotmail.com deepaksmitten@gmail.com dima.khoury101@gmail.com

The Arab Spring uprisings will end up costing Middle Eastern economies about $800 billion in lost output by the end of next year as countries struggle to restore stability, banking giant HSBC estimated on Wednesday. In a research report, HSBC predicted that at the end of 2014, gross domestic product in the seven hardest-hit countries - Egypt, Tunisia, Libya, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon and Bahrain - would be 35 per cent lower than it would have been if the 2011 uprisings had not happened. “The combination of a severe fiscal deterioration, and a decline in government effectiveness, security and the rule of law will weigh heavily on policymakers’ efforts, even to bring employment back to pre-revolution levels,” it said. HSBC forecast GDP growth in the Middle East and North Africa would slow to 4.0 per cent this year, reviving only slightly to 4.2 per cent next year, from 4.5 per cent last year and 4.9 per cent in 2011. That forecast included big differences between the oil-rich Gulf, which ...

Just Falafel, a United Arab Emirates-based franchise restaurant offering the traditional Arab food, has hired an advisor to help arrange an initial public offer of shares on the Nasdaq Dubai bourse as soon as October, sources said. The plan suggests IPO activity in Dubai is resuming after a gap of more than four years caused by the global financial crisis and the emirate’s 2009-2010 property market crash. Bank of London and The Middle East, Britain’s largest stand-alone Islamic bank, said on Monday it planned to seek a listing on Nasdaq Dubai next month; the most recent listing on either of Dubai’s stock two markets occurred in early 2009, when construction firm Drake & Scull listed. The sources, who are aware of Just Falafel’s plan, declined to be named because the matter is not yet public. A spokesman for the company declined to comment. Just Falafel, which was set up in 2007 in the UAE capital of...

Fiona Le Poidevin, of Guernsey Finance explains why Guernsey is a leading investment funds domicile and why it attracts significant business from the MENA region.   In July, the MENA Private Equity Association published its annual report for 2012. It reported that the fundraising environment remained relatively challenging with a decrease in total funds raised compared to 2011. However, the private equity industry in the Mena region was continuing to show signs of recovery in 2012 with an increase in the number and total value of known investments compared to the previous year. It will be very interesting for us to hear how the Mena private equity community is faring this year when we attend the SuperReturn Middle East conference in Abu Dhabi in October. The conference has become a staple of our marketing activity in recent years. This year, the representatives joining us from Guernsey's investment funds sector will be Richard Avery-Wright from asset manager RAW Capital Partn...

YouTube and Google say they have no plans to monitor the Internet or ban online content in the UAE. Alhtough several representatives from Google, which owns YouTube, did meet informally with Dubai Police in March to help foster mutual understanding, the companies are not in the process of drawing up a censorship plan for the UAE, a spokesperson said. Google was responding to a report from the Doha Centre for Media Freedom, which called on the company to reject what it said was a request from Dubai Police to ban approximately 500 terms from the website’s search engine.

With the UAE’s construction industry booming once again, the cautious optimism expressed over the past two years is now becoming a watchful confidence – and with good reason too, says Andrew Elias, CEO of Kele Contracting. “The UAE’s construction sector has now, after many years of turbulence, entered a renewed period of stable growth. From our perspective, as contractors, it is clear that investor confidence is building,” he says. “Project turnaround has increased and developers across the board are looking to expand their portfolios. This is an exciting time to be in the industry in the Emirates and we expect to stay very busy, well into the foreseeable future.” A rise in income levels, better job opportunities and favourable government policies in the UAE paint an optimistic picture of the country’s residential construction market, which is supported by the recent findings of a survey by Careerstructure.com. It not only discovered that 91 per cent of the UK’s architects, engineers...

All companies need money to invest in their future, build their products, hire the right people, expand their activities and tackle new markets. Getting the right sort of funding isn't simple though, and requires a strategy of its own to ensure the long-term support of banks and investors alike. First you need to determine the type of funding best adapted to your needs. For short-term purposes, getting banking facilities is the simplest way to go. On the other hand, if you need to fund organic growth or acquisitions, you should consider private investment - through a private equity firm or via your network - or a listing on public markets, depending on the size and maturity of your firm. If you go for private equity, make sure the investors are offering you the right deal structure.As for going public, it's a big step, and you need to be certain you are ready and willing to take it. Globo's founder and CEO Costis Papadimitrakopoulos advises caution: "As a driving for...

More than 200 million jobs can be created out of Small and Medium-seized Enterprises (SMEs) in the Gulf region as well as the wider Arab world in the next 20 years, top officials said at the Entrepreneurship Forum in the capital. “Youth unemployment can be alleviated through the development of entrepreneurship. SMEs are significant to the region’s economy and in providing solutions to the wider socio-economic issues, including the need to create over 200 million jobs in the next 20 years just to stop the rate of unemployment from increasing,” Badr Jafar, chief executive officer of Crescent Enterprises and managing director of the Crescent Group, said. “The ultimate goal is that we create employers, not just employees. The aim is to create a new generation of Emirati entrepreneurs by instilling the culture of investment among them and support SMEs through a series of programmes and services,” he added. Hosted by the Khalifa Fund for Enterprise Development, the two-day forum, which has...

Rank Name Net Worth Age 1 Aliko Dangote $12,000 M 56 2 Nicky Oppenheimer & family $6,400 M 68 3 Johann Rupert & family $5,700 M 63 4 Nassef Sawiris $5,500 M 52 5 Mike Adenuga $4,600 M 60 6 Christoffel Wiese $3,700 M 72 7 Othman Benjelloun $2,750 M 80 8 Patrice Motsepe $2,650 M 51 9 Naguib Sawiris $2,500 M 59 10 Mohamed Mansour $2,200 M 65

Rank Company Country Growth Return  Premium  1 Salesforce.com United States 32.1 21.6 72.8 2 Alexion Pharmaceuticals United States 39.2 38.4 72.3 3 VMware United States 16.3 19.0 63.7 4 Regeneron Pharmaceutica...