Proposed and co-founded by Sandra G. Matthews and Michael R. Henderson, the resort is designed to be built in 48 months, and will have an overall height of 735 feet (224 metres).

When constructed, Moon Dubai is expected to add to the emirate’s economy in sectors such as hospitality, entertainment, attractions, education, technology, the environment and space tourism, Henderson said.

Image source: Moon World Resorts Inc.

“Moon Dubai will be the largest and most successful modern-day tourism project within the entire MENA region, doubling annual tourism visitations to Dubai based on its global appeal, brand awareness and unique multiple integrated offerings,” Moon World Resorts’ Mathews and Henderson said, adding it can “can comfortably accommodate 10 million annual visitors.”

The resort’s lunar surface, surrounded by a “lunar colony,” is expected to enable 2.5 million guests, annually, to experience affordable space tourism on the ground in Dubai.

“Moon Dubai will significantly impact every aspect of the emirate’s economy including tourism, transportation, commercial and residential real estate, infrastructure, financial services, aviation and space, energy, MICE, agriculture, technology and of course education,” Henderson said, adding this would “firmly plant the UAE flag into the forefront of space exploration,” thus, driving millions of global space enthusiasts to seek out all Dubai has to offer.

The next steps

“Currently, MWR is planning a 2023 global road-show series showcasing Moon to potential regional licensees. One such show will take place in the MENA region, potentially Dubai, UAE, with other options including KSA, Qatar, Bahrain and Kuwait,” Henderson said.

He added: “Once the single MENA regional licence has been consummated and the precise location has been chosen, a one year pre-development program will be initiated followed by a four year build out program.”

Moon Dubai is proposed to operate under gold LEED certification, a 5-star built out standard and 5-diamond resort operational standard.

MWR is expected to licence four Moon destination resorts around the globe (known as regional licences), one in each of the following regions of North America, Europe, MENA and Asia.

The UAE is currently exploring opportunities surrounding celestial bodies, develop satellite communications technology and deploy the latest space technologies in terrestrial applications.

Article Source: ArabiaBusiness

The post Dubai’s new $5 billion ‘Moon’ proposed as UAE shoots for the stars appeared first on FoundersOasis.

Source: The National

Dubai’s biggest listed developer Emaar will sell its online fashion platform Namshi to e-commerce company Noon for $335.2 million.

Emaar’s board of directors has in principle approved the sale of its subsidiary Emaar Malls’ e-commerce unit Namshi to Noon, subject to the approval of Noon’s board of directors, the company said in a statement late on Friday to the Dubai Financial Market, where its shares are traded.

“Detailed information will be disclosed once the approvals of Noon’s board is received formally,” Ahmad Al Matrooshi, an Emaar board member, said in the statement.

“The planned divestment is with a related party to the company, noting the concerned board member did not participate or vote in the meeting.”

The UAE has witnessed a significant surge in online shopping, accelerated further by the Covid-19 pandemic.

The country’s e-commerce retail market hit a record $3.9 billion in 2020, growing 53 per cent annually, with the sector accounting for 8 per cent of the overall retail market, the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry reported.

E-commerce licences issued by the emirate jumped 63 per cent in the first half of 2021, the Department of Economic Development said.

Consultancy AT Kearney estimated that GCC e-commerce revenues surged almost fivefold from $5bn in 2015 to $24bn last year, predicting that this will thrive further thanks to a permanent change in consumers’ behaviours.

Amazon is the largest e-commerce player in the UAE, with net sales of about $500m in 2021, data from ecommerceDB shows.

Namshi was second with $249m, while Noon, the portal backed by Emaar founder Mohamed Alabbar and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, was next with $169m.

“The price shall be a cash consideration of $335.2m,” Emaar’s statement to the DFM said.

“The above cash consideration is the equity value of Namshi, which is equivalent to $350m of the company’s enterprise value. This is adjusted for debt at the company level and normalised working capital required.”

Emaar will receive the equity value as cash consideration for the sale, the statement added.

The DFM had suspended trading on Emaar shares on Friday morning until it received clarifications from the company about the results of its board of directors meeting.

The company first bought a 51 per cent stake in Namshi for $151m in 2017 from Rocket Internet’s Global Fashion Group. It later acquired the remaining stake in the online fashion retailer for $129.5m.

Emaar Malls’ full acquisition of Namshi came two years after it made an 11th-hour bid to acquire rival platform Souq.com, which was eventually sold to Amazon for $580m in 2017.

Article Source

https://www.wamda.com/2022/08/emaar-sell-namshi-noon

The post Emaar to sell Namshi to Noon for $335.2 million appeared first on FoundersOasis.

Press release:

Saudi fintech startup Tamara, the leading payments startup focused on driving financial inclusion across the Middle East, has raised a $100m Series B equity round led by Sanabil Investments, a wholly owned company by the Public Investment Fund (PIF) with participation from Coatue, Shorooq Partners, Endeavor Catalyst and follow-on investment by global fintech Checkout.com.

The company – which has seen exceptional adoption with more than 3 million customers, a 10x year-on-year revenue growth and over 4,000 partner merchants including leading global and regional brands like IKEA, SHEIN, Adidas, Namshi and Jarir plus local SMEs – will use the funding to expand its product offering across payments and shopping in addition to launching in new markets.

Abdulmajeed Alsukhan, Tamara’s Co-founder and CEO, said: “Our mission is to deliver an exceptional experience to our customers by offering transparent, seamless and inclusive payment solutions. Tamara has established itself as the trusted, reliable and sustainable local partner for any regional or global business looking to expand in Saudi Arabia and MENA.”

Abdulmajeed added: “We act as a marketing and discovery channel for our partner merchants to drive new customers and incremental sales online and in-store. After working with Tamara, our partners have seen on average 40% higher average order value, 20% lower cash on delivery, 15% higher conversion and significantly lower order return rates.”

Commenting on the announcement, Sanabil Investments said: “Tamara’s exceptional growth while maintaining healthy unit economics speaks volumes about what the team has achieved so far. We at Sanabil back industry disruptors and transformers, and in Tamara we found a team that has the qualities to transform huge industries such as financial services and shopping in the region and beyond.”

Remo Giovanni Abbondandolo, VP for MENA at Checkout.com, said: “Tamara has emerged as the payment method of choice for millions of consumers across the region. As the leading payments provider in MENA, Checkout.com’s investment demonstrates our belief in Tamara’s exceptional team and our commitment to supporting digital growth in the region. As such, Checkout.com will also serve Tamara as a payment method to our merchants — to compound growth in one of the fastest-growing markets globally.”

A spokesperson for Coatue, which is also an investor in Checkout.com, said: “We believe in Tamara’s potential to broaden its product portfolio and bring greater fintech innovation to the region. We look forward to seeing the company’s growth and expansion in payment solutions.”

Launched in September 2020 by Saudi entrepreneurs Abdulmajeed Alsukhan, Turki Bin Zarah and Abdulmohsen Albabtain, Tamara is at the forefront of a new generation of payment solutions. It was the first BNPL to enrol in the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA)’s Sandbox program.

Five months after launching, Tamara closed a $6 million seed funding round in January 2021 followed by a $110 million Series A led by Checkout.com in April 2021 – the largest-ever recorded in the Middle East and North Africa region, making the total funding so far $216 million in equity and debt. Tamara has attracted over 3 million customers and more than 4,000 partner merchants including leading global and regional brands like IKEA, SHEIN, Adidas, Namshi and Jarir plus local SMEs.

According to research by Checkout.com, more than 50% of customers across the region will use BNPL in 2022 – putting the Middle East “out ahead” as a leader in adoption. The survey concluded that – in addition to those already using BNPL – 31% of UAE residents plan to use the technology in the coming 12 months followed by Saudi Arabia at 27%, Kuwait at 26% and Bahrain at 18%.

Article Source:

https://www.wamda.com/2022/08/tamara-raises-100-million-series-b-round

The post Tamara raises $100 million Series B round appeared first on FoundersOasis.

Press release:

Cargoz is a logistics startup that connects SMEs looking for warehousing space with warehousing companies who has extra capacity, like Airbnb but for commercial warehousing & storage, has secured pre-seed funding from Nama Ventures

After Covid, the SMEs who had to suffer the most, no longer want to get into any yearly leasing of warehouses or have any expensive storage contracts. They are looking for storage space in the short term with monthly or weekly billing, and pay only for the space they use. On the other hand, there are warehousing owners and operators, who have plenty of extra capacity which otherwise is unused.

Cargoz platform will connect these two parties and assist SMEs avail on-demand storage in a very simple to use platform.

Cargoz was founded in January 2022 by Premlal Pullisserry (CEO) and Lijo Antony (CTO). Premlal has more than 10 years of warehousing and logistics experience in the GCC and was the Co-founder of Boxit Storage, the first on-demand personal storage company in the region. Lijo, now has more than 14 years of software development experience and was the head of product development at Boxit.

‘When we test launched in January this year, we underestimated the pain of finding on-demand storage for SMEs and how broken and stressful that experience was. We’ve grown over 10X in the last 6 months and it looks like we are solving a big problem that existed for several decades now. Currently, we only operate in Dubai and we will be available in all other Emirates by the end of the year and then go beyond that.

“Nothing makes us more excited at Nama Ventures than to see founders that are as complementary as Premlal and Lijo, I mean Premlal breaths logistics, his depth of the space and his understanding of the pains in the space are unparalleled, Lijo, on the other hand, is a coder’s coder, he is very well versed in tech space and knows how to build tech products,” said Mohammed Alzubi, founder and managing partner of Nama Ventures, “From the first ten minutes of our conversation it was clear to us that these guys are onto something special.  Honestly what impressed us the most is that this is their second startup together. It takes a special kind of respect and role clarity among founders to want to keep disrupting industries together as a team. We are beyond thrilled to welcome Premlal and Lijo to the Nama clan, and we can’t wait to learn from them about the exciting space they want to dominate.”

Article Source

https://www.wamda.com/2022/08/cargoz-secures-pre-seed-funding-nama-ventures

The post Cargoz secures pre-Seed funding from Nama Ventures appeared first on FoundersOasis.

Press release:

Zywa, a teen-focused fintech startup aiming to re-imagine banking for Gen Z in the Middle East and North Africa, has announced a seed funding round of $3 million. Investors who participated in the round include Goodwater Capital (the largest consumer tech VC globally), Dubai Future District Fund (venture capital fund of funds of Dubai, anchored by Dubai International Financial Centre and Dubai Future Foundation), Rebel Fund, Trampoline Venture Partners, Zemu VC, and some of the most prominent European family offices, as well as strategic angel investors. The funding shortly followed the company’s pre-seed round of US$1M raised in Feb 2022. The seed round also brings the YC-backed startup to a valuation that exceeds 110M AED, despite the current economic downturn.

Founded in 2021 by entrepreneurs Alok Kumar and Nuha Hashem, who were born and raised in Saudi Arabia, Zywa is bringing a unique solution to the region by offering a gamified community-based banking app and payment card to Gen Z between the age of 11-25 years old. In just 4 months of the pre-seed round, Zywa received 100,000+ signups. Gamification, community events, rewards and referrals contributed to the company’s rapid growth, in addition to integrating with more than 1,000+ brands tailored exclusively for Gen Z.

Alok Kumar, co-founder and CEO said, “Gen Zs in the UAE spend about AED5 billion+ every year and still rely on cash or their parents’ cards despite having options like supplementary cards issued by their parents’ banks. While these options give access to digital payments, they are not fundamentally designed for Gen Z, and this is where we add value. We are Gen Z building for Gen Z and aim to grow our product as they grow, to be the only financial services platform they will ever need. We are extremely proud to have global VCs such as Goodwater Capital, who is one of the early backers of Monzo, joining the round and investing for the first time in the region. The seed fund will help us focus on product, growth and strategic partnerships to accelerate our efforts in the UAE and Egypt markets while prepping us to launch in Saudi Arabia by early 2023.”

Nuha Hashem, co-founder and CTO added,  “With Gen Z, we need to hit the nail on the sweet spot between community, gamified learning and payment access. The Zywa app is already facilitating all of the above and this can be seen in the 4.8+ star rating on the App Store, as well as 85%+ of our users being active on a weekly basis while 90% of our discord users interact with us on a daily basis. The seed round will help us create more product initiatives to give the best possible experience to our Gen Z users while building their financial literacy. We want them to experience banking in a cool way that sets a high standard for them in the future. This funding will also help us tailor the product to a new audience in my home country (Egypt) and the country where I grew up (Saudi Arabia). We are proud to have a product that is localized to the MENA region and that Gen Z can resonate with.”

Sharif El-Badawi, CEO of Dubai Future District Fund, also added, “Access to and literacy of financial services across emerging markets is an essential need for an astonishingly large percentage of the population, and a core part of our investment strategy at DF2. In mature markets, both of these aspects start at a young age and Zywa’s strategic focus on older teens to 20-year-olds in the MENA region is clear to see from their product positioning and approach to tech stack choices. Alok and Nuha are among the rarest of founders these days, combining authenticity with a hardcore product and tech DNA. Their product vision and customer centricity are spot-on and are evident through their hyperactive user engagement. We couldn’t be more proud of being a part of their journey.”

Backed by Y Combinator, as well as prestigious governmental accelerators in UAE such as DIFC’s Fintech Hive and Mubadala’s Hub71, Zywa is creating a community of teens in the UAE who can connect and network with each other, while building their financial literacy. Zywa has launched a number of community programs such as internships, influencer partnerships, community events and more with key public and private sector entities in the UAE.

Article Source:

https://www.wamda.com/2022/08/neobank-zywa-raises-3-million-seed-round

The post Neobank Zywa raises $3 million Seed round appeared first on FoundersOasis.

Press release:

Dubai-based digital real estate investment platform, Stake, secured over $8 million in an oversubscribed pre-Series A funding round. This follows a $4 million Seed round the company closed back in June 2021, bringing their total raised funds to over $12 million.

Backed by some of the region’s leading venture capital investors, MEVP and BY Ventures, and participation from returning investors Vivium Holding and Combined Growth Real Estate, the funding marks the largest capital raise by a real estate investment platform in the MENA region.

With a base of 42,000 users from over 80 countries and 150 nationalities, Stake plans to invest this new capital in advancing its product and technology, upscaling its brand, and expanding operations within the region with the vision of enabling a borderless, liquid, and accessible market for quality real estate investments.

The company expects to continue fueling growth in the platform as regional investors flock to real estate for stability in today’s volatile global markets. This has led Stake to register an average 17% monthly growth rate in both investors and Assets Under Management (AUM), and 500% overall growth in AUMs in the past 12 months alone.

Rami Tabbara, Manar Mahmassani, and Ricardo Brizido, co-founders of Stake commented: “Investors in the region and beyond deserve a more transparent, digital-friendly means of investing in real estate. This round is a testament to our mission at Stake to bring access and liquidity to the oldest, largest, and most sought-after asset class in the world. The proceeds will allow us to continue attracting the best talent to the team and cement Stake’s position as the category leader in the MENA region.”

The region’s real estate surge has motivated Stake to enter two more markets by Q1 2023: Saudi Arabia and Egypt. The startup aims to direct the Kingdom’s proactive investors and encourage young Egyptians to tap into the rapidly growing asset class created in their domestic markets.

Currently, at 30+ team members, Stake is gearing towards recruiting new talent and doubling the team size in its expansion markets. The startup will provide investors with more liquidity and democratize the real estate asset class, as the region calls for a better real estate investment journey for its population of over 400 million, saving upwards of US$500 billion a year.

Riyad Abou Jaoudeh, Partner at MEVP says, “We believe that the future of property investment is digital, fractional, and hassle-free. The team at Stake has enabled thousands to become real estate investors and we are excited to partner with them as they scale in MENA.”

Despite global tensions and rising inflation concerns in the region, UAE’s real estate market continues to thrive, with Q2 2022 witnessing the highest quarterly volume of sales and 22.5K+ transactions taking place, valued at US$16.1 billion. As such, the real estate industry emerges as one of the top five sub-sectors by deal value in the Middle East, ranked alongside consumer products, banking and capital markets, asset management, and transportation.

Abdallah Yafi, Founder and Managing Partner at BY Ventures added, “We are delighted to welcome Stake to the BY portfolio and to be partnering with such an incredible team led by Rami, Manar and Ricardo in their mission-driven journey to build the go-to platform for fractional real estate investing in MENA. We’re proud of their early success in the UAE and excited about the potential in the wider MENA region. We strongly believe in the execution capabilities of the Stake team and their ability to build a dominant business while focusing on delivering profitable growth.”

Stake has grown from strength to strength since launching the Middle East’s first mobile application for fractional real estate investing in March 2022. On a mission to empower everyone to own and build wealth through real estate, Stake aims to multiply its active investor base tenfold, becoming the category leader in KSA and UAE.

Elie Khouri, Founder of Vivium Holding, further commented, “We believe that property investment stands at the core of any wealth-building strategy and we continue to stand behind Stake as they are democratizing real estate owners across the region.”

Article Source

https://www.wamda.com/2022/08/stake-raises-8-million-pre-series-round

The post Stake raises $8 million pre-Series A round appeared first on FoundersOasis.

To increase the operating effectiveness of its operations, the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) said yesterday that it had been awarded a contract worth 4.3 billion dirhams ($1.17 billion) to lease 13 self-propelled platforms.

According to a release, ADNOC Logistics and Services won the contract from ADNOC Maritime, demonstrating the top-tier skills of the ADNOC Group enterprises.

Through ADNOC’s effort to increase local added value during the course of the five-year contract, more than 80% of the contract’s total value will be directed to the local economy, supporting development and economic diversity in the nation.

The self-propelled platforms are versatile assets that allow ADNOC Logistics and Services to prepare, outfit, and maintain wells without a digger at the lowest possible cost and from a single site, improving the operational efficiency of the company’s marine operations.

Modern equipment on the platforms enables them to offer a variety of support services for ADNOC’s offshore fields, including the execution of operations, maintenance services, and lodging needs for field employees.

Ahmed Saqr Al-Suwaidi, CEO of ADNOC Offshore, said, “The contract that ADNOC Logistics and Services was given supports efforts to put ADNOC Off shore’s plans to increase its oil production capacity into action and directly advances ADNOC’s strategic goal, which is to increase its crude oil production capacity to five million barrels per day by 2030.

“This partnership enables us to take advantage of the services of self-propelled platforms to improve the flexibility of our operational operations and reduce costs, which helps to consolidate (ADNOC’s) leading position within the least expensive and carbon-intensive oil producers. (ADNOC Logistics and Services) has a demonstrated track record and extensive experience in the oil and gas sector.

Captain Abdul Karim Al-Masabi, the CEO of ADNOC Logistics and Services, said: “We are happy that the long-standing partnership of cooperation between (ADNOC Marine) and (ADNOC Logistics and Services). In order to succeed and raise the value of the (ADNOC) group, he continued, “(ADNOC Logistics and Services) is committed to always looking to take advantage of all growth prospects.”

The post ADNOC grants a 4.3-billion-dirham lease for self-propelled platforms. appeared first on FoundersOasis.

According to comments made to the Tadawul stock exchange, where its shares are traded, SEC reached a deal to receive a $3 billion international syndicated credit denominated in US dollars as well as a $567.5 million Export Credit Agency (ECA) facility.

The $3 billion unsecured facility, with a five-year term, will be obtained from 15 regional and international lenders. The existing syndicated facility, which was raised in 2017 and is due to maturity this month, will be refinanced using it.

Additionally, the credit will pay for the company’s capital expenditure requirements to support long-term growth for both the business and the investor.

Along with Standard Chartered, HSBC, Intesa Sanpaolo, Mizuho Bank, MUFG Bank, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, State Bank of India, Bank of China, Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank, First Abu Dhabi Bank, and National Bank of Kuwait, the 15-bank syndicate also includes Standard Chartered, HSBC, Intesa Sanpaolo, Kuwait National Bank, and others.

The Saudi Arabia-Egypt electrical interconnection project will be funded by SEC in the meanwhile using the ECA facility, which has a 14-year tenor.

In October, contracts totaling $1.8 billion were signed in Cairo for the construction of transmission plants and the connection of power grids between Saudi Arabia, the region’s largest economy, and Egypt, the country with the largest Arab population.

The project will be implemented by three consortia made up of international and local businesses, an, with a peak transmission capacity of 3,000 megawatts.

Egypt is currently experiencing an energy crisis, and on Wednesday, Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly announced that the nation will launch a new initiative to cut down on electricity consumption the following week.

The new regulations would eliminate outdoor lighting in public squares, cut back on lighting at sizable sports complexes, and turn off electricity in government buildings after regular business hours. Shopping centres will also receive directives to set their central air conditioning at 25°C or higher.

Together with Standard Chartered Bank and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, SEC signed the ECA agreement. It will be supported by the Swedish Export Credit Corporation and insured by the Swedish Export Credit Agency, subject to preceding requirements being met.

According to Khaled Al Gnoon, chief executive of SEC, “SEC’s acquisition of the international syndicated facility as well as the ECA facility, both achieved at favourable terms and pricing, is testament to the company’s substantial asset base, high-quality credit, and connections with the kingdom’s sovereign credit rating.”

In light of the unstable market environment, he continued, “The increased interest from the regional and global financial community is also promising and speaks to Saudi Arabia’s strong economic fundamentals.

The post Saudi SEC obtains $3.56 billion in financing from 15 lenders. appeared first on FoundersOasis.

Safi Qurashi, CEO of the recently founded NewTek, and Patrick Tobler, founder and CEO of NMKR, have agreed to develop a number of NFTs backed by commodities and real estate on the Cardano blockchain.

The two businesses think that by making the change, they will be at the forefront of technology deployment and public adoption.

The CEO and Founder of NMKR, Patrick Tobler, expressed his excitement about the partnership with NewTek. A crucial stage in our strategy will be to combine Safi’s network of well-established firms with his knowledge of how to implement new technologies into operational businesses will be a crucial step in our plan to move the NFT sector into commonplace and real-world use cases.

Following the recent signing of a strategic cooperation deal with Singapore-based asset managers, Stratez Capital, London-based NewTek is first concentrating on significant real estate projects in the Middle East, particularly Dubai.

By working together to develop real estate projects and commodity trading using blockchain and Web3 technology, NewTek hopes to make two of the largest asset classes accessible to the general public.

“I’m thrilled to be partnering with NMKR who are the ideal blockchain technology partners, with unmatched knowledge and know-how in Web3 and NFTs,” said Qurashi.

We want to combine genuine assets with real value into the future, which to conduct business. We needed reliable partners who concur with our ideas, values, and goals because we have a clear idea of what we want to create.

“What we have created and planned for Dubai will be the first in the region, in typical Dubai style, integrating real estate, hospitality, and investment prospects.”

Qurashi continued, “The staff at NMKR has proven that they can provide exactly what we need. The fact that what began as an idea five years ago is now becoming a reality greatly excites me.

“Our goal is to build genuine value and investment opportunities on the foundation of established business practices. Modern technology will be used as a tool to make investing simpler, more transparent, more reliable, and with the least amount of use.

“I think we need to adopt a fresh strategy for integrating the new technology at our disposal without sacrificing fundamental business principles.”

The post A contract between NMKR and Newtek Holdings brings real-world assets into Web3 appeared first on FoundersOasis.

Tabadul’s position as the keystone of Saudi Arabia’s logistics value chain, which will propel the sector’s digital transformation throughout the region, is cemented by the overarching plan. To highlight the true value of synergy and turn the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia into a regional role model for logistics operations efficiency and a facilitator of the regional and global trade system, the new strategy will strengthen collaboration with stakeholders from both the public and private sectors.

Tabadul implements a tactical vision and objective with specific aims through its Beyond strategy. Tabadul will benefit from inclusive growth because of the plan’s strengthened supply chain e-services, expanding its present product line to serve the financial services industry, as well as the corporate and government sectors, and offering cutting-edge technology solutions to boost productivity, boost transparency, and boost revenue for all the sectors in its ecosystem.

The post Saudi company Tabadul unveiled a new plan to digitally change the logistics industry appeared first on FoundersOasis.