Analysis Manufacturing Morocco in drive to become a global EV manufacturing hub Ask anyone to name the global electric vehicle manufacturing powerhouses and the US and China are the first countries that will spring to mind. But Morocco now looks set to join the big league after its government announced in July that it is planning to ink a deal with several EV battery manufacturers to construct […] September 16, 2022
Analysis MENA startup funding poised to recover in second half of 2022 Last year was a standout for Middle East and North African startups in which many notable records were broken, including the largest funding round to date and the highest number of deals. The total amount of investment raised by regional startups was pushed to $2.8 billion across 639 deals. This constituted a quadrupling of investment, […] July 29, 2022
Analysis Food & Drink Poor Arab nations face hunger despite Ukraine grain deal Middle East and African countries dependent on Ukrainian grain face the prospect of crippling food insecurity, hunger and misery, despite a deal to restart exports blockaded amid the Russian war. Moscow’s promises may prove unreliable, while skyrocketing grain prices could spell dire outcomes for the region’s hungriest and most vulnerable nations, experts told AGBI. The […] July 28, 2022
Analysis Manufacturing Ethical fashion: it’s so right now, but it’s granny chic too Sustainable fashion is a buzzword that’s becoming a sound business proposition, particularly for MENA manufacturers returning to the thrifty practices of their grandparents The QR code on the clothing label takes you to a field where the cotton is grown. Shoppers can swipe to see the cotton being picked by hand and gathered into fluffy […] July 27, 2022
Energy Alpha Dhabi deal to shape future of energy in Libya Alpha Dhabi subsidiary W Solar agrees long-term renewable energy partnership with General Electricity Company of Libya June 29, 2022
Analysis Development UAE, Egypt and Jordan industrial pact will ‘unleash billions’ The partnership hopes to strengthen each country’s economic clout and competitive standing, both in the region and further afield The UAE, Egypt and Jordan’s decision to enter into an economic partnership stands out from recent announcements of bilateral deals struck between Arab countries and Western partners. The regional partnership, announced in Abu Dhabi on Sunday, […] May 31, 2022
Analysis Rising inflation and falling tourism deals Egypt a ‘double whammy’ With inflation surging and the government forced to fix the price of bread to head off civil unrest, Egypt has felt the heat from the Ukraine crisis more acutely than most countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. Higher commodity prices and the loss of tourism revenues from both Russian and Ukrainian […] May 23, 2022
Insight Food & Drink Ukraine war drives Gulf to double down on food security As the war in Ukraine has pushed up food prices and disrupted supply chains, hard-hit Mena countries explore ways to protect themselves In Abu Dhabi clusters of fresh tomatoes are growing inside rows of climate-controlled greenhouses in the middle of the desert – just one example of the lengths the arid region must go to […] May 12, 2022
Analysis Industry In Syria, business hub hopes to drive recovery from war In an industrial zone in northern Syria’s rebel-held city of Al-Bab, Abu Omar al-Shihabi’s smelter churns out iron bars he says can compete with any produced in Syria and beyond. The industrial zone is an unlikely business hub. It is located on the edge of a city which was once occupied by Islamic State and […] May 3, 2022
Analysis Tech Musk’s Twitter free speech promise may be tested in Middle East In a region where the local media is often controlled by the state, millions of people rely on social media platforms to follow news and express their opinions. Both Twitter and Facebook showed their potential to influence real-life events during the 2011 Arab Spring uprisings, when they played an outsize role in social upheaval. But […] May 3, 2022
