Business Extra

The promise of the Metaverse and Web 3.0 technologies has been quantified in the UAE through the Dubai government's strategy to create 40,000 jobs and add $4 billion to the emirate's economy in the next five years from the digital transformation.

Abdulaziz AlJaziri, Deputy CEO and Chief Operations Officer at Dubai Future Foundation, talks to host Mustafa Alrawi about the opportunities and the road ahead as the country embraces the new immersive era of the internet.

In this episode:

• Will the metaverse live up to the hype?

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Careem became the Middle East's first unicorn, a start-up with a valuation of at least $1 billion, in 2016 and three years later was bought by Uber for $3.1bn.

The deal allowed the company to continue to operate independently, and today, its co-founder and chief executive Mudassir Sheikha says it was only the beginning: he plans to stay with Careem as it reaches for 'decacorn' status — a company valued at $10bn.

As Careem celebrates its 10-year anniversary this week, Mr Sheikha is seeking new funding, hires and acquisitions as he leads the expansion of a super app, going into services beyond ride-hailing to include food and grocery delivery, financial services and new partner services including car rental and home cleaning.

He joins co-hosts Mustafa Alrawi and Kelsey Warner this week to reflect on the past decade and talk about what is still to come.

In this episode:

Read more on our website:

• Dubai's Careem acquires money transfer platform Denarii in FinTech push

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• Oman Insurance acquires Generali’s UAE life insurance portfolio

• UAE Central Bank imposes sanctions on insurer for not meeting regulatory requirements

• Oil prices surge on tight supply but recession fears loom

• Uber and Lyft drivers opt for Teslas amid rising petrol prices

• Energy minister: UAE producing close to maximum oil capacity based on Opec+ baseline

• Energy demand and carbon emissions bounce back to pre-pandemic levels, BP report finds

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Electric car sales have surged this year after breaking a record last year, according to a report by the International Energy Agency.

The transport sector's electrification is a fast-growing trend amid the global push to net zero carbon emissions.

However, for EVs, rising prices of critical minerals required for battery manufacturing and supply chain disruptions, present obstacles to meeting these ambitions.

Orral Nadjari, chief executive and founder of Glencore-backed battery maker Britishvolt, discussed the risks and opportunities the industry is currently facing, with hosts Mustafa Alrawi and Kelsey Warner.

In this episode:

Read more on our website:

• Half of all UAE residents consider switching to electric vehicles, survey finds

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Recent data shows strong business activity growth in both the UAE and Saudi Arabia. This is expected amid pandemic recovery and higher oil prices, according to Khatija Haque, chief economist and head of research at Emirates NBD. But global market forces are also at play.

She joins co-hosts Mustafa Alrawi and Kelsey Warner this week, sharing her outlook on how GCC economies will fair against rising inflation and global recession fears — and why growth is still possible even in this environment.

In this episode:

Read more on our website:

• Solid growth on the cards for the UAE despite accelerating inflation

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Investment banks have faced unprecedented times before, but market dynamics and the volume of data in play in 2022 makes this a time like no other.

That's according to Kim Fournais, who founded Denmark firm Saxo Bank in 1992. The CEO joins co-hosts Mustafa Alrawi and Kelsey Warner to discuss how using technology and pushing East to new markets is helping the 30 year-old firm ride out the latest wave of geopolitics, inflation and new unregulated assets like cryptocurrencies.

In this episode:

Read more on our website:

• Facebook exodus and 15% inflation lead Saxo Bank’s outrageous predictions for 2022

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It has been more than two years since NMC Health almost collapsed, after a more than $4 billion debt pile was uncovered and the company's founder and former joint chairman, BR Shetty, fled the UAE in one of the biggest corporate scandals in the country's history. That history is receding as the new NMC Healthcare charts a different path, while maintaining its position as the biggest private healthcare provider in the UAE.

In March, a restructuring process was completed, a move that allowed 34 NMC companies to exit administration, a signal that jobs and cash flow have been saved. Before that, NMC's business rebounded in the first half of 2021 as revenue beat expectations despite pandemic headwinds.

Joining co-hosts Mustafa Alrawi and Kelsey Warner this week is Michael Davis, chief executive of NMC Healthcare, who has been at the helm since the saga began. They discuss priorities of the brand new board of directors, retaining 12,000 employees amid corporate scandal, growth opportunities coming out of the pandemic and if NMC would IPO again.

• EY faces $2.5bn lawsuit for 'audit negligence' over NMC collapse

The World Economic Forum's Annual Meeting in Davos is back as an in-person event but in May instead of its usual January slot.

In Davos, host Mustafa Alrawi and The National's Editor in Chief, Mina Al-Oraibi discuss all the big themes at the Forum's meeting.

In this episode:

• Gulf shines amid uneven outlook for Middle East and North Africa

• How Bahrain plans to double the size of its tourism sector in five years

• Davos 2022 'most timely and consequential' forum in history, says Schwab