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August 10, 2021
COVID-19 accelerates Saudi Arabia’s push towards cashless society
Event Youth between the ages 16 and 22 in Saudi Arabia are using less cash compared to other age groups, indicating that the country’s transition towards a cashless society is on track. Analysis Saudi Arabia set a goal of gradually transforming into a cashless society by increasing the number of non-cash transactions to 70% by 2025 as part of its Saudi Vision 2030. Saudi Arabia has been taking huge strides in this regard during recent years, supported by the Government...
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June 2, 2021
‘COVID-19’ a catalyst for EdTech industry in GCC region
The EdTech industry is transforming traditional learning methods by blending digital capabilities and the widespread penetration of digital devices within the general population. EdTech platforms have mushroomed to encompass adaptive learning, animated content, gamification, etc (Khaleej Times). The global EdTech market size was valued at USD 89.49 billion in 2020 and is expected to reach USD 106.04 billion in 2021. Which is expected to witness a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 19.9% from 2021 to 2028 to reach USD...
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May 25, 2021
Importance of Fintech amid COVID-19
Interview with Mr. M.R.Raghu, CEO, Marmore MENA Intelligence Has the role of Fintech become more critical, given the pandemic? With the subsequent waves of the COVID-19 in place, it might take longer than expected for the situation to get back to absolute normalcy. This puts a spotlight on the increasing need for digitisation with Fintech. COVID-19 has certainly fast tracked Fintech adoption, which is very much evident from the data points. According to Mastercard, in MEA region contactless payments has...
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June 25, 2020
Edtech – It’s Promise and Future
The EdTech industry is transforming traditional learning methods by blending digital capabilities and the widespread penetration of digital devices within the general population. EdTech platforms have mushroomed to encompass adaptive learning, animated content, gamification, etc. (Khaleej Times). Globally, the EdTech industry recorded a total investment of USD 18.7bn in 2019, following a record of USD 16.3bn in 2018 (Ibid ). It is notable that the combined investments in 2018 and 2019 are greater than the total combined investment recorded from...
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April 2, 2020
AI and ML: Sectors that already benefitted and sectors yet to benefit
Artificial intelligence (AI) has been around for decades, but the technology today gains prominence with the enormous availability of data and the increasing computational speed. AI is a broader concept that encompasses multiple tools and can be defined as a constellation of technologies, from machine learning to natural language processing that allows machines to sense, comprehend, act and learn (Accenture). The present promising AI products like self-driving vehicles, digital assistance from SIRI to CORTANA are some of the results of...
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March 10, 2020
Data Science and its Economic Potential for the GCC
Data is the new oil; emerging technological applications like data science, Artificial Intelligence and analytics have made data a more valuable commodity. Leveraging data science can aid in extracting valuable information from the raw data. Such insights will open up new avenues of growth in the present digital economy; Data science applications have already made some economic impact in key GCC sectors like oil and gas, finance and healthcare. The GCC governments also generates large amounts of data hence effective...
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February 24, 2020
Languages of the Machine… Do you understand them? You Better!
Most of us, who do not belong to the field of computer sciences, are painstakingly unaware when it comes to the world of programming languages and are afraid to even try and attempt to understand it. There are alphabets, and numbers, and symbols, all working together to form a giant web of disarray (or an artistic masterpiece; depending on how you look at it). We might have had a brief encounter with them in our school life, but have since...
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October 9, 2019
A dab of good food and a dollop of technology!
Customers are increasingly expecting certain advantages when they shop, travel and handle their finances such as digital access, personalization, loyalty tracking and no touch transactions. In a relatively new trend, customers have similar expectations when they dine as well. Restaurant tech is defined as set of innovative technologies that improve the restaurant business and the experience for customers. AI, blockchain, drone delivery, and robotics are expected to play a larger role in the food industry. With a 77% smart phone...
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September 30, 2019
GCC Ridesharing and its long road!
Digital ride sharing platforms are placed within the wider framework of an emerging disruptive model that is referred to as the sharing economy. Sharing Economy refers to the business model that operates through an online platform that facilitates consumer to consumer transactions, panning across sectors including transport, warehousing, tourism and hospitality and finance among others. GCC has a thriving sharing economy primarily due to factors such as a consistent labor force, high levels of urbanization, high technology adoption rates, national...
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June 20, 2019
Imagining a Skills Policy for the GCC
In order to keep up with the workforce needs of the time, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) nations need an interdisciplinary skills policy to mobilize and deploy skills throughout the ecosystem. The skills policy needs to be interdisciplinary in terms of covering requirements, activities, responsibilities and professional tools shared by varied stakeholders, public sector agencies, the private sector, academia and small businesses. The challenges of a pragmatic skills policy for the requirements of the GCC can only evolve through several...