Egypt: Creast Mark for Contracting swings to profits in Q1 2025
Arab Finance: Creast Mark for Contracting and Real Estate Development shifted to net profits valued at EGP 94.026 million in the first quarter (Q1) of 2025, against losses of EGP 45.592 million in Q1 2024, the financial results showed.
Earnings per share (EPS) hit EGP 0.168 at the end of March 2025, compared to a loss per share of EGP 0.08 in Q1 2024.
Net sales amounted to EGP 260 million during the first three months of 2025.
© 2020-2023 Arab Finance For Information Technology. All Rights Reserved. Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (Syndigate.info).
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Khaleej Times
5 hours ago
- Khaleej Times
Eid Al Adha 2025: Emotional commerce and seasonal trends boost 45% online sales growth in Mena
Eid Al Adha 2025 is expected to deliver a 45 per cent boost in mobile sales across the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) e-commerce market and 150 per cent growth in gifting purchases, data showed, driven by a rise in emotionAl first commerce and seasonal trends. Research by Flowwow, a UAE-based gifting marketplace, and Admitad, a leading affiliate marketing platform, projects a growth of 15 per cent in gross merchandise volume (GMV) orders growth in e-commerce research ahead of Eid Al Adha 2025, one of the region's key retail moments. The growth in online orders, sales GMV, and average order value during Eid Al Adha highlights a digital shift from traditional mall retail to fast and tech-enabled online shopping. In the changing e-commerce sector, super apps and marketplaces compete to meet the increasingly sophisticated demands of digital consumers. The region's rich culture of gifting, combined with its multinational population and rising income levels, continues to boost the rapid growth of online gifting in the GCC, making it the fastest-growing $1.8 billion market in this space, projected to reach $6.38 billion by 2030. The study, which analysed over 150,000 customer orders during the Eid Al Adha period 2024–2025, shows rising consumer demand for seasonal gifts and emotionally driven purchasing decisions. The analytics forecast a shift toward higher-value purchases, and strong mobile commerce growth, trends expected to continue into 2025 with projected 10 per cent order growth and mobile sales exceeding 45 per cent across the Mena region. Eid Al Adha is one of the biggest shopping seasons of the year in the Mena region, driven by traditions of generosity, gifting, and festive preparation. Looking ahead to Eid Al Adha 2025, Analysts project the number of e-commerce orders in the region to increase by 10 per cent, with GMV expected to grow by 14-15 per cent during the holiday, boosted by rising average household incomes and a growing shift toward digital shopping. Mobile commerce was a key driver of growth, with 47 per cent of online orders in the UAE and over 50 per cent in Saudi Arabia made via mobile devices. Across Mena, mobile purchases rose to 41.5 per cent, up from 38 per cent last year, showing the ongoing shift to mobile-first shopping. During the five-day holiday window in 2024, online orders in the Mena region increased by 5 per cent compared to non-holiday periods, while gross merchandise value (GMV) grew by 14 per cent. The average order value (AOV) rose from $37 to $40, an 8 per cent increase, showing a shift toward higher-value purchases. The UAE and Saudi Arabia, along with Kuwait, Qatar, and Jordan, stood out as some of the top-performing markets, with Saudi consumers posting an AOV of $62 and UAE shoppers close behind at $61. The gifting sector is following this growing trend: Flowwow gifting marketplace recorded a significant surge in sales during Eid Al Adha 2024 in the UAE, with GMV rising by 472 per cent year-over-year, marking a 5.72x performance increase compared to the previous year. This growth was accompanied by a 413 per cent rise in the number of transactions during the Eid period, showing growing customer engagement and stronger market demand during the holiday. The average order value for Eid Al Adha gifts also saw an improvement, reaching Dh354.28 ($96.46) – an increase of 19.9 per cent in UAE dirham terms and 20.3 per cent in US dollar terms, proving the demand for high-quality gifts. Moreover, the share of repeat gift purchases reached 71.8 per cent, reflecting growing customer loyalty. Consumer gifting preferences across the Mena region varied, reflecting both cultural nuances and national purchasing habits. In Saudi Arabia, electronics led the category chart, comprising 25.2 per cent of total orders, followed by home goods (15.5 per cent) and fashion (14.6 per cent). Automotive products, including spare parts and motorcycle gear, were particularly popular in the kingdom, accounting for 12.2 per cent of purchases. In the UAE, home goods took the top spot at 23.4 per cent, followed closely by electronics (21.7 per cent), accessories such as bags and jewellery (18.6 per cent), and fashion (17.5 per cent). 'During Eid Al Adha, we saw strong consumer interest in electronics, home goods, and fashion across both the UAE and Saudi Arabia, making these key categories for seasonal campaigns. At the same time, gifting segments like accessories, toys, and beauty continue to perform well, reflecting how central the tradition of gift-giving is to the holiday experience,' said Anna Gidirim, CEO of Admitad. During the Eid Al Adha period, marketplace data indicates that peony sales in the UAE increased by 151 per cent during the June holiday week, positioning peony bouquets among the top 10 best-selling gift items. This data aligns with 2024 market findings, with the UAE flower market saw a remarkable 200 per cent surge in peony sales over the summer and over 4,300 units sold last year. This trend shows how the timing of Eid Al Adha and the short peony season came together to drive a surge in demand. Among other popular gifting categories during the Eid Al Adha holiday on Flowwow were flowers (72 per cent), followed by hamper boxes (15 per cent), sweets and bakeries (9 per cent), and balloons and edible bouquets (2 per cent each). One of the main drivers of these on-occasion and non-occasion shopping trends and gifting market growth is the rise of emotional and social commerce. Emotion strongly influences consumer behaviour in the Mena region: a Google study shows that shoppers often rely on emotional triggers to make purchase decisions, while another research found that marketing campaign designed to foster emotional connection can lead to a 70 per cent increase in product usage and sales. In response, brands are moving away from transactional 'buy-now' messaging toward emotionally driven campaigns rooted in cultural values and storytelling. During Eid, influencer content and behind-the-scenes narratives on platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and Snapchat enhance the emotional impact of gifting. A TikTok and Ipsos study found that 61 per cent of users find TikTok more entertaining during Eid, with many discovering and trying new products through storytelling content. 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Zawya
8 hours ago
- Zawya
South Africa: Mining performance contracts in Q1 2025
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Zawya
8 hours ago
- Zawya
Africa's industrial moment is here to deliver jobs
Africa's industrial moment can't wait. With the promise of a 1.5-billion-person market under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), a rising generation of innovators, and deep untapped industrial potential, Africa is laying the groundwork for a new era of production. But momentum alone isn't enough. The question now is whether this shift can be matched by the right kind of policy and delivery and that's where The United Nations Industrial Development Organization's (Unido) latest Africa Industrial Development Report comes in. I had the opportunity to speak at the report launch in Johannesburg last month. The report focuses on a new era of industrial policy in Africa through the lens of the Sustainable Development Goals. It zeroes in on three critical goals: SDG 7 on clean and affordable energy, SDG 8 on decent work and economic growth, and SDG 9 on industry, innovation and infrastructure. The message was clear that Africa is at a critical inflection point with progress within reach if we act boldly to close the gaps in energy access, job creation and industrial capacity. On SDG 7, there's good news and tough news in the report. Energy access across the continent now sits at 58 percent, improving faster than any other indicator at 1.12 percentage points per year. But the continent is still 67 percentage points behind on clean energy. North Africa is pulling ahead on both access and affordability, with Southern and Northern Africa leading on clean energy adoption. Our renewables, sun, wind, hydro, and geothermal, give us a real chance to leapfrog into a clean energy future. However, we won't get there without investment in generation, grids and local capacity to manufacture clean technology. On SDG 8, the challenge is how Africa translates economic growth into jobs. The data shows that growth was slowing before COVID-19, exposing deep structural weaknesses. Youth unemployment and gender inequality continue to rise. When you zoom in, the picture is mixed: North Africa has had strong GDP growth but has struggled to convert this into job creation. Southern Africa faces a dual challenge of sluggish growth and high unemployment. Eastern Africa is faring better on both fronts, with relatively stronger growth and job creation. Central Africa, meanwhile, lags across the board a clear signal for urgent and targeted reform. SDG9 is where the continent appears to be furthest off track. The continent's performance in industry, innovation and infrastructure is lagging significantly. Infrastructure investment was gaining traction before the pandemic but has since lost steam. So, how do we shift gears? Private sector leadership and government coordination are two non-negotiables. Let's start with the private sector. Across Africa, private enterprise drives 90 percent of production, 80 percent of employment, and 70 percent of GDP. You simply can't design credible or effective industrial strategy and policy without this demographic in the room. Private sector-led growth isn't a nice-to-have — it's the engine of jobs, exports and resilience. Yet, too often, industrial strategies are designed in isolation, without meaningful input from the very firms expected to utilise them. That needs to change. Going forward, governments should institutionalise structured public–private dialogue not just at launch but throughout the entire policy cycle. This means engaging businesses early, co-developing sector roadmaps, and creating feedback loops to adjust policies in real time. Government coordination is the next lever for government to move beyond good intentions. Many countries have well-articulated industrial plans, but their impact is often diluted by overlapping mandates, weak inter-ministerial coordination, and a disconnect between strategy and delivery. What's needed is a 'full stack' approach to industrial policy that moves from ambition to action. This starts with strategy. Industrial policy must be anchored in a national vision and championed at the highest level. All ministries from finance and trade to energy and education need to be aligned behind a single direction of travel. But a strategy is only useful if it's translated into investable, executable plans. Next comes policy, the rulebook of incentives, regulations, and trade frameworks. These need to be grounded in market realities and responsive to firm-level needs. But the real bottleneck is often delivery. Execution requires a system: cross-government coordination, clear KPIs, timelines, and a mechanism to track results and course correct in real time. And finally, technology which is now the most essential and transformative tool in government's hands, whether it's tracking industrial performance, targeting subsidies, or managing regulatory compliance. We need to treat digital tools as part of the core infrastructure of modern industrial policy. The Africa Industrial Development Report is a call to action. We know what's not working. We also know what's possible. Now it's time to deliver. Africa doesn't need more strategies gathering dust. It needs more jobs. And it needs them now. The writer is an Industrial Policy, Governance and Private Sector Development Expert and currently Senior Advisor (Global Lead), Industry & Commerce at the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change. © Copyright 2022 Nation Media Group. All Rights Reserved. Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (
