Latest news with #BusinessExtra
The National
21-05-2025
- Business
- The National
The UAE's race to 'make it' here
The UAE is in a race with itself to raise its manufacturing game. From machine parts to pasta, there is one goal: Make it in the Emirates. That also happens to be the name of an event taking place in Abu Dhabi this week, showing what UAE manufacturing has to offer. It's part of a larger push by the country to be less reliant on international trade, aiming to expand and diversify the UAE economy and make manufacturing as one of its strongest pillars. On this episode of Business Extra, we're hearing from an expert and an innovator to learn more about the UAE's national push, what it offers and how entrepreneurs can benefit from it.
The National
29-04-2025
- Business
- The National
Snapchat surpasses 900 million monthly active users
While competitors like Meta are fighting lengthy battles in court, Snapchat is taking a victory lap after surpassing 900 million monthly active users. 'As Snapchat has grown over the years, we've seen this idea continue to resonate with our community – and we love seeing all the silly, fun and imperfect moments Snapchatters share with each other,' read a news release from the company on Tuesday celebrating the milestone. 'Thank you to the global Snapchat community for being part of this journey with us. Happy Snapping!' California-based Snapchat, which now simply goes by Snap, was founded in 2011 by three Stanford University students. Originally called Picaboo, the idea behind the platform was the antithesis of everything social media seemed to stand for at the time: content produced by those who used the app would disappear rather than being permanent. That difference, the emphasis on social media content with an expiration date, proved appealing. It grew by leaps and bounds, and in 2013, Facebook, the entrenched social media leader at that point, took notice. Meta's chief executive Mark Zuckerberg attempted to purchase Snapchat, but the platform opted against being acquired. Several years later, however, Meta's Instagram platform rolled out a feature called Stories, which showed temporary content from users for 24 hours. The similarities between the two caused bad blood between Snap and Meta. Meta's attempted purchase of Snap has come full circle as the company is currently fighting an antitrust suit. 'I think if we would have bought them, we would have accelerated their growth, but that's just speculation,' Mr Zuckerberg said on the witness stand in Washington when asked about Snapchat as Federal Trade Commission lawyers tried to show a pattern of Meta trying to buy competitors, rather than innovate. Although Snap's 900 million monthly active users is nothing to scoff at, it pales in comparison to Facebook's estimated three billion active users, as well as TikTok's more than one billion users. Yet analysts point out that Snap's user base has limited churn and has proved incredibly loyal over the years. In a 2024 interview with The National, Hussein Freijeh, vice president and general manager for Snap's Middle East and North Africa office, said that active users in the region check the platform about 45 times per day. Mr Freijeh also said that Snap is particularly popular throughout the Middle East as the region goes 'through a massive social and economic transformation'. 'Within that transformation, we're seeing the GCC community is really protective of the sense of community, and their relationships with their friends and family,' he said during an interview with The National's Business Extra podcast at Snap's Dubai office. A 2022 social media report from by University of Oregon professors Damian Radcliffe and Hadil Abuhmaid also highlighted Snap's appeal in the region. 'Snapchat's community in the Mena region continues to grow and the Middle East remains a major market for the app,' read part of the report. Snap was also an early adopter of augmented reality (AR) to enhance the platform, offering filters to enhance user creativity. Those successful implementations of AR have also proven to be appealing to brands seeking to advertise to younger audiences on the platform. Both TikTok and Instagram have followed in Snap's path in adopting AR features.
The National
23-04-2025
- Business
- The National
Recession fears evoke deja vu. The Middle East might be safe
It's been a time of tumult on Wall Street – at the hands of the White House. US President Donald Trump made his plans for tariffs known on the campaign trail, but their scale has taken the world by surprise. The sweeping tariffs sent global markets into chaos. Then, with the announcement of a 90-day pause, things calmed down. But that hasn't done much for perhaps the greatest fear among investors and the public: the possibility of recession. We've heard about so-called recession indicators – particularly as they pertain to the US. Here in the Middle East, though, the outlook might not be so grim. On this episode of Business Extra, we explore the basis of the recession fears and what that means for markets and, ultimately, consumers.
The National
09-04-2025
- Business
- The National
Sanctions on Syria: a look back, a way forward
For more than a decade, Syria has been under international sanctions aimed at pressuring Bashar Al Assad's regime. But there is a longer history of sanctions on the country and the broader Middle East. Sanctions can be used as a nudge – or shove – from government to government, usually during times of war. But their impact continues into periods of relative peace, trickling from the highest ranks of the ruling class down to the labourers and families that make up the backbone of a country's economy. We have seen sanctions ravage Syria's economy on and off since the 1970s, and hold throughout 14 years of civil war. But following the fall of Mr Assad in December 2024, Syria has a new government, a new head of state and a caretaker cabinet that has promised to rebuild. In this episode of Business Extra, we are looking at sanctions on Syria, the complexities of these measures and how the country's economy might evolve after they are lifted.
The National
26-03-2025
- Business
- The National
Trump's tariffs are back. What are they and what do they mean for the Middle East?
Donald Trump has been vocal about his planned tariff war since setting foot on the campaign trail – in both his first and second times in office. Mr Trump began his first stint in the White House with a trade war against China. Some of those tariffs were preserved by Joe Biden's administration when he began his term in 2020. But throughout his campaign, Mr Trump made clear he'd come back with tariffs at full force. What we're seeing now is a return of that foreign economic policy – broadened, fast-tracked and intensified. On this episode of Business Extra, we're hearing from experts about what this means in the political sphere, but also outside of it; for the everyday consumer perhaps uncertain about what a trade war can mean, and for economic machinery here in the region.
