Latest news with #WGSSpecial
Arabian Business
21-02-2025
- Business
- Arabian Business
AB Majlis podcast: What VCs really want, according to e& capital's Kushal Shah
Venture capitalists are hunting for startups that can 'ride the big waves of disruption' while showing strong customer engagement metrics, said Kushal Shah, Managing Director of e& capital, on the sidelines of the World Government Summit last week. The venture arm of e&, which launched just two and a half years ago with a $250 million corpus, has already deployed 60 per cent of its funds across 17 companies, splitting investments equally between regional and global startups. According to Shah, their sweet spot lies in the $10-20 million investment range, targeting companies that have already achieved product-market fit and established a solid user base. 'We follow large waves, and that sets the trend,' Shah explained during an AB Majlis podcast interview. 'Given the wave is coming, then we look for the ships and the captains that are guiding themselves through the waves.' e& capital's strategy Those waves have shifted significantly over the past two years. While 2022 saw a strong focus on fintech, 2023 and 2024 were dominated by artificial intelligence. Notably absent from e& capital's investment radar is the metaverse, with the firm instead prioritising companies that demonstrate strong customer engagement and repeat usage. Dubai's emergence as a top-tier startup destination was another key theme in the discussion. Shah noted that the emirate now ranks among the top ten global cities for new business establishment, alongside traditional powerhouses like London, New York, and San Francisco. He attributed this rise to multiple factors, including favourable tax conditions, access to global talent, and policy consistency, particularly referencing Dubai's D33 economic agenda. 'We're looking for where technology completely disrupts the way of business,' he said, outlining the firm's future investment strategy. 'If you're an incumbent that's not participating in the technology trend, we expect that incumbent to pretty much shrink and die.' The firm's portfolio already includes notable companies like Breadfast from Egypt, Tradystream, Derq and Airalo, which Shah highlighted as examples of businesses achieving the crucial 'hyper-engagement' metric – where customers interact with the product four to five times monthly. Looking ahead, Shah hinted at quantum computing as a potential next frontier for investment, though the immediate focus remains on companies leveraging AI within specific vertical markets rather than competing at the global LLM (Large Language Model) level. This investment approach aligns with Dubai's ambition to become one of the world's most advanced digital economies, suggesting that the region's tech ecosystem is maturing beyond its initial emergence phase into a sophisticated market that can attract and nurture globally competitive startups. Tune in to AB Majlis' WGS Special series with e& To listen to the full episodes with Dowidar and Mahmood and gain a comprehensive understanding of doing business in the Gulf region, visit our RSS feed or check out AB Majlis on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and other platforms. Episodes are also available on: Tune in every Monday for weekly episodes that will help you stay ahead of the curve and enrich your understanding of the Gulf region.
Arabian Business
18-02-2025
- Business
- Arabian Business
AB Majlis podcast: e& bets on fintech and super apps in digital push
UAE technology giant e& is accelerating its transformation beyond telecommunications, targeting 40 per cent of revenue from digital services as it expands into fintech, entertainment, and super apps. 'UAE is a mixed population. We have the white-collar, blue-collar, we have the youth,' Khalifa Al Shamsi, CEO of e& life and e& international, said in an interview on the AB Majlis podcast at the World Government Summit last week. 'There are a lot of segments that are net-serve or underserve.' Three years after rebranding from Etisalat, e& has expanded to 19 countries from 16, while restructuring into four units: e& UAE, e& international, e& enterprise, and e& life – the latter focusing on consumer digital offerings. The company's fintech platform, e& money, now offers IBAN accounts and prepaid Mastercards to anyone with an Emirates ID. 'We're going to be enriching that with lending solutions, microfinance. You don't need to have a big salary to get a loan,' Al Shamsi explained. 'You're not going to get a hundred thousand loan, but you might get a five thousand loan.' Central to e&'s digital transformation is its recent Careem Technologies acquisition. The platform has evolved beyond ride-hailing to include food delivery, groceries, and home services. 'We never sit relaxed till we are number one,' Al Shamsi said, noting the service is already number two in Dubai for food and grocery delivery, with expansion underway in Abu Dhabi and Riyadh. The company's entertainment division has achieved significant penetration, with its IPTV service reaching 80 per cent of UAE homes. Last year, e& launched STARZPLAY, an ad-funded streaming service now operating across 22 countries. AI features prominently in future plans, with e& developing what Al Shamsi calls 'agentic AI' – personalised concierge services that could, for example, recommend comfort food when a user's favorite sports team is losing. Looking ahead, Al Shamsi indicated potential moves into insurance and health tech, leveraging the company's existing assets from point-of-sale networks to regulatory relationships. 'We have a lot of untapped opportunities,' he said. 'How about we leverage the same assets to sell financial services, cybersecurity, internet of things?' The digital push comes as UAE companies increasingly look to diversify beyond their traditional business lines. For e&, success in this transformation could provide a template for other regional telecom operators seeking new growth avenues. Tune in to AB Majlis' WGS Special series with e& To listen to the full episodes with Dowidar and Mahmood and gain a comprehensive understanding of doing business in the Gulf region, visit our RSS feed or check out AB Majlis on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and other platforms. Episodes are also available on: Tune in every Monday for weekly episodes that will help you stay ahead of the curve and enrich your understanding of the Gulf region.
Arabian Business
12-02-2025
- Business
- Arabian Business
AB Majlis podcast: e& accelerates AI push with 900 projects as telco economics shift rapidly
e& is advancing its artificial intelligence strategy with more than 900 AI-related projects underway, as the technology company positions itself for growth beyond traditional telecommunications. Speaking on the sidelines of the World Government Summit in Dubai, as part of a special series by AB Majlis, e& Group CEO Hatem Dowidar outlined how AI is reshaping the company's operations. 'AI now is different because AI has moved from being something that only a data scientist or a specialist can work with to something that is touching everybody's work, touching everybody's life every day', Dowidar said. The company's transformation comes at a critical juncture for the industry. e& UAE CEO Masood M. Sharif Mahmood highlighted the fundamental challenge facing traditional telcos: 'The billions that we're pouring in the infrastructure, we have to continue pouring billions. So the investments go like this, but the price that our customers are willing to pay is going like this. Two forces moving in the opposite direction.' This pressure has catalysed e&'s evolution from a traditional telecom provider to a technology company. The transformation is already showing results, with customer complaint volumes dropping 40 per cent and satisfaction indices rising by 20 per cent over the past three years, according to Mahmood. The company's AI initiatives span from network operations to customer service. 'Normally now we are solving customers issues even before the customer knows there's an issue', Dowidar noted. The push into AI aligns with the UAE's broader technology ambitions, which saw the country become the first to appoint a minister of AI in 2017. Tune in to AB Majlis' WGS Special series with e& visit our RSS feed or check out AB Majlis on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and other platforms. Episodes are also available on: Tune in every Monday for weekly episodes that will help you stay ahead of the curve and enrich your understanding of the Gulf region.
