#ICYMI 09/12: UAE Tech & Digital News at a Glance
Fresh from the celebrations of the 50th National Day in the UAE, citizens and expats have another reason to celebrate. In the biggest news of this week, the public sectors in the UAE will shift to a 4-and-a-half-day weekend, aligning its weekend to the Western world. Experts predict the private sector is largely expected to implement the new working hours. Read about all this and more in the latest edition of our weekly digest of tech & digital news from the UAE.
Aldar invites tech start-ups to apply for its accelerator programme
As part of its Scale Up accelerator programme, Aldar Real Estate invited companies digitising the real estate industry to apply, focusing on start-ups with the capabilities to reimagine real estate industry through blockchain, NFTs, AI and data analytics.
Dubai-based F&B tech start up raises funds
GrubTech, a Dubai-based start-up that provides an end-to-end operating system for restaurants and cloud kitchens, has raised $13 million in an early round of funding to expand into new markets and build its technology.
Around 70 per cent of UAE-based restaurant operators are planning to set up cloud kitchens or delivery-only brands.
MENA-based mental-health start up seeks funding
Mental-health start-up Hakini, is seeking seed funding to invest in technology, talent and marketing. Hakini, which means “tell me” or “talk to me”, aims to provide online mental health services in Arabic users in Palestine and in the wider Middle East.
E-commerce continues to lead funding
Dubai start-up Opontia, which buys and scales small e-commerce ventures – raises $42m to fuel its own growth.
Hub71 partners with Silicon Valley-based payment gateway
Hub71, a tech start up accelerator based in Abu Dhabi has partnered with Stripe, a Silicon Valley company that assists startups with accepting online payments, payout funds, and manage their business growth.
UAE joins the world in saying ‘TGIF’
This week, the UAE became the first nation in the world to transition to a 4 and a half day working week, with Friday afternoon, Saturday and Sunday forming the new weekend.
The transition was announced for the public sector, however experts predict the private sector is largely expected to implement the new working hours.
Experts suggest the move is expected to increase the attractiveness of working and living in the UAE to the global workforce.
Emirates hiring to soar
The world’s biggest long-haul airline plans to hire more than 500 IT professionals in the next six months. The Group continues to lead by example by investing in technologies and introducing innovative solutions that are based on artificial intelligence, data and other smart solutions.
In October, Emirates had announced its plans to hire more than 6,000 staff over the next six months.
Google launches digital skills fund for MENA non-profits
Alphabet’s philanthropy arm, Google.org, announced that it has created a $1.3 million fund that aims to give women, people with disabilities, and refugees in the MENA region the digital skills they need to run businesses and boost their career prospects.
Amazon’s Alexa goes local
Amazon launched a localised version of Alexa in the UAE Interaction with Alexa can now be done in both Gulf Arabic dialects and English
Local Alexa Skills available include those from Expo 2020 Dubai, Etisalat, the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority, Emirates NBD and Careem.
We love hearing your opinions
This week, we asked our community to share their thoughts on when tech teams should be outsourced, and when the roles should be staffed internally. Share your comments to join the discussion.
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Last week, we polled our community on whether the traditional format of the CV was losing relevance, and a whopping 65% voted ‘Yes’. Could we soon be witnessing the extinction of the traditional CV?
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