Facebook Gaining Popularity in MENA

Nicola Mendelsohn, Facebook’s VP of the Middle East, Europe and Africa just completed a fact-finding trip to the area of her expertise. What she found there may be surprising.

Eighty-five percent of the 191 million Facebook users access the social media platform using a mobile device.

Mendelsohn explained why usage is so different in MENA than in the west.

“I was in Nairobi, Kenya, earlier this year and their whole payment system there is mobile. M-Pesa is unbelievable. So you can be walking down the streets of a market, and the market will be no different to something that you could have been in a thousand years ago, but everyone is trading by using their mobile phone. And you kind of go, ‘well how come I can go shopping on the streets of London and it’s unfathomable [to be able to do that]?’ So there’s a lot we can learn from being over there.”

In Kenya Mendelsohn met a woman who owned a fashion outlet called Fashion254. She is marketing her specialty clothing on Instagram. She has buyers call her or send her WhatsApp message to arrange delivery. In 2013 Mendelsohn said she met people in Kuwait who were selling their sheep using Instagram.

On her visit to Saudi Arabia she met several women business owners through a group called Glowork. They sell their products, mostly to the overseas market, on Facebook.

“There are very different rules and laws within that country, and they have found the internet as a way of connecting to the world. They have found Facebook as a way to connect with their friends, families, businesses they are interested in. So what they talked about was that Facebook gave them a gateway to the world that they wouldn’t have had otherwise.”

Overall Gas Supply in MENA to Last 30 Years

Natural Gas Reserves

While the gas supply in some Middle East and North African countries is being depleted, the overall amount of proven gas supplies in other areas of MENA is estimated to sustain the region in gas for the next thirty years, and beyond.

According to the Saudi-based Arab Petroleum Investment Corp (APICORP) there are 26.6 trillion cubic meters (tcm) of undiscoverable gas deposits in the region, and 88 trillion tcm of proven natural gas deposits, enough to last over 30 years at current production rate growths. APICORP is an affiliate of the 10-nation Organization of Arab petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC.)

The majority of the proven gas reserves are in the UAE, Iran Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Algeria, representing about 42 percent of the world’s total gas supply.

"For a production growth of 6.9 per cent a year, which corresponds to the last 10-year average, future volumes from remaining reserves would last 33 years….this is just above the conventional 30-year time horizon for strategic planning in the field of exploration and development (E&D)," APICORP's senior consultant Ali Aissaoui wrote in a five-page study.

"Our findings confirm and extend our previous results showing that on aggregate MENA proved reserves are substantial and their combined dynamic life is a little beyond the traditional 30-year strategic planning horizon for E&D."

Month-Long “Box Appeal” Fundraiser Comes to a Close in Oman

Already in its fourth year, “The Box Appeal” is a charitable campaign designed to help over 10,000 impoverished individuals across the Middle East to acquire basic supplies at no cost.
First begun in 2007 at the Radisson Blu Hotel in Dubai Media City, its operation soon expanded until over 20,000 boxes were distributed across the region over the past four years. The original intention of what was first dubbed the “Shoebox Appeal” was to supply laborers throughout the UAE with everyday necessities whose purchase would have taxed their limited resources. The success of this first effort caught the attention of the Rezidor Hotel Group which decided to bring the charity push to the entire region.

Box Appeal’s First Year in Oman

Radisson Blu Muscat

This year, from August 15 to September 15 the Radisson Blu and Park Inn Hotels in Muscat held the “Box Appeal” in Oman for the first time. The campaign has taken on a broader perspective, aiming to help all those in society who have less. These same hotels in locations in the UAE, Egypt and Bahrain as well as Oman participated, helping to collect about 10,000 boxes of basic supplies to distribute to underprivileged people throughout MENA.

“As many as 13 hotels from across the MENA region are expected to take part,” says Michael Jacobi, general manager, Radisson Blu, Muscat. “The two hotels in Muscat are aiming to fill 1,000 boxes collectively, helping to ensure this is the most successful edition of the appeal to date.”

The campaign works simply. Someone who wishes to take part is encouraged to get a small box from either the Radisson Blu or the Park Inn Hotels. They can also acquire a box from City Centre Muscat or Qurum City Centre, the Box Appeal partners. Once they have a box the volunteer then fills it with small, but essential everyday supplies, such as toothpaste, a toothbrush, comb, brush, towel, soap and anything else they feel is useful and appropriate.

Great Community Spirit

A local charity, Dar Al Atta’a will then distribute the boxes to families and individuals most in need. Jacobi added that many additional local companies have promised to lend a hand to the campaign in what Jacobi called an “astonishing show of community spirit.”

Responsible Business Practice

The general manager of the Park Inn Muscat, Rabih Zein, added that,

“The campaign reflects the Park Inn philosophy of responsible business. We have been actively involved in a plethora of charity activities and social service programs such as blood donation and marathon collection. We encourage people across Oman to come forward and collect, fill and return the boxes in the true spirit of giving. Most of us hardly give a thought to these everyday commodities but the boxes will make a difference to someone for who even the basics count as luxuries.”

Michael Jacobi concurred:

“We hope the simplicity of The Box Appeal campaign will draw the attention of the public. Anyone can do this – it is so easy to get involved and contribute,” stated Jacobi.

High Unemployment Rates in Bahrain and Oman

The asset management firm Al Masah Capital published a report revealing that Oman and Bahrain have the highest unemployment rates than other Gulf countries.

The Great Job Rush

The Dubai-headquartered firm released ‘MENA: The Great Job Rush’, which described rates of 15% unemployment in each of the two Gulf states. In comparison, neighboring Qatar has an unemployment rate of 0.5%.

Saudi Arabia also revealed its own high unemployment rate of 10.8% while in the midst of a program of nationalization designed to help reduce this rate.
Kuwait’s jobless rate is also low, hovering at about 2.2%.

The report stated that “there is an urgent need for action.”

“Joblessness is a structural problem, particularly among the youth in the region. Short term solutions will not remove problems which took generations to fester. Deep structural changes are required, changes that go to the heart of cultural mentality.”

The MENA region has the highest unemployment rate in the world, with North Africa at 9.8% and the Middle East at 10.3%.

Youth Hit Hard

Saudi Arabia faces a serious unemployment problem among the young of the nation. The Kingdom’s youth are out of work at a rate double that of the global rate of jobless people, at 25.9% compared to 12.6% for the rest of the world.

A report of the World Bank published in 2003 predicted that the MENA region will need to create about 100 million new jobs during the 20 years between 2000 and 2020 in order to overcome a severe unemployment crisis.

Nokia Intoduces E7 Into Omani Market

Nokia’s premier smartphone, the E7, was officially launched in the Sultanate of Oman, marking its entrance into the MENA (Middle East/North Africa) region of the world.

Oman and the Nokia E7 Smartphone

The Nokia E7 was introduced to the world last September, boasting the Symbian 3 operating system. It is also has a 4 inch Amoled ClearBack touch screen which will increase significantly its outdoor visibility. The E7 comes with a full QWERTY key pad which slides in and out for convenience and storage. It has an amazing 8 megapixel camera which comes complete with a dual LED flash and HD video capture.

Most important of all for Omani business leaders and others in need of a full-function, easy to use smartphone is that the Nokia E7 supports a full array of business applications from the most prominent technology providers such as Microsoft and IBM.

It is a great show of confidence that Nokia should choose Oman as the first of the MENA countries to distribute its state-of-the-art smartphone.

Hackers Target Mobile Devices as They Gain Popularity

In related news, a recent wave of security breaches in Oman was shown to be caused by the rising popularity of smartphones there. A recently published report by IT security solutions provider Symantec stated that hackers are now changing the focus of their trade onto mobile devices and away from computers. ‘The major mobile platforms have become ubiquitous enough to garner the attention of attackers,’ said the report.

The founder of knowledgeoman.com, Tariq Barwani explained that hacking into smartphones is definitely possible in Oman, but it is easily avoided. Users should refrain from downloading illegal copies of applications as well as never entering suspicious websites and never accepting unknown Bluetooth files.

“It could definitely happen here. The operating systems for smartphones are mini versions of those in computers, and if people understand the core of how these systems work, they could easily create Trojan viruses or back doors in systems which control how these operating systems work.”

Another IT expert, Saurabh Vats, the business development manager for Imtac, agreed that consumers must be aware that they can be targeted easily by hackers.

“Mobile devices have become an extension of our lives, and at the same time they have become a soft and easy target for those who are always on the hunt for easy money.”

Jordan’s Hikma Growing this Year by $600 Million in Acquisitions

Said Darwazah, chief executive of the Jordan-based drug company Hikma Pharmaceuticals announced to the press that his company is planning on acquiring between $500 and $600 million in companies in the coming year in order to consolidate its place as the region’s number one business in this sector.

Hikma is a quickly growing multinational manufacturer of drugs which, although a leading company in the MENA (Middle East and North Africa) region has yet to tap into markets in Morocco and Syria in the Arab world, and Turkey and beyond in the non-Arab world. Hikma does have a foothold in the Gulf States in Saudi Arabia, but is looking to enlarge that market as well.

Darwazah explained that Hikma’s sales are ahead of all other regional manufacturers in the MENA, and that their growth in the MENA is by far exceeding the growth of sales in the more mature markets where it also deals.

That's why we are concentrating on growing the business more and more in the region with its young population and changing health patterns. Although Hikma has robust operations in the U.S. and Western Europe, MENA is still the crown jewel of the business," he said.