Author: Arabian Media staff

Badr Al Ghurair, founder of Huru/Image: Supplied Huru, a homegrown UAE fintech company licensed by the Central Bank of the UAE, has officially entered the market with a mission to become a one-stop financial management platform for the country’s unbanked and underbanked populations. By addressing long-standing gaps in access to essential financial services, the company aims to advance financial inclusion and empower low-income workers across the nation. Financial empowerment through accessible technology Huru integrates payments, remittance, and savings tools into a single, user-friendly app. With just a valid Emirates ID, users can open a zero-balance IBAN account within minutes—no minimum…

Image: Supplied Dubai Airports has unveiled the next phase of its accessibility strategy, reinforcing a 10-year commitment to make Dubai International (DXB) and Dubai World Central – Al Maktoum International (DWC) the world’s most accessible and inclusive airports by 2035. The strategy focuses on strengthening existing foundations, enhancing guest experiences across all touchpoints, and positioning DXB and DWC as global leaders in inclusive travel. It aligns with international best practices, the UAE’s commitment to the rights of people of determination (PoD), and Dubai’s vision to be a disability-friendly city. “Accessibility is not just a promise; it is a core pillar…

L to R: Peng Xiao, group CEO of G42, and Sam Altman, co-founder and CEO of OpenAI/Image: Getty Images In a high-stakes announcement sure to reverberate across global technology and government circles, Sam Altman, co-founder and CEO of OpenAI, will join virtually for a landmark conversation with Peng Xiao, group CEO of G42, at GITEX GLOBAL 2025. The session — titled “From early adoption to AI-native nations: Shaping the next era of intelligence” — is slated for Tuesday, 14 October at 9:00 AM on the Main Stage in Hall 25 at Dubai World Trade Centre. Seats are limited. This rare…

Image: Getty Images/ For illustrative purposes The travel and tourism sector in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries contributed approximately $247.1bn to the region’s gross domestic product (GDP) in 2024, marking a 31.9 per cent increase compared to 2019, according to the GCC Statistical Centre (GCC STAT). This growth underscores the sector’s expanding role as a key driver of economic, social, and environmental development across the Gulf. The report titled  Tourism in the GCC: A Gateway to Development and Sustainable Transformation, released on World Tourism Day, projects that the sector’s share of the GCC GDP will rise to 13.3 per…

Image: Getty Images/ For illustrative purposes The Arab Energy Fund (TAEF), the multilateral impact financial institution dedicated to ensuring energy security and sustainability in the MENA region, has announced that it has led Tagaddod’s $26.3 million Series A equity round. Tagaddod, a pioneering platform for biofuel feedstocks, will direct this funding toward further strengthening its role in enabling the growing production of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and Renewable Diesel (RD). Tagaddod is a cross-border tech-powered leader in the collection, aggregation, and traceability of biofuel feedstocks, specialising in used cooking oil (UCO) collection and traceability. With a growing operational footprint across…

Image: Getty Images Oman is set to add 9,600 new hotel rooms by 2030, with 2,600 scheduled for completion by the end of 2025, according to leading real estate advisory and property consultancy Cavendish Maxwell. The new supply will expand Oman’s current inventory of 36,000 rooms by more than 25 per cent, the firm said. Cavendish Maxwell’s latest Oman Hospitality Market Performance report revealed that revenues for 3–5-star hotels climbed to OMR141.2m ($367m) in the first half of 2025—an 18.2 per cent increase compared to the same period last year. Room revenues rose nearly 22 per cent to OMR83.7m ($217.5m).…

Turkish car rental business Getir Arac, which was majority owned by Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund Mubadala, has been sold to Tiktak, another short-term car rental company in Turkey, the minority shareholder announced on Friday. Last month, two sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters that Mubadala, the top shareholder in Turkish delivery company Getir, was exploring exiting all its Getir investments in Turkey including its financing and car rental businesses. The move follows a tussle for control of the Turkish firm between Mubadala and Getir’s founders linked to competing restructuring plans. The sources had said Mubadala’s talks to sell its…

Image credit: Saudi Press Agency /Website In a significant move aligned with Saudi Vision 2030, the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah has announced that individuals holding any type of visa can now perform Umrah while in Saudi Arabia. The update marks a milestone in the government’s broader initiative to simplify religious travel, enhance digital engagement, and promote spiritual tourism on a global scale. According to the ministry, this policy applies to all visa categories, including personal and family visit visas, electronic tourist visas, transit visas, work visas, and more. The measure is part of ongoing efforts to streamline procedures for…

The unified GCC tourist visa—frequently likened to Europe’s Schengen system—is moving closer to reality, with a pilot rollout expected by the fourth quarter of 2025, according to Abdulla bin Touq Al Marri, UAE Minister of Economy and Tourism and Chairman of the Emirates Tourism Council. Al Marri told the Emirates News Agency (WAM): “This initiative is an integral part of the GCC 2030 tourism strategy, designed to elevate the tourism sector’s contribution to the GDP through increased inter-GCC travel and elevated hotel occupancy rates, transforming the GCC into a pre-eminent global destination for both regional and international tourists.” Toward borderless…

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