Category Archives: Technology

September 29, 2025 · 10:25 am

Event: China-region energy partnership

Event discusses collaborations on EV charging, health and wellness, and RWA management

A senior delegation from China was recently in Dubai for a series of landmark engagements in order to foster collaboration in sustainable energy and digital innovation between China and the region.

Hosted hand in hand by RS Global Energy, a global energy commodity trading company headquartered in the UAE, and MBME Holdings, a UAE-based investment company focused on technological innovation, together with XCharge, a high-powered Chinese EV charging solutions provider, the event was aimed at building future-oriented partnerships in cutting-edge EV charging and solar infrastructure, health and wellness, and real world asset (RWA) management.

The future of EV charging

A pivotal outcome of the meetings was the joint commitment for XCharge to provide advanced charging station models for promotional installation at select locations, enabling users in the region experience next-generation EV technology firsthand.

“The challenge of the century, and of the next coming years, is the move to green energy,” says Dr Jose Ramos Ferriera, Group Chairman of RS Global Energy (RSGE), which has bases in Lisbon, London, Peru and Brazil, in addition to the UAE. “Last year, we made the decision to join hands with XCharge, one of the best companies in the market, thereby aligning our energy business with the UAE’s sustainability goals for 2030.

“Our target is to bring the best EV charging solutions and related technology to the biggest infrastructures in the region such as ports and airports.”

RSGE is already the sole distributer for XCharge in Europe, and now brings its cutting-edge technology to the Middle East and North Africa. XCharge, a global leader in battery-integrated fast-charging solutions with hubs in Hamburg, Madrid, Texas and Beijing, will unveil its two latest DC-charger station models, the Net Zero, and the C-8 here for the first time in the near future.

Advanced technology

“Global warming has become a very important issue for the world, and solving it is everyone’s responsibility,” says Ma Hongsheng, Chairman, XCharge Beijing, who was part of the delegation. “We have made many important advances in renewable energy systems and diversity of energy resources. Bringing this technology to the Middle East will be a benefit to us all.”

The Net Zero station is unique in that its 223 kWh lithium-ion battery pack can deliver up to a 194 kW of DC charging power while requiring only 44 kW of input. Not only does that mean maximising output while minimising input and reducing its footprint, it also makes these stations amenable to use in areas where grid capacity is limited. In addition, its battery can double its capacity up to 446 kWh, meaning the station can operate even during grid outages or with fluctuating energy demands.

Most importantly, it comes with active thermal cooling, allowing the charging stations to perform optimally even in soaring temperatures.

“This technology is very significant, because we’re seeking to find an answer to the climate challenges in the Middle East,” says Dr Ferriera. “These EV chargers can be configured to operate under the high temperatures of the region.”

A multitude of innovations

EV charging is just one of the areas of focus for RSGE during the meetings with the Chinese delegation. The company, which is a part of the Angola-based Ridge Solutions Group, is also involved in promoting eco-friendly solutions in renewable energy, such as solar infrastructure, and reducing carbon emissions in alignment with global trends towards clean energy.

But RSGE intends to diversify even further in the region, with MBME facilitating coordination to accelerate market integration. There are plans under way of forming strategic partnerships in health and wellness technology, as well as in developing a regulated blockchain platform for RWA, which was part of the discussions with members of the visiting delegation.

“We are developing a platform that takes Chinese traditional medicine and makes it modern, promoting disease prevention and chronic disease rehabilitation,” says Niu Yuejin, Chairman, China Great Wall Financial Holdings, who was part of the delegation.

“We also have an innovation – the first of its kind in the world – for dealing with diabetes, and we want to bring that technology to the region.”

Healing the world

Indeed, the ideas laid out at the meetings were holistic in their approach towards building a better future through bilateral cooperation and technology transfer.

“We are attempting to cure global warming, the disease of the Earth,” says Ma, “while Niu is trying to heal the diseases of humanity.”

For Dr Ferriera, the far-reaching vision is to some day be able to put all these innovations together in a single piece of technology. “Our goal is to make every unit multifunctional, integrating several services,” he says.

This article originally appeared in the Gulf News. You can find it here.

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August 28, 2025 · 10:22 am

First pregnancy in UAE using AI-assisted sperm detection offers hope for severe male infertility

Doctors at Dubai’s Fakih IVF performed the procedure on a 32-year-old man

For the first time in the UAE, and in the Middle East as a whole, doctors have used an AI-assisted sperm detection tool to locate extremely rare sperm, and bring about pregnancy in a couple via IVF treatment.

Doctors at the Dubai-based Fakih IVF conducted the procedure on a 32-year-old man with Non-Obstructive Azoospermia (NOA), the most severe form of male infertility, and his wife is now 14 weeks into a normal, healthy pregnancy. The cutting-edge tool – called SpermSearchAI – was developed by NeoGenix Biosciences, an Australian company with which the clinic has an on-going collaboration.

The young couple were, in fact, the first on whom the new technology was trialled at Fakih IVF. “We informed them about the AI software coming, so they actually postponed their surgery, and waited for SpermSearchAI to get involved,” says Dr. Ranjith Ramasamy, consultant urologist at Fakih IVF, Dubai. “I’m very happy it got utilised in their case and proved to be useful.”

The procedure in such severe forms of male infertility – where very few sperm are produced, and there are none at all found in semen analysis – is MicroTESE (Microsurgical Testicular Sperm Extraction), a biopsy where testicular tissue is extracted, and then studied under a microscope in the laboratory to find viable sperm. This is where SpermSearchAI, a convolutional neural network trained to detect live sperm in real time, proves invaluable.

“In the patients that we’ve treated so far, the software has reduced the search time by 50 per cent,” says Dr. Ramasamy. “It’s also helpful in identifying more viable sperm. If the embryologist is able to find, say, five to 10 sperm manually, the AI is able to find us about 20 to 30, so our options of using better-quality sperm with IVF has improved dramatically.”

The AI tool is currently being trialled at clinics globally to bring hope in such cases, but it is of particular significance in this region, according to Dr. Ramasamy.

“Unlike the US, Europe, Australia or India, there are no donor sperm options here in the Middle East,” he says. “Therefore, we need technologies like this in the laboratory to find those rare sperm, and give the option of parenthood – not just biological parenthood, but parenthood – to these couples.”

This article originally appeared in the Gulf News. You can find it here.

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January 29, 2025 · 10:05 am

Launch: Central African Republic joins hands with SML Gold to trial G.I.F.T.

New platform, expected to make gold transfers traceable, will help gold-producing nations

African dignitaries, international financial experts, and representatives from an American cybertechnology firm recently attended a closed-door conference in the UAE to discuss the development and impact of a ground-breaking new technology platform for gold transfer pioneered by Dubai-based SML Gold.

Named Gold International Fast Transfer (G.I.F.T.), this technology aims to restructure and revolutionise the way precious metals such as gold are exchanged globally. It has the potential to transform not just the gold industry, but also the economic systems of countries rich in such resources.

Transfer of wealth

“G.I.F.T.  enables the easy movement of gold across continents and makes the transferability of gold, therefore wealth, from one point to the other simpler,” says Mohamed Yoro Diallo, former Vice President of Citibank New York and Board Member of Vista Bank and Orabank, who participated in the conference.

The focus of this conference was the socio-economic significance of the platform for major gold-producing African nations, in particular the Central African Republic (CAR), with Pascal Bida Koyagbélé, Minister of Strategic Investments and Major Projects, CAR, in attendance.

“Many African countries such as CAR are rich in not only gold but other mineral resources,” explains Diallo. “And they are all hampered by the movement of funds from one country in Africa to another, and to outside of the continent. So G.I.F.T. is a system of transfer to facilitate the movement of wealth between Africa and the rest of the world, and within Africa itself.”

CAR becomes one of the first African nations to form a partnership with SML Gold and participate as a gold-producing hub in the proof of concept of the G.I.F.T. project that will roll out this year. The project is the brainchild of Fayçal Lalioui, Founder and Chairman, SML Gold and is the latest innovation of the Dubai Souk-based company that specialises in secure gold transportation, global door-to-door logistics, and storage in its 400-vault facility, as well as the design and production of bespoke jewellery.

“It’s a very good example of PPP, a public-private partnership,” says Koyagbélé. “The government of the Central African Republic has decided to work with SML Gold to see how we can develop,promote and implement this project properly for the benefit of the population and the development of the country.”

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Socio-economic development

The country’s partnership with SML Gold will have far-reaching effects on CAR’s economy and will provide the government with concrete solutions to the challenges it currently faces because of the financial and strategic leverage that gold provides, according to the minister.

“First, SML Gold offers us the opportunity to better finance the gold mining sector, and second, they can help us to better control and develop the sector. And the development of the sector can create a lot of jobs,” says Koyagbélé. “That’s going to have a big impact on the economy, and on the population, obviously.”

But the potential for socio-economic growth and development goes much farther, especially for a country with an estimated potential gold reserve of 4.8 thousand tons.

“Today, because of the geopolitical situation, gold plays a key role in terms of stability on the financial system. People prefer to trust gold over any other currency,” he says. “So, the development of the sector is going to help us become credible financially. Because of the massive estimated potential of gold in our country, we can use it as a collateral asset to raise a lot of money in the financial system.”

The increased financial credibility and more streamlined exchange of gold globally using SML Gold and G.I.F.T. means greater in-flow of foreign exchange, which in turn can also mean greater reduction of debt for the nation.

“Your capacity to reduce your debt depends on your capacity to export goods and services,” explains Diallo. “When you export goods and services to generate foreign exchange, you use that foreign exchange to pay the debt. So, if you accumulate more wealth through gold or other such mineral resources, you will be able to service your debt better because debt service is always in the ratio of your creation of foreign exchange.”

Professionalism and transparency

All of this is possible because of the fundamental principle on which the G.I.F.T. platform is founded, which is to bring transparency and integrity of exchange to an industry that has often lacked it in the past. This is the key change that SML Gold wants to establish in global gold transfer – modernising the way the precious metal is tracked and ensuring traceability of gold flows worldwide.

“Right now, most gold transactions are done informally, and statistics are not necessarily well-documented. Nobody knows how much gold is going out, and the tax revenue that the countries are generating from their gold is not identified,” says Diallo.

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“The G.I.F.T. system gives clear statistics of the movement of gold within Africa and outside, so it makes it more professional, as opposed to the current informal system. And since G.I.F.T. platform makes the process more transparent, it helps monitor the creation of wealth in Africa.”

The implementation of the G.I.F.T. platform will provide greater transparency over gold exchanges within African nations.

“G.I.F.T. brings with it a pan-African vision, and it’s a good solution to help us work together to better control the exchange of gold,” says Koyagbélé. “When we do so, it can help us to fight against terrorist groups that currently use gold to finance illicit activities.”

Dreams of a nation

G.I.F.T. is a lot more than just efficient wealth transfer through gold. Once implemented, it can become a turnkey solution that allows countries to better protect their economic and political interests and close gaps and loopholes that deprive governments of their wealth.

For the Central African Republic, the partnership with SML Gold and the use of G.I.F.T. could possibly pave the way towards realising a long-standing goal of the president of the nation.

“With SML gold, we can improve our capacity to produce gold, to exchange gold, and implement the dream of the President to create a cryptocurrency based on gold,” he says. 

This article originally appeared in the Gulf News. You can find it here.

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May 24, 2024 · 12:33 pm

Interview with… Thierry Nicault

Forty per cent of UAE workers are already using Generative AI, and nearly 80 per cent believe that AI will bring more productivity to the workplace.

These were among the findings of research done in the region by Salesforce, the global leader in AI Customer Relationship Management (CRM), and highlighted recently at its annual Salesforce World Tour Essentials Dubai event held at Madinat Jumeirah.

This enthusiasm for the latest generation of AI and cloud-based technology was amply evident at the event, which was packed with over 2,000 customers, partners and associates, including senior attendees from government, retail, real estate, energy, and banking sectors in the region.

It’s also clear from the scale of Salesforce’s investments in the region – according to IDC estimates. The company will generate more than $5.1 billion in net new business and create more than 21,800 jobs in the UAE by 2028, fuelled by AI-powered cloud solutions.

“This is a testimony to the importance and visibility of the region to our company,” says Thierry Nicault, Area Vice President, Middle East, Salesforce. “Our team is growing here locally, we are expanding our presence, and there is a huge growth in our ecosystem.”

Image credit: Gulf News

Einstein 1

At the heart of this growth is the newly launched Einstein 1 platform, which embeds Generative AI into workflow processes across all Salesforce applications, including sales, service, marketing, ecommerce and analytics. Data, of course, is at the centre of this revolutionary technology – specifically Data Cloud, a platform that creates a holistic customer view by integrating reams of organisations’ existing, disconnected data, and fuses it with Generative AI to improve both customer engagement and employee productivity.

“Seventy-one per cent of companies in the enterprise space have siloed data, on lots of different systems and models, spread across old and new systems. Einstein 1 allows you to ensure that this data will be actionable in your business,” says Nicault. “The key part is that we’re using Gen AI on your company’s grounded data, which you have built for the past few decades and spent millions to maintain, and not on internet or public domain data.”

The company has agreements with leading data providers such as Snowflake, Google Cloud, AWS, MS Azure, and Databricks to allow such integrations securely. This goldmine of company-specific data combined with Generative AI allows the seamless automation of processes, and the reduction of repetitive tasks which, Salesforce research shows, takes up 62 per cent of employees’ time at present.

“The result is a combination of improved employee productivity and better customer service, bringing a lot of value in terms of the ability to decrease costs while increasing customer satisfaction,” Nicault says.

Making a mark in the Middle East

This increase in efficiency and productivity is the reason for the rapid adoption of such AI and cloud technology in the region, since it matches the UAE’s ‘growth mindset’, explains Nicault.

“The government’s vision to build this country as an economic, tourist and cultural destination is absolutely amazing. Our cloud and AI-powered CRM solutions support this because they are effective across sectors including travel, retail and real estate, and it’s starting to pick up very nicely in healthcare and banking, and the public sector,” he says, adding that local case studies have shown that the platform brings about steady growth without organisations having to increase their workforce thanks to improved productivity.

Need for training

The issue, of course, is that such assimilation of evolving technology can bring with it a skills gap, and according to Salesforce’s research, employers in the UAE have some work to do. Findings show that 52 per cent of workers have not been trained to use Generative AI, and 64 per cent say that employers haven’t set any guidelines for Gen AI usage.

This mismatch between the use of AI and training in AI is among the reasons why Salesforce places such an emphasis on training and education, as demonstrated by its 35 per cent increase in partner certifications and its support for technology skills in the region. “Our job has always been to help democratise technology,” says Nicault. “One way we do that is through our free training website, Trailhead, which allows anybody to learn in-demand skills, earn credentials, and connect to opportunities. The second thing is that we have specific programmes and regular workshops to help our partners up-skill. And thirdly, we are engaging with external organisations and associations such as ArabiaForce Academy, which helps to upskill the Arabic-speaking world.”

It’s also why the company is taking a leadership role in AI through Einstein Trust Layer, a robust set of features and guardrails that protect the privacy and security of organisations’ data, improves the safety and accuracy of their AI results, and promote the responsible use of AI across the Salesforce ecosystem.

“We have taken time to ensure that our Gen AI features and services are accurate and safe to use,” Nicault says. “We may not be seen as the fastest innovator in AI, but we do it fast in the most secure way possible.”

This article originally appeared in Reach by Gulf News. You can find it here

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May 15, 2024 · 10:34 pm

Launch: GenniusXYZ’s Global Hub in Dubai

Imagine as One reimagines loyalty programmes offering users a centralised secure location

Gennius XYZ, a Florida-based fintech company, recently launched its latest digital platform, Imagine as One, during the grand opening of its Dubai base, the Gennius Global Hub. One currency, one wallet, and one simple way to unify various digital assets and facilitate effortless transactions across boundaries — that is what its latest platform promises consumers in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena).

Supported by Seed Group, a company of The Private Office of Sheikh Saeed Bin Ahmed Al Maktoum, Gennius XYZ released its latest digital platform at The World as One event on May 9 before movers and shakers of the finance industry in the city. Against the glittering backdrop of the Burj Khalifa on the top floor of the upscale The Lana hotel in Business Bay, the event was the perfect setting for the first glimpse of this futuristic technology.

“Today marks a significant milestone as we launch the Gennius Global Hub in Dubai and unveil our The World as One programme,” said Sergio Arana, CEO and Founder of Gennius XYZ at the launch. “This initiative represents not just a step but a giant leap forward in redefining global loyalty systems. The most important part is its philosophy: the unity, the concept of The World as One. Imagine what we can do — how we can mix currencies, wallets, many different assets, and technology to make it simple for consumers.”

Capital of digital strategy

The Gennius XYZ Global Hub comes to Dubai after nearly one year of development and customisation for the market, working closely in partnership with the Seed Group. “We have 17 million users active on the platform worldwide, but at the end of the day, every market, [and] every country is unique,” said Arana.

Calling Dubai ‘the capital of digital strategy’, he expressed gratitude to Hisham Al Gurg, CEO and Co-founder of Seed Group, for giving Gennius XYZ a chance to expand into the region and globally. “We are a small company, but I believed that together we could build something big, something different.”

That belief was the catalyst for the partnership. “A year ago, we facilitated the smooth entry of Gennius XYZ into Dubai and the larger Mena market, which marked the development of its then-project called The World as One. Now here we are, finally witnessing it come to life — which encompasses its latest Imagine as One digital platform — along with the inauguration of its Dubai hub,” said Al Gurg at the launch. “I think we can all agree that there couldn’t be a better headquarters than Dubai. You look at all the government initiatives launched every year, and they speak of one message: Come to Dubai, and we will support you as the government and as Royal Family members and give you all that you need.”

With two decades spent starting and running new ventures in MENA, and investments worth more than $1.06 billion under his belt, Al Gurg speaks from experience. “In our organisation, we always continue to seek the most innovative companies around the world, especially in the fintech sector,” he said. “There are so many companies to choose from, different countries, different founders. It is very challenging for any investor to find a founder with a great concept and great business model who is ready to take the steps to expand internationally.”

Customer-centric ethos

In Arana and the concept of Imagine as One, Seed Group has found that kernel of greatness. “Together, we are setting the foundation for Gennius XYZ’s global expansion, aiming to simplify and enrich the loyalty experience worldwide,” explained Arana. “Our mission is driven by technological innovation and a deep commitment to understanding and fulfilling the daily needs and aspirations of our customers. This collaborative effort is pivotal as we continue to lead and innovate in the dynamic digital landscape.”

Welcoming Gennius XYZ Global Hub to the city, Akshay Chopra of the MENA Fintech Association said, “Gennius XYZ is pioneering advancements by making loyalty and reward programmes not only interoperable but profoundly portable. This transformation breaks down the traditional barriers that have restricted the utility of digital assets, ensuring they are more accessible and adaptable for users across the globe.”

That is at the heart of the Imagine as One platform. Powered by a pioneering AI concierge service, AlleX navigator and featuring the latest in immersive technology, it allows customers to access assets — whether it is money used for in-app purchases in games such as Fortnite, miles earned on airlines, rewards earned on credit cards, or hotel stays — and transfer them seamlessly between these different platforms, to be used at the user’s convenience.

“We build our technology infrastructure to blend all of it into one transaction, to create interactions between the different environments with the same user feel,” explained Arana. “So you have one currency and one super-wallet connected across assets, and that gives you more power because if you can mix your different assets, you have more purchasing power. And you can spend it normally, as every day. Whether you are going to a supermarket or a restaurant, or purchasing online or gaming in Web 3.0, whatever your life is, we will be there.”

Imagine as One is hyper-connected with all major e-wallets, including Apple Pay, Google Pay, PayPal, Alipay, and all significant cryptocurrency wallets in the Web 3.0 realm. This integration offers unprecedented convenience, allowing consumers to manage their finances and loyalty benefits in one centralised, secure location.

Soul of Argentina

The event ended on a soaring note, as Arana unveiled the final surprise of the evening: the new ambassador for its platform, well-known Argentinian folk singer Soledad ‘La Sole’ Pastorutti. The theme of unity and The World as One came together perfectly in her soulful performance of John Lennon’s Imagine, the inspiration behind the name of the platform, accompanied by the simple strains of piano, and with Dubai’s skyline gleaming in the background.

This article appeared originally in Reach by Gulf News. You can find it here

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