News Roundup: Penang gets ME connection; Micromobility could see quick growth in ME with Circ acquisition; Attention please: Saudi-based startups hit investment record high
Penang gets ME connection
Fans of Penang rejoice: Emirates has announced plans for a new daily service from Dubai (DXB) to Penang International Airport (PEN), via Singapore (SIN) from 9 April.
After KL, Penang will be the second Malaysian destination for Emirates. The flight will be operated by a Boeing 777-300ER in a three-class configuration with private suites in First, lie-flat seats in Business, and “spacious seats in Economy”.
“Penang is a major centre for tourism, business travel, as well as medical tourism and the increased levels of inbound travel are consistent with the growth in numbers of visitors to the country. The introduction of flights to Penang will help us meet growing demand from leisure and business travellers, both to and from Malaysia. We are also pleased that the fifth freedom flights between Penang and Singapore will connect two sister cities and increase connectivity for passengers in South East Asia,” said Adnan Kazim, chief commercial officer at Emirates.
Micromobility could see quick growth in ME with Circ acquisition
Micromobility could see a quicker take off with recent news that American startup Bird has acquired its European rival Circ which already has a presence in the Middle East region. Both startups operate e-scooter networks, allowing users to book an e-scooter through a mobile app.
Circ currently operates across 43 cities in 12 countries with Abu Dhabi being one of them. It claims to have served 50,000 riders in UAE’s capital in 2019. Bird, already in over 100 cities, said it has raised another $75 million in its Series D, bringing its fund pool to $350 million. The last reported valuation of Bird is $2.5 billion. Circ to date has raised a little over $60 million.
Attention please: Saudi-based startups hit investment record high
If this doesn’t say pay attention, not sure what will: the number of investments in Saudi-based startups in 2019 saw an increase of 92 percent from the previous year. Say what? Yes. According to UAE-based data platform Magnitt, it was the highest-ever amount of funding deals in Saudi Arabia and the third highest in the region.
Total funding was $67 million, up 35 percent from 2018. E-commerce accounted for the highest number of deals at 27 percent.
“Saudi Arabia is one of the fastest-growing ecosystems in the region. With the government clearly identifying innovation and entrepreneurship as one of their key focuses in line with Vision 2030, many new initiatives have been launched in 2018 and 2019. Usually, these initiatives take time to come to fruition, but we have already seen their impact on the ecosystem in the country and Mena region,” said Philip Bahoshy, founder and chief executive officer of Magniit.
With the government’s weight behind it, this upward trajectory is surely going to gather more speed.
Don’t just read about the news. Join in the conversations on April 7 in Dubai at WiT Middle East 2020.
