The AI strategy of Egypt includes blockchain and Big data

The AI strategy of Egypt includes blockchain and Big data

According to Egypt’s communications and Information technology Minister Amr Talaat, Egypt has started with phase two of its AI strategy which will focus on increasing the scope of AI investments and conducting public awareness campaigns while pursuing integration with Big Data and blockchain technology.

Talaat confirmed that the second phase will commence in Q2 of 2024 and will cover several key economic sectors. He explained that Egypt’s AI plans will see the government introduce initiatives across governance, human resources, technology, information infrastructure, data, and environment. A significant portion of the second stage of the national strategy builds upon the accomplishments of the first round of AI initiatives introduced by the government.

He added that the second phase will roll until the middle of 2027 and will consolidate the impressive gains made by Egypt over the last two years.

The NAIS is part of the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology’s Digital Egypt initiative announced in 2017. The strategy comprises three phases until 2030. The published document only focuses on phase one, with hints about the following two. That phase “deepens the use of AI technologies to transform the economy, going beyond just adopting technology.” The ultimate goal is that companies and the government would have to “fundamentally [rethink] business models, and [make] big changes to reap productivity gains and create new areas of growth.”

Its primary focus is to introduce AI solutions in government services, agriculture, manufacturing, healthcare, finance and economic predictions, and natural language processing (NLP). Another emphasis is training schoolchildren, postgraduate students, and professionals in the latest AI technologies, regulations, ethics, and use cases. The strategy also aims to cooperate with international partners to ensure technology transfer.

Set for completion in May 2024, phase one explored the deployment of AI in a valiant attempt to achieve Egypt’s sustainable development goals (SDGs). A series of government-backed initiatives were introduced to explore a myriad of AI use cases and deepen the existing talent pool for local and global AI developers seeking to set up operations in Egypt.

Data from Tortoise Media shows Egypt has gone up seven places in the Global AI Index in under 12 months, buoyed by increasing adoption of the technology.

IHC launches new holding company which will invest in crypto

IHC launches new holding company which will invest in crypto

UAE based International Holding Company (IHC), has approved the initiation of the transfer of 2PointZero, a next generation Holding Company comprising several diverse and dynamic companies, which will invest in several industries including crypto ecosystem.

The new Holding company will include a combination of entities holding over $27 billion in assets (transfer will be completed after obtaining all regulatory approvals).

One of the most relevant entities now under 2PointZero is Citadel Technologies.

Citadel is a leading player in the cryptocurrency mining industry and operates a state-of-the-art crypto mining facility in Abu Dhabi, UAE. The company specializes in Bitcoin extraction and is committed to sustainable and efficient mining practices. Citadel’s strategic location in the UAE allows it to leverage the region’s advanced infrastructure. In FY22, Citadel reported a revenue of AED100 million and an asset size of AED2.7 billion. IHC recently acquired a 10% stake in Phoenix Group, which manages the ‘Citadel Project’. Citadel’s facility is recognized as the Middle East’s largest crypto-mining facility.

IHC Chairman, Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan said: “Today, we are proud to announce the formation of 2PointZero, a next generation holding company that stands at the forefront of pioneering advancements across multiple sectors. Embracing the future with open arms, 2PointZero is committed to having a transformative impact globally. Our dedication to Technology and Artificial Intelligence (AI) is evident in our commitment to developing solutions that redefine industries such as Financial Services, Investment Banking, and Resource Management. Our vision transcends boundaries, and our mission is to build sustainable ecosystems that empower communities, cultivate technological excellence, and ensure financial resilience.”

2PointZero will invest across  verticals including Private Equity and Alternative Investments, Venture Capital Operations, Credit/Asset Management, Financial Services (including Micro Financing and Insurance) Investment Banking, Securities Brokerage and Research, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Technology, Mineral and Resource Management, Digital and Cryptocurrency Ecosystems and Mobility.

“2PointZero’s collective strength lies in its diversity, shared vision, and unwavering commitment to progress. Its thriving ecosystem of industry leaders is interconnected, each contributing unique value and drawing strength from their collective purpose,” said Syed Basar Shueb, IHC’s Chief Executive Officer. “By harnessing our expertise and acumen across these industry verticals and operating at an unprecedented scale, 2PointZero is poised to create a transformative impact on the world.”

2PointZero Holding will also include the following entities, Chimera Investments, Lunate, Beltone, International Resources Holding (IRH), and Sagasse Investments.  

A week prior to this announcement, UAE IHC Holding, which bought 10 percent of UAE Phoenix Group, a leading Bitcoin mining entity spurred its growth in Blockchain, AI and IoT in a joint venture with Indian Adani Group.

Saudi STC backs Blockchain AlephZero hackathon

Saudi STC backs Blockchain AlephZero hackathon

AlephZero, a layer 1 blockchain that allows the deployment of Web3 applications quickly, securely and at low cost has collaborated with Saudi Telecom Company, STC global Venture capitalist as well as T-Mobile, for its upcoming Hackathon called CTRL+Hack+ZK. The Hackathon will start on January 10th 2024 until January 31st 2024.

The winners of the Hackathon will receive up to $75k bounties and up to $500k EFP funding.

CTRL + HACK + ZK is the premier hacking event for Aleph Zero, the highly scalable blockchain platform with blazing speed and state-of-the-art privacy engine. The Hackathon will include 3-week journey of workshops, educational programming, and hands-on mentorship with the core dev team and ecosystem partners.

There are various tracks one of them is the Telco track which will challenge participants to redefine the future of telecommunications using Aleph Zero’s cutting-edge features by optimizing infrastructure or even creating new services.

Another track is the DiD track which explores identity-related solutions such as AZERO.ID, leveraging Aleph Zero’s native privacy stack to enable secure and decentralized identity management. Also included in the Hackathon is the  Tooling track which focuses on developing applications, node providers, libraries, and tools that enhance the developer experience and ecosystem around Aleph Zero, and finally the gaming track for building gaming solutions such as in-game items as NFTs smart contract templates for payouts and collectibles, or indexers for gaming data, the possibilities are endless. 

The Final track is DeFi where developers are encouraged to leverage its robust infrastructure and create unique financial solutions that help expand the ecosystem’s functionality.

Saudi Arabia has shown interest in developing CBDC (Central Bank Digital Currencies) as well as utilization of blockchain for tokenization projects. The collaboration of Saudi’s telecom conglomerate STC is another reflection of the Kingdom’s interest in Blockchain and its solutions.

The Saudi Islamic Development Bank Institute (IsDBI) is working to patent a Blockchain system for smart stabilization for CBDCs and digital assets after receiving a positive evaluation for its Blockchain smart stabilization system patent

SBI Holdings launches its blockchain JV with UAE Tradefinex

SBI Holdings launches its blockchain JV with UAE Tradefinex

Japanese SBI Holdings continues to forge stronger partnerships in the MENA region with the announcement of the launch of its joint venture SBI XDC Network APAC with UAE based TradeFinex.

TradeFinex is the promoter of XDC Network, an enterprise-focused blockchain for the purpose of enhancing efficiency in trade finance. Prior to this in September 2023, the two entities had announced that they would be creating the joint venture.

The purpose of the joint venture is to develop the XDC Network which is a community-driven platform established in 2017 specifically designed for trade finance and payments. It provides a smart contract system that facilitates global trade operations through the tokenization of real-world assets (RWAs) like bonds, tokenization of trade assets, and digitization of trade documents, on high-speed, highly secure, and low-cost blockchain.

Up to now, the SBI Group has been providing various services related to the XDC Network, including becoming the Japan’s first exchange to start handling XDC tokens, through a partnership agreement with SBI VC Trade Co. Ltd. (Head office: Minato-ku, Tokyo; President: Tomohiko Kondo), a company providing crypto asset exchange services within the SBI Group.

Moving forward, the SBI Group will not only focus on services related to the XDC token, but also strive to expand the use cases of the XDC Network’s blockchain technology in global economic activities,  particularly in the fields of trade finance and cross-border payments.

According to the press release, “As the first project after the establishment of the joint venture, we have started a proof-of concept (PoC) experiment that connects XDC Network and the Corda platform provided by SBI R3 Japan Co., Ltd and Corda Bridge provided by US based IMPEL GLOBAL. In this experiment, FIAT payments generated by business-to-business transactions will be conducted in XDC via Corda and Corda Bridge. By utilizing a hybrid blockchain with both private and public characteristics, it is possible to provide a one-stop service that settles both private, such as information of transactions, and public, such as the transfer of value, at once. As a result, this offers an efficient and smooth payment method for cross-border transactions including international trade, compared to conventional fiat currency transactions.”

SBI Holdings over the past months has been forging a variety of partnerships across the region. It signed an MOU with Saudi based Aramco, for digital assets research. SBI Holdings also announced a partnership with Standard Chartered to launch a $100 million Fund in the UAE to also establish a digital asset joint venture.

Hayvn to onboard new CEO with new direction

Hayvn to onboard new CEO with new direction

After the confusion and speculations surrounding the situation of UAE based Hayvn a digital asset focused financial institution, providing trading, asset Management, custody, and payments, Ahmed Ismail, Board Member & Co-Founder clarified a few facts to set the record straight and bring hope that the future is bright for Hayvn, and for the digital asset scene.

First and foremost Ismail firmly and unequivocally stated that client funds are totally safe and have not been touched and as such Hayvn continues to serve its clients with the utmost professionalism and care. He explained to LaraontheBlock, “Clients funds are safe globally. All our client’s funds are safe wherever they reside.”

Secondly the company under the intern leadership of Tim Grant ,CEO, Deus X Capital, Stuart Connolly CIO, Deus X Capital & HAYVN Board member and Ismael himself, are currently cleaning up house, setting their strategies for the company and looking to hire a CEO to replace Christopher Flinos.

Ismael stated, “We are firmly committed to Hayvn and to its success. Sometimes things don’t go as planned, yet despite this Hayvn is doing well. Its revenues were up in the past month and we are looking forward to hiring a new CEO to replace Flinos.”

In terms of the technical and technology issues in Hayvn, Ismael reaffirms that technically all things are running smoothly. He admits that there were glitches when they were migrating to the new platform, yet clients were made aware that this might happen and all things were handled and dealt with according to the highest modes of professionalism.

In terms of its regulatory status, Ismael reaffirms that Hayvn continues to be a globally regulated business through their entities in Australia, Cayman Islands and Lithuania.

In the final analysis while Hayvn has gone through a tumultuous experience, that doesn’t make it a failure yet. Companies throughout history have gone through ups and downs but what makes them survivors are the team of passionate dedicated individuals behind them.

If Binance, whose reputation and growth stemmed from one person, its founder and CEO CZ, and who had this year to face the SEC (Securities and Exchange Committee) and come out still alive and kicking, there is hope for digital asset, crypto companies everywhere.

2024 will be a pivotal year for Hayvn and its team; they will either come out stronger than before having learned from past mistakes and experiences, or they will fall into oblivion. Those following Hayvn closely for such a long time, can only wish them the former outcome.

UAE Mada Capital partners for growth fund for metaverse gaming platform

UAE Mada Capital partners for growth fund for metaverse gaming platform

UAE based MADA Capital, a private investment fund has partnered with Web3 metaverse gaming platform Creta in its ecosystem growth fund.

As per the news release, Mada Capital actively participated in the fund at an early stage, being deeply impressed by Creta’s vision and technological prowess, which outshine competitors.

Creta, alongside Mada Capital, aim to  collaboratively lead the advancement of the web3 and gaming metaverse industries in the global market. Together, they aim to grow the fund, discover and support outstanding producers and content, and expand Creta’s ecosystem by fostering cooperation and nurturing technology.

The ultimate goal of CRETA is to form a coalition of world-class developers, creators, and producers, where numerous creators join and contribute their high-level creations. The company is building a new comprehensive gaming entertainment platform that will lead the next generation game/metaverse content industry.

The Creta Growth Fund aims to accomplish this by expanding the Creta metaverse in several ways, including the creation of content and a pool of talented developers. In doing so, it will bring a large number of talented Web3 developers and content into the Creta ecosystem. Numerous game developers, creators, and producers that the Creta Growth Fund will identify and collaborate with will not only increase the content lineup but will also allow Creta to go beyond the expectations of numerous game fans and creators early on. This will create synergies in PR, marketing, and community outreach that far exceed the size of the fund. As a result, as the ecosystem grows, the number of creators will grow, and their content output will further circulate and expand the Creta ecosystem.

Following the recent agreement, MADA Capital has committed to actively participate in the fund raising process for the Creta Growth Fund to include multi-billion dollar investments.

With big names like gaming legend Yoshiki Okamoto and genius producer Thomas Vu on board and with many more influential developers and producers joining, the launch of the Growth Fund is expected to accelerate the rapid expansion of Creta’s content and developer partnerships. The fund will also accelerate the acquisition of AAA titles, and catalyze the rapid growth of the ultimate Creta ecosystem, which is an ever-expanding, ever-circulating collection of worlds, multiverses, games, creator tools, and community SuperClub.

Creta is a global Web3 metaverse gaming platform headquartered in the UAE with offices in Japan and Armenia. The development of the Creta platform is led by Diverse, a Korean metaverse game developer specializing in high-performance game engines and excellent graphics technology.

The Web3-based metaverse gaming platform uses Locus Chain, public blockchain, and unlike traditional metaverses, it implements a super-sized multiverse where numerous metaverses can be combined and expanded with photo-realistic visual quality. In particular, Creta can significantly reduce infrastructure costs using the high-performance blockchain mainnet Locus Chain to replace most of the role of servers in online games.

Salah Alwaheb, Chairman of MADA Capital, said: “We are delighted to partner with Creta as it grows to become the dominant player in the next generation web3 gaming/metaverse platform market. The Creta Growth Fund will be backed by MADA Capital’s large funds, as well as royal families and high net-worth individuals from the Middle East.”

UAE decentralized Ecommerce platform to incorporate AI and Web3 Technology

UAE decentralized Ecommerce platform to incorporate AI and Web3 Technology

UAE decentralized ecommerce platform, Ayshei ( Aya Shee in Arabic), backed by Medad Holding will be launching in early 2024 as the first fully enabled Web3 AI marketplace.

Ayshei will incorporate cutting-edge features such as online auctions, virtual stores, delivery services, and AI technology, among other distinctive solutions as part of its decentralized ecommerce platform.

CEO of Ayshei, Mohammed Shaiba Al Mazrouei, emphasized that Ayshei.com represents more than just a marketplace—it signifies the dawn of a new era for online commerce in the UAE. Al Mazrouei stated that the platform empowers businesses, fosters innovation, and creates a thriving community. As the first platform to provide full transparency on fee structures and onboarding processes, Ayshei invites users to become early adopters and join the Ayshei Community, a space where limitless opportunities await.

Ayshei is positioning itself as a market enabler for SMEs, startups, and home businesses. The platform will offer an all-in-one virtual store, providing essential services such as a trade license, bank account, payment gateway, logistics (including end-to-end self-storage), and delivery. This approach aims to empower businesses to establish and flourish in the digital realm.

Being a decentralized platform leveraging web3 technology, Ayshei prioritizes user security and transparency. The platform implements multiple security measures, including profile verification through Emirates ID, UAE Pass integration, high-value product authentications, advanced transaction monitoring, property and car inspections.

The platform will offer intelligent solutions in real estate, auctions, and other domains.

Qatar to attract Blockchain and digital asset entities

Qatar to attract Blockchain and digital asset entities

The Qatar Central Bank( QCB)  sets to attract Big Tech and Fintech entities in the fields of Blockchain, AI, Tokenization, Digital assets and crypto to the country.

As per its third financial sector strategy launched by HE Prime Minister Sheikh Mohamed Bin Abdulrahman Bin Jassim Al Thani, the Qatar Central Bank recommended enhancing financial inclusion, measures to facilitate building a world-class shared market infrastructure and establishing a financial technology talent center of excellence.

The third financial sector strategy is to make Qatar a leading ecosystem embracing emerging technologies to accelerate digital transformation supported by adaptable and consistent regulatory frameworks and trusted market infrastructure. The regulatory framework is one of the key initiatives and aims to develop framework for DLT ( Distributed Ledger Technology), Blockchain, Crypto and digital assets as well as Decentralized Finance (DeFi). The regulations will ensure a trusted, legal and economic environment for AML, IP rights, and KYC KYT.

Growth areas include payments ecosystem specifically retails, as well as introduction of solutions such as robo advisory, Blockchain, artificial intelligence, digital assets and tokenization.  It also includes digitization in Islamic Finance and ESG (Environmental Social Governance).

The strategy contains 48 actionable items with 20 high priority ones as per the strategy.

The Qatar Financial Centre Regulatory Authority and QFC Authority have jointly developed a QFC digital assets framework, as well as launched their digital assets lab which will work as a sandbox for incubating startups.

QCB governor Sheikh Bandar bin Mohamed bin Saoud al-Thani. Stated,”We believe in the importance of digital finance ecosystem in supporting the development process. As a result, we have adopted this ecosystem as a third pillar within our strategy to lead the digital financial transformation for the sector to be pioneer in the adoption of modern technologies.”

Saudi University survey shows positive correlation between Bitcoin and Ecommerce

Saudi University survey shows positive correlation between Bitcoin and Ecommerce

Researchers at King Saud University Saudi Arabia have released a research on the relationship between Bitcoin and e-commerce in Saudi Arabia with results showing rapid growth in ecommerce, some knowledge of Bitcoin, and a positive correlation between Bitcoin and e-commerce in the Kingdom

Researchers Dr. Layla Hajr, Suzan Katamoura, and Abdulrahman Mirza, developed a hypothesis to investigate and test the impact of Bitcoin on Ecommerce use in Saudi Arabia using a survey.

The survey analyzed factors such as Bitcoin awareness, usage among Saudi Arabian consumers. Responses were collected from individuals and employees of various companies working in different occupations in Saudi Arabia. In addition, statistical tools SPSS and SmartPLS were used to test the study’s hypotheses.

As per the survey results, there has been a rapid growth in e-commerce transactions and some knowledge of Bitcoin. Most importantly as per the researchers the survey showed a positive correlation between digital currencies ( Bitcoin) and e-commerce in Saudi Arabia.

The authors noted “The study also opens the way for future investigations into topics including Saudi Arabia’s regulations for Bitcoin, consumer attitudes toward Bitcoin, and the potential of blockchain technology for enhancing the nation’s e-commerce processes.”

Saudi Arabia is among the world’s largest e-commerce markets; the statistics in this sector reported that the volume of e-commerce transactions approached $5.7 billion. Also, Saudi e-commerce contributed to the GDP with a return of $10,482 billion in 2020 (Chamber, 2019). As a result of this swift growth in both technologies’ inventions and e-commerce transactions, new electronic methods were developed, for example, STC Pay, and others.

The King Saud University authors expected that the usage of Bitcoin might increase e-commerce transactions. Using an anonymous online survey to test their hypothesis the survey targeted different  community sectors, including various professionals (governmental, semi-governmental, private companies, private businesses, and students) in Riyadh and Jeddah cities.

124 respondents from the cities of Riyadh and Jeddah answered 14 questions.  Responses were collected from participants who work in different occupations, including governmental entities, Semi-governmental Authorities, Private Sector Companies, Private Business individuals, and students. Of the questionnaires answered, 56.5% were female. Additionally, 42.7% of the respondents were between 31 and 40; the rest were distributed between different age categories. The least (11.3%) of the participants held Diploma, and the remaining had a degree of Bachelor and above.

The survey while just a beggining is interesting especially as KSA is working on its CBDC project.

Hayvn ousted CEO is incognito with speculations about possible embezzlement

Hayvn ousted CEO is incognito with speculations about possible embezzlement

UAE based HAYVN which is a digital asset focused financial institution, providing trading, asset Management, custody, and payments previously regulated and active in Abu Dhabi, has fallen under a great wall of scrutiny and a black cloud both with regards of the activities of its previous CEO as well its current status as a regulated entity in the UAE.

In less than a week, Hayvn not only announced the so called resignation of its CEO Christopher Flinos and the request to make its status inactive in Abu Dhabi ADGM ( Abu Dhabi Global Market), but it also insinuated that the CEO had carried out a huge misconduct. In an email statement made by the PR agency of Hayvn, Fully Vested, to UNLOCK Blockchain, the agency noted, “The CEO stepped down from the management of the business, following a request from the Board of Directors due to the CEO’s conduct.”

Sources close to LaraontheBlock have noted that there has been speculation moving around with regards to possible embezzlement. This is further reconfirmed by the fact that Christopher Flinos is nowhere to be found. His phone is off, he does not respond to LinkedIn or other messages, and he himself has not made any statement to clear his name or explain his actions and that of the board of Hayvn.

LaraontheBlock reached out to the FSRA (Financial Services and Regulatory Authority) at ADGM with two questions. The first question, as a regulatory authority what actions have or will be taken towards Hayvn given the current cloud of speculation around it and the activities of its prior CEO?

The second question, can ADGM confirm that institutional clients in the UAE have not been effected financially or otherwise from the actions taken by the prior CEO and Hayvn as a crypto custodian and if effected will there be restitution?

The response which came from FSRA attributed to Mr. Emmanuel Givanakis. CEO of the Financial Services Regulatory Authority at ADGM stated, “As the financial regulator of ADGM, the Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) is bound by the highest levels of confidentiality and therefore is not positioned to discuss individual firms. The FSRA is committed to supervising all regulated entities so they maintain high standards to address risks related to their activities. ADGM stands as a transparent jurisdiction and has relevant public information on registered and licensed entities by its independent regulatory authorities in ADGM available on the public register.”

As per its license, AC Limited (Hayvn) is not permitted to deal with Retail Clients and is restricted to USD 1 million in total assets (Fiat and Accepted Virtual Assets) for a maximum of 100 clients.

When the same questions were posed to Ahmed W Ismail Co-Founder, Board Member & Operating Committee Member of HAYVN, he replied with this statement, “I can confirm that there has been a change of management at HAYVN. The CEO stepped down from the management of the business, following a request from the Board of Directors. Client funds are safe and there will be no disruption to the service of any clients. We continue to be a globally regulated business through our entities in Australia, Cayman and Lithuania.”

Hayvn was granted a license in ADGM in December 2021, allowing it to offer deals for investments, and virtual asset custody. In October 2023 Hayvn announced that had processed over 22 000 cryptocurrency transactions to date in 2023.

While back in August 2023 Swedish and UAE based Gayo aviation, a luxury travel company that offers aircraft management, consulting services, aircraft purchase and sales and flight deck services announced they were now offering crypto payments utilizing UAE HAYVN Pay.

In May Hayvn also announced that it had recorded returns of 19 percent increase on its crypto index fund since its launch in January 2023. The index fund  included the top 20 digital assets by market capitalization with a maximum weighting of 10% for any asset to increase diversification. It is a broad based index strategy with monthly rebalancing.

In short Hayvn was busy partnering and launching products.  It partnered with WooCommernce to offer a plug-in allowing merchants to create an additional revenue stream by accepting cryptocurrency payments from customers globally. It also partnered with crypto hardware manufacturer, Ledger to provide safe and robust off-ramping rails to users of Ledger’s Ledger Live service, as well as strategic partnership with Akurateco, a cutting-edge white-label payment software vendor operating worldwide to broaden crypto payments, and finally the most recent partnership with Malta based Apcopay, a Single Layer – Payments Orchestration Platform which they noted was crucial to HAYVN Pay’s global expansion strategy, providing an alternative payment avenue for businesses.

This flurry of activity while to many looks like reflections of growth and expansion could also have been a cover up for activities that led to the current situation Hayvn is in today.

Could the rushed technology upgrade implemented just before Flinos’s resignation which created widespread disruptions for Hayvn Pay Clients been part and one of the issues realted to the misconduct of the CEO?

These questions and many more should become clearer as the Abu Dhabi Global Market regulator investigates, and as Hayvn’s new leadership takes form.