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أصبح الذكاء الاصطناعي (AI) أداة قوية بشكل متزايد للشركات، وقد تمت الإشارة إلى الذكاء الاصطناعي على أنه "الشيء الكبير التالي" (The next big thing) في عالم الأعمال في السنوات الأخيرة. لكن اليوم لم يعد الحديث عن الذكاء الاصطناعي يدور عن تكهنات مستقبلية، بل بات واقعاً ملموساً، وما القصص التي ملئت الاخبار عن الـ ChatGPT إلا دليلاً على ذلك. كما أنه لم يعد قاصراً على الشركات الكبيرة مثل القيادة الذاتية للسيارات، بل بات بإمكان الشركات الناشئة والصغيرة الاستفادة منه أيضاً، إذاً نحن أمام فرصة للاستفادة من تطورات الذكاء الاصطناعي في عالم الأعمال، لكن كيف؟

نستعرض في هذه المادة 4 مجالات يمكن لرواد الأعمال من خلالها الاستفادة من تطورات الذكاء الاصطناعي في أعمالهم. ستكشف هذه المقالة ثلاث طرق يمكن للشركات الصغيرة من خلالها الاستفادة من الذكاء الاصطناعي لتعزيز نموها واكتساب ميزة تنافسية:

لطالما أشير إلى الذكاء الاصطناعي في السنوات القليلة الماضية بأنه "الشيء الكبير القادم" (The next big thing) في عالم الأعمال. لكن اليوم لم يعد الحديث عن الذكاء الاصطناعي يدور عن تكهنات مستقبلية، بل بات واقعاً ملموساً، وما القصص التي ملئت الاخبار عن الـ ChatGPT إلا دليلاً على ذلك. كما أنه لم يعد قاصراً على الشركات الكبيرة مثل القيادة الذاتية للسيارات، بل بات بإمكان الشركات الناشئة والصغيرة الاستفادة منه أيضاً، إذاً نحن أمام فرصة للاستفادة من تطورات الذكاء الاصطناعي في عالم الأعمال، لكن كيف؟ نستعرض في هذه المادة 4 مجالات يمكن لرواد الأعمال من خلالها الاستفادة من تطورات الذكاء الاصطناعي في أعمالهم.

1- تحسين خدمة العملاء

من الصحيح أن خدمة العملاء تُعد من أكثر المجالات التي تحتاج إلى اللمسة البشرية، لكن من الصحيح أيضاً أن الذكاء الاصطناعي يمكن أن يجعل منها أكثر كفاءة. تظهر كفاءة الذكاء الاصطناعي بوضوح كمنفذ اتصال أولي للرد على أسئلة واستفسارات العملاء، واليوم، وبفضل تطور الذكاء الاصطناعي فإن روبوتات المحادثة أصبحت أكثر فاعلية في التواصل المكتوب والصوتي (إجراء مكالمات) وبلغات مختلفة أيضاً، وبكفاءة وفاعلية عالية، أي أصبح بالإمكان التواصل مع عملاء من جنسيات وأماكن مختلفة، مع قدرة الذكاء الاصطناعي على الاستيعاب والرد على استفسارات العملاء بكفاءة.

لا تقتصر المنفعة من استخدام الذكاء الاصطناعي في خدمة العملاء على التقليل من التكاليف، إذ لا يمكن الاستغناء نهائياً عن العنصر البشري، لكن المنفعة من الذكاء الاصطناعي تمتد أيضاً في تجميع المعلومات وإعادة استخدامها التي تساعد في جعل تجربة العميل أكثر تخصيصاً من خلال تقديم رؤية واضحة عن متطلبات العميل ورغباته. كما يمكن للذكاء الاصطناعي استخدام البيانات لإجراء التنبؤات وتحديد مجالات التحسين وحتى الإشارة إلى التوسعات المحتملة أو الخدمات المتقدمة. بما يساعد على إبقاء العميل راضياً.

بعض أدوات الذكاء الاصطناعي الشائعة التي يمكنها تحسين خدمة العملاء:

(ChatGPT, IBM Watson Assistant, LivePerson, Ada, Salesforce Einstein, Bold360, Nuance Nina, Zendesk Answer Bot.).


2- تحسين تفاعلات البريد الإلكتروني

يؤدي تلقي الكثير من رسائل البريد الإلكتروني من العملاء، التي تتطلب بطبيعية الحال تتبع الطلبات والاستفسارات والرد عليها والعديد من الأمور الأخرى، إلى إثارة الفوضى حتى في أكثر فرق العمل تنظيماً. بل إن الأمر يتجاوز التحديات اللوجستية والتنظيمية، فالاستجابات البطيئة وغير الوافية على استفسارات العملاء ستؤدي بدورها إلى احباط العميل، وتشكيل صورة ذهنية سلبية عن العلامة التجارية للشركة.

توفر روبوت البريد الإلكتروني حلولاً متنوعة للمساعدة على تخطي المشكلات التي قد تنشأ عن رسائل البريد الإلكتروني، من خلال أتمتة خدمات الرد الشاملة. بما فيها الرد على استفسارات الأسعار ونوعية المنتجات وخدمات التوصيل أو تحديثات تقدم الطلب وغيرها، وتمرير الرسائل الأكثر تعقيداً للجهة المعنية في الشركة. ومع تطور الروبوتات أصبح بالإمكان تحديد النبرة واللغة لتحسين التواصل مع العملاء. يساعد ذلك في توفير الوقت لدعم العملاء في الاستعلامات المتكررة التي يمكن حلها عن طريق الرد التلقائي.

بعض أدوات الذكاء الاصطناعي الشائعة التي يمكنها تحسين التفاعلات عبر البريد الإلكتروني:

(Grammarly, Crystal, Boomerang, PoliteMail, Respondable by Boomerang AI-powered tool integrated with popular email platforms like Gmail, Clearbit Connect, X.ai).


3- التسويق والمبيعات

للذكاء الاصطناعي العديد من التطبيقات في مجال التسويق. تتمثل الميزة الرئيسية لاستخدام الذكاء الاصطناعي في التسويق في أن عملية صنع القرار والمراسلات تستند إلى بيانات دقيقة وشاملة، حيث تستخدم الإحصاءات المرتبطة بالطلبات السابقة للعملاء والاستطلاعات والاستبيانات والبيانات السابقة في التعامل مع العملاء. حيث تقدم تطبيقات الذكاء الاصطناعي في نهاية المطاف رؤية للمبيعات أكثر شمولية ودقة. والتي تساعد بدورها في إنشاء قوائم للعملاء المحتملين وتحديد نقاط الضعف والقوة قبل التخطيط للحملة التسويقية.

وفي هذا السياق وجدت إحدى الدراسات الاستقصائية أن 61٪ من فرق المبيعات قد تجاوزت أهداف الإيرادات بفضل الاستفادة من الأتمتة في عملية المبيعات كما يمكن توظيف الذكاء الاصطناعي في تحليل المبيعات وأداء التسوق بما يساعد على اتخاذ قرارات أفضل.

بعض أدوات الذكاء الاصطناعي الشائعة التي يمكنها المساعدة في التسويق والمبيعات:

(Salesforce Einstein, Marketo Engage, HubSpot Sales Hub, Drift, InsideSales Predictive Playbooks, Gong.io, Conversica, IBM Watson Marketing.).


4- كتابة المدونة وتحسين الظهور على محركات البحث (
SEO)

يساعد الذكاء الاصطناعي في رفع كم ونوع المدونات عن طريق تقليل وقت الكتابة والتحرير بشكل كبير. وذلك من خلال إدخال وتحليل الكلمات المفتاحية، وتحديد استخدامها وتوزيعها بشكل مناسب، وكذلك في صياغة وإعادة صياغة الجمل والفقرات المرتبطة بالكلمات المفتاحية. وبالتالي يساعد الذكاء الاصطناعي في مجال كتابة المحتوى وتحسين المدونات في توفير الوقت والجهد في الكتابة وتقليل الأخطاء وصياغة المحتوى بصورة أفضل. وقد أثبت الاذكاء الاصطناعي بالفعل ناجعته في هذا المجال إذ تشير إحدى الدراسات إلى ارتفع استخدام المسوقين للذكاء الاصطناعي بين عامي 2018 و 2020 من 29٪ في 2018 إلى 84٪ في 2020.

بعض أدوات الذكاء الاصطناعي الشائعة التي يمكنها تحسين كتابة المدونة وتحسين الظهور على محركات البحث (SEO) : (Frase, SEMrush, Surfer SEO, Clearscope, WordLift, MarketMuse, Yoast SEO, TextOptimizer).


يعتمد تحديد أفضل أداة للذكاء الاصطناعي لاستخدامها على عدة عوامل واعتبارات، مثل: احتياجاتك وسهولة الاستخدام وتوافق الأداة مع الأنظمة أو البرامج أو الأنظمة الأساسية الموجودة لديك، بالإضافة الى قابلية التوسع وأسعار الأداة والمرونة والتخصيص ضمن عوامل أخرى. يوصى بإجراء تقييم شامل لأدوات الذكاء الاصطناعي المختلفة بناءً على السياق والمتطلبات المحددة للمستخدم قبل اتخاذ القرار.


ان الاستفادة من الذكاء الاصطناعي في عدة مجالات يمكن الشركات الناشئة الحصول على ميزة تنافسية من خلال تبسيط العمليات وتحسين تجارب العملاء واتخاذ قرارات تعتمد على البيانات. من خلال تبني الذكاء الاصطناعي، يمكن للشركات الصغيرة أن تفتح فرصًا جديدة للنمو وتظل قادرة على المنافسة في ظل بيئة أعمال رقمية تركز بشكل متزايد على البيانات.

 

المصادر:

Entrepreneur

Tech Target

Hub Spot

In July 2021, Burj Khalifa was covered in red with the word “SVWL” in the middle, announcing that the Egyptian mass transit company Swvl had become “the first unicorn company* in the Middle East with a market value of $1.5 billion to be listed on the NASDAQ New York Stock Exchange.” This is how Dubai celebrated the city-based company in 2019.

It did not take long for the wave of celebration of the Swvl company to turn into heartbreak and regret. Less than 6 months after the start of trading its shares on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, the Swvl share price collapsed, losing about 95% of its value in September 2022. The downward journey of its share continued, bringing the share price in 2023 to about 20 cents, compared to $10 at the start of trading in March 2022. The market value of the company decreased from more than $1.5 billion to about $9 million only, so the company lost about 99% of its value after about twenty months of its listing on Nasdaq. How did Swvl descend from the pinnacle of success to the specter of bankruptcy? And what scenarios are waiting for the company?

 

In less than a year, Swvl succeeded in attracting financing amounting to about $9 million, starting with financing of $500,000 from “Careem” passenger transportation company, which was later acquired by “Uber”, and in 2018 it obtained financing of $8.5 million from a Series A funding round, and in the same year it succeeded in obtaining an undisclosed Series B funding round, estimated at between $20 and $30 million at the time, making Swvl the most funded startup in the Middle East and North Africa in 2018.

Swvl Mass Transport is an example of a startup that achieves great success at the beginning of its journey. The company started its operations in Egypt in 2017 with self-financing from its founders (Mustafa Qandil, Mahmoud Noah and Ahmed Sabah) that did not exceed $30,000 at the time. The idea of ​​Swvl was based on providing a reasonable alternative that combines low cost and efficiency, so that it enables individuals who wish to move away from public transportation, at a lower cost than the costs of shared transportation companies. In practical application, Swvl started operating large and small buses on specific routes, enabling users to book their trips through an application that runs on smartphones.

Funding continued to flow to Swvl, as in 2019 it succeeded in raising about $42 million from a Series C financing round, bringing the total amount it obtained, in less than two years following its foundation, to about $80 million. In view of this success, Swvl decided to move its headquarters to Dubai, in a building that includes large companies, such as: "BMW" and "Rolls-Royce". From Dubai Swvl worked to accelerate its expansion in large and important markets in the Middle East and Africa, including the Saudi, Pakistani and Emirati markets, as well as Nigeria and Kenya.

 

Media aura

Propelled by the rapid success it achieved, Swvl gained a great media aura since its launch. In 2018 the founders of Swvl were chosen among the Forbes Middle East list of the most influential youth under the age of 30, and in 2020 the name of Swvl appeared in the Forbes Middle East list of the “50 most funded startups in the Middle East”, where it ranked second, while its financial director, Youssef Salem, appeared on the same list in 2021. Mr. Salem is a prominent banker who used to work in Moelis & Co, who was among a large group of employees who were attracted by Swvl through generous salaries, temptations and other incentives.

This is in addition to many TV interviews and dozens of websites that dealt with the company's success story. The media aura contributed to increasing the confidence of investors and financiers in the success of the company and in the possibility of it becoming one of the largest companies in the field of mass transportation in the world, especially with its great expansion in foreign markets.

 

Acquisition and listing on NASDAQ

Swvl reached the pinnacle of its success in the summer of 2021 when it was listed on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange after its merger with Queen's Gambit Growth Capital, a special-purpose acquisition company (SPAC), turning the startup that launched just 4 years ago, from a small company active in the streets of Cairo and Alexandria to a global company with a market valuation of $1.5 billion, this valuation at the time was considered exaggerated.

It is also worth noting that prior to this merger, two of the founders of Swvl had left; Mahmoud Noah, who later founded Capiter for business-to-business transactions, and Ahmed Sabah, who founded the emerging financial technology company Telda, while Mustafa Kandil continued to manage SWVL.

Less than a month after the announcement of Swvl’s listing on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, the company began an expansion process in global markets. It began its global activities by acquiring the Spanish “Shotl” smart transportation company specialized in ordering buses in Spain and 22 cities in 10 European countries, in addition to its activity in Brazil [1]. It also announced its acquisition of the German company "Door2door" in an undisclosed deal. In November, it acquired a controlling stake in the Argentine company Viapool, which operates in both Argentina and Chile, for $10 million.

Swvl's appetite for expansion and acquisition did not stop, and in April of 2022, i.e. one month after its shares began trading on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange at a value of $10 per share, Swvl announced two acquisition deals, the first of which was the acquisition of the Turkish "Volt Line" company for participatory transportation. Its value amounted to 40 million dollars, and the second was the conclusion of an initial deal with the British company "Zello" in preparation for its acquisition in a deal whose estimated value was about 100 million dollars [2]. This is in addition to pumping 25 million dollars allocated to increase expansion in the Turkish market through "Vault Line"[3].

 

Falling from the top

Less than two months after Swvl's shares began trading on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, the company's share price fell to about $5. In front of this sudden drop in the share price, Swvl announced the layoffs of 400 of its employees, or about a third of the company's employees, and the reason for taking this action, according to Swvl, because it would replace its laid-off cadres with fully automated systems, in order to reduce its expenses and focus on achieving profits starting from 2023. Commenting on the decline in its share price, Swvl's management stated, "The decline in the stock does not cause concern to the management, but we have a responsibility towards every shareholder who suffers a loss, and we try to separate the action plan that we are following and the fluctuation of the stock."

Swvl's announcement was not enough to stop the collapse of its share price. On the one hand, laying off 400 employees will not lead to immediate or certain results to achieve profits that satisfy investors and shareholders. Rather, the results of the layoffs need time to appear, in addition to the fact that the process of replacing automated systems in itself is a costly and complex process. On the other hand, Swvl did not stop expanding in new markets, as the company announced its acquisition of the Mexican company "Urbvan" for mass transportation [4]. This coincided with its announcement of its intention to enter the American market at the end of the same year, meaning that the goal of the company to focus on profits does not seem likely to be achieved in light of its continued expansion into new markets, which is one of the main reasons for the decline in Swvl's share price.

The major collapse in Swvl’s share price occurred on July 8, 2022, as the company’s share price fell to about a dollar and a half, and on September 20 of the same year, the share price fell below one dollar, and reached about 50 cents, thus losing Swvl about 95% of its value, as its market valuation fell from $1.5 billion to about $75 million. The downward path of Swvl's share continued with the beginning of 2023, bringing its share price to about 20 cents and its market value to about $9 million.

 

Why did Swvl stock fall?

In addition to the poor performance and management of the Swvl itself, specifically related to its rapid expansion policy, which cost the company hundreds of millions of dollars, the collapse of the share price of Swvl on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange is also attributed to the state of the global economy.

The COVID-19 pandemic hit the transportation industry hard, and Swvl was no exception. With lockdowns and social distancing measures in place, demand for public transportation plummeted, and Swvl was forced to suspend its services. In addition, the company faced financial and operational challenges, with its high operational costs and limited revenue streams putting it at risk of bankruptcy.

Also less than a month before the start of trading of Swvl shares on the Nasdaq, The Russian-Ukrainian war broke out, which caused a significant increase in energy prices, which negatively affected the operating costs of Swvl. The global economy in general entered a state of uncertainty and slowed growth, and many countries were affected by the global inflation situation caused by the Ukrainian crisis, including Egypt, Latin America and a number of countries in which Swvl is active. This situation also led to collapse of the prices of the national currencies of a large number of countries. Moreover, the US Federal Bank raised interest rates, which made it more expensive for startups to borrow and to finance their activities.

What also indicates that the crisis that Swvl went through is linked to external causes, is that the Nasdaq index itself lost nearly a third of its value in 2022 [5], in short, Swvl was not alone in this crisis, but rather it was doubly affected because its activities being linked to energy prices, which flew.

Swvl's actions did not achieve its desired goal, as we mentioned above, its share continued to decline, and it is known that the NASDAQ Stock Exchange prevents trading of shares of companies with a share price of less than one US dollar, which made Swvl exposed to the risk of being delisted from the NASDAQ Stock Exchange, especially since it received a warning in this concern from Nasdaq. Swvl's solution was a "reverse stock split" that turned every 25 shares into one. So that its shares have traded since March 2023, at a price ranging from two dollars to $1.07.

 

What fate awaits Swivel?

In view of the major collapse of Swvl, its CEO, Mustafa Kandil, decided on November 25 to lay off more than half of the workforce and sell, stop or reduce some operations in "smaller" countries, and focus mainly on Egypt and Mexico. Five weeks after this announcement, Swvl formed a panel of independent directors to explore potential sales, mergers and other options.

A reverse stock split may be a stopgap for Swvl from delisting from the Nasdaq stock exchange, but it may not last long given the company's plight.

According to Bloomberg, quoting a person familiar with the matter (who asked not to be named because the information is confidential), Swvl is now looking for new capital from investors, while it remains listed on the Nasdaq [6]. This may be hardly the only option for the continuation of Swvl, that is, obtaining new capital and turning into a private company, to restart again.

The company's leadership team recognized the need for change and embarked on a bold transformation strategy. They diversified their revenue streams, shifting their focus from bus rides to logistics and delivery services. They also implemented cost-cutting measures, streamlined operations, and renegotiated contracts with suppliers.

The company has also expanded its services to include last-mile deliveries, e-commerce logistics, and ride-hailing. Swvl's story is a testament to the resilience and adaptability of businesses in the face of adversity. It also teaches us the importance of diversifying revenue streams, being agile and flexible, and taking bold actions to survive and thrive in challenging times.

 

Sources:


* An economic term applied to emerging companies whose market valuation exceeds one billion dollars.


* Special purpose acquisition companies are public companies that have no business but to choose a private company to merge with, and the latter inherits the inclusion of the first.

[1] Swvl prepares to enter the Spanish market by purchasing Shotl buses, Wamda website, 08/19/2021, available at: https://bit.ly/407w5be

[2] Swvl acquires the English “Zilo” for $100 million, WAYA Arabic website, 08/05/2022, available at: https://bit.ly/3GNrfcd

[3] “Swvl” acquires the Turkish “Volt Line” for ride-hailing services, Lumberj Middle East, 04/25/2022, available at: https://bit.ly/3A0AIJw

[4] Swvl Acquires Mexican Urbvan to Penetrate Markets There, Arabia Inc, 07/18/2022, available at: https://bit.ly/3mBZUTA

[5] Sherif Othman, “The Nasdaq index lost nearly a third of its value in 2022,” Al-Araby Al-Jadeed website, 10/01/2022, available at: https://bit.ly/3GKrpRK

[6] Samuel Gebre at el, Middle East Unicorn Swvl’s Spectacular Rise and 99% Stock Tumble, bloomberglaw, 09/03/2023, Available at: https://bit.ly/43zVyNw

اكتسى برج خليفة في شهر في يوليو/تموز 2021، باللون الأحمر يتوسطه كلمة "SVWL" معلنا لناظره عبر نص إلكتروني بأن شركة سويفل المصرية للنقل الجماعي باتت "أول شركة يونيكورن* في الشرق الأوسط تبلغ قيمتها السوقية 1.5 مليار دولار يتم إدراجها في بورصة ناسداك نيويورك" هكذا احتفلت دبي بالشركة التي اتخذت من المدينة مقراً لها في عام 2019.  

لم يمضي على موجة الاحتفاء بشركة سويفل الكثير من الوقت قبل ان تتحول إلى حسرة وتأسف، فبعد أقل من 6 أشهر من بدء تداول أسهمها في بورصة ناسداك انهارت سعر سهم سويفل لتفقد نحو 95% من قيمتها في شهر سبتمبر/أيلول 2022. استمرت رحلة هبوط سهم سويفل ليصل سعر سهمها في عام 2023 إلى نحو 20 سنت بعد أن كان سعر السهم الواحد 10 دولارات عند بداية تداوله في مارس/آذار 2022، وانخفضت قيمتها السوقية من أكثر من 1.5 مليار دولار إلى لنحو 9 مليون دولار فقط، لتفقد الشركة نحو 99% من قيمتها بعد نحو عشرين شهراً من بدء إدراجها في ناسداك.

كيف هبطت سويفل من أعلى قمة النجاح إلى شبح الإفلاس؟ وما هي السيناريوهات التي تنتظرها؟

رحلة الصعود السريعة

تعد شركة سويفل للنقل الجماعي نموذجاً عن الشركة الناشئة التي تحقق نجاحاً كبيراً في بداية رحلتها، فقد بدأت الشركة أعمالها في مصر عام 2017 بتمويل ذاتي من مؤسسيها (مصطفى قنديل ومحمود نوح وأحمد صباح) لم يتجاوز في حينها 30 ألف دولار. قامت فكرة سويفل على تقديم بديل معقول يزاوج بين التكلفة المنخفضة والكفاءة، بحيث تمكن الافراد الراغبين بالتنقل بعيداً عن وسائل النقل العام، وبتكلفة أقل من تكاليف شركات النقل التشاركي. وفي التطبيق العملي بدأت سويفل بتسيير حافلات كبيرة وصغيرة على طرق محددة، بحيث تمكن المستخدمين من حجز رحلاتهم عبر تطبيق يعمل على الهواتف الذكية.

يغضون أقل من عام نجحت سويفل في جذب تمويل وصلت قيمته إلى نحو 9 مليون دولار أمريكي بدأ مع تمويل بقيمة 500 ألف دولار من شركة "كريم" لنقل الركاب التي استحوذت عليها شركة "أوبر" لاحقاً، وفي عام 2018 حصلت على تمويل بقيمة 8.5 مليون دولار من جولة تمويلية من السلسلة (أ)، وفي العام نفسه نجحت في الحصول على جولة تمويلية غير معلنة من الفئة (ب) قدرت قيمتها حينها ما بين 20 إلى 30 مليون دولار، لتصبح سويفل أكثر شركة ناشئة تحصل على تمويل في الشرق الأوسط وشمال إفريقيا في عام 2018.

استمر تدفق التمويل على سويفل حيث نجحت في عام 2019 بجمع نحو 42 مليون دولار من جولة تمويلية من الفئة (ت) فوصل مجموع ما حصلت عليه بعد أقل من عامين على تأسيسها نحو 80 مليون دولار.

بعد نجاح سويفل في تحقيق هذا التمويل قررت نقل مقرها الرئيسي إلى دبي، وهناك استأجرت سويفل مساحة في مبنى راقٍ يضم مستأجرين كبار منهم على سبيل المثال: مكتب "بي إم دبليو" و"رولز رويس"، ومن دبي عملت سويفل على تسريع توسعها في أسواق كبيرة ومهمة في الشرق الأوسط وإفريقيا، بما فيها السوق السعودية والباكستانية والإماراتية إلى جانب نيجيريا وكينيا في إفريقيا.

الهالة الإعلامية

بدفع من النجاح السريع الذي حققته اكتسبت سويفل هالة إعلامية كبيرة منذ انطلاقها حيث اختير مؤسسو سويفل في عام 2018 ضمن قائمة فوربس الشرق الأوسط للشباب دون سن الثلاثين الأكثر تأثيراً، وفي عام 2020 ظهر اسم شركة سويفل في قائمة فوربس الشرق الأوسط "لأكثر 50 شركة ناشئة تمويلاً في الشرق الأوسط" حيث احتلت المركز الثاني، كما ظهر مديرها المالي "يوسف سالم" في القائمة ذاتها في عام 2021، علماً أن يوسف سالم، وهو مصرفي مرموق كان يعمل في "مويليز أند كو" (Moelis& Co)، كان من ضمن مجموعة كبيرة من الموظفين الذين جذبتهم عبر تقديم رواتب سخية لهم بالإضافة إلى امتيازات ومغريات أخرى.

هذا إلى جانب الكثير من المقابلات التلفزيونية وعشرات المواقع الإلكترونية التي تناولت قصة نجاح الشركة.

ساهمت الهالة الإعلامية في زيادة ثقة المستثمرين والممولين في نجاح الشركة وفي إمكانية أن تصبح من كبرى الشركات في مجال النقل الجماعي على مستوى العالم، سيما مع توسعها الكبير في الأسواق الخارجية.

الاستحواذ والإدراج في بورصة ناسداك

وصلت سويفل إلى قمة نجاحها في صيف عام 2021 حينما أدرجت في بورصة ناسداك بعد أن اندماجها مع "كوينز غامبيت غروث" (Queen’s Gambit Growth Capital) وهي شركة استحواذ ذات الأغراض الخاصة "SPAC"، لتتحول الشركة الناشئة التي انطلقت قبل 4 أعوام فقط من شركة صغيرة تنشط في شوارع القاهرة والإسكندرية إلى شركة عالمية بتقييم سوقي وصل إلى 1.5 مليار دولار، وعد هذا التقييم وقتذاك مبالغاً فيه.

ومن الجدير بالذكر أيضاً أنه قبل عملية الاندماج تلك كان إثنين من مؤسسي سويفل قد غادراها؛ محمود نوح الذي أسس لاحقاً شركة "كابيتر" (Capiter) للتعاملات التجارية بين الشركات، وأحمد صباح الذي أسس شركة التقنية المالية الناشئة "تيلدا" Telda، فيما استمر مصطفى قنديل في إدارة سويفل.

بعد أقل من شهر على إعلان إدراج سويفل في بورصة ناسداك بدأت الشركة عملية توسع في الأسواق العالمية بدأتها مع استحواذها على شركة "Shotl" الإسبانية للنقل الذكي المتخصصة في طلب الحافلات في كل من اسبانيا و22 مدينة في 10 دول أوروبية إلى جانب نشاطها في البرازيل[1]. كما أعلنت عن استحواذها على شركة " Door2door" الألمانية بصفقة غير معلنة. وفي نوفمبر/تشرين الثاني استحوذت على حصة حاكمة في شركة " Viapool" الأرجنتينية للنقل التشاركي التي تنشط في كل من الأرجنتين وتشيلي وذلك بمقابل 10 ملايين دولار.

لم تتوقف شهية سويفل في التوسع والاستحواذ ففي أبريل/نيسان من عام 2022، أي بعد شهر واحد عن بدأ تداول أسهمها في بورصة ناسداك بقيمة 10 دولار للسهم الواحد، أعلنت سويفل عن صفقتي استحواذ، الأولى صفقة الاستحواذ على شركة "فولت لاين" التركية للنقل التشاركي بلغت قيمتها 40 مليون دولار، والثانية كانت ابرام صفقة مبدئية مع شركة "Zello" البريطانية تمهيدا للاستحواذ عليها بصفقة بلغت قيمتها التقديرية نحو 100 مليون دولار[2]. هذا إلى جانب ضخ 25 مليون دولار مخصصة لزيادة التوسع في السوق التركية عبر "فولت لاين"[3].

السقوط من القمة

لم يمضي أكثر من شهرين على بدء تداول أسهم سويفل في بورصة ناسداك، حتى انخفض سعر سهم الشركة إلى نحو 5 دولارات. أمام هذا الهبوط المفاجئ في سعر السهم، أعلنت سويفل عن تسريح 400 من موظفيها أو نحو ثلث العاملين في الشركة، وعن السبب في اتخاذها لهذا الإجراء قالت سويفل حين ذاك أنها ستحل أنظمة مؤتمتة بالكامل محل كوادرها المسرحة، وذلك لتخفيض نفقاتها والتركيز على تحقيق أرباح بدءً من عام 2023. وفي تعليقها على انخفاض سعر سهمها صرحت إدارة سويفل "تراجع السهم لا يُسبب قلقاً لدى الإدارة، لكن لدينا مسؤولية تجاه كل مساهم يتعرض لخسارة، ونحاول الفصل بين خطة العمل التي نسير عليها وبين حركة السهم".

لم يكن إعلان سويفل كافياً لوقف انهيار سعر سهمها، فمن جهة تسريح 400 موظف لن يؤدي إلى نتائج فورية أو مؤكده لتحقيقها لأرباح ترضي المستثمرين وحاملي أسهم، بل إن نتائج التسريح بحاجة إلى وقت للظهور، بالإضافة إلى أن عملية الإحلال بأنظمة مؤتمتة بحد ذاتها عملية مكلفة ومعقدة. هذا من جهة، ومن جهة أخرى فإن سويفل لم تتوقف عن التوسع في أسواق جديدة، فقد أعلنت الشركة عن استحواذها على شركة "Urbvan" المكسيكية للنقل الجماعي[4]، تزامن ذلك مع إعلانها نيتها دخول السوق الأمريكية في نهاية العام نفسه، أي أن هدف الشركة في التركيز على الأرباح لا يبدو أنه كان سيتحقق في ظل استمرار في التوسع في أسواق جديدة، وهو أحد أهم الأسباب لتراجع سعر سهم سويفل.

حدث الانهيار الكبير في سعر سهم سويفل في الثامن يوليو/تموز 2022، إذ سقط سعر سهم الشركة إلى نحو دولار ونصف، وفي الـ20 من سبتمبر من العام نفسه تراجع سعر السهم إلى ما دون الدولار الواحد، ووصل إلى نحو 50 سنت، لتفقد سويفل بذلك نحو 95% من قيمتها، حيث انخفض تقييمها السوقي من 1.5 مليار دولار إلى نحو 75 مليون دولار. استمر المسار الهبوطي لسهم سويفل مع بداية عام 2023 ليصل سعر سهمها إلى نحو 20 سنت وتصبح قيمتها السوقية نحو 9 مليون دولار.

لماذا سقط سهم سويفل؟

إلى جانب الأسباب المتعلقة بأداء وإدارة شركة سويفل نفسها وتحديداً في سياستها التوسعية السريعة التي كلفة الشركة مئات ملايين الدولارات، فإن انهيار سعر سهم سويفل في بورصة ناسداك، يعزى أيضاً إلى حالة الاقتصاد العالمي. فقد ضربت جائحة كورونا صناعة النقل بشدة، ولم تكن سويفل استثناءاً. مع عمليات الإغلاق وإجراءات التباعد الاجتماعي المعمول بها، انخفض الطلب على وسائل النقل العام، واضطرت سويفل إلى تعليق خدماتها. بالإضافة إلى ذلك، واجهت الشركة تحديات مالية وتشغيلية، مع ارتفاع تكاليفها التشغيلية ومحدودية مصادر الإيرادات مما جعلها عرضة لخطر الإفلاس.

وقبل أقل من شهر على بدء تداول أسهم سويفل في بورصة ناسداك، اندلعت الحرب الروسية- الأوكرانية التي تسببت في ارتفاع أسعار الطاقة بصورة كبيرة، وهو ما انعكس بالسلب على التكاليف التشغيلية لسويفل، كما أن الاقتصاد العالمي بالعموم دخل في حالة من عدم اليقين وتباطؤ النمو، كما تأثرت الكثير من الدول، بما فيها مصر ودول أميركا اللاتينية وعدد آخر من الدول التي تنشط فيها سويفل، بحالة التضخم العالمية التي تسببت فيها الأزمة الأوكرانية، فانهارت أسعار العملات الوطنية لعدد كبير من الدول. هذا إلى جانب رفع الفيدرالي الأمريكي لأسعار الفائدة، الأمر الذي جعل من تكلفة الاقتراض والتمويل أكبر على الشركات الناشئة.

ويدل أيضاً على أن الأزمة التي مرت بها سويفل مرتبطة بأسباب خارجية، هو أن مؤشر ناسداك نفسه فقد ما يقرب من ثلث قيمته في عام 2022[5]، باختصار لم تكن سويفل لوحدها في هذه الأزمة، بل أتت عليها مضاعفة بسبب ارتباط عملها بأسعار الطاقة التي حلقت.

ما هو المصير الذي ينتظر سويفل؟

امام الانهيار الكبير الذي تعرضت له سويفل قرر مديرها التنفيذي "مصطفى قنديل" في 25 تشرين الثاني/نوفمبر تسريح أكثر من نصف القوى العاملة وبيع أو وقف أو تقليص بعض العمليات في البلدان "الأصغر" على حد وصفه، والتركيز بشكل أساسي على مصر والمكسيك.

بعد خمسة أسابيع من هذا الإعلان، شكلت سويفل لجنة من المديرين المستقلين لاستكشاف المبيعات المحتملة وعمليات الدمج والخيارات الأخرى.

لم تحقق إجراءات سويفل الهدف المرجوة منها إذ كما أسلفنا فإن سهمها استمر في الهبوط، ومن المعروف أن بورصة ناسداك نيويورك تمنع تداول أسهم الشركات المدرجة فيها تحت سعر دولار أمريكي واحد، وهو ما جعل سويفل معرضة لخطر الشطب من بورصة ناسداك، سيما انها تلقت انذار بذلك من ناسداك، فكان حل سويفل هو "التجزئة العكسية للسهم" فحولت كل 25 سهماً إلى سهم واحد. ليعود تداول سهمها منذ شهر مارس/آذار 2023 بسعر يتراوح عند حدود الدولارين إلى 1.07 دولار.

قد تكون عملية التجزئة العكسية للسهم بمثابة حل مؤقت ينقذ سويفل من شبح الشطب من بورصة ناسداك، لكن هذا الحل قد لا يستمر طويلاً في ظل المحنة التي تمر بها الشركة.

بحسب وكالة بلومبيرغ، نقلاً عن أحد الأشخاص المطلعين على الأمر (طلب عدم نشر اسمه لأن المعلومات سرية) فإن سويفل تبحث الآن على رأس مال جديد من المستثمرين، بينما تظل مدرجةً في بورصة ناسداك[6]. قد يكون هذا الخيار بالكاد الوحيد لاستمرار سويفل، أي الحصول على رأسمال جديد والتحول إلى شركة خاصة، لتعيد الانطلاق من جديد.

أدرك فريق ادارة الشركة الحاجة إلى التغيير وشرع في استراتيجية تحول جريئة، حيث قاموا بتنويع مصادر الدخل، وتحويل تركيزهم من ركوب الحافلات إلى الخدمات اللوجستية والتوصيل. كما قاموا بتنفيذ تدابير لخفض التكاليف وعمليات مبسطة وإعادة التفاوض على العقود مع الموردين.

قامت الشركة أيضًا بتوسيع خدماتها لتشمل عمليات التسليم في الميل الأخير، والخدمات اللوجستية للتجارة الإلكترونية، وخدمة نقل الركاب. قصة سويفل هي دليل على ضرورة المرونة في اداء الأعمال والقدرة على التكيف في مواجهة الشدائد. كما أنه يعلمنا أهمية تنويع مصادر الإيرادات، وأن نكون رشيقين ومرنين، وأن نتخذ إجراءات جريئة من أجل البقاء والازدهار في الأوقات الصعبة.

المصادر:

* مصطلح اقتصادي يطلق على الشركات الناشئة التي يتخطى تقييمها السوقي المليار دولار.

* شركات الاستحواذ ذات الأغراض الخاصة هي شركات عامة لا عمل لها سوى اختيار شركة خاصة للاندماج معها، وترث تلك الأخيرة إدراج الأولى.

[1] سويفل تستعد لدخول السوق الإسبانية عبر شراء Shotl للحافلات، موقع وامضة، 19/08/2021، متوفر على الرابط: https://bit.ly/407w5be

[2] سويفل تستحوذ على “زيلو” الإنجليزية مقابل ١٠٠ مليون دولار، موقع واية عربي، 08/05/2022، متوفر على الرابط: https://bit.ly/3GNrfcd

Translated by: Hayat Hernández

Forbes Middle East has published the annual report on the most potent CEOs in MENA in 2021. In this article we will focus on the report’s most significant highlights by presenting these executive leaders’ nationalities and the sectors they operate by, as well as showing Forbes basic strategy in making the list of the Top CEOs, and finally, a glance on the progress of their business sectors on corporation level.

Nationality of most influential CEOs 

Saudi Arabia came first by 18 CEOs, followed by UAE and Egypt with 16 CEOs each, making up 50% of the list of most potent CEOs which included 100 CEOs from 24 Arab and foreign country.

Top Sectors of industry

Firstly, The Finance Sector resembles almost the third of Forbes’ classification (29%), Abdullah Mubarak Al Khalifah, CEO in Qatar National Bank association (QNB), came in the lead, operating in this sector. Secondly, The Energy Sector” (oil and gas) took over the next 5 ranks, led by Amin Al-Nasser, CEO and executive chairman in Saudi Aramco. Followed by Sultan Ahmed Al-Jaber, CEO in Abu Dhabi National Oil Company “ADNOC”.  Coming in fourth place, Hashem Hashem, CEO and vice president of the board directors of the Kuwait Petroleum. Followed by Toufik Hakkar, executive board chairman and CEO in “Sonatrach” in Algeria. And Saad Bin Sherida Al-Kaabi in the sixth, Forum member, CEO, and vice president of executive board in Qatar Petroleum, and also the minister in Qatar Ministry of Energy Affairs since November 2018.

Top Ten CEOs 

The table below illustrates the ten most potent CEOs in MENA according to Forbes, and the companies they operate.

 

Rank 

First

Second

Third

Forth

Fifth

Sixth

Seventh

Eighth

Ninth

Tenth

Name

Amin Hassan Nasser

Sultan Ahmed AL-Jaber

Ahmed Bin Saeed Al Maktoum

Hashem Hashem

Toufik Hakkar

Saad Bin Sherida Al-Kaabi

Yousef Bin Abdullah Al Bunyan

Abdulla Mubarak Al Khalifah

Paul Griffith

Osama Munir Muhammad Rabie

Nationality

Saudi Arabia

UAE

UAE

Kuwait

Algeria

Qatar

Saudi Arabia

Qatar

Britain

Egypt

Company

Aramco

ADNOC

Emirates Group

Kuwait Petroleum

Sonatrach

Qatar petroleum

SABIC

QNB

Dubai Airports

Suez Canal

 

Forbes’ Evaluation Criteria

Forbes Middle East follows these criteria in their classification of the top CEOs:

  • Company’s volume of incomes, assets, and staff number.

  • The influence of the CEO and his company on the sector, society, and country.

  • Company’s growth and CEO accomplishments in the previous year.

  • CEO’s experience in the current position in addition to his general experience.

  • CEO’s personal endeavors including presidency/ membership of Executive Boarder and social initiatives.

  • Recognitions and prizes by countries and well known associations.

 

Development of the business sector

In the report on most powerful CEOs, Forbes Middle East has focused on the business sector development during the last decade regarding companies, governmental and familial organizations and regulatory agencies. Nevertheless, Forbes highlighted two significant progresses. The first one is that many governmental establishments have witnessed many restructured operations, turning its tactic of running the business into the same as a private company. According to the magazine, Aramco is considered an example of restructured corporations. This company hadn’t been announcing its operational and financial process, but after it has been listed as a public company in the Saudi capital market, it discloses the business outcomes periodically every 3 months.

According to Forbes, the shift in the path of governmental companies has led to an increase in corporate governance standards in MENA, and has also increased the responsibilities and tasks that CEOs in many corporations in the region bear. In fact, CEOs in governmental companies like Dubai International Financial Center have become concerned about their companies’ growth and development in terms of the country’s economic strategy. 

 

As for the second progress, familial foundations have become more forthright than before as they were inconspicuous about their business, but after some of them have been incorporated in the stock market, their levels of authenticity and responsibility towards young investors have risen, taking into consideration, most of stock shares in these foundations still belong to family members.

 

 أصدرت مجلة "فوربس الشرق الأوسط" تقريرها السنوي لأقوى الرؤساء التنفيذيين في الشرق الأوسط لعام 2021. نسلط الضوء في هذا المقال على أهم ما جاء في التقرير من خلال استعراض الجنسيات التي ينتمي لها أهم القادة التنفيذيين وقطاعات الأعمال التي يعملونا بها، والمنهجية التي تتبعها فوربس في وضع القائمة، وأسماء الرؤساء التنفيذين العشرة الأوائل كما صنفتهم فوربس، إلى جانب لمحة عن تطورات قطاع الأعمال على مستوى الشركات.

جنسية أقوى الرؤساء التنفيذيين

جاءت السعودية في المرتبة الأولى بـ18 رئيساً تنفيذياً، تليها كل من الإمارات ومصر بواقع 16 رئيسياً تنفيذياً لكل منهما، ليشكلوا بذلك 50% من قائمة أقوى الرؤساء التنفيذيين التي ضمت 100 رئيساً تنفيذياً من 24 جنسية عربية وأجنبية.

القطاعات التي يعملون بها

 

من حيث القطاعات التي يعملونا بها، فإن قطاع الخدمات المصرفية والمالية استحوذ على حوالي ثلث التصنيف تقريباً (29) يأتي في مقدمة الرؤساء التنفيذيين في هذا القطاع عبد الله مبارك آل خليفة، الرئيس التنفيذي لمجموعة بنك قطر الوطني (QNB)، لكن من حيث الترتيب وفقاً للقائمة فنجد ان قطاع الطاقة (النفط والغاز) احتل 5 مركزا من أصل أقوى عشرة رؤساء تنفيذيين، حيث جاء الرئيس التنفيذين وكبير الإداريين التنفيذين لشركة "أرامكو" السعودية، أمين الناصر، في المركز الأول، يليه سلطان أحمد جابر، الرئيس التنفيذي لشركة بترول أبوظبي الوطنية "أدنوك"، ثم هاشم هاشم، الرئيس التنفيذي ونائب رئيس مجلس إدارة مؤسسة البترول الكويتية، وأخيراً، توفيق حكار، رئيس مجلس الإدارة والرئيس التنفيذي لشركة "سوناطراك" الجزائرية، وفي المركز السادس جاء سعيد بن شريده الكعبي، العضو المنتدى والرئيس التنفيذي لقطر للبترول، ونائب رئيس مجلس إدارتها، وهو أيضاً وزير الدولة لشؤون الطاقة القطرية منذ نوفمبر 2018.

اقوى عشرة رؤساء تنفيذيين

يظهر الجدول التالي اقوى عشرة رؤساء تنفيذيين في الشرق الأوسط كما صنفتهم مجلة فوربس، والشركات التي يشغلونا فيها منصب الرئيس التنفيذين.

 

المركز

الأول

الثاني

الثالث

الرابع

الخامس

السادس

السابع

الثامن

التاسع

العاشر

الاسم

أمين حسن نصر

سلطان أحمد جابر

أحمد بن سعيد آل مكتوم

هاشم هاشم

توفيق عكار

سعد بن شريدة الكعبي

يوسف بن عبد لله البنيان

عبد لله مبارك آل خليفة

بول غريفيث

أسامة منير محمد ربيع

الجنسية

سعودي

إماراتي

إماراتي

كويتي

جزائري

قطري

سعودي

قطري

بريطاني

مصري

الشركة

أرامكو

أدنوك

مجموعة الإمارات

البترول الكويتية

سوناطراك

قطر للبترول

سابك

QNB

مطارات دبي

هيئة قناة السويس

 

منهجية مجلة فوربس

تعتمد مجلة فوربس الشرق الأوسط، في تصنيفها لأقوى الرؤساء التنفيذيين على المعايير الآتية:

·        حجم الشركة من حيث الإيرادات والأصول وعدد الموظفين.

·        تأثير الرئيس التنفيذي والشركة على القطاع والمجتمع والدولة.

·        نمو الشركة وإنجازات الرئيس التنفيذي في العام الماضي.

·        خبرة الرئيس التنفيذي في منصبه الحالي، بالإضافة إلى خبرته العامة.

·        لإنجازات الشخصية للرئيس التنفيذي، بما في ذلك رئاسة/ عضوية مجالس الإدارات والمبادرات الاجتماعية.

·        التكريم والجوائز من الحكومات والجمعيات المعترف بها.

تطورات قطاع الأعمال

ركزت مجلة فوربس في إطار تقرير عن أقوى الرؤساء التنفيذيين في الشرق الأوسط على تطورات قطاع الأعمال في العقد الأخير، على مستوى الشركات والهيئات الحكومية والعائلية الوجهات التنظيمية، وقد رصدت فوربس تطوريين في غاية الأهمية، أولهما هو أن العديد من المؤسسات الحكومية شهدت عمليات إعادة هيكلة (ـخصخصة) لتتحول طريقة إدارتها إلى نماذج تشبه الشركات الخاصة، على حد توصيف المجلة، والتي اتخذت من شركة أرامكو السعودية مثالاً على عملية إعادة الهيكلة، فالشركة السعودية الأكبر في العالم، لم تكن تعلن عن عمليتها التشغيلية والمالية، أما اليوم، ولأنها شركة عامة مدرجة في سوق المال السعودية للتداول، فإنها تفصح عن نتائج أعمالها بشكل دوري كل 3 أشهر.

وبحسب فوربس فإن التحول في مسار الشركات الحكومية، أدى إلى زيادة معايير حوكمة الشركات في جميع أنحاء الشرق الأوسط، كما زاد من المسؤوليات والمهام التي يتحملها الرؤساء التنفيذيين لعدد كبير من الشركات في المنطقة، كذلك فإن الرؤساء التنفيذيين للشركات المملوكة للحكومة كمركز دبي المالي العالمي، أصبحوا معنين بخطط النمو والتوسع لشركاتهم، في إطار الخطط الاستراتيجية لاقتصاد الدولة.

أما التطور الثاني فهو أن الشركات العائلية أصبحت أكثر انفتاحاً ففي السابق كانت تتسم بالانغلاق وانخفاض مستويات الإفصاح، لكن إدراج بعضها في سوق الأوراق المالية حسن من مستويات الشفافية والمسؤولية اتجاه صغار المستثمرين، على اعتبار أن غالبية الحصص في هذه الشركات مازالت مملوكة من قبل أفراد العائلة.

إلى جانب ارتفاع مستوى الإفصاح فإن الشركات العائلية تبدي انفتاحاً على صعيد آخر، وهو تعيين رؤساء تنفيذين من خارج العائلة.

 

 

لقطاعات التي يعملون بها

من حيث القطاعات التي يعملونا بها، فإن قطاع الخدمات المصرفية والمالية استحوذ على حوالي ثلث التصنيف تقريباً (29) يأتي في مقدمة الرؤساء التنفيذيين في هذا القطاع عبد الله مبارك آل خليفة، الرئيس التنفيذي لمجموعة بنك قطر الوطني(QNB)، لكن من حيث الترتيب وفقاً للقائمة فنجد ان قطاع الطاقة (النفط والغاز) احتل 5 مركزا من أصل أقوى عشرة رؤساء تنفيذيين، حيث جاء الرئيس التنفيذين وكبير الإداريين التنفيذين لشركة "أرامكو" السعودية، أمين الناصر، في المركز الأول، يليه سلطان أحمد جابر، الرئيس التنفيذي لشركة بترول أبوظبي الوطنية "أدنوك"، ثم هاشم هاشم، الرئيس التنفيذي ونائب رئيس مجلس إدارة مؤسسة البترول الكويتية، وأخيراً، توفيق حكار، رئيس مجلس الإدارة والرئيس التنفيذي لشركة "سوناطراك" الجزائرية، وفي المركز السادس جاء سعيد بن شريده الكعبي، العضو المنتدى والرئيس التنفيذي لقطر للبترول، ونائب رئيس مجلس إدارتها، وهو أيضاً وزير الدولة لشؤون الطاقة القطرية منذ نوفمبر 2018.

The utilization of social media as a marketing tool has become an inescapable need for any organization looking for progress and development in its business. The total number of social media users was estimated at 3.8 billion users over a total number of a global population of about 7.75 billion in 2020 (i.e. 49%), with an annual growth rate of 9.2% compared to 2019. On the other hand, mobile users were estimated at about 5.2 billion (about 67% of the total population). The evolution of the global mobile data consumption is increasing exponentially. (Hootsuite, Digital 2020, Global Digital Overview).

Social media delivers a new way to businesses that are interactive with the customers; it will completely convert the way of business.

In the meantime, amidst the COVID-19 pandemic crisis, the users’ behaviors shifted, sometimes starkly, toward more use of devices for work, play and connecting. With the rise of social distancing, people are seeking out new ways to connect, mostly through video chat. If at all the year 2020 offered something good to someone, it is certainly to the social media industry. For example, Facebook alone has attracted 100 million new users in 2020.

 

Source : https://datareportal.com/

 

The value of the total digital advertising market reached $334 billion, of which $89.9 billion spent on social media compared to $127.9 billion spent on digital search ads in 2019. According to the data about advert expenditure, Google is the most popular advertising tool, the total expenditure reached about $103.7 billion in 2019 followed by Facebook ($67.4 billion), Alibaba ($29.2 billion) and Amazon ($14.0 billion).

Nevertheless, entrepreneurs and companies, including enormous and well established companies, face difficulties and real challenges in the web-based social media advertising tools, and at the forefront of these challenges is picking a social media platform or platforms that accomplish the marketing targets most productively. (Hootsuite, Digital 2020, Global Digital Overview).

 

Source : https://datareportal.com/

 

The Middle East is not an exception of this digital trend, where the total number of social media users was estimated at 125.4 million users over a total number of a total population of about 258.8 million in 2020 (i.e. 48%) (Hootsuite, Digital 2020, Global Digital Overview).

Source : https://datareportal.com/

 

Two difficulties arise here, the first concerns identifying the media platforms that are generally favored by the company's audience, in addition to its current and expected customers. The second relating to investigating the tendencies and interests of the target audiences within each social media platform.

In this article, we present to our readers the most recent insights related to the use of social media in the Arab countries of the Gulf region. We will present more specifically the tendencies and interests of the users from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and the State of Kuwait. Moreover, the readers will find the mains statistics about internet and Facebook users in the Arab world as a whole for 2020.

 

 

Two difficulties arise here, the first concerns identifying the media platforms that are generally favored by the company's audience, in addition to its current and expected customers. The second relating to investigating the tendencies and interests of the target audiences within each social media platform.

In this article, we present to our readers the most recent insights related to the use of social media in the Arab countries of the Gulf region. We will present more specifically the tendencies and interests of the users from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and the State of Kuwait. Moreover, the readers will find the mains statistics about internet and Facebook users in the Arab world as a whole for 2020.

 

* For the population it is the Urbanisation rate, for mobile connections: rate vs. population, the other numbers are the penetration rates.

 

Youtube, Facebook and Instagram has relatively high shares of population that marketers can reach with adverts (population aged 13+); with a percentage of reach of 33%, 32% and 15% respectively. LinkedIn, Snapchat and Twitter have relatively lower rates: with a percentage of reach of 12%, 6.3% and 5.6% respectively. With about 2.8% of share of population that marketers can reach, Pintrest has a relatively very low share (Hootsuite, Digital 2020, Global Digital Overview).

On the other hand other, there exists less popular social media platforms, but have relatively high shares of population that marketers can reach with adverts such as Wechat, QQ and QZone with a percentage of reach of 19%, 12% and 8.6% respectively. (Hootsuite, Digital 2020, Global Digital Overview).

 

For entrepreneurs and startups, these social media platforms are indispensible sources to create awareness about their brands within their target customers.

 

Source : https://datareportal.com/

 

Hereafter we will explore the use of social media in the Arab countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council.

 

First: Kingdom Saudi Arabia

The total number of internet users in Saudi Arabia is about 32 million users, or 93% of the total population. Saudi Arabia ranks 5th within the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries (Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates).

Source : https://datareportal.com/

According to communications and information technology commission (CITC) of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Kingdom is the region’s largest ICT market and ranks 13th globally, with a value of $28.7 billion in 2019 and strong growth in both the consumer and enterprise segments. Saudi Arabia is a market of early technology adopters, with one of the highest social media penetrations in the world. Mobile subscribers stood at 43.8 million in 2019, representing a 129% penetration of the total population, Facebook being the most used social media followed by Instagram and Snapchat.

 

The below figure present the percentage of internet users aged 16 to 64 years old who report using each platform in the past month.

Source : https://datareportal.com/

 

Social media platforms in Saudi Arabia

1. Facebook

With 13 million users, Facebook ranked third in terms of the number of users in Saudi Arabia, most of them are males, or about 78% of the total users.

As for the age group, the statistics indicate that more than half of the users were aged between 26 and 40 years.

The top reasons for using Facebook in the Kingdom are for marketing, fashion, movies, travel purposes, sports, music and games. The total number of users per category ranges from 8 to 10 million, whereas watching television comes at the end with 6.5 million users. More than one tenth of the users are using the platform specifically to shop or find new products.     

 

2. Instagram

Instagram is behind Facebook as the fourth most used social media platform in Saudi Arabia, with 12 million users, a third of whom are male. As for their interests, they appear similar to those of Facebook users. According to Hootsuite report, Saudi Arabia ranked 17 internationally in terms of Instagram reach.

Source : https://datareportal.com/

 

3. Twitter

Twitter is ranked second in the ranking of the most used social media in the Kingdom, as the number of its users exceeds 14 million users, and contrary to the gender distribution of the Facebook and Instagram platforms, the distribution by gender in Twitter is very close, females being about 48% of the total Twitter users. According to Hootsuite report Saudi Arabia ranked first in terms of eligible audience reach rate on twitter with a total potential twitter advertising reach of 53% compared to population aged 13+.

Source : https://datareportal.com/

 

As for the main reasons for using Twitter, there is a big difference compared to Instagram and Facebook, data show a great interest for games, this is clear from the big number of users as it reaches more than 10 million. On the other hand, with the exception of high interest for the television and music, with about 7.6 million and 2 million users for each, the other topics, such as travel and shopping, do not receive great attention from the users.

 

4. Snapchat

This platform is ranked first in Saudi Arabia in terms of the number of users ranging from 15.5 to 16.1 million users. While the percentage of female users is equal to that of male, this platform is the most used social media by females.

Source : https://datareportal.com/

Source : https://datareportal.com/

 

As for the main reasons for using Snapchat in Saudi Arabia, data show several fields of interests from travel, with total users ranging from 7.6 to 7.94 million, to sport with total number of fans ranging from 7.4 to 7.7 million, to music, games, and food. Surprisingly important number of users shows interest in investment and entrepreneurship, ranging from 3.6 to 3.76 million users.

 

5. LinkedIn

The LinkedIn platform has 2.4 million users from the kingdom, males being the first using this platform, with 81% of the total number of users compared to only 19% for females.

 

Source : https://datareportal.com/

 

Second: United Arab Emirates

According to the latest statistics, a whopping 99% of the UAE population remains active on internet. In 2020, an eyeball popping 9.73 million people come online on social media almost every day, this represents 99% of the population of 9.83 million people.

Youtube is the most popular social media platform in 2020 with 8.65 million users. Facebook has found favor among the commercial entities, the political class as well as the masses of the country. The latest data for 2020 show that, with 7.77 million users, Facebook is expected to remain a main social media force for many years to come. Several popular brands use Facebook to reach out to fans, though providing them unique offers.

With 3.8 million users most are young people, especially teenagers, Instagram emerged as a substantial competitor to Facebook. Other few social media platforms that are popular in the UAE are Twitter (53% penetration), LinkedIn (45% penetration), Pinterest (25% penetration) and Tumblr (20% penetration).

 

Source : https://datareportal.com/

 

1. Facebook

The number of Facebook users in the United Arab Emirates stands at about 9 million, meaning 92% of the current UAE population consumes Facebook content, and thus it is the largest social media in the UAE. Although Facebook is the most popular social media among females in the UAE, the gender gap is apparent with men thrice as much as women. The current male and female Facebook users are pegged at 74% and 26% respectively.

The main motivations for using Facebook are shopping, fashion, travel, sports, food and drink, movies and music. The estimated numbers of users ranging per category range from 6 million to 7 million, and at the top of these reasons are shopping and fashion. In addition to the previous topics, Facebook users in the UAE are interested in television and games, with an estimated numbers between 4.7 million and 5.3 million, respectively.

 

2. Instagram

With about 3.8 million users, Instagram platform ranks second after Facebook in terms of number of users, most of them are males, or 63% of the total users compared to 36% for females. The main motivations for using Instagram appear very close to that of Facebook. Shopping, fashion, travel, sports, food, and drink, as well as movies, are at the forefront of the interests of Instagram users, followed by games and TV respectively.

 

3. Twitter

The total number of users on Twitter is 3 million, this put Twitter in the fourth rank behind Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn. In contrast to Instagram and Facebook, the Twitter users are more gender-equal distribution, with about 42% of female using this platform.

Like all other social media in the UAE, the number of users in English exceeds those in Arabic.

It is noticeable that Twitter users in the UAE are more interested in news channels, as Sky News Arabia, Al Arabiya, and Al Hadath, as they are the largest number of followers, this seams coherent with when we know that the number users interested with television is 2 million, which is equivalent to two-thirds of the users in Twitter. Films come in the top of the list with 3 million users. In other words, all Twitter users in the UAE show some degree of interest in movies.

 

4. Snapchat

The number of Snapchat users in the UAE ranges between 2.1-2.3 million, and it is the least used social media in the UAE.

In contrast to the rest of social media, in Snapchat the number of female users exceeds that of males. The number of female Snapchat users is more than 1.1 million.

The Snapchat is distinguished from other platforms in the United Arab Emirates, by the diversity of interests of its users between fashion, shopping, games, music, entrepreneurship, investment, health, and lifestyle. The number of those interested in these topics ranges from 500 thousand to one million users.

 

5. LinkedIn

The number of LinkedIn users in the United Arab Emirates is about 3.4 million, and thus it is ranked third among the most used social media in the UAE after Facebook and Instagram, with a difference of 400,000 users with the latter.

Statistics also indicate that most users of LinkedIn in the Arab Gulf states are from the UAE. As per gender distribution, the majority of users are male, where their percentage is 70%.

Source : https://datareportal.com/

 

Third: State of Kuwait

The State of Kuwait ranks second in terms of the percentage of users connected to the Internet in the Arab Gulf states, as the percentage of those connected to Internet out of the total population is about 99.1%. Facebook is ranked as the most used social media platform in Kuwait with a total of about 3.00 million active users. Instagram is ranked as the second most used with about 2 million monthly active users. Twitter comes next with about 1.7 million monthly active user. Snapchat also is one of popular social media platforms in Kuwait with total users of about 1.7 million monthly active users.

 

Source : https://datareportal.com/

 

 Social Media Penetration Rankings by country, January 2020

Source : https://datareportal.com/

 

Social media platforms in Kuwait

 

1. Facebook

With a total number of users of more than two million and 700 thousand users Facebook ranks first among social media in the State of Kuwait, which is equivalent to half the population of Kuwait, of whom 1.9 million are female users, which is the largest percentage of females participation on social media in the Arab Gulf region.

The main motivations for using Facebook in Kuwait are shopping and fashion in addition to music. The number of users interested in these two topics is more than two million users each, followed movies, food, drink, sports, travel, and games with about 2 million users for each. Finally comes the interest for the television with a difference of 500 thousand users with the previous topics.

It is also noted that the number of Facebook users in English is twice the number of users in Arabic.

 

2. Instagram

Instagram ranks second, along with Twitter, as the most used social media in Kuwait, with about two million users, most of them are males, i.e. about 1.3 million users compared, to 300 thousand users for females (64% and 36% respectively). As per the main motivations for using Instagram in Kuwait, data show a very close trend as for Facebook.

 

3. Twitter

As mentioned above, Twitter along with Instagram ranks second, as the most used social media in Kuwait, with about two million users, most of them are males (65%) compared to only 35% for females.

As per the main motivations for using Twitter in Kuwait, they are not much difference from the users of Facebook and Instagram.

 

Source : https://datareportal.com/

 

4. Snapchat

With a number of users which ranges between 1.6 and 1.7 million, Snapchat ranks before the last in terms of the number of users in Kuwait. As can be seen, the number of users is slightly lower than the users of Twitter and Instagram, not more than 300,000 users. It is the second most used social media by females after Facebook in Kuwait. The number of females using Snapchat has been estimated at about 780,000, i.e. 46% of the total users.

As per the main motivations for using Snapchat in Kuwait, they are more diverse than the other social media platforms, where the users of this platform show an interest in entrepreneurship, investment, cars, TV news, and lifestyle whether men or women. Snapchat users also show an interest in health topics. The estimated number of interested users ranges between 350 thousand and 900 thousand. Finally fitness is another topic of interest, with an estimated number of users of between 195 thousand and 203 thousand.

 

5. LinkedIn

The total number of LinkedIn users in Kuwait is about 530,000, most of them are males, or about 75% of the total users.

 

Fourth: Sultanate of Oman

Oman ranked last in the Arab Gulf states in terms of the percentage of users connected to the Internet out of the total population, which were estimated at Oman has 3.9 million internet users, about 78.5% of the total population.

According to a report of the National Centre of Statistics and Information (NCSI), based on a survey on social media behaviour an applications use, conducted in March 2019, most of Omanis, or 94%, own or use social media accounts. They spend up to six hours daily on social media. The report showed that 36% cent of Omanis trusts social media as a source of news and information about important events, compared with 35% who do not trust it.

Data of Hootsuite indicate that Facebook is the most common social media app in Oman, with about 1.5 million users, followed by Instagram with 1.4 million and Twitter with about 1.3 million users.

Social media platforms in the Sultanate of Oman

Source : https://datareportal.com/

 

1. Facebook

Facebook ranks top among all social media networks. The total number of users was estimated at about 1.5 million users, men represent the majority of the facebookers in Oman with about 78.4% compared to 21.6% for females.

 

2. Instagram

Data shows that Oman had 1.4 million users on Instagram, covering a total of 36% of the Sultanate’s total users of social media networks, of which 67.2% are males and 32.8% are females.

 

3. Twitter

The Twitter platform comes in third place after Instagram, with a total number of about 1.3 million users, of which about 70.4% are males and 29.6% are females.

 

4. Snapchat

Snapchat ranks just before the last place, with about 1.2 million users, of which 52.7% are females, and 45.6% males. In contrast to the rest of social media networks, the number of female users in Snapchat exceeds that of males in Oman. That was the case as well in the UAE.

 

5. LinkedIn

The Sultanate of Oman shows a wide use of the LinkedIn. The total number of LinkedIn users reaches 520,000 users. The distribution of users by gender does not differ much from the rest of the Arab Gulf states. Statistics show that 76.7% of LinkedIn users are males compared to 23.3% for females.

 

Fifth: State of Qatar

Qatar ranked in the top in terms of the percentage of those connected to Internet out of the total population within the Arab Gulf states. The percentage of those connected to Internet in Qatar reaches 99.6%.

Accoring to a report of focus on Qatar, of the web site Middleeastmedia, the top social networking sites used in Qatar are Facebook, with a total of 2.4 million active users, Twitter ranked second with total number of users of 974,000 users, and Instagram. Instagram is ranked third with total users of users of 960,000 users. LinkedIn is ranked fourth with an estimated total number of users of 840,000.Snapchat.

However, use of these sites differs considerably according to the population subsets. For example usage of Facebook is nearly universal across all expat groups in Qatar. Qataris, however, have not embraced Facebook for social networking to the same degree; only one third of Qatari nationals are on Facebook. In fact, Qataris are more likely to use Instagram (46%), they are using Twitter and Facebook in same way (37% and 36%).

Almost all internet users pass time online for leisure (94%), entertainment (71%). A similarly high level watch online videos (83%).

 

Source : https://datareportal.com/

 

Social media platforms in Qatar

 

1. Facebook

Facebook ranks first in Qatar as the most used social media medium, as the number of users of this platform is about 2.4 million users Facebook, of whom 76.3% are males, and 23.7% are females.

 

2. Instagram

Instagram ranks third behind Facebook and Twitter with a total number of users of about 960,000 users, of which 64.2% are males compared to 35.8% for female users.

 

3. Twitter

Twitter is the second most used social media platform after Facebook, with total users of about 974,000, of which 67.4% are males and 32.6% are females.

 

4. Snapchat

As for Snapchat, it is ranked last among social media platforms, with a number of users not exceeding 585 thousand, but what distinguishes this platform in Qatar is the greater percentage of female users which reaches 52.6% of the total users. This tendency could be seen as well in Oman and UAE.

 

5. linkedIn

LinkedIn ranks fourth within other social media networks most used in Qatar. The total number of users was estimated at about 840,000 users. This is about 150,000 lower than the other social media network such as Instagram and Twitter. Most of LinkedIn users are men with a total percentage of about 76.6% out of the total users.

 

Sixth: Kingdom of Bahrain

Bahrain ranks fourth compared to the Arab Gulf states in terms of the share of the population with internet connection, ahead of Saudi Arabia and Oman.

The percentage of users with internet connection in Bahrain to the total population is about 99%.

 

Source : https://datareportal.com/

 

Social media platforms in Bahrain

 

1. Facebook

The social media platforms in the Kingdom of Bahrain are characterized by the absence of significant differences in terms of the total number of users, consequently it is not possible to classify them in terms of the most popular network, except for LinkedIn which is the least popular. The differences in the number of users between each type of network do not exceed tens of thousands. The number of Facebook users in the Kingdom is estimated at about 840,000, of which 73.8% are males, and 26.2% are females.

 

2. Instagram

The number of Instagram users in Bahrain is about 720,000, of which 62% are males and 38% are females.

 

3. Snapchat

Snapchat is the most used social media platform in Bahrain by females, as their percentage to the total number of 885,000 users, is about 47.9%.

 

Source : https://datareportal.com/

 

4. Twitter

The number of Twitter users in Bahrain is about 818,000, of which 65.1% are males and 34.9% are females.

Source : https://datareportal.com/

 

5. LinkedIn

LinkedIn platform is ranked last in terms of the social media popularity in Bahrain. The total number of users is estimated at about 340,000 users, of which70.9% are males and 29.1% are females.

 

$277M was invested in 108 startup investment deals in MENA, an increase of 2% in total funding from Q1 2019 to Q1 2020

Despite the COVID-19 crisis, MENA's startups saw an increase in funding in Q1 2020, according to a special Q1 2020 MENA Venture Investment Report launched by MAGNiTT.

This 67-page report includes Insights into 28 industries, with a deep-dive into top industries by deals and total funding including rankings and trends of 17 countries, with a deep-dive into top countries by deals and total funding.

The report also highlights funding trends of MENA-based startups, including the top 10 deals, pre-money valuation by stage with average pre-money valuation at Seed & Series A.

Moreover, while the funding in Q1 2020 has slightly increased compared to Q1 2019, it can be seen that the majority of the top 5 funding rounds were announced before the crisis forced many countries into lockdown.

While investors highlighted to MAGNiTT that they are still actively looking to invest, the true ramifications of the crisis are not expected to be seen until several months after the start of the crisis.

The fundraising exercise often takes several months for founders and investors, delaying the impact of the current situation.

March saw a significant slowdown in number of deals, which is expected to continue over the next few months as the ramifications of COVID-19 come into play.

"Historical data highlights that investment rounds across MENA tend to take, on average, 6 months to come to fruition,” explains Philip Bahoshy, MAGNiTT’s founder & CEO.

“We will most likely not see the full impact of COVID-19 on the venture funding space yet for a few months. However, early indications have already shown a slowdown in funding announcements, as startups and investors re-evaluate their positions in this new environment.”

source: sme10x

The World Bank Group announced two new initiatives to improve access to start-up financing and e-commerce markets for women entrepreneurs, at the Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative (We-Fi) Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Summit.

“Starting and growing a business is one of the most powerful tools for women to overcome poverty and build better lives for themselves, their families, and their communities,” said David Malpass, World Bank Group President. “Removing regulatory barriers along with obstacles to access to finance and markets can give women-led businesses the opportunity to succeed.”

We-Fi, housed at the World Bank, has so far allocated close to US$250 million to tackle challenges women entrepreneurs face in developing countries. The allocations aim to reach 114,000 women entrepreneurs. We-Fi is a powerful catalyst for additional investment, helping mobilize more than US$2.6 billion in additional public and private sector funds.

At the We-Fi MENA Regional Summit, held during the Global Women’s Forum Dubai 2020, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and We-Fi launched the ScaleX program to incentivize accelerators to support start-up businesses led by women. IFC research shows that women entrepreneurs in emerging markets face a daunting gender finance gap with only 11% of enterprises that actually attain seed funding being female-led.  New research shows that despite women leading half the start-ups that participate in accelerators—entities designed to train and support the development of start-ups to become investment ready—they continue to face greatly unequal access to capital.

The program will incentivize emerging markets accelerators to work with women-led businesses by providing performance-based payments of US$25,000 for every woman entrepreneur that raises US$1 million from investors in start-up funding

"We are launching the ScaleX program to help women entrepreneurs in emerging markets to access funding at a crucial stage to grow their businesses,” said Sérgio Pimenta, IFC Regional Vice President for the Middle East and Africa. “This is a win-win for accelerators, investors, and women entrepreneurs.”

The World Bank and UPS also announced today a new partnership to help women entrepreneurs in the Middle East and North Africa region to grow their businesses by assisting them in successfully leveraging e-commerce platforms.

“By making e-commerce platforms more accessible, this partnership addresses a key constraint faced by women business leaders in reaching new markets,” said Ferid Belhaj, World Bank MENA Vice President. “E-commerce platforms create opportunities, and we must ensure these opportunities are open to women-owned businesses across the region.”

UPS will provide e-learning modules on different e-commerce topics to help women-owned and women-led small and medium enterprises seeking to expand their businesses across borders.

The project will support an estimated 750 women entrepreneurs and will train a cadre of e-commerce advisors in each country who can provide tailored assistance and coaching to businesses. The partnership will work with entrepreneurs in Algeria, Djibouti, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, and Tunisia.

We-Fi has made allocations to programs being implemented by the African Development Bank, the Asian Development Bank, the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development, the Inter-American Development Bank.

the Islamic Development Bank, and the World Bank Group. The World Bank and IFC We-Fi programs (US$75 million in allocations) are working with private and public partners in 24 countries via 27 investment and advisory projects to enable women entrepreneurs to access finance and markets and amplify those efforts with global research, partnerships, and policy advocacy.

The Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative (We-Fi) is a groundbreaking partnership that aims to unlock financing for women-led businesses in developing countries.

We-Fi’s partners include 14 donor governments, six multilateral development banks as implementing partners, and numerous other stakeholders in the public and private sector around the world.

We-Fi takes an ecosystem approach to removing barriers to women’s economic empowerment, addressing constraints and opportunities related to finance, market access, capacity and the enabling environment.

source: worldbank

 

مجلة الشرق الاوسط للأعمال - ميدل ايست بزنس

هي ليست مجرد شجرة، يُستفاد من كل اجزاءها، تُغني زارعها، تشفي آكلها، وتحمي الأرض من تحتها وترفع اعمدة الحضارات فوقها... انها شجرة النخيل وثمارها من الرطب والتمر. جاء في القرآن الكريم: 

﴿وَهُوَ الَّذِي أَنشَأَ جَنَّاتٍ مَّعْرُوشَاتٍ وَغَيْرَ مَعْرُوشَاتٍ وَالنَّخْلَ وَالزَّرْعَ مُخْتَلِفًا أُكُلُهُ وَالزَّيْتُونَ وَالرُّمَّانَ مُتَشَابِهًا وَغَيْرَ مُتَشَابِهٍ كُلُوا مِن ثَمَرِهِ إِذَا أَثْمَرَ وَآتُوا حَقَّهُ يَوْمَ حَصَادِهِ وَلَا تُسْرِفُوا إِنَّهُ لَا يُحِبُّ الْمُسْرِفِينَ﴾(الأنعام141).

Arab world

10 Mar 2015 Written by

Essential Information              

 

Origins

The origins nationalist notion of cultural and political unity among Arab countries lie in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, when increased literacy led to a cultural and literary renaissance among Arabs of the Middle East. This contributed to political agitation and led to the independence of most Arab states from the Ottoman Empire (1918) and from the European powers (by the mid-20th century). An important event was the founding in 1943 of the Baath Party, which formed branches in several countries and became the ruling party in Syria and Iraq. Another was the founding of the Arab League in 1945. Pan-Arabism's most charismatic and effective proponent was Egypt's Gamal Abdel Nasser.

 

Arab League

The Arab League or League of Arab States was a regional organisation formed on March 22, 1945 (Alexandria Protocol) and based in Cairo. It initially comprised Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Transjordan (now Jordan), Saudi Arabia, and Yemen; joining later were Libya, Sudan, Tunisia, Morocco, Kuwait, Algeria, Bahrain, Oman, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Mauritania, Somalia, Palestine, Djibouti, and Comoros. The league's original aims were to strengthen and coordinate political, cultural, economic, and social programs and to mediate disputes; a later aim was to coordinate military defence. The official language is Arabic. The total Population of the Arab League was estimated at 345.98 Million in 2007.

 

Emerging Arab world and business opportunities

The Arab world, a home to more than 360 million people, representing 5% of the world’s population, with an area of about 13.3 million km2 (about 10% of the world inhabited land), and around 2799 billion dollars Gross Domestic Product (3.7% of global GDP), is playing a greater role in the world economy. Moreover, the Arab world will be a centre to the Islamic economy, estimated at US$3 trillion, a new economic paradigm that is likely to have a significant global impact over the next decade.

The abundant revenues of oil and gas made of the Arab world the largest region in terms of sovereign wealth funds in the world, with total assets estimated at about $1970 billion (38% of the total world assets). If well invested, the available huge funds are the stone corner to diversify the local economies in the Arab countries. In terms of investments in the Arab world as a whole, they have increased from $6.1 billion in 2000 to $79.3 billion in 2009, this level is comparable to that of China ($95 billion 2009) (UNCTAD data). The ongoing pattern of global growth, with emerging economies grow faster than their advanced counterparts, and the shift in the global economic power, ensures that Middle East and Africa are expected to be the fastest growing regions in 2018, which means huge needs in terms of investments mainly infrastructure, renewable energy, health, education, etc… just to mention a few.

With more than 135 million internet users in the Arab world, a new generation of entrepreneurs, passionate about technology, is emerging. This region is expected to post robust growth over the next decade both in terms of population and GDP. By 2015 the Arab population is forecast to reach 371m, about 50% increase over the level in 2000. Whereas the real GDP (based on PPP) is expected to grow by about 190%.

Doing business in the Arab world becomes a corner stone for the local governments. The battle is now between the economic ministers in terms of the most business-friendly economy. Several Arab governments implemented regulatory reforms in the past years aimed at improving the business environment. Investing the Arab funds locally and attracting FDIs are very crucial in order to satisfy the increasing needs for infrastructure, transport, education, health care, housing, business services, logistics, agriculture, oil and petrochemicals, financial sector, defense, industrial output as well as Islamic products.

In spite of the numerous advantages of the Arab world, the ongoing political turmoil hit hard many economies of the region. The absence of a demonstrated international competitiveness in either manufacturing or services as well as corruption constitute one of the main obstacles for doing business. Institutional reform, capacity building, reforming the education and the regulations facing business remains essential.

Moreover, the Arab world needs to create a dynamic private-sector in order to create sufficient employment. This will be done through high competitiveness, an educational system which meets the labour markets’ needs, and through encouraging applied sciences to transform ideas into real business projects, as well as through more consolidated trade and economic relations with the external world.

If the Arab region’s employment challenge can be successfully addressed, the region’s young demographic could then turn from a potential liability to a bonus. I believe it is time more than ever to invest in this region, not only because of the high return on investment, but also because the birth of the new economic paradigm, the future “G7”, passes through this region.

(more details)

 

Arab world major Statistics for 2013

Arab world major Statistics for 2013 Value
Area 13,143,448 km2
Population 364.3 Million.
Population density 115.6 people / km2
GDP (current prices) $2799 billion
GDP (PPP) $3528 billion
Per capita GDP (PPP) $9685

 

Arab World Population by country  

   source: World factbook, CIA

 

Arab World GDP at PPP ($ Billion 

Source: World factbook, CIA, data for Libya and Somalia are for 2011.

 

Arab World GDP per capita 

* Data for Somalia are for 2011.

Source: World factbook, CIA and International Monetary Fund.

 

Arab World exchange rate 

Arab world: Exchange rate ($) -2013 Exchange rate ($)
Algerian dinar (DZB) 74.1
Bahraini dinar (BHD) 0.377
Comorian franc (KMF) 381
Djiboutian franc (DJF) 174.5
Egyptian pound (EGP) 6
Iraqi dinar (IQD) 1164
Jordanian dinar (JD) 0.71
Kuwaiti dinar (KWD) 0.28
Lebanese livre (LL) (LBP) 1504
Libyan dinar (LYD) 0.81
Mauritanian ouguiya (MRO) 286
Moroccan dirham (MAD) 8.41
Omani rial (OMR) 0.385
Palestinian Terr. New Israeli shekels (ILS) 3.746
Qatari riyal (QAR) 3.641
Saudi riyal (SAR) 3.75
Somali shilling (SOS) 1625
Sudanese pound (SDD) 2.682
Syrian pound (SYP) 57.45
Tunisian dinar (TND) 1.51
United Arab Emirates dirham (AED) 3.673
Yemeni rial (YER) 219.1

 

Arab world: Gross domestic product (international comparaison with other emerging economies) current prices ($bn), 1991-2015

 

Arab world: Real GDP growth (international comparaison with economic blocs) current prices ($bn), 2012-2018

 

Arab world: Real GDP growth: comparaison between Oil-exporting countries

source: IMF regional economic outlook 2012.

* Total for oil importing including Iran.

 

Arab world: Real GDP growth: comparaison between Oil-importing countries

Source: IMF regional economic outlook 2012.

1. In the IMF data under West Bank and Gaza.

2. Data for 2011exclude South Sudan after July 9. Data for 2012 and onward pertain to the current Sudan.

* Total for oil importing including Afghanistan and Pakista.

 

Arab world: Arab world Foreign direct investment flows (Million $) 2011

 

Arab world: Geographic distribution of FDI 2006

 

Arab world: Global Competitiveness Index: 2014-2015 rankings (vs. 2012-2013 rankings)

 

Arab World Largest Souveraign wealth funds 

Largest Sovereign Wealth Funds in the Arab World US$ Billion Origin Established
Algeria, Revenue Regulation Fund 77.2 2000 Oil & Gas
Bahrain, Mumtalakat Holding Company 7.1 2006 Non-Commodity
Kuwait Investment Authority 342 1953 Oil
Libyan Investment Authority 65 2006 Oil
Mauraitania, National Fund for Hydrocarbon Reserves 0.3 2006 Oil & Gas
Oman, State General Reserve Fund 8.2 1980 Oil & Gas
Oman Investment Fund 2006 Oil
Palestine Investment Fund 0.8 2003 Non-Commodity
Qatar Investment Authority 115 2005 Oil
Saudi Arabia, SAMA Foreign Holdings 532.8 n/a Oil
Saudi Arabia, Public Investment Fund 5.3 2008 Oil
Abu Dhabi Investment Authority 627 1976 Oil
Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Investment Company 65.3 1984 Oil
Abu Dhabi , Mubadala Development Company 53.1 2002 Oil
Abu Dhabi Investment Council 2007 Oil
Investment Corporation of Dubai 70 2006 Oil
Emirates Investment Authority 2007 Oil
UAE , RAK Investment Authority 1.2 2005 Oil
Total Arab Funds 1970.3
Total world (Oil & Gas Related) $3,147.9
Total other $2,251.7
Total world $5224.1
Arab funds as percentage of world total 38%
Source: Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute

 

Ease of Doing Business Rank 2015

Source: World Bank

 

Arab world: Free trade agreements with Switzerland  

Free Trade Agreements / EFTA unit, 11 April 2011 Entry into force
Palestinian Authority 01-juil-99
Morocco 01-dec-99
Jordan 01-sept-02
Tunisia 01-juin-06
Lebanon 01-janv-07
Egypt 01-sept-08
Algeria In negotiations
Source: State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO).
Source: UNCTAD

 

Arab world: Swiss direct investment in the Arab world (international comparaison): Million SFr 

Source: UNCTAD

 

Arab world: Number of tourists arrivals from the Arab world in Geneva hotels for 2012 (hotel arrivals) (International comparaison)  

Source: UNCTAD

 

Energy Sector

Oil Reserves by country 2015 (Trillion Cubic Feet)

Source: EIA

 

Gas Reserves by country 2015 (Billion Barrels)

Source: EIA

 

Oil Price

Crude Oil Export Price (US$/bbl)

US$/bbl)

Source: IMF

 

Trade between Switzerland and the Arab world

Switzerland: Exports to the Arab countries 2007-2014: Swiss Francs

Switzerland exports to the Arab Countries (in million CHF) Exports 2007 Exports 2008 Exports 2009 Exports 2010 Exports 2011 Exports 2012 Exports 2013 Exports 2014
Algeria 393.6 516.0 619.6 498.8 465.6 396.7 422,8 485,5
Bahrain 244.8 215.4 314.7 272.6 233.7 244.7 310,5 274,4
Comoro Islands 0.2 0.3 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 - 0,03
Djibouti 0.6 1.1 0.5 0.7 0.8 0.7 0,7 0,4
Egypt 467.7 654.0 656.3 705.3 593.5 656.6 750,4 1029,8
Iraq 84.1 84.5 110.9 162.9 203.7 311.2 - 407,4
Jordan 192.9 192.1 198.1 226.2 207.6 236.7 276,3 618,8
Kuwait 381 498.1 328.6 453.5 317.8 364.9 436,5 401,6
Lebanon 387.6 444.5 385.9 511.7 421.6 513.4 536,5 774,3
Libya 278.5 282.4 156.3 109.6 97.9 215.6 346,8 231,7
Mauritania 2.1 1.5 1.4 2.2 2.7 9.7 7,5 14,3
Morocco 270.1 376.4 306.8 297.4 291.2 275.9 263,2 309,9
Oman 186.4 153.1 151.8 208.7 168.5 226.9 237,3 201,1
Palestine 17.7 24.8 27.9 27.8 28.3 27.3 27,5 24,3
Qatar 386.9 506.3 593.2 391.8 384.5 587.9 560,2 721,2
Saudi Arabia 1'551.1 1'661.2 1'634 1'628.7 1'636.6 1'995.7 2151,7 4586,5
Somalia 0.7 - - 0.1 0.2 0.1 0,2 0,3
Sudan 52.3 52.3 42.0 43.9 46.1 48.4 58,2 78,7
Syria 182.3 202.3 207.7 271.4 248.4 135.2 31,6 27,3
Tunisia 120.3 143.5 209.0 194.6 228.6 200.4 209,8 251,8
United Arab Emirates 1'971 2'841.3 2'226.3 2'243.6 2'786.9 3'176.9 3252,8 5907,1
Yemen 59 48.4 71.1 53.5 21.0 35.3 70,1 41,2
Total 7'230.9 8'864.3 8'242.2 8'305.1 8'385.3 9'660.4 10381,8 16387,6
% of Total Swiss Export or Import 3.5% 4.1% 4.41% 4.1% 4.0% 4.6% 5,20%
Total Swiss Export or Import 206'008.8 216'317.9 187'199.5 203 345 207'854.4 212'080.6 201296
*Trade volume is exports plus imports.

Source of data: Swiss customs

 

Switzerland: Imports from the Arab countries 2007-2014: Swiss Francs

Switzerland imports from the Arab Countries (in million CHF) Imports 2007 Imports 2008 Imports 2009 Imports 2010 Imports 2011 Imports 2012 Imports 2013 Imports 2014
Algeria 6.2 131.5 170.5 203.3 575.7 173.9 479 190,3
Bahrain 72.7 30.4 114.6 123.2 112.8 47.6 30,2 30,6
Comoro Islands 0.0 - - - 0 0.2 0,3 0,4
Djibouti 0.2 0.1 0.1 - 0 0.3 - 0
Egypt 27.8 28.2 109.3 63.5 58.6 53.3 74,5 102,1
Iraq 0.0 - 2.6 - 4.5 0.0 430,5 200,1
Jordan 6.2 9.1 5.8 4.6 7.6 6.8 2,3 6,9
Kuwait 68.4 137.8 35.8 74.6 25.3 12.4 58,4 26,6
Lebanon 363.4 297.0 217.8 183.0 199.3 289.3 286 273,6
Libya 1658.9 3324.9 717.6 485.0 135.8 1'331.9 1331,6 1055,8
Mauritania 0.0 0.1 0.1 - 0.3 0.4 0,2 309,3
Morocco 86.8 73.0 67.0 69.4 62.3 153.3 161,1 227,7
Oman 1.7 2.2 34.1 2.1 2.5 6.1 7,6 3,7
Palestine 0.3 0.1 0.3 0.4 0.4 0.5 0,4 0,3
Qatar 108.8 98.4 157.1 166.3 132 228.6 149,8 150,9
Saudi Arabia 384.6 258.1 113.2 99.6 163.6 115.6 145,4 131,9
Somalia 0.1 0.3 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 0,1 0,1
Sudan 0.9 0.6 0.9 0.5 0.7 0.8 0,2 3,1
Syria 2.3 7.4 5.2 4.1 4.0 4.0 1,9 1
Tunisia 34.7 37.7 37.4 41.6 56.1 138.0 148,7 152,7
United Arab Emirates 324.4 443.7 534.2 755.7 496.3 548.5 567,9 3036,4
Yemen 0.5 2.3 1.3 1.0 0.0 0.0 - 0
Total 3'148.9 4'883.4 2'325.0 2'278.0 2'037.8 3'111.0 3445,6 5903,5
% of Total Swiss Export or Import 1.63% 2.48% 1.38% 1.24% 1.1% 1.7% 1,90%
Total Swiss Export or Import 193'016.8 197'471.2 168'786.8 183'360 183'691.9 185'028.8 177679,6
*Trade volume is exports plus imports.

Source of data: Swiss customs

 

Switzerland Trade with the Arab World 2012: Swiss Francs

Source of data: Swiss customs

 

Swiss total Exports to the Arab World by Country 2014: million Swiss Francs

Source of data: Swiss customs

Swiss total Exports to the Arab World 2014: (Portion of total exports)

Source of data: Swiss customs

Swiss Total Imports from the Arab world by country 2014: Swiss francs

Source: Swiss customs

Swiss Total Imports from the Arab world 2014 (Portion of the total imports)

Source: Swiss customs

 

Swiss exports/imports with the Arab world (Million CHF)

Source: Swiss customs

 

Swiss main exports to the Arab world 2014 (CHF)

Swiss main exports to the Arab world 2014 (Million CHF) World Arab world Portion of world
Total 285223 16388 6%
71 - Natural or cultured pearls, precious or semi-precious stones, precious metals, metals clad with precious metal, and articles thereof; imitation jewellery; coin 84756 7302 9%
30 - Pharmaceutical products 57328 2757 5%
91 - Clocks and watches and parts thereof 22257 2085 9%
84 - Nuclear reactors, boilers, machinery and mechanical appliances; parts thereof 23523 921 4%
85 - Electrical machinery and equipment and parts thereof; sound recorders and reproducers, television image and sound recorders and reproducers, and parts and accessories of such articles 12160 691 6%
88 - Aircraft, spacecraft, and parts thereof 2362 681 29%
90 - Optical, photographic, cinematographic, measuring, checking, precision, medical or surgical instruments and apparatus; parts and accessories thereof 14953 339 2%
24 - Tobacco and manufactured tobacco substitutes 620 258 42%
33 - Essential oils and resinoids; perfumery, cosmetic or toilet preparations 2879 184 6%
29 - Organic chemicals 17988 122 1%
27 - Mineral fuels, mineral oils and products of their distillation; bituminous substances; mineral waxes 3149 111 4%
19 - Preparations of cereals, flour, starch or milk; pastrycooks' products 745 101 14%
39 - Plastics and articles thereof 5147 73 1%
87 - Vehicles other than railway or tramway rolling stock, and parts and accessories thereof 2427 52 2%
18 - Cocoa and cocoa preparations 849 50 6%
32 - Tanning or dyeing extracts; tannins and their derivatives; dyes, pigments and other colouring matter; paints and varnishes; putty and other mastics; inks 1936 50 3%
38 - Miscellaneous chemical products 2035 50 2%
73 - Articles of iron or steel 2906 49 2%
21 - Miscellaneous edible preparations 1059 43 4%
22 - Beverages, spirits and vinegar 1886 40 2%
04 - Dairy produce; birds' eggs; natural honey; edible products of animal origin, not elsewhere specified or included 739 40 5%
09 - Coffee, tea, mat and spices 2059 36 2%
93 - Arms and ammunition; parts and accessories thereof 283 34 12%
94 - Furniture; bedding, mattresses, mattress supports, cushions and similar stuffed furnishings; lamps and lighting fittings, not elsewhere specified or included; illuminated signs, illuminated nameplates 831 32 4%
82 - Tools, implements, cutlery, spoons and forks, of base metal; parts thereof of base metal 1761 23 1%
42 - Articles of leather; saddlery and harness; travel goods, handbags and similar containers; articles of animal gut (other than silk-worm gut) 442 21 5%
62 - Articles of apparel and clothing accessories, not knitted or crocheted 747 19 3%
49 - Printed books, newspapers, pictures and other products of the printing industry; manuscripts, typescripts and plans 479 18 4%
96 - Miscellaneous manufactured articles 484 15 3%
70 - Glass and glassware 586 14 2%
97 - Works of art, collectors' pieces and antiques 2257 14 1%
52 - Cotton 213 13 6%
68 - Articles of stone, plaster, cement, asbestos, mica or similar materials 450 12 3%
44 - Wood and articles of wood; wood charcoal 597 12 2%
63 - Other made-up textile articles; sets; worn clothing and worn textile articles; rags 143 10 7%
48 - Paper and paperboard; articles of paper pulp, of paper or of paperboard 1357 10 1%
75 - Nickel and articles thereof 74 9 12%
64 - Footwear, gaiters and the like; parts of such articles 337 9 3%
17 - Sugars and sugar confectionery 156 9 6%
86 - Railway or tramway locomotives, rolling stock and parts thereof; railway or tramway track fixtures and fittings and parts thereof; mechanical (including electromechanical) traffic signalling equipment 1005 8 1%
57 - Carpets and other textile floor coverings 118 7 6%
61 - Articles of apparel and clothing accessories, knitted or crocheted 420 6 2%
40 - Rubber and articles thereof 414 6 1%
35 - Albuminoidal substances; modified starches; glues; enzymes 418 5 1%
76 - Aluminium and articles thereof 2007 5 0%
83 - Miscellaneous articles of base metal 389 4 1%
34 - Soap, organic surface-active agents, washing preparations, lubricating preparations, artificial waxes, prepared waxes, polishing or scouring preparations, candles and similar articles, moddeling paste 514 4 1%
58 - Special woven fabrics; tufted textile fabrics; lace; tapestries; trimmings; embroidery 90 3 4%
20 - Preparations of vegetables, fruit, nuts or other parts of plants 97 3 3%
13 - Lac, gums, resins and other vegetable saps and extracts 111 3 2%
74 - Copper and articles thereof 665 2 0%
59 - Impregnated, coated, covered or laminated textile fabrics; textile articles of a kind suitable for industrial use 317 2 1%
69 - Ceramic products 104 2 2%
56 - Wadding, felt and nonwovens; special yarns; twine, cordage, ropes and cables and articles thereof 128 2 1%
36 - Explosives; pyrotechnic products; matches; pyrophoric alloys; certain combustible preparations 45 2 3%
55 - Man-made staple fibres 88 1 2%
95 - Toys, games and sports requisites; parts and accessories thereof 161 1 1%
72 - Iron and steel 1210 1 0%
92 - Musical instruments; parts and accessories of such articles 29 1 5%
54 - Man-made filaments; strip and the like of man-made textile materials 248 1 1%
51 - Wool, fine or coarse animal hair; horsehair yarn and woven fabric 50 1 3%
23 - Residues and waste from the food industries; prepared animal fodder 219 1 0%
28 - Inorganic chemicals; organic or inorganic compounds of precious metals, of rare-earth met-als, of radioactive elements or of isotopes 548 1 0%
41 - Raw hides and skins (other than furskins) and leather 125 0 0%
05 - Products of animal origin, not elsewhere specified or included 39 0 1%
65 - Headgear and parts thereof 8 0 5%
37 - Photographic or cinematographic goods 28 0 1%
50 - Silk 8 0 4%
60 - Knitted or crocheted fabrics 51 0 1%
81 - Other base metals; cermets; articles thereof 115 0 0%
01 - Live Animals 22 0 1%
08 - Edible fruit and nuts; peel of citrus fruit or melons 15 0 1%
66 - Umbrellas, sun umbrellas, walking sticks, seat-sticks, whips, riding-crops and parts thereof 27 0 1%
16 - Preparations of meat, of fish or of crustaceans, molluscs or other aquatic invertebrates 7 0 2%
03 - Fish and crustaceans, molluscs and other aquatic invertebrates 6 0 2%
15 - Animal or vegetable fats and oils and their cleavage products; prepared edible fats; animal or vegetable waxes 75 0 0%
53 - Other vegetable textile fibres; paper yarn and woven fabrics of paper yarn 5 0 1%
43 - Furskins and artificial fur; manufactures thereof 8 0 1%
79 - Zinc and articles thereof 20 0 0%
12 - Oil seeds and oleaginous fruits; miscellaneous grains, seeds and fruit; industrial or medicinal plants; straw and fodder 17 0 0%
25 - Salt; sulphur; earths and stone; plastering materials, lime and cement 62 0 0%
89 - Ships, boats and floating structures 16 0 0%
11 - Products of the milling industry; malt; starches; inulin; wheat gluten 9 0 0%
78 - Lead and articles thereof 7 0 0%
31 - Fertilisers 7 0 0%
80 - Tin and articles thereof 3 0 0%
46 - Manufactures of straw, of esparto or of other plaiting materials; basketware and wickerwork 1 0 0%
67 - Prepared feathers and down and articles made of feathers or of down; artificial flowers; articles of human hair 1 0 0%
47 - Pulp of wood or of other fibrous cellulosic material; recovered (waste and scrap) paper or paperboard 84 0 0%
07 - Edible vegetables and certain roots and tubers 6 0 0%
45 - Cork and articles of cork 7 0 0%
02 - Meat and edible meat offal 66 0 0%
06 - Live trees and other plants; bulbs, roots and the like; cut flowers and ornamental foliage 6 0 0%
10 - Cereals 6 0 0%
14 - Vegetable plaiting materials; vegetable products not elsewhere specified or included 0 0 0%
26 - Ores, slag and ash 15 0 0%

 

Swiss main Imports from the Arab world 2014

Swiss main imports from the Arab world 2014 (Million CHF) World Arab world Portion of the world
Total 251790 5940 2%
71 - Natural or cultured pearls, precious or semi-precious stones, precious metals, metals clad with precious metal, and articles thereof; imitation jewellery; coin 80498 3831 5%
27 - Mineral fuels, mineral oils and products of their distillation; bituminous substances; mineral waxes 12177 1470 12%
62 - Articles of apparel and clothing accessories, not knitted or crocheted 2875 129 4%
91 - Clocks and watches and parts thereof 3752 116 3%
61 - Articles of apparel and clothing accessories, knitted or crocheted 2314 54 2%
85 - Electrical machinery and equipment and parts thereof; sound recorders and reproducers, television image and sound recorders and reproducers, and parts and accessories of such articles 13712 50 0%
07 - Edible vegetables and certain roots and tubers 602 30 5%
87 - Vehicles other than railway or tramway rolling stock, and parts and accessories thereof 13951 25 0%
84 - Nuclear reactors, boilers, machinery and mechanical appliances; parts thereof 18497 25 0%
39 - Plastics and articles thereof 6474 21 0%
64 - Footwear, gaiters and the like; parts of such articles 1451 18 1%
29 - Organic chemicals 13406 17 0%
08 - Edible fruit and nuts; peel of citrus fruit or melons 1143 16 1%
52 - Cotton 187 13 7%
42 - Articles of leather; saddlery and harness; travel goods, handbags and similar containers; articles of animal gut (other than silk-worm gut) 1079 10 1%
90 - Optical, photographic, cinematographic, measuring, checking, precision, medical or surgical instruments and apparatus; parts and accessories thereof 7171 9 0%
30 - Pharmaceutical products 21556 9 0%
76 - Aluminium and articles thereof 2723 8 0%
24 - Tobacco and manufactured tobacco substitutes 299 8 3%
12 - Oil seeds and oleaginous fruits; miscellaneous grains, seeds and fruit; industrial or medicinal plants; straw and fodder 244 8 3%
28 - Inorganic chemicals; organic or inorganic compounds of precious metals, of rare-earth met-als, of radioactive elements or of isotopes 827 6 1%
95 - Toys, games and sports requisites; parts and accessories thereof 1004 6 1%
33 - Essential oils and resinoids; perfumery, cosmetic or toilet preparations 1311 6 0%
88 - Aircraft, spacecraft, and parts thereof 1452 5 0%
57 - Carpets and other textile floor coverings 202 5 3%
97 - Works of art, collectors' pieces and antiques 1764 5 0%
82 - Tools, implements, cutlery, spoons and forks, of base metal; parts thereof of base metal 1039 4 0%
63 - Other made-up textile articles; sets; worn clothing and worn textile articles; rags 662 4 1%
20 - Preparations of vegetables, fruit, nuts or other parts of plants 507 3 1%
69 - Ceramic products 564 3 1%
15 - Animal or vegetable fats and oils and their cleavage products; prepared edible fats; animal or vegetable waxes 358 3 1%
16 - Preparations of meat, of fish or of crustaceans, molluscs or other aquatic invertebrates 377 3 1%
94 - Furniture; bedding, mattresses, mattress supports, cushions and similar stuffed furnishings; lamps and lighting fittings, not elsewhere specified or included; illuminated signs, illuminated nameplates 4320 3 0%
73 - Articles of iron or steel 3659 2 0%
38 - Miscellaneous chemical products 1509 1 0%
03 - Fish and crustaceans, molluscs and other aquatic invertebrates 554 1 0%
09 - Coffee, tea, mat and spices 749 1 0%
70 - Glass and glassware 1011 1 0%
96 - Miscellaneous manufactured articles 481 1 0%
49 - Printed books, newspapers, pictures and other products of the printing industry; manuscripts, typescripts and plans 1671 1 0%
19 - Preparations of cereals, flour, starch or milk; pastrycooks' products 777 1 0%
21 - Miscellaneous edible preparations 696 1 0%
31 - Fertilisers 110 1 1%
22 - Beverages, spirits and vinegar 1852 1 0%
68 - Articles of stone, plaster, cement, asbestos, mica or similar materials 900 1 0%
83 - Miscellaneous articles of base metal 720 1 0%
44 - Wood and articles of wood; wood charcoal 1904 0 0%
32 - Tanning or dyeing extracts; tannins and their derivatives; dyes, pigments and other colouring matter; paints and varnishes; putty and other mastics; inks 1141 0 0%
48 - Paper and paperboard; articles of paper pulp, of paper or of paperboard 2242 0 0%
74 - Copper and articles thereof 1031 0 0%
40 - Rubber and articles thereof 1314 0 0%
05 - Products of animal origin, not elsewhere specified or included 75 0 0%
25 - Salt; sulphur; earths and stone; plastering materials, lime and cement 432 0 0%
34 - Soap, organic surface-active agents, washing preparations, lubricating preparations, artificial waxes, prepared waxes, polishing or scouring preparations, candles and similar articles, moddeling paste 632 0 0%
89 - Ships, boats and floating structures 109 0 0%
06 - Live trees and other plants; bulbs, roots and the like; cut flowers and ornamental foliage 580 0 0%
53 - Other vegetable textile fibres; paper yarn and woven fabrics of paper yarn 13 0 1%
72 - Iron and steel 2577 0 0%
17 - Sugars and sugar confectionery 289 0 0%
65 - Headgear and parts thereof 123 0 0%
04 - Dairy produce; birds' eggs; natural honey; edible products of animal origin, not elsewhere specified or included 596 0 0%
54 - Man-made filaments; strip and the like of man-made textile materials 213 0 0%
55 - Man-made staple fibres 97 0 0%
18 - Cocoa and cocoa preparations 592 0 0%
13 - Lac, gums, resins and other vegetable saps and extracts 74 0 0%
46 - Manufactures of straw, of esparto or of other plaiting materials; basketware and wickerwork 21 0 0%
93 - Arms and ammunition; parts and accessories thereof 126 0 0%
43 - Furskins and artificial fur; manufactures thereof 51 0 0%
56 - Wadding, felt and nonwovens; special yarns; twine, cordage, ropes and cables and articles thereof 269 0 0%
60 - Knitted or crocheted fabrics 76 0 0%
01 - Live Animals 91 0 0%
67 - Prepared feathers and down and articles made of feathers or of down; artificial flowers; articles of human hair 30 0 0%
10 - Cereals 326 0 0%
66 - Umbrellas, sun umbrellas, walking sticks, seat-sticks, whips, riding-crops and parts thereof 46 0 0%
86 - Railway or tramway locomotives, rolling stock and parts thereof; railway or tramway track fixtures and fittings and parts thereof; mechanical (including electromechanical) traffic signalling equipment 688 0 0%
58 - Special woven fabrics; tufted textile fabrics; lace; tapestries; trimmings; embroidery 62 0 0%
41 - Raw hides and skins (other than furskins) and leather 81 0 0%
47 - Pulp of wood or of other fibrous cellulosic material; recovered (waste and scrap) paper or paperboard 167 0 0%
92 - Musical instruments; parts and accessories of such articles 96 0 0%
51 - Wool, fine or coarse animal hair; horsehair yarn and woven fabric 99 0 0%
59 - Impregnated, coated, covered or laminated textile fabrics; textile articles of a kind suitable for industrial use 183 0 0%
80 - Tin and articles thereof 22 0 0%
11 - Products of the milling industry; malt; starches; inulin; wheat gluten 88 0 0%
14 - Vegetable plaiting materials; vegetable products not elsewhere specified or included 6 0 0%
50 - Silk 14 0 0%
79 - Zinc and articles thereof 63 0 0%
37 - Photographic or cinematographic goods 72 0 0%
45 - Cork and articles of cork 29 0 0%
35 - Albuminoidal substances; modified starches; glues; enzymes 254 0 0%
81 - Other base metals; cermets; articles thereof 191 0 0%
23 - Residues and waste from the food industries; prepared animal fodder 505 0 0%
02 - Meat and edible meat offal 714 0 0%
26 - Ores, slag and ash 25 0 0%
36 - Explosives; pyrotechnic products; matches; pyrophoric alloys; certain combustible preparations 47 0 0%
75 - Nickel and articles thereof 108 0 0%
78 - Lead and articles thereof 16 0 0%
Source: Swiss customs

 

Swiss Exports to the Arab world by commodity comparaisons between the Arab countries

Swiss Imports from the Arab world by commodity comparaisons between the Arab countries

 

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