Businesses must brace for market disrupters

dubai — Businesses across the Middle East need to keep track of new ventures that have the potential to disrupt the market, experts at the 14th annual One on One Conference by EFG Hermes said.

Speaking at a panel session during the event, Ankur Shah, chief finance and development officer at Careem, said technology has played a key role when it comes to disrupters in the market in the region. Several businesses that have grown in popularity among users in recent years all have strong techdriven solutions that filled a niche in the market, he noted.

Faraz Khalid, CEO at Noon, spoke about change and how technology has impacted the e-commerce sphere in the GCC. “We believe the world will change and that technology will power that change, so we are in for a very exciting ride. We believe that retail will change fundamentally in this region because of technology. The type of engagement that we have seen with our customers in remote areas of Saudi Arabia is very different from that which we have seen in places like Manhattan. I feel this is just the start and there is going to be a lot more from the e-commerce sphere that we can expect in the coming years.”

Mohamed El Kalla, founder of CIRA, said the pace at which technology is developing today also poses a challenge for businesses. “Children today are born into a world where technology is shaping a big part of their lives, but many of us in the workforce have had to adapt to using technology later on in our lives. The problem with emerging markets is that there is a very fast pace of embracing technology, but there is a very slow progress in terms of how the technology is utilised in the best way possible.”

Robert Willett, non-executive director of Mobile World Group, agreed with Khalid, but also added that technology is not the all powerful silver bullet that many perceive. One factor that will lead to a company’s success is investments in talent.