Nomadic was born out of the need to simplify short-term travel compliance and ease the challenges associated with organising international trips and securing the necessary travel documentation.
Tailored to support business travel, the platform was launched in the UAE by US-based Fragomen, a company specialising in immigration services worldwide.
The start-up establishes travel profiles, setting risk tolerance, automating the completion and filing of applications, and managing the validity of existing permissions.
“I have believed for many years that Fragomen needed a market solution that enables total management for short-term global travel programmes. Nomadic is that solution,” says co-founder Brendan Ryan.
Nomadic originated from the team’s extensive experience within Fragomen and Mr Ryan’s own understanding as a partner in the firm, supporting clients in substantive immigration matters such as work permits, permanent residency and more.
“That often involved support for short-term business travel – both advising on visa restrictions, obtaining visas for travellers and supporting when problems arise,” says Mr Ryan, who is also chief executive of Nomadic.
Fragomen launched Nomadic in the UAE last year, amid the sharp recovery in travel after the Middle East’s strong economic recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic. However, globally, Nomadic was launched as an offshoot of Fragomen in 2018.
While the UAE is the only market in the Middle East Nomadic is present in currently, it is also present in India, Singapore, the UK and the US.
“We are also shortly opening in Germany and a number of other jurisdictions. However, through our vast network, we are able to provide support to clients in more than 70 countries,” says Mr Ryan.
He did not, however, say which other markets Nomadic will expand to in the Middle East.
“Our vision for Nomadic's presence and impact in the Middle East over the next few years is to establish ourselves as the leading business travel solution provider in the region, in line with the significant economic and travel growth that the Middle East is currently experiencing,” he says.
The company set up operations at a time when the region is experiencing a surge in demand for technology-driven travel solutions.
Nomadic says its technology is designed to ensure compliance with immigration regulations through real-time location tracking and automatic visa requirement updates.
Lingering pandemic travel restrictions, border digitalisation and other regulatory changes have led business travel to become an area of compliance risk, the company says.
“Our tech-driven solutions ensure timely and precise compliance, which is crucial in the Middle East’s rigorous regulatory environment. We also set the standard by prioritising data security, addressing the region’s strong emphasis on privacy,” Mr Ryan says.
With corporate companies as its clients, Nomadic customises solutions across business visas, passport services and document management.
The company was also key in streamlining UAE visa applications for people attending the Cop28 climate summit, which was held in Dubai in November.
Nomadic helped the process of completing online visa applications for attendees through Robotic Process Automation (RPA), which taps into stored data from a client’s traveller profile, completing applications in only four minutes – a task that manually would take about 35, he says.
“In a fully integrated process, our team can manage the entire end-to-end process to obtain the visa on behalf of the traveller,” says Mr Ryan.
The business travel industry has proven itself resilient after Covid as it moves into a new era of post-pandemic stabilisation.
Global business travel spending is forecast to hit a record $1.48 trillion by the end of this year and grow to nearly $1.8 trillion by 2027 amid stable economic conditions, according to the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA).
The rebound was led in 2023 by the US, the Middle East and Africa, and Latin America, all achieving 100 per cent or more of 2019 spending numbers, the travel body said.
The accelerated pace of recovery is due to pent-up demand, the return of in-person meetings and widespread economic recessions failing to materialise, as per GBTA's outlook report last year.
It said the two biggest drivers of stabilisation in the past six months have been the return of physical meetings and corporate events, as well as the recovery of some international business travel capacity and volumes.
Tourism industry expansion in the Middle East, meanwhile, is estimated to grow at a compound annual rate of 5.1 per cent until 2034, data from Future Market Insights indicates. The sector in the region is forecast to reach $453.28 billion by 2034, it said, from an estimated $275.64 billion this year.
Dubai alone hosted 9.31 million overnight international visitors from January to June this year, up by nearly 9 per cent annually, on the back of the emirate’s push to strengthen and expand its tourism sector.
Oversight of business visits and cross-border moves is now a pressing need for companies and their travelling workforces, says Nomadic.
A wholly owned business within Fragomen, Nomadic is “adequately funded”, says Mr Ryan.
“Nomadic is an important initiative of Fragomen, and it will continue to fund enhancements to the technology and the general growth of the business.”
However, challenges to growth remain. These include “regulatory complexity, client education and adoption, scalability and competition”, Mr Ryan says.
“One of our main challenges is dealing with the different rules and regulations for immigration in various countries,” he says. "We’re investing in smart technology to keep track of these changes and make sure our clients are always compliant.
“The UAE is a prime destination for business travellers, yet the market can become saturated with businesses offering similar services.”
The company is also investing in scalable infrastructure and expanding its workforce, Mr Ryan adds.
Q&A with Brendan Ryan, co-founder, Nomadic
Where do you want to be in five years?
Managing Nomadic, which will have grown to be the largest business travel compliance company.
If you could do it all differently, what would you change?
I would have started Nomadic five years earlier.
Who is your role model?
I have had the privilege of working with some brilliant people, but I have learnt the most from working closely for decades with the co-chair of Fragomen, Lance Kaplan.
What is your next big dream to make happen?
To continue to build Nomadic and then smoothly transitioning it to the next generation of leaders in the business.
Any plans for an initial public offering?
No current plans.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Nomadic
Started: 2018
Founder: Brendan Ryan
Based: New Jersey, US
Sector: IT Services and Consulting
Current number of staff: 150 employees
Investment stage: Privately funded investors, founder funding and Fragomen
Sheer grandeur
The Owo building is 14 storeys high, seven of which are below ground, with the 30,000 square feet of amenities located subterranean, including a 16-seat private cinema, seven lounges, a gym, games room, treatment suites and bicycle storage.
A clear distinction between the residences and the Raffles hotel with the amenities operated separately.
The Equaliser 2
Director Antoine Fuqua
Starring: Denzel Washington, Bill Pullman, Melissa Leo, Ashton Sanders
Three stars
if you go
The flights
Etihad, Emirates and Singapore Airlines fly direct from the UAE to Singapore from Dh2,265 return including taxes. The flight takes about 7 hours.
The hotel
Rooms at the M Social Singapore cost from SG $179 (Dh488) per night including taxes.
The tour
Makan Makan Walking group tours costs from SG $90 (Dh245) per person for about three hours. Tailor-made tours can be arranged. For details go to www.woknstroll.com.sg
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Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Citadel: Honey Bunny first episode
Directors: Raj & DK
Stars: Varun Dhawan, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Kashvi Majmundar, Kay Kay Menon
Rating: 4/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs: 2019 Haval H6
Price, base: Dh69,900
Engine: 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 197hp @ 5,500rpm
Torque: 315Nm @ 2,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 7.0L / 100km
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
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THE CLOWN OF GAZA
Director: Abdulrahman Sabbah
Starring: Alaa Meqdad
Rating: 4/5
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
COMPANY PROFILE
Initial investment: Undisclosed
Investment stage: Series A
Investors: Core42
Current number of staff: 47
What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
About Tenderd
Started: May 2018
Founder: Arjun Mohan
Based: Dubai
Size: 23 employees
Funding: Raised $5.8m in a seed fund round in December 2018. Backers include Y Combinator, Beco Capital, Venturesouq, Paul Graham, Peter Thiel, Paul Buchheit, Justin Mateen, Matt Mickiewicz, SOMA, Dynamo and Global Founders Capital
Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh590,000
World record transfers
1. Kylian Mbappe - to Real Madrid in 2017/18 - €180 million (Dh770.4m - if a deal goes through)
2. Paul Pogba - to Manchester United in 2016/17 - €105m
3. Gareth Bale - to Real Madrid in 2013/14 - €101m
4. Cristiano Ronaldo - to Real Madrid in 2009/10 - €94m
5. Gonzalo Higuain - to Juventus in 2016/17 - €90m
6. Neymar - to Barcelona in 2013/14 - €88.2m
7. Romelu Lukaku - to Manchester United in 2017/18 - €84.7m
8. Luis Suarez - to Barcelona in 2014/15 - €81.72m
9. Angel di Maria - to Manchester United in 2014/15 - €75m
10. James Rodriguez - to Real Madrid in 2014/15 - €75m
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
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A new relationship with the old country
Treaty of Friendship between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates
The United kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates; Considering that the United Arab Emirates has assumed full responsibility as a sovereign and independent State; Determined that the long-standing and traditional relations of close friendship and cooperation between their peoples shall continue; Desiring to give expression to this intention in the form of a Treaty Friendship; Have agreed as follows:
ARTICLE 1 The relations between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates shall be governed by a spirit of close friendship. In recognition of this, the Contracting Parties, conscious of their common interest in the peace and stability of the region, shall: (a) consult together on matters of mutual concern in time of need; (b) settle all their disputes by peaceful means in conformity with the provisions of the Charter of the United Nations.
ARTICLE 2 The Contracting Parties shall encourage education, scientific and cultural cooperation between the two States in accordance with arrangements to be agreed. Such arrangements shall cover among other things: (a) the promotion of mutual understanding of their respective cultures, civilisations and languages, the promotion of contacts among professional bodies, universities and cultural institutions; (c) the encouragement of technical, scientific and cultural exchanges.
ARTICLE 3 The Contracting Parties shall maintain the close relationship already existing between them in the field of trade and commerce. Representatives of the Contracting Parties shall meet from time to time to consider means by which such relations can be further developed and strengthened, including the possibility of concluding treaties or agreements on matters of mutual concern.
ARTICLE 4 This Treaty shall enter into force on today’s date and shall remain in force for a period of ten years. Unless twelve months before the expiry of the said period of ten years either Contracting Party shall have given notice to the other of its intention to terminate the Treaty, this Treaty shall remain in force thereafter until the expiry of twelve months from the date on which notice of such intention is given.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF the undersigned have signed this Treaty.
DONE in duplicate at Dubai the second day of December 1971AD, corresponding to the fifteenth day of Shawwal 1391H, in the English and Arabic languages, both texts being equally authoritative.
Signed
Geoffrey Arthur Sheikh Zayed
Why seagrass matters
- Carbon sink: Seagrass sequesters carbon up to 35X faster than tropical rainforests
- Marine nursery: Crucial habitat for juvenile fish, crustations, and invertebrates
- Biodiversity: Support species like sea turtles, dugongs, and seabirds
- Coastal protection: Reduce erosion and improve water quality
The biog
Favourite hobby: taking his rescue dog, Sally, for long walks.
Favourite book: anything by Stephen King, although he said the films rarely match the quality of the books
Favourite film: The Shawshank Redemption stands out as his favourite movie, a classic King novella
Favourite music: “I have a wide and varied music taste, so it would be unfair to pick a single song from blues to rock as a favourite"
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
What it means to be a conservationist
Who is Enric Sala?
Enric Sala is an expert on marine conservation and is currently the National Geographic Society's Explorer-in-Residence. His love of the sea started with his childhood in Spain, inspired by the example of the legendary diver Jacques Cousteau. He has been a university professor of Oceanography in the US, as well as working at the Spanish National Council for Scientific Research and is a member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council on Biodiversity and the Bio-Economy. He has dedicated his life to protecting life in the oceans. Enric describes himself as a flexitarian who only eats meat occasionally.
What is biodiversity?
According to the United Nations Environment Programme, all life on earth – including in its forests and oceans – forms a “rich tapestry of interconnecting and interdependent forces”. Biodiversity on earth today is the product of four billion years of evolution and consists of many millions of distinct biological species. The term ‘biodiversity’ is relatively new, popularised since the 1980s and coinciding with an understanding of the growing threats to the natural world including habitat loss, pollution and climate change. The loss of biodiversity itself is dangerous because it contributes to clean, consistent water flows, food security, protection from floods and storms and a stable climate. The natural world can be an ally in combating global climate change but to do so it must be protected. Nations are working to achieve this, including setting targets to be reached by 2020 for the protection of the natural state of 17 per cent of the land and 10 per cent of the oceans. However, these are well short of what is needed, according to experts, with half the land needed to be in a natural state to help avert disaster.
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Company%20Profile
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AWARDS
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Email sent to Uber team from chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi
From: Dara
To: Team@
Date: March 25, 2019 at 11:45pm PT
Subj: Accelerating in the Middle East
Five years ago, Uber launched in the Middle East. It was the start of an incredible journey, with millions of riders and drivers finding new ways to move and work in a dynamic region that’s become so important to Uber. Now Pakistan is one of our fastest-growing markets in the world, women are driving with Uber across Saudi Arabia, and we chose Cairo to launch our first Uber Bus product late last year.
Today we are taking the next step in this journey—well, it’s more like a leap, and a big one: in a few minutes, we’ll announce that we’ve agreed to acquire Careem. Importantly, we intend to operate Careem independently, under the leadership of co-founder and current CEO Mudassir Sheikha. I’ve gotten to know both co-founders, Mudassir and Magnus Olsson, and what they have built is truly extraordinary. They are first-class entrepreneurs who share our platform vision and, like us, have launched a wide range of products—from digital payments to food delivery—to serve consumers.
I expect many of you will ask how we arrived at this structure, meaning allowing Careem to maintain an independent brand and operate separately. After careful consideration, we decided that this framework has the advantage of letting us build new products and try new ideas across not one, but two, strong brands, with strong operators within each. Over time, by integrating parts of our networks, we can operate more efficiently, achieve even lower wait times, expand new products like high-capacity vehicles and payments, and quicken the already remarkable pace of innovation in the region.
This acquisition is subject to regulatory approval in various countries, which we don’t expect before Q1 2020. Until then, nothing changes. And since both companies will continue to largely operate separately after the acquisition, very little will change in either teams’ day-to-day operations post-close. Today’s news is a testament to the incredible business our team has worked so hard to build.
It’s a great day for the Middle East, for the region’s thriving tech sector, for Careem, and for Uber.
Uber on,
Dara
Company%20Profile
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