Chief executive Hisham Al Gurg said the company's expansion strategy is carefully crafted to support cutting-edge business ideas. Antonie Robertson / The National
Chief executive Hisham Al Gurg said the company's expansion strategy is carefully crafted to support cutting-edge business ideas. Antonie Robertson / The National
Chief executive Hisham Al Gurg said the company's expansion strategy is carefully crafted to support cutting-edge business ideas. Antonie Robertson / The National
Chief executive Hisham Al Gurg said the company's expansion strategy is carefully crafted to support cutting-edge business ideas. Antonie Robertson / The National

Dubai’s Seed Group to expand across 15 markets amid global push


Alkesh Sharma
  • English
  • Arabic

Dubai-based investment company Seed Group plans to expand across more than 15 markets around the world, including Brazil, Canada, Russia and Germany, in the coming months, its chief executive said.

“The Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted the need to have more empowered, high-tech and innovation-led economies in the world,” said Hisham Al Gurg, chief executive of the Seed Group and the Private Office of Sheikh Saeed bin Ahmed, said.

“Our global expansion strategy is in line with this … it has been carefully crafted to extend support to cutting-edge tech business ideas … a way of sharing with the world the unmatched business insights and expertise that Dubai has to offer. We expect to see high-impact results out of this.”

The company has offices across different continents in countries such as Italy, Spain, Thailand, the UK, Singapore, Australia and the US.

The Seed Group — a company owned by the private office of Sheikh Saeed — acts as a springboard for global start-ups that are willing to expand into Dubai and the wider Middle East. It has invested in diverse sectors such as technology, cyber security, health care, FinTech, tourism and hospitality.

Currently, there are more than 70 companies working under the group’s umbrella through investments or strategic partnerships.

We are in search of best business opportunities, top talent and disrupting ideas that can contribute to the success of entrepreneurs in the post-pandemic era
Hisham Al Gurg,
chief executive of the Seed Group

As part of its expansion the company aims to attract talent, promote disruptive business ideas, support knowledge transfers, forge global partnerships and offer strategic counsel to entrepreneurs around the world, the company said.

“Despite the Covid-19 pandemic, we have grown at an exponential pace, and we strive to create a positive business ecosystem around the world. Our global expansion is an ongoing process, and we will keep adding new markets to our portfolio this year,” Mr Al Gurg said.

“We are in search of best business opportunities, top talent and disrupting ideas that can contribute to the success of entrepreneurs in the post-pandemic era. Post-Covid market opportunities are giving us confidence and we will continue making new investments in strategic areas that show good value and potential.”

The group operates an accelerator programme that assists potential start-ups to scale up and improve their products and services. It offers the necessary early stage assistance to hasten the growth of new companies and help them to eventually become more self-sufficient down the line, the company said.

It has also teamed up with California-based technology company Reviver Auto to unveil digital vehicle registration plates in the region.

The GCC will be the first market outside the US where Reviver’s digital plates, called RPlate, will be launched. The company plans to introduce them in northern African countries, South Africa and Malta.

RPlate transforms the stamped metal licence plate into a sleek, high-definition digital display. The technology can automate vehicle registration renewals and add new levels of personalisation to licence plates that include the promotion of charitable causes or sports team.

Sole survivors
  • Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
  • George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
  • Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
  • Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.

Secret Nation: The Hidden Armenians of Turkey
Avedis Hadjian, (IB Tauris)
 

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets

The Breadwinner

Director: Nora Twomey

Starring: Saara Chaudry,  Soma Chhaya,  Laara Sadiq 

Three stars

War 2

Director: Ayan Mukerji

Stars: Hrithik Roshan, NTR, Kiara Advani, Ashutosh Rana

Rating: 2/5

RESULTS

5pm Wathba Stallions Cup Maiden (PA) Dh70,000 (Dirt) 1,400m

Winner Munfared, Fernando Jara (jockey), Ahmed Al Mehairbi (trainer)

5.30pm Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (D) 1,600m

Winner Sawt Assalam, Szczepan Mazur, Ibrahim Al Hadhrami

6pm Maiden (PA) Dh70,000 (D) 1,800m

Winner Dergham Athbah, Pat Dobbs, Mohamed Daggash

6.30pm Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (D) 1,800m

Winner Rajee, Fernando Jara, Majed Al Jahouri

7pm Conditions (PA) Dh80,000 (D) 1,800m

Winner Kerless Del Roc, Fernando Jara, Ahmed Al Mehairbi

7.30pm Handicap (TB) Dh70,000 (D) 2,000m

Winner Pharoah King, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson

8pm Conditions (PA) Dh85,000 (D) 2,000m

Winner Sauternes Al Maury, Dane O’Neill, Doug Watson

match info

Union Berlin 0

Bayern Munich 1 (Lewandowski 40' pen, Pavard 80')

Man of the Match: Benjamin Pavard (Bayern Munich)

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%3Cp%3E%0D%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E4.0-litre%20twin-turbo%20V8%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E666hp%20at%206%2C000rpm%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E850Nm%20at%202%2C300-4%2C500rpm%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E8-speed%20auto%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EQ1%202023%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Efrom%20Dh1.15%20million%20(estimate)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
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

This is an info box
  • info goes here
  • and here
  • and here
In numbers: China in Dubai

The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000

Number of Chinese people in International City: Almost 50,000

Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2018/19: 120,000

Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000

Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent

'Saand Ki Aankh'

Produced by: Reliance Entertainment with Chalk and Cheese Films
Director: Tushar Hiranandani
Cast: Taapsee Pannu, Bhumi Pednekar, Prakash Jha, Vineet Singh
Rating: 3.5/5 stars

Red flags
  • Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
  • Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
  • Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
  • Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
  • Hard-selling tactics - creating urgency, offering 'exclusive' deals.

Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching

SNAPSHOT

While Huawei did launch the first smartphone with a 50MP image sensor in its P40 series in 2020, Oppo in 2014 introduced the Find 7, which was capable of taking 50MP images: this was done using a combination of a 13MP sensor and software that resulted in shots seemingly taken from a 50MP camera.

Volvo ES90 Specs

Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)

Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp

Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm

On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region

Price: Exact regional pricing TBA

Specs

Engine: 51.5kW electric motor

Range: 400km

Power: 134bhp

Torque: 175Nm

Price: From Dh98,800

Available: Now

The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Power: 510hp at 9,000rpm
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
Price: From Dh801,800
The specs: 2018 Mercedes-Benz E 300 Cabriolet

Price, base / as tested: Dh275,250 / Dh328,465

Engine: 2.0-litre four-cylinder

Power: 245hp @ 5,500rpm

Torque: 370Nm @ 1,300rpm

Transmission: Nine-speed automatic

Fuel consumption, combined: 7.0L / 100km

Jetour T1 specs

Engine: 2-litre turbocharged

Power: 254hp

Torque: 390Nm

Price: From Dh126,000

Available: Now

Earth under attack: Cosmic impacts throughout history

4.5 billion years ago: Mars-sized object smashes into the newly-formed Earth, creating debris that coalesces to form the Moon

- 66 million years ago: 10km-wide asteroid crashes into the Gulf of Mexico, wiping out over 70 per cent of living species – including the dinosaurs.

50,000 years ago: 50m-wide iron meteor crashes in Arizona with the violence of 10 megatonne hydrogen bomb, creating the famous 1.2km-wide Barringer Crater

1490: Meteor storm over Shansi Province, north-east China when large stones “fell like rain”, reportedly leading to thousands of deaths.  

1908: 100-metre meteor from the Taurid Complex explodes near the Tunguska river in Siberia with the force of 1,000 Hiroshima-type bombs, devastating 2,000 square kilometres of forest.

1998: Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 breaks apart and crashes into Jupiter in series of impacts that would have annihilated life on Earth.

-2013: 10,000-tonne meteor burns up over the southern Urals region of Russia, releasing a pressure blast and flash that left over 1600 people injured.

COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Updated: March 06, 2022, 9:09 AM`