Staff Reporter, Gulf Today

One of five visitors of Expo 2020 Dubai since its launch last October, have crossed the entrance of the Italian Pavilion, exploring the exhibition itinerary and participating in dozens of events.

Of the 750,000 total visitors to Expo about 150,000 made it to the Italian Pavilion – one of the most sought after among the national ones with a peak of over 30,000 in one of the month’s weekends. In addition to them, over 3 million users were involved in the initiatives of the Pavilion through its website and social channels.

In particular, on LinkedIn the Italian Pavilion ranks as first among the 190 of Expo Dubai for the number of followers, with a growth of almost 20% in the last month. With over 40 thousand followers and a monthly growth of 37%, the Pavilion’s Facebook page is the third most visited among those of all the countries participating in Expo.

In addition to the visits to the Pavilion, thousands of people filled the arenas of Expo for high-profile musical events that Italy brought to Dubai, including the concert of the Orchestra del Maggio Fiorentino directed by Maestro Zubin Mehta and that of the internationally renowned pianist Ludovico Einaudi as well as just last night the young virtuosos of the National Symphony Orchestra of the Italian Conservatories.   

According to major tour operators operating in both Italy and the United Arab Emirates, the monthly volume of bookings of hotels and flights to Dubai has seen increases of up to 40% compared to the same period in 2019, the last comparable year before the Covid-19 pandemic. They also expect a significant growth in attendance in November and December, during holiday breaks in Italy and the rest of Europe.

Meanwhile, Master-developer Dubai South Properties announced the launch of ‘The Avenue,’ a limited number of freehold plots which can be purchased on a payment plan and developed by investors for commercial use.

The new launch follows the vast development of Dubai South, the successful sell-out of several freehold projects as well as sales of residential plots at the Residential District that were launched earlier by the company.

A spokesperson from the master developer Dubai South Properties said: “Following the successful sell-out of other mixed-use developments that we had launched over the last few years, and the surge in demand from investors on both residential and commercial properties, we decided to launch The Avenue, hence create an exceptional opportunity for those who are considering owning their private commercial land for their various business needs. We are also confident that Expo 2020 will play a pivotal role in attracting investors, who will be keen to explore investment opportunities in Dubai. We at Dubai South Properties are committed to cater to the aspirations of potential and existing clientele as well as support the government’s initiatives and plans in attracting foreign direct investments to the emirate.”

SPACEE:  The US-based SPACEE, a global leader in digital solutions, is exhibiting at the 41st edition of Gitex Global.

Gitex will see the coverage of over 400 international innovators in artificial intelligence, 5G, cloud, big data, and blockchain from over 140 countries.

SPACEE will present its virtual touch technology at this much-awaited international event in the UAE.

As per the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the UAE’s retail market is witnessing phenomenal growth with sales worth $58 billion expected this fiscal. The country’s retail e-commerce market also witnessed a 53 per cent year-on-year increase in 2020 to reach $3.9 billion. The retail sales are projected to grow at an impressive rate of 6.6 per cent to touch $70.5 billion by 2025. The e-commerce market, too, will be worth $8 billion during the same period, accounting for an 8 per cent share of the retail market.

With such projections, retailers are seeking to leave lasting impression on shoppers through destingished in-store experience. With SPACEE’s presence technology in the UAE, retailers can differentiate themselves, create positive trends, increase their market share, and boost sales. The US-based tech company has already helped its international clients, including Walmartbring the future of retail to their current stores by integrating the digital and physical without using phones, eyeglasses, or tablets, and without installing any technology on the actual surface. Its machine learning and AI-driven solutions, Sense and Deming, have ushered in a new era of frictionless customer experience and smart store operations. respectibely.

“The future of retail is here. Using light only, SPACEE transforms virtually any 2D or 3D surface, into an unbreakable touch screen. While customers get a deep personal connection with interactive products, retailers witness increased sales, reduced shrinkage and minimised labour costs,” says Skip Howard, Founder and CEO, SPACEE.

Halim El Roumi, the regional director AMEA at SPACEE said, “SPACEE’s innovative solutions seek to help the UAE retailers get a better insight into customer behaviour and performance of products. We offer retailers the opportunity to replace the antiquated, traditional retail tools with intelligent and innovative technology . It is all about increasing sales and the bottom line. We have done that in other regions in the world as well and now, we are excited about our launch in the UAE. We are looking look forward to fostering meaningful relationships with businesses here.”

Meanwhile, Azimut (ME) Limited ADGM, part of Azimut, a leading asset management group, in partnership with GELLIFY Middle East, an innovation platform, is launching a MENA-focused VC Fund aiming at raising $50m capital.

The new VC Fund will focus on B2B startups in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. It will target a range of startups—from seed-stage startups, market phase startups to those ready to scale up. These startups will have the potential to create disruptive innovation in the areas of Smart City, healthcare, digital commerce, fintech, Industry 4.0 and tourism with the use of the most advanced technologies like AI, IoT, blockchain and cyber security.

“We aim to replicate our experience in Europe where we have made successful exits and, in the process, enhance the innovation capacity of the region. We believe that our unique ability to connect vetted innovative technology startups and corporates is aligned to the Middle East’s goal of becoming a digital innovation engine of the MENA region and will create a robust and thriving innovation ecosystem,” says Massimo Cannizzo, CEO and co-founder, GELLIFY Middle East.

The GELLIFY business platform supports startups from the stage of ideas (“Air” state) to the launch of a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) into the market (“Liquid” state), up until the startup is ready do a successful scale up and growth (“Solid’ state). This is the proprietary process they call GELLIFICATION.