In a small film studio in the heart of Dubai, a group of young Arabs are working hard to make content creation from this region a global success.
They are from all over the Middle East and North Africa and include Emiratis, Iraqis, Syrians, Jordanians and Egyptians. They are creating content for Nas News Arabia, a project backed by the UAE Government.
At the Nas Daily studio in Emirates Towers, these influencers have a full-time job to produce content ranging from interesting news items to explainers on what is trending.
The videos are posted on the Nas News Arabia pages, but the creators have built a large following on their personal social media platforms over the past few years.
But working under the company helps them earn a stable monthly income and pursue social media as a profession.
From trainee doctor to content creator
Eisa Alhabib, 27, is a Kuwaiti Instagram star who dropped out of medical school to pursue a career in content creation.
He had received a full scholarship to study at a prestigious university in Canada. He completed his pre-medicine degree with high grades, but decided not to continue, so he could follow his dream of making videos.
“I’ve always wanted to create content. I used to travel in the summers when I was in university and I would make all kinds of videos,” said Mr Alhabib, who currently has more than 30,200 followers on a personal Instagram account.
“But deciding not to become a doctor was one of the most stressful moments of my life. I had such a high GPA (grade point average).
“It was hard because coming from an Arab background and your parents telling everyone that ‘our son will be a doctor’, it puts a lot of pressure on you."
But when an opportunity with Nas News Arabia came up, Mr Alhabib could not pass it up.
He joined the company a year ago and has since made several videos that attracted viewers from all over the world.
After seeing his success in the field, Mr AlHabib’s parents have become more supportive of his career change.
“It’s a great time for Arab content creators,” he said.
“For many years, I believed that Arabs had to westernise themselves to be popular on social media.
“But now, I can say that even speaking in my mother tongue and producing content for the Arab world, I can reach millions of people.
“I truly believe Dubai will be the hub for content creators in the world.”
Debunking myths
Ebrahim Abbas, 24, is an Emirati who became a social media sensation through his TikTok videos, which he started making in early 2020 when the Covid-19 pandemic hit.
He makes content in which he debunks rumours about the UAE, videos that have gone viral many times, helping him gain more than 1.4 million followers and 20.4 million likes on the social media app.
“People were curious about the UAE and they wanted facts about our people,” he said.
“So, I started a series called ‘facts about the Emirates you didn’t know’.
“I started talking about how not everybody owns a Nissan Patrol, is a multi-billionaire or rides camels on Sheikh Zayed Road.”
He was approached by Visioneers, a UAE government company that is trying to build a media ecosystem here, to see if he would be interested in making the series into a show for Nas News Arabia.
For the past year, he has been working with the organisation as a content creator and presenter.
He does a show called Khodha Menni, which translates from Arabic to "take it from me".
“I talk about GCC topics, but mostly focus on the UAE and talk about new laws, dos and don’ts, new projects, best universities, among other things," he said.
Mr Abbas has a bachelor’s degree in accounting and finance, but when he noticed his videos were taking off, he started pursuing social media as a full-time job.
Now, he posts horror stories on his TikTok and is trying to reach two million followers.
He said his videos mostly get a positive response, but “there is also a lot of negativity”.
“I ignore all the haters. They want attention and I’m not going to give it to them,” Mr Abbas said.
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
JAPANESE GRAND PRIX INFO
Schedule (All times UAE)
First practice: Friday, 5-6.30am
Second practice: Friday, 9-10.30am
Third practice: Saturday, 7-8am
Qualifying: Saturday, 10-11am
Race: Sunday, 9am-midday
Race venue: Suzuka International Racing Course
Circuit Length: 5.807km
Number of Laps: 53
Watch live: beIN Sports HD
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh117,059
How to wear a kandura
Dos
- Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
- Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
- Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
- Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester
Don’ts
- Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal
- Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
Indoor cricket in a nutshell
Indoor Cricket World Cup - Sep 16-20, Insportz, Dubai
16 Indoor cricket matches are 16 overs per side
8 There are eight players per team
9 There have been nine Indoor Cricket World Cups for men. Australia have won every one.
5 Five runs are deducted from the score when a wickets falls
4 Batsmen bat in pairs, facing four overs per partnership
Scoring In indoor cricket, runs are scored by way of both physical and bonus runs. Physical runs are scored by both batsmen completing a run from one crease to the other. Bonus runs are scored when the ball hits a net in different zones, but only when at least one physical run is score.
Zones
A Front net, behind the striker and wicketkeeper: 0 runs
B Side nets, between the striker and halfway down the pitch: 1 run
C Side nets between halfway and the bowlers end: 2 runs
D Back net: 4 runs on the bounce, 6 runs on the full
Who was Alfred Nobel?
The Nobel Prize was created by wealthy Swedish chemist and entrepreneur Alfred Nobel.
- In his will he dictated that the bulk of his estate should be used to fund "prizes to those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind".
- Nobel is best known as the inventor of dynamite, but also wrote poetry and drama and could speak Russian, French, English and German by the age of 17. The five original prize categories reflect the interests closest to his heart.
- Nobel died in 1896 but it took until 1901, following a legal battle over his will, before the first prizes were awarded.
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