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Aramex Has Successfully Tested Drone Deliveries In Oman
The pilot is part of Aramex’s “Future Delivery Program”, and forms part of the company’s innovation agenda and sustainability strategy.
Aramex is a leading transport and logistics organization, and this week, the company successfully finished the pilot phase of its drone-based “Future Delivery Program” in Muscat, Oman.
UVL Robotics, a company from the United States, partnered with the logistics firm to bring its class-leading AI and drone solutions to the project, which will eventually also include autonomous vehicles. The Future Delivery Program is about creating cost-based savings and reducing environmental impact by lowering carbon emissions and traffic congestion during the last-mile section of deliveries.
Aramex is already embarking on a full-scale transition to electric and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, with drone and autonomous vehicle-based deliveries complementing the emission-free fleet.
“We believe the next generation of last-mile solutions, including drones and autonomous vehicles, will be a game-changer as it ensures efficient delivery while being eco-friendly […] We have proven that these automated modes of delivery will enable us to further enhance the speed, accessibility, and reliability of package deliveries, especially to remote areas with hard-to-reach terrain,” says Alaa Saoudi, COO, Express at Aramex.
Eventually, Aramex will expand its autonomous delivery program across the Middle East and test the technology in other key markets. The company aims to significantly shorten delivery times and boost customer satisfaction while doing as much as possible to aid with climate action as we approach 2030 sustainability goals.
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“We strongly believe that last-mile delivery by drone is an important part of future logistics and one of the key goals in our business sustainability strategy. Drones produce 26 times less CO2 emissions than cars, which positively impacts the region’s ecology,” says Moosa Al Balushi, Regional Director for UVL in the MENA Region.
Aramex isn’t new to the use of modern technology. The firm has been testing electric vehicles and adopting them into parts of its service since 2017, with operations in Jordan using EVs and testing going on across Saudi Arabia, UAE, and Egypt.
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LUVED Is A New Curated Preloved Marketplace For The UAE
Sellers keep 100 percent of every sale and AI can build a listing in five seconds — though the app’s smartest tools are still coming.
Secondhand shopping has become mainstream in the UAE, but the experience is still scattered across resale sites, social media and informal group chats. LUVED, a mobile-first marketplace that launched in Dubai this month, is betting it can pull that activity into one place — and that the thing buyers and sellers actually want is not more inventory, but trust.
The app trades in what it calls circular luxury: preloved fashion and lifestyle pieces across men’s, women’s and children’s categories, bought, sold or given away peer to peer. Its main pitch is economics, with sellers keeping 100 percent of every sale under a zero-commission, fast payout model, while buyers are promised vetted pieces at lower prices.
Where LUVED is staking its reputation is verification. Sellers pass a KYC check, and items run through a two-layer authentication system powered by Entrupy that pairs instant AI screening with human expert review for high-value pieces. Authenticity certificates travel with each item, payments sit in escrow, and a buyer-protection package the company calls The Safety Net adds a 48-hour return window and dispute resolution. Door-to-door logistics removes the in-person meetups that make most resale deals awkward.
An in-app assistant called Luvbot — offering selling insights and demand-based recommendations — is soon to be introduced to the platform. Other features include autofill and dynamic pricing that lets users build a listing in as little as five seconds from three photos, plus a swipe-based feed, story-style drops and in-app chat in English and Arabic. Finally, a gifting layer, Luved & Gifted, lets users pass items to others inside the app rather than sell them.
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“After moving to Dubai, I saw how difficult it was to sell or even give things away,” says founder and CEO Shaima Sibtain. The friction is real, and so is the competition. In resale, trust is won transaction by transaction — and that is the test LUVED has set itself.
The app is live on the App Store now, with Google Play to follow. The company also plans to expand across the region, which will be the real test for a marketplace staking everything on trust.
