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Dubai Hospital Delivery Drone Completes Successful First Trial
The unmanned aerial vehicle allows the hospital to rapidly deliver medications to patients, saving lives in emergencies.
Fakheeh University Hospital in Dubai has made history by flying a delivery of medicine to a patient’s house in Cedre Villas (Dubai Silicon Oasis) using a small, unmanned drone.
The groundbreaking achievement followed a series of trials in collaboration with the Dubai Future Foundation (DFF) and the Dubai Civil Aviation Authority (DCAA).
The introduction of drone deliveries represents a significant shift in healthcare accessibility. The small aerial craft could also prove life-saving in emergency situations, as they can quickly zip to their destination without having to worry about traffic jams or search for helicopter-sized landing spaces.
Fakeeh University Hospital CEO, Dr Fatih Mehmet Gul, was rightfully proud of the technological achievement: “Since our establishment, we have consistently embraced technological advancements to provide innovative services. However, this initiative marks a substantial leap forward in enhancing healthcare accessibility and achieving complete digitalization”.
Drone use also significantly reduces the hospital’s carbon footprint compared to traditional delivery methods — a factor that is especially important to the Dubai Integrated Economic Zones Authority and the 2040 Urban Master Plan.
Also Read: Saudi Aviation Sector Embraces Tech To Meet Vision 2030 Goals
Director-general of Dubai Silicon Oasis, Dr Juma Al Matrooshi, said, “In line with our role within the Dubai Programme to Enable Drone Transportation, we are committed to empowering entities from the UAE and abroad to develop and test new drone solutions that boost efficiency and convenience”.
In 2021, the Crown Prince of Dubai, Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, announced a program that would enable the use of drones in multiple sectors, including shipping, food logistics, health, and security, with the aim of boosting global competitiveness and innovation within the Emirate.
News
NEOPAY Wants To Follow Merchants Across Channels And Borders
A controlling 65% stake in noon payments would give NEOPAY access to marketplace sellers, online merchants and the payment flows they generate.
It’s been a long time since checkouts were single defined places. A merchant might take payments at a physical register, on its own website and through an online marketplace, sometimes in more than one country. NEOPAY wants to follow those transactions wherever they happen.
The UAE payments company has entered into an agreement to acquire a 65% controlling stake in noon payments. NEOPAY already runs the acquiring infrastructure that lets merchants accept card payments, along with omnichannel acceptance and a merchant services platform. This new deal would add noon payments’ embedded payments platform, e-commerce gateway and merchant network across the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Egypt. That would considerably expand both NEOPAY’s digital commerce capabilities and its regional reach.
For merchants, the attraction is a single provider for online and in-store payments, plus faster settlements, data and analytics, and value-added financial services.
“Payments should be simple, reliable, and built for the markets they serve,” said Faraz Khalid, CEO of noon. His counterpart at NEOPAY, Vibhor Mundhada, added: “We have built a strong payments business in the UAE, and our ambition is now to take that capability across the region”. The acquisition, Mundhada added, would “expand our footprint into Saudi Arabia and Egypt” while reinforcing NEOPAY’s position at home.
Also Read: In Kuwait, Your Surgeon Might Be Operating From Another Country
NEOPAY is also keen to point out potential payment volume increases. The company says noon payments’ integrations with marketplace sellers and online merchants create high transaction density in some of the region’s fastest-growing digital commerce segments. It also believes control of the business would give it access to those merchant relationships and payment flows, and speed up the rollout of alternative payment methods and installment options.
The combined roadmap targets faster merchant onboarding, better payment performance, tighter fraud controls and embedded financial services. The deal could also strengthen cross-border payments and settlement along key regional commerce corridors.
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