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Dubai Student Launches Metaverse Real Estate Summit
The entrepreneur secured funding from the Rochester Institute of Technology Dubai and the Mohammed Bin Rashid Smart Learning Program.
Volston Abreo, an electrical engineering and computing student at Rochester Institute of Technology Dubai, is preparing to launch an innovative real estate summit in the metaverse, known as Real Estate Worldscape 2023.
The summit will support education and knowledge sharing, helping boost Dubai’s property market. The event is based around a hyper-realistic “stage” featuring voice and proximity chat systems. Volston developed his idea with funding from RIT Dubai in collaboration with the Mohammed Bin Rashid Smart Learning Program.
Aimed at bringing together global thought leaders and policymakers, Real Estate Worldscape 2023 will host 20 inspirational speakers and offer workshops, panel discussions, and Q&A sessions. Topics at the conference will include real estate, proptech, entrepreneurship and investments.
Explaining the reasoning behind the summit, 21-year-old Volston said, “The inspiration for our virtual stage, Flege, came during the pandemic when we saw the potential of the metaverse in creating an ecosystem where people connect to physical experiences through the virtual world. I decided to focus on the real estate sector to help launch the ecosystem because it is one of the most established industries here, yet it has been slow in the uptake of innovation. I wanted to change the mindset of people in the business, to show the value of bringing technology into the sector”.
The summit will also feature a simulation that takes delegates back to 2012 when Dubai was still recovering from the global financial crisis. Participants will “enter a digital twin of Dubai where their goal is to achieve cashflow by analyzing market trends and making sound decisions to buy and sell properties at the right time and from the right place,” Volston explained.
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Volston is already part of Dubai’s Silicon Oasis, with his own office and a team of seven employees. The student entrepreneur says his sights are firmly set on building a decentralized digital ecosystem despite not yet having graduated from RIT Dubai.
The Real Estate Worldscape 2023 will take place later this month.
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Checkout.com Set To Launch Card Issuing In The UAE
The payment service provider’s expansion is a first-of-its-kind investment and could reshape digital transactions across the region.
Checkout.com is laying the groundwork to become the first global payments platform to introduce card issuing in the United Arab Emirates — a move that could reshape how businesses in the region manage financial transactions.
The company plans to roll out its domestic card issuance offering in the UAE by 2026, subject to regulatory approval. The launch would give businesses the tools to issue both physical and virtual branded cards. This, in turn, opens up new ways to reward customers, streamline expense processes, and handle B2B payouts efficiently.
Checkout.com’s CEO and Founder, Guillaume Pousaz, revealed the plans during Thrive Abu Dhabi, the firm’s debut conference in the Emirates. Joined on stage by Remo Giovanni Abbondandolo, General Manager for MENA, Pousaz presented to an audience of over 150 partners and merchants at Saadiyat Island. Also in attendance was H.E. Omar Sultan Al Olama, the UAE’s Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, Digital Economy, and Remote Work Applications.
Abbondandolo highlighted the strategic importance of the announcement: “As a global business, we focus on bringing products to markets that our customers want and need. Today’s announcement is proof of our commitment to the MENA region and its rising influence in the digital economy. The appetite for innovation here is real, and we’re proud to be building the infrastructure that powers it”.
One early adopter of Checkout.com’s UAE acquiring services is Headout, a travel experiences marketplace, which recently named the payment provider as its main partner in Europe. The company has already begun card issuing there and is keen to expand that offering into MENA once approval is granted.
The expansion of services in the UAE and beyond builds on Checkout.com’s track record in the region. It was the first global payments firm to secure a Retail Payment Services license from the UAE’s Central Bank and was instrumental in rolling out Mada and Apple Pay in both the UAE and Saudi Arabia.
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The firm has also been rolling out new products: One of the latest is Flow Remember Me, currently in beta testing. It allows shoppers to store their card information once and access it across Checkout.com’s entire network, potentially cutting checkout times by up to 70%.
Earlier this year, Checkout.com also introduced Visa Direct’s Push-to-Card solution in the UAE, enabling both domestic and international payouts. Its collaboration with Mastercard has grown as well, making it easier for businesses to send funds directly to third-party cards securely and quickly.
With regional tech ambitions on the rise — spurred by initiatives like Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 and the UAE’s 2031 Agenda — Checkout.com sees its role as one of a key enabler. “Our mission is to help ambitious businesses navigate the complexity of payments, so they can move faster, go further, and make the most of every opportunity,” said Abbondandolo. “In MENA, performance is personal. It’s local. It’s built on trust. And when payments perform, businesses thrive”.
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